Malians — Counters & Civilization Overview

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

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Malians emblem

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

How to counter the Malians

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.

Gbeto Castle Age · Castle

Malian unique Infantry with ranged melee attack.

Countered by

  • Knight hard Fast, high HP – closes in; Gbeto has 0 armor
  • Hand Cannoneer hard +10 attack bonus vs. infantry, outranges
  • Janissary UU hard High damage and range delete the low-HP Gbeto
  • Slinger UU hard +4 attack bonus vs. infantry
  • Mangonel hard Blast damage vs. the fragile Gbeto
  • Scorpion soft Bonus vs. infantry + pass-through, outranges
  • Monk soft Can convert the expensive gold unit
  • Crossbowman soft Cost-effective massed ranged answer
  • Plumed Archer UU soft Attack bonus vs. infantry (+1)
  • Samurai UU soft Attack bonus vs. unique units (+12)

Heavy Camel Rider Imperial Age · Stable

Fast moving anti-cavalry Cavalry.

Countered by

What the Malians 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 Malians cannot answer

Every civilization is missing something. What matters in a match is which of those gaps you can actually attack. Below are the Malians 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.
  • Hussar — No Hussar — their Light Cavalry never reaches the last tier, so it stays a weaker raider and a weaker answer to your Monks.
  • 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 Heavy Camel Rider covers the anti-cavalry role instead: it deals bonus damage to mounted units.

Blacksmith and unit upgrades

  • Bracer — No Bracer — their archers, Skirmishers and towers keep Castle-Age range and attack, so fully upgraded archers of your own out-range them.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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

  • Illumination — No Illumination — their Monks recover slowly after a conversion, so the second one never comes quickly.

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.

Navy

  • Galleon — Their Galley line stops at the War Galley — no Galleon, so your warships out-damage them in a straight naval fight.
  • 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.
  • Elite Cannon Galleon — Their Cannon Galleons stay at the base tier — less range and damage than the Elite version.
  • 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 Malians do and do not have, unit by unit, is in the Malians tech tree further down.

Malians: Civilization and Team Bonuses

Civilization Bonuses

  • Buildings cost -15% wood
  • Villagers drop off +10% more gold
  • Barracks Units +1/+2/+3 pierce armor in Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age

Team Bonus

Universities work +80% faster

Unique Units

Gbeto
Gbeto · InfantryMalian unique Infantry with ranged melee attack. Fast-moving. Strong vs. Infantry and Siege Weapons. Weak vs. Ranged Soldiers.

Unique Technologies

TiguiTown Centers fire arrows without garrison
FarimbaCavalry +5 attack

Malians Tech Tree

The full Malians 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 Malians 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. Gbeto C
  2. Elite Gbeto I
  1. Petard C
  1. Trebuchet I
  1. Tigui C
  1. Farimba 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 Malians

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do you counter the Malians?

The Malians field Gbeto and Heavy Camel Rider. Knight, Hand Cannoneer and Janissary counter most of what they build. Their tech tree also leaves out Paladin, Hussar and Parthian Tactics.

What is the Malians 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 Hussar — their Light Cavalry never reaches the last tier, so it stays a weaker raider and a weaker answer to your Monks. 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 Malians have that other civilizations do not?

Gbeto: Malian unique Infantry with ranged melee attack. Heavy Camel Rider: Fast moving anti-cavalry Cavalry.

Not sure what counters this unit?

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

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