Portuguese — Counters & Civilization Overview

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

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Portuguese emblem

The Portuguese are a Naval and Gunpowder civilization in Age of Empires 2. Their unique units are the Organ Gun, Caravel. Below: what counters the units they bring, where their tech tree runs out, and the full civilization overview. Jump to the Portuguese tech tree.

How to counter the Portuguese

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.

Organ Gun Castle Age · Castle

Portuguese unique Siege Gunpowder Unit.

Countered by

  • Light Cavalry hard Fast – siege weapons have almost no melee armor
  • Mangudai UU hard UU (Mongols) – Attack bonus vs. siege
  • Bombard Cannon hard Attack bonus vs. siege weapons (+20)
  • Condottiero hard Attack bonus vs. gunpowder units (+10)
  • Mangonel hard Attack bonus vs. siege weapons (+12)
  • Samurai UU hard Attack bonus vs. unique units (+12)
  • Elite Skirmisher soft Cheap ranged mass; target has only 45–70 HP

Caravel Castle Age · Dock

Portuguese unique Warship with ranged pass through attack.

Countered by

What the Portuguese 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 Portuguese cannot answer

Every civilization is missing something. What matters in a match is which of those gaps you can actually attack. Below are the Portuguese 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.
  • Heavy Cavalry Archer — Their Cavalry Archers stay at the base tier — less range, attack and armour than the Heavy Cavalry Archer, and your Skirmishers keep the upper hand into Imperial.
  • 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.

Blacksmith and unit upgrades

  • 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.
  • Heavy Scorpion — Their Scorpions stay at the base tier — less range, attack and accuracy, so your archers out-range them.

Monastery and conversion

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

Defensive buildings

  • Arrowslits — No Arrowslits — their towers hit softer at close range, so rams and infantry clear them with fewer losses.
  • Hoardings — No Hoardings — their Castles keep base hit points, so your siege brings one down in far fewer shots.

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.
  • Incendiaries — No Incendiaries — their Fire Ships simply sink instead of detonating, so killing one costs your fleet nothing extra.
  • 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.
  • 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 Portuguese do and do not have, unit by unit, is in the Portuguese tech tree further down.

Portuguese: Civilization and Team Bonuses

Civilization Bonuses

  • Foragers generate wood in addition to food
  • All units cost -20% gold
  • Can build Feitoria in Imperial Age
  • Ships +10/15/20% HP in Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age

Team Bonus

Technologies research +25% faster

Unique Units

Organ Gun
Organ Gun · Siege Gunpowder UnitPortuguese unique Siege Gunpowder Unit. Fires a volley of bullets. Strong vs. large groups of units. Weak vs. Cavalry and Mangonel-line.
Caravel
Caravel · WarshipPortuguese unique Warship with ranged pass through attack. Strong vs. large groups of ships. Weak vs. Fire Ships.

Unique Technologies

CircumnavigationSets the entire map to explored; Ships train +33% faster
ArquebusGunpowder Units fire more accurately at moving targets

Portuguese Tech Tree

The full Portuguese 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 Portuguese 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. 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. Organ Gun C
  2. Elite Organ Gun I
  1. Petard C
  1. Trebuchet I
  1. Circumnavigation C
  1. Arquebus 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. Caravel C
  2. Elite Caravel 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

Feitoria

  1. Feitoria I

D Dark F Feudal C Castle I Imperial · struck through = not available for the Portuguese

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do you counter the Portuguese?

The Portuguese field Organ Gun and Caravel. Bombard Cannon, Light Cavalry and Mangudai counter most of what they build. Their tech tree also leaves out Paladin, Hussar and Heavy Cavalry Archer.

What is the Portuguese 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. Their Cavalry Archers stay at the base tier — less range, attack and armour than the Heavy Cavalry Archer, and your Skirmishers keep the upper hand into Imperial.

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

Organ Gun: Portuguese unique Siege Gunpowder Unit. Caravel: Portuguese unique Warship with ranged pass through attack.

Not sure what counters this unit?

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

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