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This article is about the unit in Age of Empires II. For the unit in Age of Mythology, see Throwing Axeman (Age of Mythology).

Template:AoEIIUnits Test

โ€œFrankish unique unit. Infantry with ranged attack.โ€
Age of Empires II description

The Throwing Axeman is the unique unit of the Franks in Age of Empires II. It is an infantry unit with a ranged melee attack.

Throwing Axemen can be upgraded to Elite Throwing Axemen in the Imperial Age.

Tactics

The Throwing Axeman deal melee damage at range. That can be very useful, especially in dealing with most traditional anti-archer units (most prominently Skirmishers and Huskarls). Also, since Throwing Axemen have an attack bonus against buildings, they can be used in large mobs as a practical alternative to siege machines.

Throwing Axemen can destroy Rams quickly, without having to compromise defenses by opening Gates. They deal high damage for a ranged unit, particularly against buildings, and can take more hits than the average archer. However, their inferior range means that Throwing Axemen are vulnerable against melee units, siege weapons, and hit-and-run tactics employed by archers. They are not as vulnerable to Mangonels and Onagers as archers due to their higher HP (they require 2 shots to be taken down), but Siege Onagers will still kill them in one shot. Throwing Axemen, however, can kill said siege weapons easily due to their melee damage as long as they can avoid being hit and can close the gap. Heavy cavalry units such as Paladins are also quite effective against them, though Hussars are not a suitable choice against them.

It is not advisable to try and kite melee units using Throwing Axemen as they have a long frame delay.

Further Statistics

As Throwing Axemen are unique to the Franks, only technologies that are available to them are shown in the following table:

Unit Strengths and Weaknesses
Strong vs. Skirmishers, Halberdiers, Eagle Warriors, Rams, Trebuchets, buildings, Light Cavalry, Huskarls, Camels
Weak vs. Archers, Jaguar Warriors, Hand Cannoneers, Conquistadors, Slingers, Boyars, Cataphracts, Samurai, Berserks, Teutonic Knights
Upgrades
Attack Forging, Iron Casting, Blast Furnace, Arson (increases attack against buildings)
Range Bearded Axe
Armor Scale Mail Armor, Chain Mail Armor, Plate Mail Armor
Speed Squires
Sight Tracking
Conversion Defense Faith, Heresy
Creation Speed Conscription
Upgrades Throwing Axemen can be upgraded to Elite Throwing Axemen

Team Bonuses

Changelog

The Age of Kings

  • Throwing Axemen have 50 (60 for Elite) HP.
  • Throwing Axemen move at a speed of 0.9.
  • Non-Elite Throwing Axemen have a frame delay of 12.
  • The upgrade to Elite Throwing Axeman costs 1,000F/850G.

The Conquerors

The Forgotten

  • Non-Elite Throwing Axemen have a frame delay of 10.
  • The upgrade to Elite Throwing Axeman now costs 1,000F/750G.
  • Franks: Get Squires.

The African Kingdoms

  • Throwing Axemen now move at a speed of 1.
  • Arson introduced.
  • With patch 4.8, Throwing Axemen now have 60 (70 for Elite) HP.

Trivia

  • The throwing axe was not used by the Franks in the time of Saladin, Barbarossa, and Joan of Arc.
  • In reality, the francisca was so named because it was used by the Franks (whose name means "spear," cognate with Church Slavonic  prวซลพัŒ, "pole"), not the other way around (source: "The term 'francisca' first appeared in the book Etymologiarum sive originum, libri XVIII by Isidore of Seville (c. 560โ€“636) as a name used in Hispania to refer to these weapons because of their use by the Franks".).
  • In real-life, the francisca has only one blade, is much smaller, & lighter: its average length is 17 inches and weighs about 1.3 lb.

History

The Franks took their name from the axe that was their preferred weapon in ancient times. They continued to use the axe into the Dark Ages and their warriors were especially noted for their ability to throw this axe in battle. The axe was well balanced and could be hurled a good distance by a strong man. Franks carried several axes into battle, holding on to one for hand-to-hand combat. As they advanced they could pick up axes thrown previously to replenish their supply of missiles. Throwing axemen were especially good against light troops wearing little armor. Carrying axes was also useful for dismantling fortifications.

Gallery

Units in Age of Empires II
CivilianMaleVillDE Villager ยท Tradecart aoe2DE Trade Cart ยท FishingShipDE Fishing Ship ยท Trade cog aoe2DE Trade Cog ยท King eu aoe2DE King
ReligiousMonk aoe2DE Monk
InfantryMilitiaDE Militia ยท Manatarms aoe2DE Man-at-Arms ยท Longswordsman aoe2DE Long Swordsman ยท Twohanded aoe2DE Two-Handed Swordsman ยท Champion aoe2DE Champion
Spearman aoe2DE Spearman ยท Aoe2-infantry-2-pikeman Pikeman ยท Halberdier aoe2DE Halberdier
Eaglescout aoe2DE Eagle Scout ยท Eaglewarrior aoe2DE Eagle Warrior ยท EliteEaglewarrior aoe2DE Elite Eagle Warrior
ArcherArcher aoe2DE Archer ยท Crossbowman aoe2DE Crossbowman ยท Arbalester aoe2DE Arbalester
Skirmisher aoe2DE Skirmisher ยท Elite skirmisher aoe2DE Elite Skirmisher
Hand cannoneer aoe2DE Hand Cannoneer
Cavalryarcher aoe2DE Cavalry Archer ยท Heavycavalryarcher aoe2de Heavy Cavalry Archer
Aoe2de DOI elephant archer icon Elephant Archer ยท ElephantArcherIcon-DE Elite Elephant Archer
CavalryScoutcavalry aoe2DE Scout Cavalry ยท Lightcavalry aoe2DE Light Cavalry ยท Hussar aoe2DE Hussar
Knight aoe2DE Knight ยท Cavalier aoe2DE Cavalier ยท Paladin aoe2DE Paladin
Camelrider aoe2DE Camel Rider ยท Aoe2 heavycamelriderDE Heavy Camel Rider
Battle elephant aoe2DE Battle Elephant ยท Elite battle elephant aoe2DE Elite Battle Elephant
Steppelancericon Steppe Lancer ยท Elitesteppelancericon Elite Steppe Lancer
Xolotlicon Xolotl Warrior
AoE2DE Armored Elephant icon Armored Elephant ยท AoE2DE Siege Elephant icon Siege Elephant
SiegeBattering ram aoe2DE Battering Ram ยท Capped ram aoe2DE Capped Ram ยท Siege ram aoe2DE Siege Ram
Mangonel aoe2DE Mangonel ยท Onager aoe2DE Onager ยท Siege onager aoe2DE Siege Onager
Scorpion aoe2DE Scorpion ยท Heavyscorpion aoe2DE Heavy Scorpion
Bombard cannon aoe2DE Bombard Cannon
Trebuchet aoe2DE Trebuchet
Petard aoe2DE Petard
Siegetower aoe2DE Siege Tower
War shipTransportship aoe2DE Transport Ship
Galley aoe2DE Galley ยท War galley aoe2DE War Galley ยท Galleon aoe2DE Galleon
Fire galley aoe2DE Fire Galley ยท Fireship aoe2DE Fire Ship ยท Fastfireship aoe2DE Fast Fire Ship
Demoraft aoe2DE Demolition Raft ยท Demoship aoe2DE Demolition Ship ยท Heavydemoship aoe2de Heavy Demolition Ship
Cannon galleon aoe2DE Cannon Galleon ยท Elite cannon galleon aoe2de Elite Cannon Galleon
AoE2 Dromon Dromon
Unique
ReligiousMissionaryIcon-DE Missionary ยท AoE2 WarriorPriest Warrior Priest
InfantryBerserkIcon-DE Berserk ยท Aoe2de Chakram Chakram Thrower ยท CondottieroIcon-DE Condottiero ยท Aoe2-icon-flemish-militia Flemish Militia ยท GbetoIcon-DE Gbeto ยท Aoe2de Ghulam Ghulam ยท HuskarlIcon-DE Huskarl ยท JaguarWarriorIcon-DE Jaguar Warrior ยท KamayukIcon-DE Kamayuk ยท Karambitwarrioricon-DE Karambit Warrior ยท AoE2 DE Legionary new icon Legionary ยท Aoe2-icon--obuch Obuch ยท SamuraiIcon-DE Samurai ยท Aoe2-icon-serjeant Serjeant ยท Shotelwarrioricon-DE Shotel Warrior ยท TeutonicKnightIcon-DE Teutonic Knight ยท ThrowingAxemanIcon-DE Throwing Axeman ยท Aoe2de Urumi Urumi Swordsman ยท AoE2 WarriorPriest Warrior Priest ยท WoadRaiderIcon-DE Woad Raider
ArcherArambaiicon-DE Arambai ยท CamelArcherIcon-DE Camel Archer ยท ChukoNuIcon-DE Chu Ko Nu ยท AoE2 CompositeBowman Composite Bowman ยท ConquistadorIcon-DE Conquistador ยท GenitourIcon-DE Genitour ยท GenoeseCrossbowmanIcon-DE Genoese Crossbowman ยท Imperialskirmishericon-DE Imperial Skirmisher ยท JanissaryIcon-DE Janissary ยท Kipchakicon Kipchak ยท LongbowmanIcon-DE Longbowman ยท MangudaiIcon-DE Mangudai ยท PlumedArcherIcon-DE Plumed Archer ยท Aoe2de ratha ranged Ranged Ratha ยท Rattanarchericon-DE Rattan Archer ยท SlingerIcon-DE Slinger ยท WarWagonIcon-DE War Wagon
CavalryBallistaelephanticon-DE Ballista Elephant ยท BoyarIcon-DE Boyar ยท Aoe2de camel scout Camel Scout ยท CataphractIcon-DE Cataphract ยท Aoe2de roman unique centurion icon Centurion ยท Aoe2-icon-coustillier Coustillier ยท Flaming camel icon Flaming Camel ยท ImperialCamelRiderIcon-DE Imperial Camel Rider ยท Keshikicon Keshik ยท Konnikicon Konnik ยท Leitisicon Leitis ยท MagyarHuszarIcon-DE Magyar Huszar ยท MamelukeIcon-DE Mameluke ยท AoE2 Monaspa Monaspa ยท Aoe2de ratha melee Melee Ratha ยท AoE2 Savar Savar ยท Aoe2de shrivamsha rider Shrivamsha Rider ยท TarkanIcon-DE Tarkan ยท WarElephantIcon-DE War Elephant ยท Aoe2-icon-winged-hussar Winged Hussar
SiegeAoe2-icon--houfnice Houfnice ยท Aoe2-icon-hussite-wagon Hussite Wagon ยท OrganGunIcon-DE Organ Gun
War shipCaravelIcon-DE Caravel ยท LongboatIcon-DE Longboat ยท Aoe2de Thirisadai Thirisadai ยท TurtleShipIcon-DE Turtle Ship
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