Longbowman — Counters, Stats & Civ Bonuses

British unique Foot Archer with exceptional range.

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The Longbowman is countered by Skirmisher, Mangonel and Onager. It is a Archer / Unique unit, available to the Britons.

Longbowman
Class
Archer / Unique
Available to
Britons
Elite upgrade
Elite Longbowman
Cost
Wood 35 Gold 40

Longbowman stats

The Elite Longbowman upgrade changes the values marked below. Everything else — cost, class and the civilization bonuses that apply — stays the same.

Stat Longbowman Elite
Hit points 35 40
Melee attack 0 0
Pierce attack 6 / 2s 7 / 2s
Range 5 6
Melee armour 0 0
Pierce armour 0 1
Speed 0.96 0.96
Accuracy 70% 80%
Line of sight 7 8
Training time 18s 18s

What counters the Longbowman?

The Longbowman is weak against Cavalry and Skirmishers.

Hard counters deal bonus damage against this unit — they beat the Longbowman even at a cost disadvantage. Soft counters win the fight through cost-efficiency or mobility, without a dedicated bonus.

CounterTypeWhy it works
Skirmisher hard Attack bonus vs. archers
Mangonel hard Area damage – Longbows stand close
Onager hard Area damage with great range
Hussar soft Fast, high HP

What does the Longbowman counter?

The Longbowman is strong against Infantry.

Unit lines the Longbowman has a damage bonus against

Civilizations that improve the Longbowman

11 civilizations have a bonus or unique technology that affects this unit.

Cumans

  • Archery Ranges and Stables cost -75 wood

Dravidians

  • Skirmishers and Elephant Archers attack +25% faster

Gurjaras

  • Frontier Guards (unique tech): Camel Riders and Elephant Archers +4 melee armor

Koreans

  • Archer armor and tower upgrades free (Bombard Tower requires Chemistry)

Muisca

  • Champi Warriors and Archery Range Units +1/2/3 melee armor in Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age
  • Herbalism (unique tech): Archer-line and Champi Warriors move +15% faster

Persians

  • Kamandaran (unique tech): Archer-line gold cost replaced by additional wood cost

Shu

  • Archery Unit technologies at the Archery Range and Blacksmith cost -25%
  • Bolt Magazine (unique tech): Archer-line, War Chariots and Lou Chuans fire additional projectiles

Tupi

  • Archery Range and Barracks upgrades cost -50% food

Vietnamese

  • Archery Range units and Fire Lancers +20% HP

Vikings

  • Bogsveigar (unique tech): Archer-line and Longboats +1 attack

Wu

  • Red Cliffs Tactics (unique tech): Demolition Ships and Fire Archers deal fire damage to ships and buildings

For the strategy behind these matchups — when to build counters, how to mix them and which civs do it best — see the Unique Unit Counters guide.

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