Age of Empires 2 Archer Counters

Age of Empires 2 Archer Counters

How do you counter archers in Age of Empires 2?

Build Skirmishers. The Elite Skirmisher has 4 pierce armor against an Arbalest's 6 pierce attack — it takes 2 damage per shot — and its +4 bonus against the archer class means it deals 7 back. It costs 25 food + 35 wood and no gold, against the Arbalest's 25 wood + 45 gold.

Archers are the cheapest way to project damage in Age of Empires 2, and the counter is not about killing them fast. It is about being nearly immune. The whole Skirmisher line exists to have more pierce armor than any archer has pierce attack, which turns the exchange into 7 damage against 2.

• Pierce armor decides the fight. Skirmisher 3, Elite Skirmisher 4. An Archer deals 4 attack, a Crossbowman 5, an Arbalest 6 — so each shot does 1 to 2 damage. No other unit in the game absorbs arrows that cheaply.
• The Skirmisher bonus is +3, rising to +4. Against the archer class, which includes Hand Cannoneers and Skirmishers themselves. An Elite Skirmisher deals 7 damage per hit to an Archer, Crossbowman or Arbalest — 5, 5 and 6 hits respectively.
• Skirmishers out-range most archers. Elite Skirmisher range 5, against the Archer's 4 and the Crossbowman's and Arbalest's 5. The exceptions matter: Elite Longbowman 6, Hand Cannoneer 7, Janissary 7 (Elite 8).
• Archers have no armor at all. Archer, Crossbowman, Arbalest and Hand Cannoneer all have 0 pierce armor and 0 to 1 melee armor, with 30 to 40 HP. A Champion kills an Arbalest in 3 hits, a Knight in 4, a Mangonel in one shot.
• Siege ignores the problem entirely. Mangonel damage counts as melee-type: 40 damage in an area against 30 to 40 HP units that cluster by nature. An Onager deals 50, a Siege Onager 75.

How do you counter an archer rush in the Feudal Age?

Skirmishers, from the Archery Range — not the Barracks. A Skirmisher costs 25 food + 35 wood with 3 pierce armor, so a Feudal Archer's 4 attack deals 1 damage per shot while the Skirmisher deals 5 back and kills it in 6 hits.

The Feudal Archer is 30 HP, 4 attack and 0 armor for 25 wood + 45 gold. It beats every other Feudal option — Spearmen, Scouts, villagers — and loses only to the unit built specifically to stop it. The response has to be immediate, because Archers that reach critical mass kill Skirmisher production faster than you can replace it.

• 
  Skirmisher Hard Counter
  3 pierce armor against 4 attack means 1 damage per arrow, and its own +3 bonus against the archer class gives 5 damage per hit — 6 hits per Archer. Costs no gold, which matters in Feudal Age more than at any other point. Built at the Archery Range, not the Barracks.
• 
  Mangonel Hard Counter
  If you are already heading to Castle Age, one Mangonel ends an Archer mass: 40 melee-type damage in an area, and a 30 HP Archer dies to a single shot. Its 7 range beats the Archer's 4.
• 
  Eagle Scout Soft Counter
  Meso civs have no Skirmisher-and-Scout combination in the same way. The Eagle Scout has 2 pierce armor and 1.1 speed, enough to close the distance — but it has no bonus against archers, so it needs 8 hits per Archer at 4 attack.
• 
  Scout Cavalry Soft Counter
  2 pierce armor and 1.2 speed, so it survives the approach, but only 3 attack — 10 hits per Archer. Use Scouts to kill the villagers building the Archery Range, not the Archers themselves.

How do you counter Crossbowmen and Arbalests in AoE2?

Elite Skirmishers plus a Mangonel or Onager. The Elite Skirmisher takes 1 damage per Crossbowman shot and 2 per Arbalest shot thanks to 4 pierce armor, and returns 7 — killing a Crossbowman in 5 hits and an Arbalest in 6. Onagers delete the formations that form behind them.

Crossbowman (35 HP, 5 attack, 5 range) and Arbalest (40 HP, 6 attack, 5 range) are the Castle and Imperial Age versions of the same unit, and the counter never changes — only the numbers do. The reason the Skirmisher stays valid all game is that Blacksmith upgrades raise its pierce armor faster than the archer's attack grows.

• 
  Elite Skirmisher Hard Counter
  4 pierce armor against 5 to 6 attack = 1 to 2 damage taken per shot, and +4 vs. the archer class = 7 damage dealt. 5 hits per Crossbowman, 6 per Arbalest, for 25 food + 35 wood against their 45 gold. The most gold-positive trade in the game.
• 
  Onager Hard Counter
  50 melee-type damage in an area against 35 to 40 HP units — one shot per archer, several archers per shot. Its 8 range beats their 5, so with micro it fires first. The standard partner to Elite Skirmishers in Imperial Age.
• 
  Mangonel Hard Counter
  40 damage in an area, 7 range against their 5. The Castle Age version of the same idea and the cheaper one at 160 wood + 135 gold.
• 
  Elite Huskarl Hard Counter
  Goths: 8 pierce armor, so an Arbalest deals minimum damage, and a +10 bonus against the archer class on top of 12 attack — 22 damage per hit, 2 hits per Arbalest. The single hardest anti-archer unit in the game, and it costs 75 food + 35 gold. Against Goths, do not build archers.
• 
  Champion Soft Counter
  14 attack against 0 melee armor = 3 hits per Arbalest, but only 1 pierce armor and 0.96 speed. It works when the archers are pinned against a wall or already engaged, not as an approach unit.
• 
  Hussar Soft Counter
  It does not win the fight — 6 hits per Arbalest at 7 attack while taking 4 damage per shot — but at 1.5 speed and no gold cost it forces the archer player to defend their villagers instead of advancing.

How do you counter Hand Cannoneers in AoE2?

Close the distance. A Hand Cannoneer has 40 HP, 0 pierce armor and a 3.4-second reload with 75% accuracy — a Knight kills one in 5 hits, a Champion in 4, a Mangonel in a single shot. Elite Skirmishers also work: the Hand Cannoneer carries the archer armor class, so their +4 bonus does apply.

The Hand Cannoneer is the highest single-shot damage in the archer class at 17 attack with 7 range, and it has a +10 bonus against infantry — which is what makes it feel unstoppable against Champions and Halberdiers. What it does not have is durability or a reload rate: 40 HP, 0 pierce armor, and 3.4 seconds between shots at 75% accuracy.

• 
  Knight Hard Counter
  9 damage per hit against 1 melee armor = 5 hits, and 100 HP plus 2 pierce armor survives the approach easily against a 3.4-second reload. Cavalry is the cleanest answer because the Hand Cannoneer has no minimum range but also no way to disengage at 0.96 speed.
• 
  Mangonel Hard Counter
  40 melee-type area damage against 40 HP: one shot per Hand Cannoneer, and its 7 range matches theirs exactly.
• 
  Elite Skirmisher Hard Counter
  The +4 bonus against the archer class does apply — the Hand Cannoneer carries that class despite being a gunpowder unit. 7 damage per hit, 6 hits per Hand Cannoneer, at 25 food + 35 wood against 45 food + 50 gold. Note it is a cost trade, not a stat win: the Hand Cannoneer's 17 attack still deals 13 damage through 4 pierce armor.
• 
  Champion Soft Counter
  13 damage per hit, 4 hits — but the Hand Cannoneer's +10 bonus against infantry is aimed exactly at this unit. Send Champions only when the distance is already closed.

How do you counter Skirmishers in AoE2?

Melee units. Skirmishers have 3 to 4 pierce armor but 0 melee armor and only 30 to 35 HP, so a Champion kills an Elite Skirmisher in 3 hits and a Knight in 4. Never shoot at them — an Arbalest deals 2 damage per shot.

The Skirmisher line is deliberately terrible at everything except absorbing arrows: 2 to 3 attack, 0.96 speed, a 3-second reload and a 1-tile minimum range. Anything that reaches them wins, which is why they are always positioned behind something else.

• 
  Champion Hard Counter
  14 attack against 0 melee armor = 3 hits per Elite Skirmisher, and the Skirmisher's 3 attack deals 2 damage back through 1 pierce armor. The cleanest trade on the board.
• 
  Knight Hard Counter
  10 attack, 4 hits per Elite Skirmisher, and 2 pierce armor reduces their 3 attack to 1 per shot. Cavalry also exploits the Skirmisher's 1-tile minimum range, inside which it cannot fire at all.
• 
  Hussar Hard Counter
  7 attack = 5 hits, no gold cost, and 1.5 speed against 0.96. The cheapest way to clear Skirmishers off a position.
• 
  Elite Skirmisher Soft Counter
  Skirmishers carry the archer class themselves, so the +4 bonus applies to them too — 5 damage per hit, 7 hits. It works, it is just slow; use it when you already have Skirmishers out and the enemy has nothing else.
• 
  Mangonel Soft Counter
  40 area damage kills an Elite Skirmisher outright, but 160 wood + 135 gold for a 25 food + 35 wood target is a poor exchange unless they are massed.

How do you counter unique archers — Longbowman, Chu Ko Nu, Janissary and others?

Check the range first. Elite Skirmishers beat every unique archer with 5 range or less, but the Elite Longbowman (6), Hand Cannoneer (7) and Janissary (7, Elite 8) out-range them — those need cavalry or siege. The Rattan Archer is the other exception: 4 pierce armor (Elite 6) makes Skirmishers nearly useless against it.

Unique archers differ in exactly three numbers that decide the counter: range, pierce armor and speed. Everything else is flavour. The table below gives all three for each of them.

• Longbowman (Britons) 35 HP, 6 attack, 5 range — Elite version 40 HP, 7 attack, 6 range and 1 pierce armor. The Elite version out-ranges the Elite Skirmisher, so counter it with Knights, Hussars or an Onager at 8 range, and only use Skirmishers when you can force the engagement.
• Chu Ko Nu (Chinese) 45 HP, 8 attack (Elite 50 HP and 10), but only 4 range and a 3-second reload — it fires several bolts per shot, which is why it feels stronger than its stats. Elite Skirmishers out-range it by one tile and beat it outright.
• Plumed Archer (Mayans) 50 HP, 5 attack, 1 pierce armor and 1.2 speed (Elite 65 HP, 2 pierce armor, 5 range). Fast and durable for an archer, so Skirmishers cannot pin it. Its low 5 attack means Champions and Knights survive the approach easily.
• Rattan Archer (Vietnamese) 40 HP, 6 attack and 4 pierce armor — Elite version 6 pierce armor. This is the one archer that beats Skirmishers, because an Elite Skirmisher's 3 attack cannot get through 6 armor. Use melee units or a Mangonel's 40 melee-type damage.
• Janissary (Turks) 35 HP, 17 attack, 7 range (Elite 40 HP, 22 attack, 8 range) with only 50% accuracy and a 3.4-second reload. It out-ranges everything you can shoot back with, so the answer is cavalry: 4 hits for a Knight, and its 0 pierce armor means it dies to anything that arrives.
• Genoese Crossbowman (Italians) 45 HP, 6 attack, 4 range, and bonuses of +5 against cavalry, +4 against camels and +5 against elephants (Elite +7 / +6 / +7). It is an anti-cavalry archer — do not send Knights. Elite Skirmishers out-range it and take 2 damage per shot.
• Gbeto (Malians) 40 HP, 10 attack, 5 range and 1.25 speed with 0 armor. Fast enough to avoid Skirmishers, fragile enough that anything which catches it wins — Hussars need 6 hits, a Mangonel one shot.

AoE2 archer stats — HP, armor, range and cost

How much damage do archers actually do to an Elite Skirmisher?

How many hits does it take to kill each archer?

Which civilizations counter archers best?

Summary — Counter Cheat Sheet

Frequently Asked Questions