Archers are the backbone of many Age of Empires 2 strategies — cheap, ranged, and deadly in numbers. From the Feudal Archer rush to Imperial Arbalests, they control the ranged fight and punish unprotected cavalry or infantry. Here is the complete counter breakdown at every Age.
How to Counter Archers (Feudal Age)
In Feudal Age, the Archer is the most common aggressive unit. Cheap, available early, and effective against everything except Skirmishers. The counter window matters — respond before they mass.
- Attack bonus vs. archers + high pierce armor. The textbook Feudal Age response. Cheaper than Archers to produce. Two Skirmishers beat two Archers cleanly in a head-on fight.
- Area damage shreds grouped archers. One well-placed Mangonel volley can delete an entire Archer formation. Available in Castle Age — transition target when Archers are massing.
- Fast enough to close the gap. Archers deal reduced melee damage, so cavalry wins in direct contact. Works best as a raider forcing archers to reposition rather than a frontal counter.
- Aztec / Maya / Inca unit — fast, pierce-resistant infantry. Catches archers and takes hits better than standard foot soldiers. Good for Meso civs without cavalry.
How to Counter Crossbowmen
Crossbowmen are the Castle Age upgrade — more damage and range. The same counters apply but the window to respond gets tighter. Mass Skirmishers before Crossbowmen reach critical numbers.
- Castle Age upgrade to Skirmisher. Higher HP and attack bonus. The core counter all the way through Imperial Age. Always upgrade to Elite when you have the resources.
- Area damage remains devastating. Crossbowmen tend to cluster — one Mangonel shot in the middle of a formation can wipe 6–8 units.
- Fast raid unit. Forces Crossbowmen to move and micromanage instead of advancing. Especially effective on open maps where cavalry can flank.
- Goths unique unit — extreme pierce armor (6 base, 8 with Elite upgrade). Crossbowmen barely dent them. If you face Goths, Crossbowmen are useless.
How to Counter Arbalests
Arbalests are the Imperial Age threat — higher damage, more range, and they kill most units efficiently. The counter choices narrow but the logic stays the same: pierce resistance or area damage.
- Still the primary counter even at Imperial Age. With Bracer and all upgrades, Elite Skirms trade efficiently vs. Arbalests. Keep producing them — numbers matter at this stage.
- Greater range than Mangonel. Can snipe Arbalest formations from outside their attack range if microed correctly. One of the best Imperial Age counters when combined with Elite Skirms.
- 8 pierce armor. Arbalests deal almost no damage per shot. If you have Huskarls available, mass them — Arbalests become completely ineffective.
- Gurjaras unique unit — each unit has a shield that absorbs one projectile entirely before being damaged. Effectively immune to the first hit from every Arbalest shot. Exceptional vs. large Arbalest armies.
- Raiding with Hussars forces Arbalests to move. Doesn't win a direct fight but pressures the opponent's economy and prevents Arbalests from freely advancing.
- Pierce-resistant frontliner for Meso civs. Takes less damage from Arbalests than standard infantry and moves fast enough to engage.
How to Counter Hand Cannoneers
Hand Cannoneers deal massive blast damage but have slow reload time and fire slowly. They share the "gunpowder" armor class — which means Skirmisher bonus damage applies.
- Attack bonus applies to Hand Cannoneers (gunpowder class). A mass of Elite Skirms trades very favorably. Skirms also dodge some shots due to Hand Cannoneer's slow projectile speed.
- Fast enough to close the distance before Hand Cannoneers can reload. Once in melee range, Hand Cannoneers deal minimal damage and die quickly to cavalry attack.
- Area damage before Cannoneers fire. Works if you can land the shot before they spread out. Requires micro to be effective.
How to Counter Skirmishers
Skirmishers are the counter to archers — but they have their own weaknesses. They have almost no melee armor, making them soft targets for any melee unit.
- High melee attack destroys Skirmishers with their 0 melee armor. Champions out-trade Skirms cleanly in melee.
- Attack bonus vs. Skirmishers (DE). Fast enough to catch them. The designated Skirmisher counter for Meso civs.
- High melee damage; Skirms have no melee armor. Expensive trade but works. Avoid if the opponent has Camels or Halbs supporting their Skirms.
Best Archer Counter Composition
No single unit counters archers perfectly in all situations. The most reliable Imperial Age counter composition is:
- Elite Skirmisher + Onager — Skirms absorb arrow fire and return bonus damage; Onager area-deletes tight formations
- Elite Skirmisher + Hussar — Skirms handle the ranged fight; Hussars raid the opponent's economy and force repositioning
- Champion + Onager — Melee + area damage; forces archers to spread out or die in clusters
Summary — Counter Cheat Sheet
| Unit | Hard Counter | Soft Counter |
|---|---|---|
| Archer | Skirmisher, Mangonel | Hussar, Eagle Warrior |
| Crossbowman | Elite Skirmisher, Mangonel | Hussar, Huskarl |
| Arbalest | Elite Skirmisher, Onager, Elite Huskarl | Hussar, Elite Eagle Warrior |
| Hand Cannoneer | Elite Skirmisher, Hussar | Mangonel |
| Skirmisher | Champion, Eagle Warrior | Knight |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Skirmisher always better than Knight vs. Archers?
Yes, in almost all cases. Skirmishers are cheaper, have the attack bonus, and don't take bonus damage from archers. Knights have poor pierce armor and die inefficiently to large archer groups. Use Hussars to raid, not Knights to fight archers head-on.
How many Skirmishers do I need to counter Arbalests?
Match production. If your opponent has 2 Archery Ranges producing Arbalests, you need at least 2 Barracks producing Elite Skirmishers. Supplement with one or two Siege Workshops producing Onagers for area damage. Production rate matters as much as the counter itself.
What if my civ doesn't have Elite Skirmisher?
All standard civs have Elite Skirmisher. Unique exceptions like Mayans have Skirmisher but also Plumed Archers. If you're playing a civ without access (rare), use Hussars to raid and buy time to tech to Siege Onager.
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