Mongols — Counters & Civilization Overview

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

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Mongols emblem

The Mongols are a Cavalry Archer civilization in Age of Empires 2. Their unique unit is the Mangudai. Below: what counters the units they bring, where their tech tree runs out, and the full civilization overview. Jump to the Mongols tech tree.

How to counter the Mongols

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.

Mangudai Castle Age · Castle

Mongol unique Mounted Archer with fast attack.

Countered by

Heavy Camel Rider Imperial Age · Stable

Fast moving anti-cavalry Cavalry.

Countered by

Steppe Lancer Castle Age · Stable

Fast moving Cavalry with increased attack range.

Countered by

What the Mongols 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 Mongols cannot answer

Every civilization is missing something. What matters in a match is which of those gaps you can actually attack. Below are the Mongols 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.
  • Plate Barding Armor — No Plate Barding Armor — their Imperial cavalry stays two pierce armour short, so Arbalests and Elite Skirmishers keep working against it.

Gunpowder

  • Hand Cannoneer — No Hand Cannoneer — the Mongols 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.

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

  • Ring Archer Armor — No Ring Archer Armor — their archers keep Castle-Age armour, so your own archers and Skirmishers out-trade them in Imperial.
  • Gambesons — No Gambesons — their infantry stays a pierce armour short, so archers and Skirmishers cut through it faster.

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.
  • Theocracy — No Theocracy — every Monk in a group has to rest after a conversion, so massed Monks convert far slower than yours.
  • Sanctity — No Sanctity — their Monks keep base hit points, so a single volley from your archers takes them off the field.

Defensive buildings

  • Keep — No Keep — their towers stay at Guard Tower strength, so your siege takes a tower line down noticeably faster.
  • 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.
  • 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

  • Carrack — Their Hulk line stops at the War Hulk — no Carrack, so their close-range warships lose the melee fight against a fully upgraded fleet.
  • 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.
  • Dry Dock — No Dry Dock — their ships stay a pierce armour short, so your own warships and shore towers cut through them faster.

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

Mongols: Civilization and Team Bonuses

Civilization Bonuses

  • Hunters work +40% faster
  • Cavalry Archers attack +25% faster
  • Scout Cavalry-line and Steppe Lancers +20/30% HP in Castle/Imperial Age

Team Bonus

Scout Cavalry-line +2 line of sight

Unique Units

Mangudai
Mangudai · Mounted ArcherMongol unique Mounted Archer with fast attack. Strong vs. Siege Weapons and Infantry. Weak vs. Skirmishers, Spearman-line and Camel Riders.

Unique Technologies

NomadsLost Houses do not decrease population space
DrillSiege Workshop Units move +50% faster

Mongols Tech Tree

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

Castle

  1. Mangudai C
  2. Elite Mangudai I
  1. Petard C
  1. Trebuchet I
  1. Nomads C
  1. Drill 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 Mongols

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do you counter the Mongols?

The Mongols field Mangudai, Heavy Camel Rider and Steppe Lancer. Camel Rider, Genoese Crossbowman and Mameluke counter most of what they build. Their tech tree also leaves out Paladin, Plate Barding Armor and Hand Cannoneer.

What is the Mongols 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 Plate Barding Armor — their Imperial cavalry stays two pierce armour short, so Arbalests and Elite Skirmishers keep working against it. No Hand Cannoneer — the Mongols never get gunpowder infantry, so massed melee infantry keeps working against them deep into the Imperial Age.

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

Mangudai: Mongol unique Mounted Archer with fast attack. Heavy Camel Rider: Fast moving anti-cavalry Cavalry. Steppe Lancer: Fast moving Cavalry with increased attack range.

Not sure what counters this unit?

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

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