Age of Empires 2 Elephant Counters

How do you counter elephants in AoE2?

With the Spearman line and Monks. A Halberdier has +28 against the elephant class and deals 33 damage per hit to a Battle Elephant — 8 hits for its 250 HP, 14 for a 450 HP War Elephant, 19 for the 600 HP Elite version. A Monk costs 100 gold and converts an Elite War Elephant worth 255 resources. Archers do not work: an Arbalest deals 4 damage per hit.

Every elephant in the game is the same problem in different packaging: 180 to 600 HP moving at 0.6 to 0.9 speed. That HP pool makes ordinary damage worthless and the low speed makes the Spearman line — 1.0 speed, no gold cost, +28 bonus — the one unit that both catches elephants and hurts them. The three answers below cover every elephant unit in the game.

• 1. The Spearman line, always. Halberdier +28, Pikeman +25, Spearman +15 against the elephant class. A Halberdier costs 35 food + 25 wood and no gold; the cheapest elephant costs 140 resources including gold. Even a 3-for-1 trade is profitable.
• 2. Monks, against the expensive ones. A Monk costs 100 gold. An Elite War Elephant costs 170 food + 85 gold = 255 resources, the Armored and Siege Elephant 215, the Ballista Elephant 180. At 0.6 to 0.9 speed no elephant escapes a Monk's 9-tile conversion range.
• 3. Mangonels, because their damage is melee-type. The Mangonel line deals melee-type damage, so 2, 3, 140 or even 150 pierce armor never applies. A Mangonel deals 39 damage per hit to a Battle Elephant and 42 to a Siege Elephant.
• Camels do not work. Elephants do not carry the cavalry armor class, so a Heavy Camel Rider's +18 does not apply. It deals 6 damage per hit to a Battle Elephant — 42 hits. Send Halberdiers instead.
• Archers do not work. An Arbalest deals 4 damage per hit against a Battle Elephant (63 hits) and 3 against an Elite War Elephant (200 hits). Every ranged unit that does work — Scorpion, Genoese Crossbowman — works because of an elephant bonus, not because of pierce damage.

How do you counter War Elephants in AoE2?

Halberdiers and Monks. A Halberdier deals 33 damage per hit to a War Elephant — 14 hits for 450 HP, 19 for the 600 HP Elite version — and costs no gold against the elephant's 255 resources. A Monk converts one for 100 gold, and at 0.8 speed the elephant cannot leave the Monk's 9-tile range.

The Persian War Elephant is the heaviest unit in the game: 450 HP and 15 attack, rising to 600 HP and 20 attack for the Elite version, with 1 melee and 2 to 3 pierce armor at 0.8 speed. It kills anything it reaches, so the whole fight is about numbers of cheap bodies and about not letting it reach your Monks.

• 
  Halberdier Hard Counter
  +28 against the elephant class on top of 6 attack, minus 1 melee armor = 33 damage per hit. 14 hits for a War Elephant, 19 for the Elite version. It costs 35 food + 25 wood and no gold — you can afford four Halberdiers per elephant and still come out ahead on 255 resources.
• 
  Monk Hard Counter
  The best conversion target in the game: 170 food + 85 gold handed over for 100 gold, and a 600 HP Elite War Elephant then walks back into the Persian army. Its 0.8 speed against a Monk's 9-tile range means the conversion almost always completes. Keep Monks behind the Halberdier line.
• 
  Pikeman Hard Counter
  +25 plus 4 attack, minus 1 armor = 28 damage per hit, so 17 hits for a War Elephant. The Castle Age answer, available the moment Persians can produce elephants at all.
• 
  Kamayuk Hard Counter
  Incas: +20 plus 7 attack, minus 1 armor = 26 damage per hit, 18 hits per War Elephant. Its 1-tile attack range lets it hit from the second rank, so the elephant's 15 attack lands on the unit in front instead.
• 
  Mangonel Soft Counter
  40 melee-type damage minus 1 melee armor = 39 per shot, 12 shots per War Elephant, and the pierce armor is irrelevant. An Onager deals 49 (10 shots) and a Siege Onager 74 (7 shots). Elephants at 0.8 speed in a group are exactly what area damage is built for.
• 
  Heavy Scorpion Soft Counter
  +10 against the elephant class plus 14 attack, minus 2 pierce armor = 22 damage per hit, 21 hits per War Elephant, and the bolt passes through the whole column. A base Scorpion deals 16. Support for Halberdiers, never a standalone answer.

How do you counter Battle Elephants in AoE2?

Pikemen in Castle Age, Halberdiers in Imperial. A Pikeman deals 28 damage per hit to a 250 HP Battle Elephant (9 hits) and a Halberdier 33 (8 hits, 10 for the 300 HP Elite version). Both cost 35 food + 25 wood and no gold against the elephant's 100 food + 70 gold.

The Battle Elephant is the regional elephant, available to Khmer, Burmese, Malay, Vietnamese and Bengalis: 250 HP, 12 attack and 1/2 armor, rising to 300 HP, 14 attack and 1/3 for the Elite version, at 0.9 speed. It arrives in Castle Age, which is why Pikemen matter more here than against any other elephant.

• 
  Halberdier Hard Counter
  33 damage per hit = 8 hits for a Battle Elephant and 10 for the Elite version. Two Halberdiers cost 120 resources against the elephant's 170 and win the trade outright.
• 
  Pikeman Hard Counter
  28 damage per hit = 9 hits, available in Castle Age when the Battle Elephant first appears. This is the counter you actually build, because the elephant does not wait for Imperial Age.
• 
  Monk Hard Counter
  100 food + 70 gold converted for 100 gold. Cheaper to convert than a War Elephant but still profitable, and a converted Elite Battle Elephant brings 300 HP and 14 attack to your side.
• 
  Kamayuk Hard Counter
  26 damage per hit = 10 hits, delivered from the second rank thanks to its 1-tile range. Incas have no other elephant bonus unit, and the Kamayuk costs 60 food + 30 gold.
• 
  Mangonel Soft Counter
  39 melee-type damage per shot = 7 shots per Battle Elephant, ignoring its pierce armor. An Onager deals 49 (6 shots), a Siege Onager 74 (4 shots).
• 
  Heavy Scorpion Soft Counter
  22 damage per hit thanks to +10 against the elephant class = 12 hits, and the bolt passes through the column behind. A base Scorpion deals 16 (16 hits).

How do you counter Ballista Elephants in AoE2?

Halberdiers and Mangonels. A Halberdier deals 34 damage per hit to a Ballista Elephant — 8 hits for its 250 HP, 9 for the 280 HP Elite version — because the Ballista Elephant has 0 melee armor. Do not shoot at it: with 3 pierce armor an Arbalest needs 84 hits.

The Khmer Ballista Elephant is a unique unit that carries the elephant armor class: 250 HP, 9 attack at 5 range and 0/3 armor at 0.8 speed, firing a bolt that passes through everything in a line. Its damage output is the reason to kill it fast; its 0 melee armor is the reason you can.

• 
  Halberdier Hard Counter
  6 attack against 0 melee armor plus +28 against the elephant class = 34 damage per hit, so 8 hits for a Ballista Elephant and 9 for the Elite version. The highest per-hit figure any Halberdier reaches against an elephant.
• 
  Mangonel Hard Counter
  40 melee-type damage against 0 melee armor = 7 shots per Ballista Elephant, and its 3 pierce armor is irrelevant. An Onager deals 50 (5 shots). The pass-through bolt punishes clumped units, so answering with a single Mangonel rather than a mass of bodies is the cheaper trade.
• 
  Monk Hard Counter
  100 food + 80 gold converted for 100 gold, and the converted elephant fires its pass-through bolt at its former army. At 0.8 speed it cannot escape a Monk's 9-tile range.
• 
  Pikeman Hard Counter
  4 attack against 0 melee armor plus +25 = 29 damage per hit, 9 hits. Khmer reach Castle Age elephants quickly, so this is often the version you have.
• 
  Champion Soft Counter
  14 damage per hit against 0 melee armor = 18 hits. No bonus, but Champions have 70 HP and reach the elephant, which matters when it sits behind a Khmer line. Use Halberdiers if you can choose.

How do you counter Elephant Archers in AoE2?

Halberdiers and siege. An Elephant Archer has 230 HP but 0 melee armor, so a Halberdier deals 34 damage per hit — 7 hits, 9 for the 280 HP Elite version. A Mangonel needs 6 shots. Its own 6 attack is the lowest of any elephant, so cheap infantry survives the approach.

The Elephant Archer of the Hindustanis and Bengalis is a mounted archer on an elephant body: 230 HP with 0/2 armor, 6 attack at 4 range and 0.9 speed. It is durable rather than dangerous — 6 attack (Elite 7) and 70% accuracy — so the question is only how efficiently you remove 230 HP.

• 
  Halberdier Hard Counter
  34 damage per hit against 0 melee armor = 7 hits, 9 for the Elite version. Its 4-tile range means a Halberdier at 1.0 speed against the elephant's 0.9 closes the gap in a few seconds.
• 
  Mangonel Hard Counter
  40 melee-type damage = 6 shots per Elephant Archer; an Onager deals 50 (5 shots). Elephant Archers are massed and slow, which is the ideal area-damage target.
• 
  Pikeman Hard Counter
  29 damage per hit = 8 hits. The Castle Age answer, and the Elephant Archer's 6 attack barely dents a 55 HP Pikeman on the way in.
• 
  Monk Soft Counter
  60 food + 80 gold converted for 100 gold — the smallest resource swing of any elephant, but a converted Elephant Archer still absorbs 230 HP worth of enemy damage.
• 
  Heavy Scorpion Soft Counter
  +10 against the elephant class plus 14 attack, minus 2 pierce armor = 22 damage per hit, 11 hits, with pass-through damage down the column. A base Scorpion deals 16 (15 hits).

How do you counter Armored and Siege Elephants in AoE2?

Melee only — any melee unit. Both have negative melee armor (−2), so every melee unit deals its attack value plus 2. A Halberdier deals 36 damage per hit (5 hits for a 180 HP Armored Elephant, 7 for a 220 HP Siege Elephant) and a Champion 16. Arrows are useless: 140 to 150 pierce armor reduces an Arbalest to 1 damage per hit.

The Hindustani Armored Elephant and its Siege Elephant upgrade are battering rams on legs: 180 to 220 HP, 4 attack, 0.6 speed and −2 melee armor against 140 to 150 pierce armor. They exist to knock down buildings, and their armor profile is the exact mirror of a Battering Ram's — immune to arrows, softer than normal against everything melee.

• 
  Halberdier Hard Counter
  6 attack plus 2 from the −2 melee armor plus +28 against the elephant class = 36 damage per hit. 5 hits for an Armored Elephant, 7 for a Siege Elephant, at no gold cost against their 120 food + 95 gold.
• 
  Champion Hard Counter
  14 attack plus 2 from negative armor = 16 damage per hit, so 12 hits for an Armored Elephant and 14 for a Siege Elephant. No bonus needed — negative armor means every melee unit already deals extra.
• 
  Mangonel Hard Counter
  Melee-type damage plus 2 from negative armor = 42 per shot, 5 shots per Armored Elephant and 6 per Siege Elephant. The 140 to 150 pierce armor never enters the calculation.
• 
  Knight Soft Counter
  10 attack plus 2 = 12 damage per hit, 15 hits per Armored Elephant. Slow going, but at 1.35 speed against 0.6 a Knight reaches the elephant long before it reaches your walls.
• 
  Monk Soft Counter
  120 food + 95 gold converted for 100 gold, and at 0.6 speed this is the easiest elephant in the game to convert. Situational, because siege elephants usually arrive escorted.

How do you counter the Khmer, Persians and Hindustanis in AoE2?

All three with the Spearman line, but at different times. Khmer bring Battle Elephants and Ballista Elephants in Castle Age, so build Pikemen early. Persians bring the 450 HP War Elephant, so build Halberdiers and Monks. Hindustanis bring Elephant Archers and Siege Elephants, so build Halberdiers and a Mangonel.

Elephant civilizations differ mainly in when the elephant arrives and what it is trying to kill. The counter unit is the same in all three cases; the timing and the support around it are not.

• Khmer — Castle Age pressure. Battle Elephant (250 HP) and Ballista Elephant (250 HP, 5 range) both arrive in Castle Age. Pikemen deal 28 and 29 damage per hit respectively, so 9 hits each. Add Monks: at 170 to 180 resources per elephant, every 100-gold conversion is a large swing.
• Persians — Imperial Age mass. The Elite War Elephant is 600 HP and 20 attack for 255 resources. Halberdiers at 33 damage per hit need 19 hits, so bring numbers and a Mangonel line behind them, and use Monks on anything unescorted.
• Hindustanis — durability, not damage. Elephant Archer 230 HP with 6 attack, Siege Elephant 220 HP with 4 attack. Neither hits hard; both take a long time to remove. Halberdiers at 34 and 36 damage per hit are the efficient answer, and a Mangonel doubles the pace.
• Bengalis, Burmese, Malay, Vietnamese — Battle Elephants. Same 250 to 300 HP body, same 8 to 10 Halberdier hits. Bengalis also field the Elephant Archer, so a single Halberdier mass answers both of their elephant units.

AoE2 elephant stats — HP, attack, armor and speed

Which units have an attack bonus against elephants in AoE2?

How many hits does it take to kill each elephant?

Which elephants are worth converting with a Monk?

What does not work against elephants?

Summary — Counter Cheat Sheet

Frequently Asked Questions