The Archer, the most basic archer unit in Age of Empires II
| “ | The bow remained an important military weapon after the fall of Rome, although less so in areas of Europe covered by dense forests. | ” |
| —Excerpt from the Archer description | ||
Archers are ranged units that fire arrows to inflict damage in the Age of Empires series. Their attacks easily decimate infantry, though their low armor and hit points make them vulnerable to fast infantry, such as Eagle Warriors and Woad Raiders, and cavalry units. Archers are ineffective against siege weapons due to their relatively short range, low amount of hit points and the presence of decent pierce armor on such units.
Age of Empires
Archers are one of the four combat forces on land, the other ones being infantry, cavalry and siege weapons. Apart from the Slinger (who is available at the Barracks during the Tool Age), all archers, mounted or foot are trained at the Archery Range.
There are both foot archer and ranged cavalry lines, but mounted unit lines may not be available to all civilizations. Armor upgrades are available at theStorage Pit and range upgrades at the Market, whereas Alchemy and Ballistics are both researched at the Government Center, along with the Nobility technology, which affects (among others) ranged cavalry units.
Bowman
Improved Bowman
Composite Bowman
Slinger (The Rise of Rome)- Chariot Archer
- Elephant Archer
- Horse Archer
- Heavy Horse Archer
Civilization bonuses
- Assyrians : +40% Archery Range unit fire rate
- Egyptians: +33% Chariot, Chariot Archer, and Scythe Chariot hit points
- Hittites: +1 Archery Range unit damage
- Minoans: +2 Composite Bowman range
- Persians: War Elephant, Armored Elephant, Elephant Archer move 50% faster
- Phoenicians: -25% War Elephant, Armored Elephant, and Elephant Archer cost
- Yamato: -25% Horse Archers, Scout, Cavalry, Heavy Cavalry, and Cataphract cost
Archers and civilizations
- The Egyptians, Hittites, Minoans, and the Yamato are the only civilizations to have available all technologies that benefit exclusively archer units, whereas the Persians are the only ones to have all available archer unit available.
- On the other hand, the Greeks, Minoans and Romans lack all ranged cavalry lines.
- Civilizations with prominent archers include the Assyrians, Egyptians, Hittites and Persians. The Minoans also boast the best foot archers, despite lacking all three ranged cavalry lines.
Trivia
- All three civilizations that lack 3 out of 4 Archery Range unit lines are located in Europe. This is partially justified, as neither Greeks nor Romans were renowned for mounted archery traditions.
- About the Minoans on the other hand, it is unknown whether they practiced archery on the first place, as most details concerning their warfare are shrouded in mystery.
Age of Empires II
- Main article: Archer units (Age of Empires II)
Age of Mythology
- Main article: Archer units (Age of Mythology)
Age of Empires III
In Age of Empires III, only a few archer-type units are used by European civilizations, having been superseded by their gunpowder counterpart. They function as light infantry and are effective against heavy infantry.
- Longbowman (British only)
- Crossbowman
- Besteiros (upgrade, Home City Card required and only available to the Portuguese)
- Manchu
The WarChiefs
The Asian Dynasties
- Chu Ko Nu (Chinese only)
- Iron Troop (Chinese only)
- Keshik (Chinese only)
- Yumi Archer (Japanese only)
- Yabusame (Japanese only)
- Shinobi (Japanese only)
- Ikko-Ikki (Japanese only)
- Wokou Horseman
- Wokou Monk