The Britons are a Foot Archer civilization in Age of Empires 2. Their unique unit is the Longbowman. Below: what counters the units they bring, where their tech tree runs out, and the full civilization overview. Jump to the Britons tech tree.
How to counter the Britons
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.
Longbowman Castle Age · Castle
British unique Foot Archer with exceptional range.
Countered by
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Elite Skirmisher hard Attack bonus vs. archers -
Mangonel hard Area damage – Longbows stand close -
Huskarl UU hard Attack bonus vs. archers (+6) -
Genitour UU hard Attack bonus vs. archers (+5) -
Samurai UU hard Attack bonus vs. unique units (+12) -
Light Cavalry soft Fast, high HP
What the Britons 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.
- Longbowman is strong against Infantry.
What the Britons cannot answer
Every civilization is missing something. What matters in a match is which of those gaps you can actually attack. Below are the Britons gaps that change how a fight plays out — the economic ones are left out on purpose.
Mounted units
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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. -
Parthian Tactics — No Parthian Tactics — their Cavalry Archers keep base armour and no bonus damage against your Spearman line, so Pikemen still trade into them.
Gunpowder
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Hand Cannoneer — No Hand Cannoneer — the Britons never get gunpowder infantry, so massed melee infantry keeps working against them deep into the Imperial Age. -
Bombard Cannon — No Bombard Cannon — they have no gunpowder siege at all. Your own Bombard Cannons out-range every siege unit they can field except the Trebuchet.
Blacksmith and unit upgrades
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Thumb Ring — No Thumb Ring — their archers fire slower and miss more, so your units take fewer hits crossing the open ground towards them.
Siege
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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.
Monastery and conversion
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Redemption — No Redemption — their Monks cannot convert your siege or your buildings, so a Trebuchet parked outside their base is safe from the Monastery. -
Heresy — No Heresy — units your Monks convert stay converted instead of dying, so a Monk push against them pays double. -
Atonement — No Atonement — their Monks cannot convert yours, so your Monks win the Monastery duel by default.
Defensive buildings
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Bombard Tower — No Bombard Tower — their towers never become gunpowder towers, so your siege can set up against a tower line instead of being shelled off it.
Navy
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Carrack — Their Hulk line stops at the War Hulk — no Carrack, so their close-range warships lose the melee fight against a fully upgraded fleet. -
Incendiaries — No Incendiaries — their Fire Ships simply sink instead of detonating, so killing one costs your fleet nothing extra. -
Elite Cannon Galleon — Their Cannon Galleons stay at the base tier — less range and damage than the Elite version.
Everything the Britons do and do not have, unit by unit, is in the Britons tech tree further down.
Britons: Civilization and Team Bonuses
Civilization Bonuses
- Shepherds work +25% faster
- Town Centers cost -50% wood starting in Castle Age
- Foot Archers +1/+2 range in Castle/Imperial Age
Team Bonus
Archery Ranges work +10% faster
Unique Units
Unique Technologies
Britons Tech Tree
The full Britons 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 Britons tech tree.
Barracks
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Militia D -
Man-at-Arms F -
Long Swordsman C -
Two-Handed Swordsman I -
Champion I
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Spearman F -
Pikeman C -
Halberdier I
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Arson F
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Gambesons C
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Squires C
Archery Range
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Archer F -
Crossbowman C -
Arbalester I
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Skirmisher F - Elite Skirmisher C
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Cavalry Archer C -
Heavy Cavalry Archer I
- Hand Cannoneer I
- Thumb Ring C
- Parthian Tactics I
Stable
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Scout Cavalry F - Light Cavalry C
- Hussar I
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Knight C -
Cavalier I - Paladin I
- Bloodlines F
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Husbandry C
Siege Workshop
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Battering Ram C -
Capped Ram I - Siege Ram I
- Mangonel C
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Onager I - Siege Onager I
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Scorpion C -
Heavy Scorpion I
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Siege Tower C
- Bombard Cannon I
Castle
- Longbowman C
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Elite Longbowman I
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Petard C
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Trebuchet I
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Yeomen C
- Warwolf I
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Conscription I
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Hoardings I
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Sappers I
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Spies/Treason I
Dock
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Fishing Ship D
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Transport Ship D
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Fire Galley F -
Fire Ship C -
Fast Fire Ship I
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Galley F -
War Galley C -
Galleon I
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Hulk F -
War Hulk C - Carrack I
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Demolition Raft F -
Demolition Ship C -
Heavy Demo Ship I
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Trade Cog F
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Cannon Galleon I - Elite Cannon Galleon I
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Fishing Lines F
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Medium Warships C -
Heavy Warships I
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Gillnets C
Monastery
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Monk C
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Devotion C -
Faith I
- Redemption C
- Atonement C
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Herbal Medicine C
- Heresy C
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Sanctity C
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Fervor C
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Illumination I
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Block Printing I
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Theocracy I
Blacksmith
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Padded Archer Armor F -
Leather Archer Armor C -
Ring Archer Armor I
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Fletching F -
Bodkin Arrow C -
Bracer I
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Forging F -
Iron Casting C -
Blast Furnace I
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Scale Barding Armor F -
Chain Barding Armor C -
Plate Barding Armor I
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Scale Mail Armor F -
Chain Mail Armor C -
Plate Mail Armor I
University
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Masonry C -
Architecture I
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Fortified Wall C
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Ballistics C
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Guard Tower C -
Keep I
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Heated Shot C
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Murder Holes C
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Careening C -
Dry Dock I
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Clinker Construction C -
Carvel Hull I
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Siphons C - Incendiaries I
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Treadmill Crane C
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Chemistry I - Bombard Tower I
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Siege Engineers I
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Arrowslits I
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Shipwright I
Market
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Trade Cart F
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Caravan C
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Coinage C -
Banking I
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Guilds I
Mill
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Horse Collar F -
Heavy Plow C -
Crop Rotation I
Lumber Camp
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Double-Bit Axe F -
Bow Saw C -
Two-Man Saw I
Mining Camp
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Gold Mining F -
Gold Shaft Mining C
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Stone Mining F -
Stone Shaft Mining C
Town Center
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Villager D
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Feudal Age D -
Castle Age F -
Imperial Age C
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Loom D
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Town Watch F -
Town Patrol C
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Wheelbarrow F -
Hand Cart C
D Dark F Feudal C Castle I Imperial · struck through = not available for the Britons
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do you counter the Britons?
The Britons field Longbowman. Elite Skirmisher, Mangonel and Huskarl counter most of what they build. Their tech tree also leaves out Paladin, Hussar and Bloodlines.
What is the Britons 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 Britons have that other civilizations do not?
Longbowman: British unique Foot Archer with exceptional range.
Not sure what counters this unit?
Playing against the Britons? Look up any of their units in the interactive app to see exactly what counters them — with bonus-damage values.
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