Onager — Counters, Stats & Civ Bonuses

Onager — Counters, Stats & Civ Bonuses

The Onager is countered by Hussar, Cavalier and Paladin. It is a siege unit of the Mangonel/Onager, and it wins against Arbalest, Elite Battle Elephant and Mangonel.

Class

Siege

Line

Mangonel/Onager

Available to

All civilizations

Cost

160 135

The Mangonel/Onager

• Mangonel
• Onager
• Siege Onager

Onager stats

Hit points

60

Melee attack

50 / 6s

Pierce attack

0

Range

8 (min. 3)

Melee armour

0

Pierce armour

7

Speed

0.6

Line of sight

10

Training time

46s

What counters the Onager?

Hard counters beat the Onager 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.

• Hussar hard Fast – siege weapons have almost no melee armor
• Cavalier hard Melee – 0 melee armor, barely hits moving single targets
• Paladin hard Melee – 0 melee armor, barely hits moving single targets
• Elite Mangudai UU hard UU (Mongols) – Attack bonus vs. siege
• Elite Eagle Warrior hard Attack bonus vs. siege weapons (+5)
• Elite Magyar Huszar UU hard Attack bonus vs. siege weapons (+8)
• Siege Onager hard Attack bonus vs. siege weapons (+12)
• Monk soft Conversion
• Bombard Cannon soft Outranges Onager (12 vs. 8) – but slow & inaccurate

What does the Onager counter?

One representative per unit line — the whole line behaves the same way in this matchup.

• Arbalest hard Area damage with great range
• Elite Battle Elephant soft Area damage
• Mangonel soft Superior range vs. Mangonel

Unique units the Onager beats

• Elite Blackwood Archer hard Area damage
• Elite Chu Ko Nu hard Area damage
• Elite Composite Bowman hard Area damage
• Elite Fire Archer hard Area damage
• Elite Genoese Crossbowman hard Area damage
• Elite Hussite Wagon hard Area damage
• Elite Longbowman hard Area damage with great range
• Elite Plumed Archer hard Area damage
• Elite Rattan Archer hard Area damage
• Elite Temple Guard hard Area damage
• Elite White Feather Guard hard Area damage
• Elite Arambai soft Area damage
• Elite Ghulam soft Area damage
• Elite Janissary soft Area damage
• Elite Kipchak soft Area damage
• Elite Teutonic Knight soft Area damage
• Elite War Elephant soft Area damage
• Elite War Wagon soft Area damage

Other units the Onager beats

• Elite Elephant Archer UU soft

Units the Onager has a damage bonus against

Bonus damage says how hard the Onager hits these units, not that it wins every fight — some of them still beat it by outranging or outrunning it.

• Scorpion hard Scorpion
• Heavy Scorpion hard Scorpion
• Battering Ram hard Rams
• Capped Ram hard Rams
• Siege Ram hard Rams
• Bombard Cannon hard Cannons
• Houfnice UU hard Cannons

Civilizations that improve the Onager

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

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