| “ | All-purpose infantry unit. | ” |
| —Age of Empires II description | ||
The Two-Handed Swordsman is an infantry unit in Age of Empires II that can be trained at the Barracks once the Imperial Age is reached. It is the fourth tier upgrade of the Militia line.
Two-Handed Swordsmen are available to all civilizations except for the Persians and the Romans, the latter getting the Legionary as a replacement upgrade.
Tactics[]
As an upgrade, the Two-Handed Swordsman is decent with +3 attack, especially for its cost. However, Two-Handed Swordsmen are not seen very often because the Champion upgrade becomes available the moment the Two-Handed Swordsman upgrade is researched. However, it is seen in the early Imperial Age to counter Halberdier-ram pushes or all-in Eagle Warriors (though the Cavalier with Bloodlines is sometimes preferred for the latter), when the Champion upgrade is unnecessary. It can be used en masse by the Malay and Bulgarians.
The Malay case is particularly interesting as their Imperial Age unique technology Forced Levy changes the gold cost of the Militia line to food cost, including the Two-Handed Swordsman, making a swarm of these units a viable tactic in late game 'trash wars' where they easily defeat other trash units (Halberdiers, Hussars, and Elite Skirmishers). Explicitly, it modified the cost of the Militia line by +20 food, -20 gold.
Bulgarians also have quite effective Two-Handed Swordsmen, as they get all Militia-line upgrades for free and receive an additional +5 melee armor if Bagains is researched, giving them an advantage in both early and late Imperial Age.
Gurjaras have the cheapest Two-Handed Swordsmen, thanks to their access to both Supplies and their unique technology, Kshatriyas, making their Two-Handed Swordsmen cost 30 food, 20 gold (which is even cheaper than the Goths' Champion in terms of total resources). Their Two-Handed Swordsmen are one of the weakest, however, as they lack Blast Furnace and Squires, meaning their Two-Handed Swordsmen should not be considered in their army composition, since they will lose in cost-efficiency trades with other civilizations' Militia-line units, and should instead use their unique unit and Hand Cannoneers to deal with enemy infantry for more cost-effective trades. However, these units can be used against Elite Eagle Warriors when need be, since Chakram Throwers can be outsped by the Eagle line.
Further statistics[]
| Unit strengths and weaknesses | |
|---|---|
| Strong vs. | Skirmishers, Halberdiers, Camel Riders, Eagle Warriors, buildings, Light Cavalry |
| Weak vs. | Archers, Scorpions, Cataphracts, Jaguar Warriors, Boyars, Teutonic Knights |
| Upgrades | |
| Hit Points |  Fereters (+30, Armenians only)
|
| Attack |  Forging (+1) Iron Casting (+1) Blast Furnace (+2) Arson (+2 attack against standard buildings) Garland Wars (+4, Aztecs only) Druzhina (gives trample damage in +0.5 tiles radius, Slavs only) Chieftains (+5 attack against cavalry and +4 against camels, Vikings only) Wootz Steel (attack ignores armor, Dravidians only)
|
| Armor |  Scale Mail Armor (+1/+1) Chain Mail Armor (+1/+1) Plate Mail Armor (+1/+2) Gambesons (0/+1) Bagains (+5 melee armor, Bulgarians only)
|
| Speed |  Squires (+10%)
|
| Conversion defense |  Devotion (+1 min, +1 max) Faith (+4 min, +4 max) Heresy (die upon getting converted) First Crusade (+4 min, +4 max, Sicilians only)
|
| Creation speed |  Conscription (+33%) Perfusion (+100%, Goths only)
|
| Train cost |  Supplies (-15 food) Kshatriyas (-25% food, Gurjaras only) Forced Levy (+20 food, -20 gold, Malay only)
|
| Regeneration | Stronghold (30 HP/min when within 18 tiles square of a team Celts Castle)
|
| Other | Chieftains (generates gold when killing Villagers, trade units, and Monks, Vikings only)
|
| Upgrades |  Champion
|
Civilization bonuses[]
Armenians: Two-Hand Swordsmen are available and can be upgraded to Champions in the Castle Age.- Aztecs: Two-Handed Swordsmen are created 11% faster.
- Bulgarians: Blacksmith upgrades that benefit Two-Handed Swordsmen cost -50% food.
- Burmese: Two-Handed Swordsmen have +3 attack. Researching Devotion and Faith is 50% cheaper.
- Celts: Two-Handed Swordsmen move 15% faster. Two-Handed Swordsmen can convert herdable animals even if enemy units are next to them.
- Chinese: Technologies that benefit Two-Handed Swordsmen are 5%/10%/15% cheaper in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
- Dravidians: Researching Supplies, Gambesons, Arson and Squires, and upgrading to Champion costs -50%.
- Georgians: Two-Handed Swordsmen receive -20% (-40% instead of -25%) damage on higher elevations.
- Goths: Two-Handed Swordsmen are 35% cheaper and have +3 attack against standard buildings.
- Incas: Two-Handed Swordsmen cost -25% food.
- Japanese: Two-Handed Swordsmen attack 33% faster.
- Magyars: Forging, Iron Casting, and Blast Furnace are free.
- Malay: infantry armor upgrades are free.
- Malians: Two-Handed Swordsmen have +3 pierce armor.
- Portuguese: Two-Handed Swordsmen cost -20% gold.
- Sicilians: Two-Handed Swordsmen take -33% bonus damage.
- Slavs: Supplies and Gambesons are free.
- Spanish: Blacksmith upgrades that benefit Two-Handed Swordsmen cost no gold. Researching technologies that benefit Two-Handed Swordsmen provides 20 gold each.
- Tatars: Two-Handed Swordsmen deal +20% damage (+50% instead of +25%) from a cliff or an elevation.
- Teutons: Two-Handed Swordsmen have +2 melee armor.
- Vietnamese: Conscription is free.
- Vikings: Two-Handed Swordsmen have +20% hit points.
Team bonuses[]
- Armenians: Two-Handed Swordsmen have +2 Line of Sight.
- Bulgarians: Researching infantry armor and attack upgrades at the Blacksmith is 80% faster.
- Goths: Two-Handed Swordsmen are created and upgraded 20% faster. Researching Supplies, Gambesons, Squires, and Arson is 20% faster.
- Lithuanians: Researching Heresy, Devotion and Faith is 20% faster.
- Portuguese: Upgrades that benefit Two-Handed Swordsmen are researched 25% faster.
- Teutons: Two-Handed Swordsmen are more resistant to conversion.
Changelog[]
The Age of Kings[]
- Two-Handed Swordsmen have 11 attack.
- Two-Handed Swordsmen have +3 attack against standard buildings.
- Two-Handed Swordsmen have 0/0 armor.
- Two-Handed Swordsmen upgrade research time is 75 seconds.
- Goths: Two-Handed Swordsmen are 25% cheaper and have an extra +1 attack against standard buildings.
The Conquerors[]
- Two-Handed Swordsmen have +6 attack against Eagle Warriors.
- Two-Handed Swordsmen have 0/1 armor.
- Heresy introduced.
- Aztecs: Garland Wars introduced.
- Goths: With patch 1.0b, Two-Handed Swordsmen are 35% cheaper. Perfusion introduced.
The Forgotten[]
- Two-Handed Swordsmen have 12 attack.
- Two-Handed Swordsmen have +4 attack against standard buildings.
- Two-Handed Swordsmen have +8 attack against Eagle Warriors.
The African Kingdoms[]
- Arson introduced.
- Vikings: With patch 4.8, Chieftains affects Two-Handed Swordsmen. It gives Two-Handed Swordsmen +2 attack against camels.
Rise of the Rajas[]
- Vikings: With patch 5.7, Chieftains gives Two-Handed Swordsmen +4 attack against camels.
- Malay: Forced Levy removes Two-Handed Swordsmen's gold cost.
Definitive Edition[]
- Tracking is free.
- Supplies introduced.
- Bulgarians: Initially, Bagains gives +3 armor to Two-Handed Swordsmen. With update 34055, it gives +5 armor.
- Bulgarians: With update 42848, Blacksmith upgrades that benefit Two-Handed Swordsmen cost -50% food.
- Bulgarians: Initially, the team bonus gave the Blacksmith a 50% work rate boost. With update 42848, this was changed to a 80% work rate boost.
- Goths: With update 36202, bonus damage against standard buildings is +3. Goths lose access to Arson.
- Malay: Forced Levy changes Two-Handed Swordsmen's gold cost to food cost.
- Portuguese: With update 42848, as a civilization bonus, technologies that benefit Two-Handed Swordsmen are researched 30% faster.
- Teutons: With update 35584, Two-Handed Swordsmen have +1 armor. With update 36906, they have +2 armor.
Lords of the West[]
- Sicilians: Two-Handed Swordsmen resist 50% bonus damage. With update 47820, First Crusade increases the conversion resistance of Two-Handed Swordsmen.
Dawn of the Dukes[]
- With update 54480, Two-Handed Swordsmen have 1/1 armor.
Dynasties of India[]
- Sicilians: With update 66692, Two-Handed Swordsmen resist only 33% bonus damage.
- Portuguese: With update 73855, as a team bonus, technologies that benefit Two-Handed Swordsmen are researched 25% faster.
- With update 81058, Two-Handed Swordsmen research time is reduced to 60 seconds and Gambesons is introduced.
- Incas: With update 81058, Two-Handed Swordsmen cost -30% food.
- Malay: with update 81058, infantry armor upgrades are free.
The Mountain Royals[]
- Incas: With update 99311, they cost -15%/-20%/-25% food.
Heroes[]
The following heroes in the game have the appearance of a Two-Handed Swordsman:
- Henry II (in the HD Edition only; in the Definitive Edition, the model is the same, but with a different pose)
- Le Lai (removed) (HD)
- Mleh
History[]
| “ | As armor improved, so did weapons. The two-handed sword was an innovation that allowed a man to swing with the power of both arms, not just one. This was a long and heavy sword, and it required a strong and well-trained man. The two-handed swordsman was a formidable adversary in hand-to-hand combat. Two-handed swordsmen used no shield and relied on the power of their attack to overcome an opponent's shield and armor. Although he struck fewer times, each swing had the potential of being a mortal blow, regardless of the armor and weapons of the defender. | ” |
Trivia[]
- The Militia line is the only unit line in the game with more than three stages.
- The Malay is the only civilization to have the Militia line (except the Champion) as trash units (once the Forced Levy is researched).
- A fully upgraded Malay Two-Handed Swordsman with Forced Levy gets 16 attack, the highest of all trash units.
- With all relevant technologies researched, Gurjaras have the cheapest Two-Handed Swordsman (in terms of total resources spent) in the game at 30 food, 20 gold (Goths have to pay 39 food, 13 gold instead). However, Gurjaras lack important infantry technologies like the Champion upgrade, Squires, and Blast Furnace.
- All units of the Militia line have protective gloves except the Two-Handed Swordsman.
- The Two-Handed Swordsman upgrade is the only upgrade not improving upon the defensive statistics of the unit. The only improvement of the upgrade is the increased attack, both base melee and attack bonuses.
- A fully upgraded Bulgarian Two-Handed Swordsman gets 9 melee armor, having the second highest melee armor of all infantry units and the third of all land units, being only beaten by the Elite Boyar with 11 melee armor and the Elite Teutonic Knight with 13 melee armor.
Gallery[]
