Tatars — Counters & Civilization Overview

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

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Tatars emblem

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

How to counter the Tatars

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.

Keshik Castle Age · Castle

Tatar unique Heavy Cavalry that generates gold when fighting other units.

Countered by

  • Pikeman hard Attack bonus vs. cavalry
  • Camel Rider hard Attack bonus vs. cavalry
  • Monk soft Conversion
  • Samurai UU soft Attack bonus vs. unique units (+12)

Flaming Camel Imperial Age · Siege Workshop

Tatar unique demolition Siege Cavalry.

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 Tatars 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 Tatars cannot answer

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

Gunpowder

  • 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

  • Champion — No Champion — their Militia line stops one upgrade short, so their gold-free melee infantry stays a tier behind yours.

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.
  • Chain Mail Armor — Their infantry armour stops at Scale Mail — no Chain Mail Armor, so both your archers and your melee units cut through their foot soldiers faster.
  • Gambesons — No Gambesons — their infantry stays a pierce armour short, so archers and Skirmishers cut through it faster.

Siege

  • 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.
  • Heresy — No Heresy — units your Monks convert stay converted instead of dying, so a Monk push against them pays double.
  • Faith — No Faith — their units stay fully open to conversion, so your Monks can pick apart the expensive ones.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Architecture — No Architecture — their buildings keep base armour and hit points, so your siege takes them down faster.

Navy

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

Tatars: Civilization and Team Bonuses

Civilization Bonuses

  • Livestock animals last +50% longer
  • Units deal +25% damage when fighting from higher elevation
  • New Town Centers spawn 2 Sheep starting in Castle Age
  • Thumb Ring, Parthian Tactics free

Team Bonus

Mounted Archers +2 line of sight

Unique Units

Keshik
Keshik · CavalryTatar unique Heavy Cavalry that generates gold when fighting other units. Strong vs. Archery Units. Weak vs. Spearman-line, Camel Riders and Monks.
Flaming Camel
Flaming Camel · Siege CavalryTatar unique demolition Siege Cavalry. Strong vs. Mounted Units, especially Elephants. Weak vs. Foot Archers and Infantry. Self-destructs when used.

Unique Technologies

Silk ArmorScout Cavalry-line, Steppe Lancers and Cavalry Archers +1 melee/+1 pierce armor
Timurid SiegecraftTrebuchets +2 range

Tatars Tech Tree

The full Tatars 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 Tatars 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. Flaming Camel I
  1. Bombard Cannon I

Castle

  1. Keshik C
  2. Elite Keshik I
  1. Petard C
  1. Trebuchet I
  1. Silk Armor C
  1. Timurid Siegecraft 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 Tatars

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do you counter the Tatars?

The Tatars field Keshik, Flaming Camel, Heavy Camel Rider and Steppe Lancer. Pikeman, Camel Rider and Crossbowman counter most of what they build. Their tech tree also leaves out Paladin, Bombard Cannon and Champion.

What is the Tatars 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 Bombard Cannon — they have no gunpowder siege at all. Your own Bombard Cannons out-range every siege unit they can field except the Trebuchet. No Champion — their Militia line stops one upgrade short, so their gold-free melee infantry stays a tier behind yours.

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

Keshik: Tatar unique Heavy Cavalry that generates gold when fighting other units. Flaming Camel: Tatar unique demolition Siege Cavalry. 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 Tatars? Look up any of their units in the interactive app to see exactly what counters them — with bonus-damage values.

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