Mapuche — Counters & Civilization Overview

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

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Mapuche emblem

The Mapuche are a Cavalry and Counter-Units civilization in Age of Empires 2. Their unique units are the Kona, Bolas Rider. Below: what counters the units they bring, where their tech tree runs out, and the full civilization overview. Jump to the Mapuche tech tree.

How to counter the Mapuche

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.

Kona Castle Age · Castle

Mapuche unique Cavalry that deals increasing damage to injured units.

Countered by

  • Pikeman hard Anti-cavalry bonus
  • Camel Rider hard Anti-cavalry bonus
  • Monk soft Conversion; healing removes the injured-target bonus
  • Crossbowman soft Massed ranged — Kona cannot upgrade pierce armor
  • Samurai UU soft Attack bonus vs. unique units (+12)

Bolas Rider Castle Age · Archery Range

Mapuche unique Mounted Archer with a charged attack that slows down enemy units.

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 Mapuche 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 Mapuche cannot answer

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

Mounted units

  • Stable — The Mapuche 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 Mapuche 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

  • 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.
  • Bracer — No Bracer — their archers, Skirmishers and towers keep Castle-Age range and attack, so fully upgraded archers of your own out-range them.
  • Gambesons — No Gambesons — their infantry stays a pierce armour short, so archers and Skirmishers cut through it faster.
  • Squires — No Squires — their infantry moves at base speed, so it is easier to kite with archers and slower to reach your siege.

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.

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.
  • Block Printing — No Block Printing — their Monks have to come closer to convert, which walks them into range of your archers first.
  • Illumination — No Illumination — their Monks recover slowly after a conversion, so the second one never comes quickly.
  • Fervor — No Fervor — their Monks move at base speed, so any cavalry you have runs them down before they reach your army.

Defensive buildings

  • Guard Tower — Their towers stop at the Watch Tower — no Guard Tower, so tower fire stays weak and your rams and infantry clear it easily.
  • Fortified Wall — No Fortified Wall — their walls stay at Stone Wall strength, so rams and Petards get through faster.
  • Heated Shot — No Heated Shot — their towers and Castles have no bonus damage against ships, so a shore landing stays safe for longer.
  • Architecture — No Architecture — their buildings keep base armour and hit points, so your siege takes them down faster.

Navy

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

Mapuche: Civilization and Team Bonuses

Civilization Bonuses

  • Foragers drop off +25% food
  • Settlements can train Spearman-line and Skirmishers
  • Infantry, Slingers and Skirmishers +5/10/15 HP in Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age
  • Mounted Units generate +3 gold when defeating military units
  • Enemy Castles are revealed on the map

Team Bonus

Spearman-line and Skirmishers +2 line of sight

Unique Units

Kona
Kona · CavalryMapuche unique Cavalry that deals increasing damage to injured units. Strong vs. Infantry and Foot Archers. Weak vs. Spearman-line, Camel Riders and Monks.
Bolas Rider
Bolas Rider · Mounted ArcherMapuche unique Mounted Archer with a charged attack that slows down enemy units. Strong vs. Mounted Units. Weak vs. Foot Archers, Skirmishers and units at close range.

Unique Technologies

MalonBolas Riders, Slingers and Skirmishers deal pass through damage
ButalmapuTeam Castle Unique Units and Bolas Riders cost -15%

Mapuche Tech Tree

The full Mapuche 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 Mapuche 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. Arson F
  1. Gambesons C
  1. Squires C

Archery Range

  1. Archer F
  2. Crossbowman C
  3. Arbalester I
  1. Cavalry Archer C
  2. Heavy Cavalry Archer I
  1. Bolas Rider C
  2. Elite Bolas Rider 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. Kona C
  2. Elite Kona I
  1. Petard C
  1. Trebuchet I
  1. Malon C
  1. Butalmapu 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. Skirmisher F
  2. Elite Skirmisher C
  1. Spearman F
  2. Pikeman C
  3. Halberdier I
  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 Mapuche

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do you counter the Mapuche?

The Mapuche field Kona, Bolas Rider, Champi Warrior and Slinger. Knight, Pikeman and Camel Rider counter most of what they build. Their tech tree also leaves out Stable, Cavalry Archer and Hand Cannoneer.

What is the Mapuche tech tree missing in AoE2?

The Mapuche 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 Mapuche never get gunpowder infantry, so massed melee infantry keeps working against them deep into the Imperial Age.

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

Kona: Mapuche unique Cavalry that deals increasing damage to injured units. Bolas Rider: Mapuche unique Mounted Archer with a charged attack that slows down enemy units. 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 Mapuche? Look up any of their units in the interactive app to see exactly what counters them — with bonus-damage values.

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