Italians — Counters & Civilization Overview

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

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Italians emblem

The Italians are an Archer and Naval civilization in Age of Empires 2. Their unique units are the Genoese Crossbowman, Condottiero. Below: what counters the units they bring, where their tech tree runs out, and the full civilization overview. Jump to the Italians tech tree.

How to counter the Italians

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.

Genoese Crossbowman Castle Age · Castle

Italian unique Foot Archer.

Countered by

Condottiero Imperial Age · Barracks

Fast moving anti-gunpowder Infantry.

Countered by

What the Italians 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 Italians cannot answer

Every civilization is missing something. What matters in a match is which of those gaps you can actually attack. Below are the Italians 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.
  • Heavy Cavalry Archer — Their Cavalry Archers stay at the base tier — less range, attack and armour than the Heavy Cavalry Archer, and your Skirmishers keep the upper hand into Imperial.
  • 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.

Anti-cavalry

  • Halberdier — Their Spearman line stops at the Pikeman — against Paladins and other heavy cavalry they never get the Halberdier's bonus damage. The Genoese Crossbowman covers the anti-cavalry role instead: it deals bonus damage to mounted units.

Blacksmith and unit upgrades

  • 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.
  • Heavy Scorpion — Their Scorpions stay at the base tier — less range, attack and accuracy, so your archers out-range 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

  • Heresy — No Heresy — units your Monks convert stay converted instead of dying, so a Monk push against them pays double.

Navy

  • 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.

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

Italians: Civilization and Team Bonuses

Civilization Bonuses

  • Advancing to the next Age costs -15%
  • Foot Archers and Condottieri +1 melee/+1 pierce armor
  • Dock and University technologies cost -25%
  • Gunpowder Units cost -20%
  • Fishing Ships cost -15%

Team Bonus

Condottiero available at the Barracks in Imperial Age

Unique Units

Genoese Crossbowman
Genoese Crossbowman · Foot ArcherItalian unique Foot Archer. Exceptionally strong vs. Cavalry. Weak vs. Archery Units and Siege Weapons.
Condottiero
Condottiero · InfantryFast moving anti-gunpowder Infantry. Strong vs. Gunpowder Units. Weak vs. Cavalry and Archery Units. Trainable by Italians and their allies.

Unique Technologies

Silk RoadTrade Units cost -50%
PirotechniaHand Cannoneers deal +15% pass through damage and are more accurate

Italians Tech Tree

The full Italians 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 Italians 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. Condottiero 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. Scorpion C
  2. Heavy Scorpion I
  1. Siege Tower C
  1. Bombard Cannon I

Castle

  1. Genoese Crossbowman C
  2. Elite Genoese Crossbowman I
  1. Petard C
  1. Trebuchet I
  1. Silk Road C
  1. Pirotechnia 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 Italians

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do you counter the Italians?

The Italians field Genoese Crossbowman and Condottiero. Elite Skirmisher, Mangonel and Huskarl counter most of what they build. Their tech tree also leaves out Paladin, Heavy Cavalry Archer and Parthian Tactics.

What is the Italians 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. Their Cavalry Archers stay at the base tier — less range, attack and armour than the Heavy Cavalry Archer, and your Skirmishers keep the upper hand into Imperial. 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 Italians have that other civilizations do not?

Genoese Crossbowman: Italian unique Foot Archer. Condottiero: Fast moving anti-gunpowder Infantry.

Not sure what counters this unit?

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

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