Bohemians — Counters & Civilization Overview

How to play against the Bohemians — plus bonuses, unique units, unique techs and the full tech tree.

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Bohemians emblem

The Bohemians are a Gunpowder and Monk civilization in Age of Empires 2. Their unique units are the Hussite Wagon, Houfnice. Below: what counters the units they bring, where their tech tree runs out, and the full civilization overview. Jump to the Bohemians tech tree.

How to counter the Bohemians

Their unique and regional units are the part of the matchup a generic army does not prepare you for. Hard counters beat the unit decisively and win even at a cost disadvantage — usually through bonus damage, area damage, conversion or a speed advantage it cannot escape. Soft counters win the fight too, but only with good numbers and positioning.

Hussite Wagon Castle Age · Castle

Bohemian unique Siege Gunpowder Unit.

Countered by

Houfnice Imperial Age · Siege Workshop

Bohemian unique Siege Gunpowder Unit with long range, but cannot attack at close range.

Countered by

  • Cavalier hard Fast – siege weapons have almost no melee armor
  • Hussar hard Fast – siege weapons have almost no melee armor
  • Elite Mangudai UU hard UU (Mongols) – Attack bonus vs. siege
  • Monk soft Conversion

What the Bohemians are strong against

The other side of the matchup: these are the fights their own units are built to win. Walking one of these into them plays to their strengths.

What the Bohemians cannot answer

Every civilization is missing something. What matters in a match is which of those gaps you can actually attack. Below are the Bohemians gaps that change how a fight plays out — the economic ones are left out on purpose.

Mounted units

  • Paladin — Their heavy cavalry stops at the Cavalier — no Paladin, so it stays noticeably softer and your Halberdiers keep the upper hand in Imperial.
  • Hussar — No Hussar — their Light Cavalry never reaches the last tier, so it stays a weaker raider and a weaker answer to your Monks.
  • Bloodlines — No Bloodlines — every mounted unit they field is 20 hit points short, so your Spearman line kills them a little faster in every fight.
  • Cavalry Archer — No Cavalry Archer — nothing they build shoots while moving, so your siege and your Skirmishers never get kited out of position.
  • Plate Barding Armor — No Plate Barding Armor — their Imperial cavalry stays two pierce armour short, so Arbalests and Elite Skirmishers keep working against it.

Blacksmith and unit upgrades

  • Thumb Ring — No Thumb Ring — their archers fire slower and miss more, so your units take fewer hits crossing the open ground towards them.
  • Gambesons — No Gambesons — their infantry stays a pierce armour short, so archers and Skirmishers cut through it faster.

Siege

  • Siege Ram — Their rams stop at the Capped Ram — fewer hit points and fewer garrison slots, so your Castle and your own siege kill them faster.
  • Siege Onager — Their Onagers never become Siege Onagers — no single shot that clears a whole group of your units, and no felling of your walls from range.

Defensive buildings

  • Heated Shot — No Heated Shot — their towers and Castles have no bonus damage against ships, so a shore landing stays safe for longer.
  • Hoardings — No Hoardings — their Castles keep base hit points, so your siege brings one down in far fewer shots.

Navy

  • Fast Fire Ship — Their Fire Ship line stops before the Fast Fire Ship — slower and weaker in exactly the close-range fights fire ships are built for.
  • Heavy Demo Ship — Their Demolition Ships stay at the base tier — no Heavy Demo Ship, so one detonation no longer wipes a group of your warships.
  • Dry Dock — No Dry Dock — their ships stay a pierce armour short, so your own warships and shore towers cut through them faster.
  • Carvel Hull — No Carvel Hull — their ships move at base speed, so they cannot disengage from your fleet or reach a landing before you do.
  • Shipwright — No Shipwright — their warships cost more and build slower in the Imperial Age, so a replaced fleet comes back later than yours.

Everything the Bohemians do and do not have, unit by unit, is in the Bohemians tech tree further down.

Bohemians: Civilization and Team Bonuses

Civilization Bonuses

  • Mining Camp technologies free
  • Blacksmiths and Universities cost -100 wood
  • Spearman-line deals +25% bonus damage
  • Fervor and Sanctity affect Villagers
  • Chemistry and Hand Cannoneer available in Castle Age

Team Bonus

Markets work +80% faster

Unique Units

Hussite Wagon
Hussite Wagon · Siege Gunpowder UnitBohemian unique Siege Gunpowder Unit. Units behind it receive -50% damage from incoming projectiles. Strong vs. Ranged Soldiers. Weak vs. Mangonel-line.
Houfnice
Houfnice · Siege Gunpowder UnitBohemian unique Siege Gunpowder Unit with long range, but cannot attack at close range. Strong vs. buildings and Siege Weapons. Weak vs. units at close range.

Unique Technologies

Wagenburg TacticsGunpowder Units move +15% faster
Hussite ReformsMonks and Monastery technologies gold cost is replaced by food cost

Bohemians Tech Tree

The full Bohemians tech tree in Age of Empires 2 — every unit, upgrade and technology they can research, and everything they cannot. Units are shown as their upgrade lines, followed by the technologies available at each building. Greyed-out entries are missing from the Bohemians tech tree.

Barracks

  1. Militia D
  2. Man-at-Arms F
  3. Long Swordsman C
  4. Two-Handed Swordsman I
  5. Champion I
  1. Spearman F
  2. Pikeman C
  3. Halberdier I
  1. Arson F
  1. Gambesons C
  1. Squires C

Archery Range

  1. Archer F
  2. Crossbowman C
  3. Arbalester I
  1. Skirmisher F
  2. Elite Skirmisher C
  1. Cavalry Archer C
  2. Heavy Cavalry Archer I
  1. Hand Cannoneer C
  1. Thumb Ring C
  1. Parthian Tactics I

Stable

  1. Scout Cavalry F
  2. Light Cavalry C
  3. Hussar I
  1. Knight C
  2. Cavalier I
  3. Paladin I
  1. Bloodlines F
  1. Husbandry C

Siege Workshop

  1. Battering Ram C
  2. Capped Ram I
  3. Siege Ram I
  1. Mangonel C
  2. Onager I
  3. Siege Onager I
  1. Scorpion C
  2. Heavy Scorpion I
  1. Siege Tower C
  1. Bombard Cannon I
  2. Houfnice I

Castle

  1. Hussite Wagon C
  2. Elite Hussite Wagon I
  1. Petard C
  1. Trebuchet I
  1. Wagenburg Tactics C
  1. Hussite Reforms I
  1. Hoardings I
  1. Conscription I
  1. Sappers I
  1. Spies/Treason I

Dock

  1. Fishing Ship D
  1. Transport Ship D
  1. Fire Galley F
  2. Fire Ship C
  3. Fast Fire Ship I
  1. Galley F
  2. War Galley C
  3. Galleon I
  1. Hulk F
  2. War Hulk C
  3. Carrack I
  1. Demolition Raft F
  2. Demolition Ship C
  3. Heavy Demo Ship I
  1. Trade Cog F
  1. Cannon Galleon I
  2. Elite Cannon Galleon I
  1. Fishing Lines F
  1. Medium Warships C
  2. Heavy Warships I
  1. Gillnets C

Monastery

  1. Monk C
  1. Devotion C
  2. Faith I
  1. Redemption C
  1. Atonement C
  1. Herbal Medicine C
  1. Heresy C
  1. Sanctity C
  1. Fervor C
  1. Illumination I
  1. Block Printing I
  1. Theocracy I

Blacksmith

  1. Padded Archer Armor F
  2. Leather Archer Armor C
  3. Ring Archer Armor I
  1. Fletching F
  2. Bodkin Arrow C
  3. Bracer I
  1. Forging F
  2. Iron Casting C
  3. Blast Furnace I
  1. Scale Barding Armor F
  2. Chain Barding Armor C
  3. Plate Barding Armor I
  1. Scale Mail Armor F
  2. Chain Mail Armor C
  3. Plate Mail Armor I

University

  1. Masonry C
  2. Architecture I
  1. Fortified Wall C
  1. Chemistry C
  2. Bombard Tower I
  1. Ballistics C
  1. Guard Tower C
  2. Keep I
  1. Heated Shot C
  1. Careening C
  2. Dry Dock I
  1. Clinker Construction C
  2. Carvel Hull I
  1. Siphons C
  2. Incendiaries I
  1. Murder Holes C
  1. Treadmill Crane C
  1. Siege Engineers I
  1. Arrowslits I
  1. Shipwright I

Market

  1. Trade Cart F
  1. Caravan C
  1. Coinage C
  2. Banking I
  1. Guilds I

Mill

  1. Horse Collar F
  2. Heavy Plow C
  3. Crop Rotation I

Lumber Camp

  1. Double-Bit Axe F
  2. Bow Saw C
  3. Two-Man Saw I

Mining Camp

  1. Gold Mining F
  2. Gold Shaft Mining C
  1. Stone Mining F
  2. Stone Shaft Mining C

Town Center

  1. Villager D
  1. Feudal Age D
  2. Castle Age F
  3. Imperial Age C
  1. Loom D
  1. Town Watch F
  2. Town Patrol C
  1. Wheelbarrow F
  2. Hand Cart C

D Dark F Feudal C Castle I Imperial · struck through = not available for the Bohemians

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do you counter the Bohemians?

The Bohemians field Hussite Wagon and Houfnice. Mangonel, Samurai and Cavalier counter most of what they build. Their tech tree also leaves out Paladin, Hussar and Bloodlines.

What is the Bohemians tech tree missing in AoE2?

Their heavy cavalry stops at the Cavalier — no Paladin, so it stays noticeably softer and your Halberdiers keep the upper hand in Imperial. No Hussar — their Light Cavalry never reaches the last tier, so it stays a weaker raider and a weaker answer to your Monks. No Bloodlines — every mounted unit they field is 20 hit points short, so your Spearman line kills them a little faster in every fight.

Which units do the Bohemians have that other civilizations do not?

Hussite Wagon: Bohemian unique Siege Gunpowder Unit. Houfnice: Bohemian unique Siege Gunpowder Unit with long range, but cannot attack at close range.

Not sure what counters this unit?

Playing against the Bohemians? Look up any of their units in the interactive app to see exactly what counters them — with bonus-damage values.

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