Tupi — Counters & Civilization Overview

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

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Tupi emblem

The Tupi are an Archer and Infantry civilization in Age of Empires 2. Their unique units are the Blackwood Archer, Ibirapema Warrior. Below: what counters the units they bring, where their tech tree runs out, and the full civilization overview. Jump to the Tupi tech tree.

How to counter the Tupi

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.

Blackwood Archer Castle Age · Castle

Tupi unique Foot Archer that is trained in pairs and takes only half population space.

Countered by

Ibirapema Warrior Castle Age · Barracks

Tupi unique Infantry with a powerful frontal area attack.

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 Tupi 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 Tupi cannot answer

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

Mounted units

  • Stable — The Tupi 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 Tupi 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

  • Thumb Ring — No Thumb Ring — their archers fire slower and miss more, so your units take fewer hits crossing the open ground towards 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 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.
  • 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

  • Atonement — No Atonement — their Monks cannot convert yours, so your Monks win the Monastery duel by default.
  • Block Printing — No Block Printing — their Monks have to come closer to convert, which walks them into range of your archers first.
  • Fervor — No Fervor — their Monks move at base speed, so any cavalry you have runs them down before they reach your army.

Defensive buildings

  • Fortified Wall — No Fortified Wall — their walls stay at Stone Wall strength, so rams and Petards get through 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.
  • Masonry — No Masonry — their buildings keep base hit points and armour, so your rams and Trebuchets break through sooner.

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.
  • 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.
  • Cannon Galleon — No Cannon Galleon — they cannot shell your shore buildings from the water, so a coastal base is safe from their navy.
  • Carvel Hull — No Carvel Hull — their ships move at base speed, so they cannot disengage from your fleet or reach a landing before you do.
  • 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 Tupi do and do not have, unit by unit, is in the Tupi tech tree further down.

Tupi: Civilization and Team Bonuses

Civilization Bonuses

  • Start with +25 of each resource
  • Villagers can garrison in Settlements
  • Fallen units return 15% of their cost
  • Archery Range and Barracks upgrades cost -50% food

Team Bonus

Towers and Castles provide +10 population space

Unique Units

Blackwood Archer
Blackwood Archer · Foot ArcherTupi unique Foot Archer that is trained in pairs and takes only half population space. Strong in high numbers. Weak vs. units at close range.
Ibirapema Warrior
Ibirapema Warrior · InfantryTupi unique Infantry with a powerful frontal area attack. Strong vs. Infantry. Weak vs. Foot Archers at long range.

Unique Technologies

CaciquesChampi Warriors and Slingers attack +25% faster
CurareFoot Archers and Fortifications deal poison damage

Tupi Tech Tree

The full Tupi 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 Tupi 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. Spearman F
  2. Pikeman C
  3. Halberdier I
  1. Ibirapema Warrior C
  2. Elite Ibirapema Warrior 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. 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. Blackwood Archer C
  2. Elite Blackwood Archer I
  1. Petard C
  1. Trebuchet I
  1. Caciques C
  1. Curare 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. 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 Tupi

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do you counter the Tupi?

The Tupi field Blackwood Archer, Ibirapema Warrior, Champi Warrior and Slinger. Samurai, Knight and Elite Skirmisher counter most of what they build. Their tech tree also leaves out Stable, Cavalry Archer and Hand Cannoneer.

What is the Tupi tech tree missing in AoE2?

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

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

Blackwood Archer: Tupi unique Foot Archer that is trained in pairs and takes only half population space. Ibirapema Warrior: Tupi unique Infantry with a powerful frontal area attack. 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 Tupi? Look up any of their units in the interactive app to see exactly what counters them — with bonus-damage values.

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