Chinese — Counters & Civilization Overview

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

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Chinese emblem

The Chinese are an Archer and Gunpowder civilization in Age of Empires 2. Their unique units are the Chu Ko Nu, Dragon Ship. Below: what counters the units they bring, where their tech tree runs out, and the full civilization overview. Jump to the Chinese tech tree.

How to counter the Chinese

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.

Chu Ko Nu Castle Age · Castle

Chinese unique Foot Archer with rapid-fire attack.

Countered by

Fire Lancer Castle Age · Barracks

Gunpowder Shock Infantry that fires a short ranged firearm before engaging in melee comba…

Countered by

  • Crossbowman hard No pierce armor — melted by ranged attacks
  • Hand Cannoneer hard No pierce armor, plus bonus vs. infantry
  • Long Swordsman hard Stronger in melee; Fire Lancer has no anti-infantry edge
  • Monk soft Conversion (expensive gold unit)
  • Mangonel soft Clumps up, only 65 HP

Rocket Cart Castle Age · Siege Workshop

Siege Gunpowder Unit with ranged blast attack, but cannot attack at close range.

Countered by

  • Light Cavalry hard Fast – siege weapons have almost no melee armor
  • Mangudai UU hard UU (Mongols) – Attack bonus vs. siege
  • Monk soft Conversion
  • Elite Skirmisher soft Cheap ranged mass; target has only 45–70 HP

Lou Chuan Imperial Age · Dock

Powerful Siege Warship that fires arrows at units and uses a long range trebuchet weapon…

Countered by

What the Chinese 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 Chinese cannot answer

Every civilization is missing something. What matters in a match is which of those gaps you can actually attack. Below are the Chinese 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.
  • 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

  • Hand Cannoneer — No Hand Cannoneer — the Chinese 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

  • Gambesons — No Gambesons — their infantry stays a pierce armour short, so archers and Skirmishers cut through it faster.

Siege

  • Mangonel — No Mangonel line — nothing they build clears a group of your units at range, so your archers and infantry can stay massed against them.
  • Siege Engineers — No Siege Engineers — their siege has one range less and hits buildings softer, so your towers and Castles out-range it.

Monastery and conversion

  • 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.

Defensive buildings

  • Hoardings — No Hoardings — their Castles keep base hit points, so your siege brings one down in far fewer shots.

Navy

  • Incendiaries — No Incendiaries — their Fire Ships simply sink instead of detonating, so killing one costs your fleet nothing extra.
  • Cannon Galleon — No Cannon Galleon — they cannot shell your shore buildings from the water, so a coastal base is safe from their navy.
  • 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.

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

Chinese: Civilization and Team Bonuses

Civilization Bonuses

  • Start with +3 Villagers, but -50 wood and -200 food
  • Technologies cost -5/10/15% in Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age
  • Town Centers +7 line of sight and provide +15 population space
  • Fire Lancers and Fire Ships move +5/10% faster in Castle/Imperial Age

Team Bonus

Farms +10% food

Unique Units

Chu Ko Nu
Chu Ko Nu · Foot ArcherChinese unique Foot Archer with rapid-fire attack. Strong vs. Infantry. Weak vs. Archery Units and Siege Weapons.
Dragon Ship
Dragon Ship · WarshipChinese unique Warship that spews fire at close range. Strong vs. Galley-line. Weak vs. Demolition Ships.

Unique Technologies

Great WallWalls, Watch Tower-line and Bombard Towers +30% HP
RocketryScorpions, Rocket Carts and Lou Chuans +25% attack; Lou Chuans fire rockets

Chinese Tech Tree

The full Chinese 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 Chinese 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. Fire Lancer C
  2. Elite Fire Lancer 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 I
  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. Rocket Cart C
  1. Scorpion C
  2. Heavy Scorpion I
  1. Siege Tower C
  1. Heavy Rocket Cart I
  1. Bombard Cannon I

Castle

  1. Chu Ko Nu C
  2. Elite Chu Ko Nu I
  1. Petard C
  1. Trebuchet I
  1. Great Wall C
  1. Rocketry 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
  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. Dragon Ship I
  1. Cannon Galleon I
  2. Elite Cannon Galleon I
  1. Lou Chuan 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. Ballistics C
  1. Guard Tower C
  2. Keep I
  1. Heated Shot C
  1. Murder Holes C
  1. Careening C
  2. Dry Dock I
  1. Clinker Construction C
  2. Carvel Hull I
  1. Siphons C
  2. Incendiaries I
  1. Treadmill Crane C
  1. Chemistry I
  2. Bombard Tower I
  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 Chinese

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do you counter the Chinese?

The Chinese field Chu Ko Nu, Fire Lancer, Rocket Cart and Lou Chuan. Elite Skirmisher, Mangonel and Huskarl counter most of what they build. Their tech tree also leaves out Paladin, Hussar and Parthian Tactics.

What is the Chinese 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 Parthian Tactics — their Cavalry Archers keep base armour and no bonus damage against your Spearman line, so Pikemen still trade into them.

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

Chu Ko Nu: Chinese unique Foot Archer with rapid-fire attack. Fire Lancer: Gunpowder Shock Infantry that fires a short ranged firearm before engaging in melee comba… Rocket Cart: Siege Gunpowder Unit with ranged blast attack, but cannot attack at close range. Lou Chuan: Powerful Siege Warship that fires arrows at units and uses a long range trebuchet weapon…

Not sure what counters this unit?

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

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