Koreans — Counters & Civilization Overview

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

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Koreans emblem

The Koreans are a Defensive and Naval civilization in Age of Empires 2. Their unique units are the War Wagon, Turtle Ship. Below: what counters the units they bring, where their tech tree runs out, and the full civilization overview. Jump to the Koreans tech tree.

How to counter the Koreans

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.

War Wagon Castle Age · Castle

Korean unique Mounted Archer.

Countered by

Turtle Ship Castle Age · Dock

Korean unique Siege Warship with high armor and 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

What the Koreans 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 Koreans cannot answer

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

Blacksmith and unit upgrades

  • Blast Furnace — No Blast Furnace — their melee units never reach the last attack upgrade, so every melee trade goes a little further in your favour.

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.
  • 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.
  • Heavy Scorpion — Their Scorpions stay at the base tier — less range, attack and accuracy, so your archers out-range 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.
  • Atonement — No Atonement — their Monks cannot convert yours, so your Monks win the Monastery duel by default.
  • Illumination — No Illumination — their Monks recover slowly after a conversion, so the second one never comes quickly.

Defensive buildings

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

Navy

  • Demolition Raft — No Demolition Ship line at all — nothing they build blows up in the middle of your fleet, so your ships can stay grouped.

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

Koreans: Civilization and Team Bonuses

Civilization Bonuses

  • Stone miners work +20% faster
  • Ranged Soldiers and Infantry cost -50% wood
  • Archer armor and tower upgrades free (Bombard Tower requires Chemistry)
  • Warships cost -20% wood

Team Bonus

Villagers +3 line of sight

Unique Units

War Wagon
War Wagon · Mounted ArcherKorean unique Mounted Archer. Slow but durable. Strong vs. Infantry and Archery Units. Weak vs. Spearman-line, Skirmishers and Camel Riders.
Turtle Ship
Turtle Ship · WarshipKorean unique Siege Warship with high armor and attack. Strong vs. most Warships and buildings. Weak vs. Galleys.

Unique Technologies

EupseongWatch Tower-line +2 range
ShinkichonRocket Carts and Turtle Ships +1 range, fire additional projectiles

Koreans Tech Tree

The full Koreans 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 Koreans 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. War Wagon C
  2. Elite War Wagon I
  1. Petard C
  1. Trebuchet I
  1. Eupseong C
  1. Shinkichon 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. Turtle Ship C
  2. Elite Turtle Ship I
  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 Koreans

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do you counter the Koreans?

The Koreans field War Wagon, Turtle Ship, Fire Lancer and Rocket Cart. Elite Skirmisher, Camel Rider and Genoese Crossbowman counter most of what they build. Their tech tree also leaves out Paladin, Bloodlines and Parthian Tactics.

What is the Koreans 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 Koreans have that other civilizations do not?

War Wagon: Korean unique Mounted Archer. Turtle Ship: Korean unique Siege Warship with high armor and 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.

Not sure what counters this unit?

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

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