Infantry

From Age of Empires

"Quick and cheap to create." - Except from Militia Definition

The most basic of all units in the series, the Infantry class consists of foot soldiers, primarily melee based, who specialize in weapons such as swords, spears, and axes. They hold a natural predominance against buildings and gain an attack bonus against them, and along with their quick creation speed, they are efficient building destroyers in early ages. However, aside from Unique Units and fully upgraded Infantry, such as Champions and Halberdiers, they are vastly inferior to Archers, Cavalry, and Siege Weapons.

Contents 1 Age of Empires Infantry Units 1.1 Tactics 2 Age of Empires II Infantry Units 2.1 Tactics 3 Age of Empires III Infantry Units 3.1 Tactics

[edit] Age of Empires Infantry Units

• Clubman
• Axeman
• Short Swordsman
• Broad Swordsman
• Long Swordsman
• Legion
• Hoplite
• Phalanx
• Centurion

[edit] Tactics

The main bonuses of infantry (Axemen to Legion in particular, not Clubmen though) is there cost effectiveness and ease of mass (Resources are better spent on villagers or the Tool age in the Stone age then Clubmen) thus they are good for massed and potentially perilious assaults on enemy fortifications (whilst Siege weapons and Missile troops provide back up).

Hoplites (and its later improvements) are not quite as good for this as they are slow and expensive, although they have a large amount of hitpoints so they can suck up most of the damage that would most likely kill their faster (but weaker) Swordsmen comrades.

[edit] Age of Empires II Infantry Units

• Militia
• Man-at-Arms
• Long Swordsman
• Two-Handed Swordsman
• Champion
• Spearman
• Pikeman
• Halberdier
• Eagle Warrior
• Woad Raider: Celts unique unit
• Throwing Axeman: Franks unique unit
• Huskarl: Goths unique unit
• Samurai: Japanese unique unit
• Teutonic Knight: Teutons unique unit
• Berserk: Vikings unique unit
• Jaguar Warrior: Aztecs unique unit

[edit] Tactics

Depending on your civilization, the Infantry could become the primary bulk of your fighting force or a liability. For rushing civilizations, such as the Goths and Huns, using Men-At-Arms and Spearmen could disrupt the enemy economy long enough to advance far enough into the Castle Age. However, by this time, it is recommended you switch to stronger units, such as Crossbowmen, Knights, and Scorpions. However, Long Swordsmen could be a useful unit to implement should you lack the resources or time to train units such as these. Pikemen, and their later versions Halberdiers, retain their usefulness against heavy cavalry and, in conjunction with other archers, can decimate most enemy formations. The Unique Units are no pushovers, either. The Woad Raider is the equivalent of the Hun Tarkan, easily rushing and destroying enemy structures or villagers. Units, such as the Huskarl, Samurai, Teutonic Knight, Berserk, and Jaguar Warrior, make for stronger than usual units and could easily augment your forces, and the Throwing Axeman could easily substitute other French archers. However, to civilizations such as the Persians and Mongols, your attention is best served to your stronger classes.

[edit] Age of Empires III Infantry Units

• Cassador: Portuguese unique unit

• Crossbowman:

• Doppelsoldner: German unique unit

• Halberdier:

• Janissary: Ottoman unique unit

• Longbowman: British unique unit

• Musketeer:

• Pikeman:

• Rodelero: Spanish unique unit

• Skirmisher:

• Strelet: Russian unique unit

The units represented in this list are all classified as infantry in Age of Empires III. This is because the traditional split between Archers and regular infantry became less important in the age of gunpowder. As such, the only true infantry units in the list are: Doppelsoldner, Halberdier, Pikeman and Rodelero. Except for Crossbowman and Longbowman which are traditional Archers, the units are gunpowder using ranged infantry.

Despite the seemingly great variety, all infantry are basically either light or heavy. Light infantry (archers, skirmishers) are good against other infantry, while heavy infantry (musketeers, pikemen, swordsmen) are good against cavalry.

Infantry are easily demolished by artillery, especially Field Gun and Heavy Cannon types. Light infantry are also countered well with melee cavalry.

[edit] Tactics

A strategy I have found to be quite effective and simple with infantry is in fact a combinational strategy involving cavalry and artillery as well. The goal of the strategy is to make full use of heavy artillery, effectively destroying enemy fortresses, cities and units alike. Make sure to have a decent number of heavy cavalry units and heavy infantry units (such as upgraded Cav:Hussars and Inf:Halberdiers or possibly Doppelsoldners or Musketeers). In addition you need as many heavy cannons (such as Heavy Cannons, Rockets, or Ottoman Bombards) as possible. Defend the artillery with your heavy infantry by having them guard them close by (like a wall around them). Use the heavy cavalry to take out any ranged enemies, such as Archers or Artillery. Using the heavy infantry and cavalry in this way allows your heavy artillery to effectively crush the enemy undisturbed. As such, both the infantry and the cavalry are in fact defensive units. I have found this tactic to be deadly, and I often don't bother to develop archers, ranged units or lesser artillery. Indeed, most light infantry, archers and light cavalry stand no chance against heavy infantry and heavy cavalry. As such it is very unlikely that the enemy will know how to counter your strategy.