Jurchens — Counters & Civilization Overview

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

Go to Unit Counter Hub →
Jurchens emblem

The Jurchens are a Cavalry and Gunpowder civilization in Age of Empires 2. Their unique units are the Iron Pagoda, Grenadier. Below: what counters the units they bring, where their tech tree runs out, and the full civilization overview. Jump to the Jurchens tech tree.

How to counter the Jurchens

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.

Iron Pagoda Castle Age · Castle

Jurchen unique Heavy Cavalry with durable armor that can completely block melee attacks.

Countered by

  • Pikeman hard Attack bonus vs. cavalry
  • Camel Rider hard Attack bonus vs. cavalry
  • Monk hard Conversion – heavily armored unit, very valuable
  • Crossbowman soft Pierce damage
  • Samurai UU soft Attack bonus vs. unique units (+12)

Grenadier Castle Age · Archery Range

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

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

Steppe Lancer Castle Age · Stable

Fast moving Cavalry with increased attack range.

Countered by

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 Jurchens 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 Jurchens cannot answer

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

Mounted units

  • Knight — No Knight — their Stable never produces a heavy cavalry line, so the Castle Age arrives without the usual mounted threat and your Spearman line can stay small.
  • 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 Jurchens never get gunpowder infantry, so massed melee infantry keeps working against them deep into the Imperial Age.

Melee infantry

  • Long Swordsman — Their Militia line stops at the Man-at-Arms — it falls off sharply once your Castle-Age units arrive.

Blacksmith and unit upgrades

  • Arbalester — Their Archer line stops at the Crossbowman — no Arbalester, so their massed archer fire stays a tier behind yours in the Imperial Age.
  • Thumb Ring — No Thumb Ring — their archers fire slower and miss more, so your units take fewer hits crossing the open ground towards them.
  • Plate Mail Armor — No Plate Mail Armor — their infantry stays short on armour in the Imperial Age, so massed archers keep working against it.

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.

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.
  • Faith — No Faith — their units stay fully open to conversion, so your Monks can pick apart the expensive ones.

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.
  • Heated Shot — No Heated Shot — their towers and Castles have no bonus damage against ships, so a shore landing stays safe for longer.

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.
  • Cannon Galleon — No Cannon Galleon — they cannot shell your shore buildings from the water, so a coastal base is safe from their navy.
  • Dry Dock — No Dry Dock — their ships stay a pierce armour short, so your own warships and shore towers cut through them faster.
  • Shipwright — No Shipwright — their warships cost more and build slower in the Imperial Age, so a replaced fleet comes back later than yours.

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

Jurchens: Civilization and Team Bonuses

Civilization Bonuses

  • Meat of hunted and livestock animals doesn't decay
  • Mounted Units and Fire Lancers attack +25% faster starting in Feudal Age
  • Siege Engineers available in Castle Age
  • Siege and Fortification upgrades cost -75% wood and research +100% faster
  • Units receive -50% friendly fire damage

Team Bonus

Gunpowder Units +2 line of sight

Unique Units

Iron Pagoda
Iron Pagoda · CavalryJurchen unique Heavy Cavalry with durable armor that can completely block melee attacks. Strong vs. Infantry and Ranged Soldiers. Weak vs. Spearman-line and Camel Riders.
Grenadier
Grenadier · Gunpowder UnitJurchen unique Gunpowder Unit with ranged blast attack, but cannot attack at close range. Strong vs. Infantry and tight groups of units. Weak vs. Ranged Soldiers and units at close range.

Unique Technologies

Fortified BastionsFortifications regenerate 500 HP per minute
Thunderclap BombsRocket Carts, Grenadiers and Lou Chuans detonate when defeated; projectiles produce additional explosions

Jurchens Tech Tree

The full Jurchens 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 Jurchens 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. Grenadier C
  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. Steppe Lancer C
  2. Elite Steppe Lancer 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. Iron Pagoda C
  2. Elite Iron Pagoda I
  1. Petard C
  1. Trebuchet I
  1. Fortified Bastions C
  1. Thunderclap Bombs 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. 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. Careening C
  2. Dry Dock I
  1. Clinker Construction C
  2. Carvel Hull I
  1. Siphons C
  2. Incendiaries I
  1. Siege Engineers C
  1. Murder Holes C
  1. Treadmill Crane C
  1. Chemistry I
  2. Bombard Tower 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 Jurchens

Jump to another civilization

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you counter the Jurchens?

The Jurchens field Iron Pagoda, Grenadier, Fire Lancer, Steppe Lancer, Rocket Cart and Lou Chuan. Pikeman, Camel Rider and Light Cavalry counter most of what they build. Their tech tree also leaves out Knight, Parthian Tactics and Hand Cannoneer.

What is the Jurchens tech tree missing in AoE2?

No Knight — their Stable never produces a heavy cavalry line, so the Castle Age arrives without the usual mounted threat and your Spearman line can stay small. No Parthian Tactics — their Cavalry Archers keep base armour and no bonus damage against your Spearman line, so Pikemen still trade into them. No Hand Cannoneer — the Jurchens never get gunpowder infantry, so massed melee infantry keeps working against them deep into the Imperial Age.

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

Iron Pagoda: Jurchen unique Heavy Cavalry with durable armor that can completely block melee attacks. Grenadier: Jurchen unique Gunpowder Unit with ranged blast attack, but cannot attack at close range. Fire Lancer: Gunpowder Shock Infantry that fires a short ranged firearm before engaging in melee comba… Steppe Lancer: Fast moving Cavalry with increased attack range. 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 Jurchens? Look up any of their units in the interactive app to see exactly what counters them — with bonus-damage values.

Find your counter →