Age of Empires 2 Siege Weapon Counters

Age of Empires 2 Siege Weapon Counters

How do you counter siege units in Age of Empires 2?

Reach siege units in melee with fast cavalry — Hussars and Light Cavalry move at 1.5 versus 0.6 for every siege unit. Monks convert them for 100 gold. Archers do not work: Trebuchets have 150 pierce armor and Battering Rams 180.

Every siege weapon in the game shares the same set of weaknesses. Anti-siege attack bonuses do exist, but they sit on units you rarely build for the job — this is the one unit class you usually beat with positioning and raw stats instead of a counter bonus.

• They are slow. 0.6 to 0.7 movement speed. A Hussar at 1.5 is more than twice as fast and reaches them between two shots.
• They have almost no melee armor. Mangonel, Onager, Siege Onager and Scorpion all have 0. Rams are negative (−3 / −2 / −1), so melee units deal extra damage to them.
• They have a minimum range. 3 tiles for the Mangonel line, 4 for the Trebuchet, 5 for the Bombard Cannon. Once a unit is inside that ring the siege weapon cannot fire at all.
• They are expensive. Mangonel 160 wood + 135 gold, Trebuchet 200 wood + 200 gold, Bombard Cannon 225 wood + 225 gold. A Monk costs 100 gold — conversion is the biggest resource swing available.
• But they resist arrows. Pierce armor: Mangonel 6, Scorpion 7, Trebuchet 150, Battering Ram 180. Arbalests and Cavalry Archers deal minimum damage to the last two.

How do you counter Trebuchets in AoE2?

Send Hussars or Light Cavalry — they cross the Trebuchet's 4-tile minimum range before it can pack up and retreat. A Knight kills an unpacked Trebuchet in 17 hits, a Hussar in 25. Monks are the most cost-efficient answer: 100 gold against a 400-resource unit.

The Trebuchet is the one siege unit you cannot out-range: 16 tiles beats an Onager's 8 and a Bombard Cannon's 12. With 150 pierce armor it is also nearly immune to arrows. That leaves melee contact or conversion.

• 
  Hussar Hard Counter
  Speed 1.5 against the Trebuchet's 0.6 and a 4-tile minimum range mean a Hussar closes the gap and stays inside the dead zone. Costs 80 food and no gold, so losses on the approach are cheap. Needs ~25 hits at 1.9s reload — send six or more.
• 
  Light Cavalry Hard Counter
  Identical speed and 7 attack, 60 HP instead of 75. The Castle Age version of the same raid if you have not researched Hussar.
• 
  Monk Hard Counter
  A Trebuchet costs 200 wood + 200 gold; a Monk costs 100 gold. Converting one flips 400 resources and puts a 16-range siege weapon on your side.
• 
  Bombard Cannon Soft Counter
  40 base attack plus +20 vs. the siege class, so roughly three shots per Trebuchet. But 12 range against 16 means the Trebuchet fires first — only worth it against Trebuchets already busy hitting a building.

How do you counter Mangonels, Onagers and Siege Onagers in AoE2?

Any melee unit that crosses the 3-tile minimum range wins. A Mangonel has 50 HP and 0 melee armor — the most fragile siege unit after the Scorpion. A Champion kills one in 4 hits, a Knight in 5, a Hussar in 8.

The Mangonel line is the main anti-infantry and anti-archer siege, dealing 40 to 75 area damage. It is also the least durable: 50 to 70 HP, no melee armor, 0.6 speed and a 6-second reload that gives it no chance to reposition. Never advance into one in a tight group.

• 
  Hussar Hard Counter
  Reaches the Mangonel between two shots. 8 hits at 1.9s reload, so two or three Hussars remove one in a single pass — and they cost no gold against a 295-resource unit.
• 
  Knight Hard Counter
  10 attack against 0 melee armor = 5 hits, and 100 HP plus 2 pierce armor survives the escort's arrows better than a Hussar does. The standard Castle Age answer when you already have Knights out.
• 
  Light Cavalry Hard Counter
  Same 1.5 speed and 7 attack as the Hussar. Castle Age Mangonels die to Light Cavalry raids just as reliably.
• 
  Monk Hard Counter
  160 wood + 135 gold converted for 100 gold — and a converted Onager puts its 50 area damage into its former army. Convert the siege, not the escort.
• 
  Elite Eagle Warrior Soft Counter
  Meso civs have no Hussar. Speed 1.3 plus a +5 attack bonus vs. the siege class (9 base attack = 14 per hit) means 4 hits per Mangonel. One of the very few foot units with a genuine anti-siege bonus — the Inca Slinger has +3, the Champi Warrior +3.

How do you counter Battering Rams in AoE2?

Hit Rams with melee infantry or a Mangonel — never with archers or Scorpions. Rams have negative melee armor (−3 / −2 / −1) but 180 to 195 pierce armor, so melee deals extra damage while pierce is reduced to the minimum. A Champion kills a Battering Ram in 11 hits, a Mangonel in 4 shots.

Rams are the most misunderstood unit in the game. They look like tanks because arrows bounce off them, but that is a pierce-armor effect only. Against melee they are the softest siege unit in the game — their armor is below zero, so every melee unit deals its attack value plus 1 to 3 extra damage.

• 
  Champion Hard Counter
  14 attack against −3 melee armor = 17 damage per hit, 11 hits per Battering Ram. Champions also kill the infantry garrisoned inside once the Ram falls. The Two-Handed Swordsman works identically at 15 damage per hit.
• 
  Mangonel Hard Counter
  Mangonel damage counts as melee-type, so the Ram's 180 pierce armor never applies: 40 attack plus a +12 bonus vs. the siege class plus 3 from negative armor = 55 per shot, 4 shots per Ram — and the area damage hits the escort at the same time.
• 
  Knight Hard Counter
  10 attack plus 3 from negative armor = 13 per hit, 14 hits per Battering Ram. Slower than infantry at killing it but arrives before the Ram reaches your walls.
• 
  Bombard Cannon Soft Counter
  The only ranged unit that works: its +20 bonus vs. the siege class lands on top of 40 base attack and the Ram's negative armor, so about three shots per Ram. Situational because of its 225 wood + 225 gold cost.
• 
  Monk Soft Counter
  A Ram costs 160 wood + 75 gold and a converted Ram walks back into the enemy army. Use Monks when the Ram is already inside your base and your infantry is elsewhere.

How do you counter Bombard Cannons in AoE2?

Rush them with cavalry. A Bombard Cannon has 80 HP, moves at 0.7 and has a 5-tile minimum range — the largest dead zone of any siege unit. A Champion kills one in 7 hits, a Knight in 10, and its 6.5-second reload usually gives it one shot before it dies.

Bombard Cannons out-range everything except the Trebuchet at 12 tiles and delete buildings and grouped units. Their weakness is the combination of a huge minimum range and 80 HP: anything that survives one shot and gets inside 5 tiles has already won.

• 
  Hussar Hard Counter
  1.5 speed crosses 12 tiles inside one reload cycle. Inside the 5-tile minimum range the Bombard Cannon cannot fire at all. Cheap enough that losing one or two on the way in does not matter.
• 
  Knight Hard Counter
  10 attack against 2 melee armor = 10 hits, and 100 HP survives a direct Bombard Cannon shot. The more reliable option when the Cannon is escorted.
• 
  Light Cavalry Hard Counter
  Same speed and attack as the Hussar. Only relevant if you meet Imperial Age siege without having researched Hussar.
• 
  Monk Soft Counter
  At 225 wood + 225 gold the Bombard Cannon is the most expensive siege unit in the game and the best conversion target on the field. Requires it to be unescorted, which is rare.

How do you counter Scorpions in AoE2?

Any cavalry unit. A Scorpion has 40 HP, 0 melee armor and only a 2-tile minimum range, so a Champion kills it in 3 hits, a Knight in 4 and a Hussar in 6. Never walk into one with grouped infantry — its bolt passes through every unit in a line.

Scorpions fire a bolt that passes through multiple units, which makes them devastating against infantry advancing in a straight line and almost worthless against anything that flanks. At 40 HP they are the weakest siege unit in the game.

• 
  Hussar Hard Counter
  6 hits, and 1.5 speed means the Scorpion's 3.6-second reload gets one shot off at most. Attack from the side so the pass-through bolt only hits one target.
• 
  Knight Hard Counter
  4 hits, and 2 pierce armor reduces the Scorpion's bolt. Cavalry approaching from an angle is the cleanest answer.
• 
  Cavalry Archer Soft Counter
  The Scorpion has 7 pierce armor, so a Cavalry Archer's 6 attack barely scratches it. Useful only to force it to reposition or to finish damaged ones — not a real counter.

AoE2 siege unit stats — HP, armor and speed

How many hits does it take to kill each siege unit?

Summary — Counter Cheat Sheet

Frequently Asked Questions