Ethiopians — Counters & Civilization Overview

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

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Ethiopians emblem

The Ethiopians are an Archer civilization in Age of Empires 2. Their unique unit is the Shotel Warrior. Below: what counters the units they bring, where their tech tree runs out, and the full civilization overview. Jump to the Ethiopians tech tree.

How to counter the Ethiopians

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.

Shotel Warrior Castle Age · Castle

Ethiopian unique Infantry with high attack and fast training speed.

Countered by

Heavy Camel Rider Imperial Age · Stable

Fast moving anti-cavalry Cavalry.

Countered by

What the Ethiopians 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 Ethiopians cannot answer

Every civilization is missing something. What matters in a match is which of those gaps you can actually attack. Below are the Ethiopians 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.
  • 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.
  • Plate Barding Armor — No Plate Barding Armor — their Imperial cavalry stays two pierce armour short, so Arbalests and Elite Skirmishers keep working against it.

Gunpowder

  • Hand Cannoneer — No Hand Cannoneer — the Ethiopians never get gunpowder infantry, so massed melee infantry keeps working against them deep into the Imperial Age.

Melee infantry

  • Champion — No Champion — their Militia line stops one upgrade short, so their gold-free melee infantry stays a tier behind yours.

Blacksmith and unit upgrades

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

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.
  • Block Printing — No Block Printing — their Monks have to come closer to convert, which walks them into range of your archers first.

Defensive buildings

  • 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.
  • Arrowslits — No Arrowslits — their towers hit softer at close range, so rams and infantry clear them with fewer losses.
  • 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.
  • Siphons — No Siphons — their Fire Ships never gain the explosive charge attack, so they close on your fleet with nothing but their standard attack.
  • Incendiaries — No Incendiaries — their Fire Ships simply sink instead of detonating, so killing one costs your fleet nothing extra.
  • 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.
  • Elite Cannon Galleon — Their Cannon Galleons stay at the base tier — less range and damage than the Elite version.
  • 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 Ethiopians do and do not have, unit by unit, is in the Ethiopians tech tree further down.

Ethiopians: Civilization and Team Bonuses

Civilization Bonuses

  • Receive +100 gold and +100 food when advancing to the next Age
  • Foot Archers attack +18% faster
  • Pikeman upgrade free

Team Bonus

Outposts +3 line of sight and cost no stone

Unique Units

Shotel Warrior
Shotel Warrior · InfantryEthiopian unique Infantry with high attack and fast training speed. Fast-moving. Strong vs. Infantry. Weak vs. Archery Units.

Unique Technologies

Royal HeirsShotel Warriors and Camel Riders receive -3 damage from Mounted Units
Torsion EnginesSiege Workshop Units' blast radius increased

Ethiopians Tech Tree

The full Ethiopians 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 Ethiopians 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 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. Camel Rider C
  2. Heavy Camel Rider 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

Castle

  1. Shotel Warrior C
  2. Elite Shotel Warrior I
  1. Petard C
  1. Trebuchet I
  1. Royal Heirs C
  1. Torsion Engines 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. 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 Ethiopians

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do you counter the Ethiopians?

The Ethiopians field Shotel Warrior and Heavy Camel Rider. Crossbowman, Scorpion and Hand Cannoneer counter most of what they build. Their tech tree also leaves out Paladin, Bloodlines and Parthian Tactics.

What is the Ethiopians 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 Bloodlines — every mounted unit they field is 20 hit points short, so your Spearman line kills them a little faster in every fight. 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 Ethiopians have that other civilizations do not?

Shotel Warrior: Ethiopian unique Infantry with high attack and fast training speed. Heavy Camel Rider: Fast moving anti-cavalry Cavalry.

Not sure what counters this unit?

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

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