Inca — Counters & Civilization Overview

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

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Inca emblem

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

How to counter the Inca

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.

Kamayuk Castle Age · Castle

Inca unique Infantry with increased attack range.

Countered by

Champi Warrior Castle Age · Barracks

All-purpose Infantry for scouting and raiding.

Countered by

Slinger Castle Age · Archery Range

Anti-infantry Skirmisher that cannot attack at close range.

Countered by

What the Inca 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 Inca cannot answer

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

Mounted units

  • Stable — The Inca have no Stable at all — no Scouts, no Knights, no Camels, no raiding cavalry in any age. Every anti-cavalry unit you would normally keep in the mix has nothing to shoot at here.
  • Cavalry Archer — No Cavalry Archer — nothing they build shoots while moving, so your siege and your Skirmishers never get kited out of position.

Gunpowder

  • Hand Cannoneer — No Hand Cannoneer — the Inca 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.

Melee infantry

  • Militia — The whole Militia line is missing — no Man-at-Arms rush in Feudal, and no Champion to absorb damage in Imperial. Their melee infantry has to come from unique and regional units, all of which cost gold.

Blacksmith and unit upgrades

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

Siege

  • 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

  • Atonement — No Atonement — their Monks cannot convert yours, so your Monks win the Monastery duel by default.
  • Fervor — No Fervor — their Monks move at base speed, so any cavalry you have runs them down before they reach your army.

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.
  • Architecture — No Architecture — their buildings keep base armour and hit points, so your siege takes them down faster.

Navy

  • 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.
  • 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 Inca do and do not have, unit by unit, is in the Inca tech tree further down.

Inca: Civilization and Team Bonuses

Civilization Bonuses

  • Houses and Settlements provide +5 population space
  • Buildings cost -15% stone
  • Military Units cost -15/20/25/30% food in Dark/Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age
  • Villagers affected by Infantry Blacksmith upgrades starting in Castle Age

Team Bonus

Start with a free Llama

Unique Units

Kamayuk
Kamayuk · InfantryInca unique Infantry with increased attack range. Strong vs. Cavalry and Infantry. Weak vs. Archery Units and Gunners.

Unique Technologies

Andean SlingSkirmishers and Slingers no minimum range; Slingers +1 attack
Fabric ShieldsKamayuks, Slingers and Champi Warriors +1 melee/+1 pierce armor

Inca Tech Tree

The full Inca 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 Inca tech tree.

Barracks

  1. Militia D
  2. Man-at-Arms F
  3. Long Swordsman C
  4. Two-Handed Swordsman I
  5. Champion I
  1. Champi Scout D
  2. Champi Runner F
  3. Champi Warrior C
  4. Elite Champi Warrior 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. Slinger C
  1. Hand Cannoneer I
  1. Thumb Ring C
  1. Parthian Tactics I

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. Kamayuk C
  2. Elite Kamayuk I
  1. Petard C
  1. Trebuchet I
  1. Andean Sling C
  1. Fabric Shields 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. Catapult 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

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

Settlement

  1. Settlement D
  1. Double-Bit Axe F
  2. Bow Saw C
  3. Two-Man Saw I
  1. Horse Collar F
  2. Heavy Plow C
  3. Crop Rotation I
  1. Gold Mining F
  2. Gold Shaft Mining C
  1. Stone Mining F
  2. Stone Shaft Mining C

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

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do you counter the Inca?

The Inca field Kamayuk, Champi Warrior and Slinger. Knight, Crossbowman and Scorpion counter most of what they build. Their tech tree also leaves out Stable, Cavalry Archer and Hand Cannoneer.

What is the Inca tech tree missing in AoE2?

The Inca have no Stable at all — no Scouts, no Knights, no Camels, no raiding cavalry in any age. Every anti-cavalry unit you would normally keep in the mix has nothing to shoot at here. No Cavalry Archer — nothing they build shoots while moving, so your siege and your Skirmishers never get kited out of position. No Hand Cannoneer — the Inca never get gunpowder infantry, so massed melee infantry keeps working against them deep into the Imperial Age.

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

Kamayuk: Inca unique Infantry with increased attack range. Champi Warrior: All-purpose Infantry for scouting and raiding. Slinger: Anti-infantry Skirmisher that cannot attack at close range.

Not sure what counters this unit?

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

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