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Unique units are a vital part of Age II, for they often represent the ultimate power of their respective civilizations, either further adding to their strengths or compensating for their weaknesses. Here is a run down of the unique units and what they bring to the game. Each unique unit also lists its unit type, which helps determine what special strengths or vulnerabilities it has (for instance, the longbowman is a foot archer, so it is vulnerable to skirmishers). British Longbowman Foot archer. The longbowman is an excellent ranged unit that has the longest range of any unit. It starts with a good range, but then gets the British range bonus in the Castle and Imperial Age. In the Imperial Age, a fully upgraded longbowman has a range of 11 and does 11 damage. Because of this range, the longbowman can really decimate infantry, getting off many shots before having to run away and reposition itself for yet another volley of withering fire. In numbers, the longbowman can be especially deadly, knocking down all but the sturdiest of units or largest of forces. If you add a line of infantry in front to tangle up enemy units and a few light cavalry to swiftly destroy mangonels, the longbowman can remain virtually untouched, while taking down scads of enemy troops. As a British player, you want to build at least two castles, maybe even three, and crank out longbowmen. After all, longbowmen are very inexpensive. You want to upgrade these units as soon as possible because elite longbowmen get more hit points, do more damage, and have better range. To defeat these units, you must resort to heavy cavalry, since mangonels don't have the range to catch the longbowmen. Byzantine Cataphract Cavalry. The cataphract is a weaker version of the knight, but it has one great strength: it does double damage to all infantry. Thus, while it is slightly inferior to the knight and cavalier in the traditional cavalry roles (that is, taking on archers, siege weapons, and acting as quick shock troops), it is the best unit in the game for taking down infantry. Cataphracts still suffer against pikemen, but against all other infantry, cataphracts are impossible to kill, as they swiftly strike down all swordsmen they face. They lose in virtually all battles against other cavalry, but these cataphracts have their purpose. If your enemy is coming at you with lots of infantry and siege weapons, cataphracts are a perfect defense. Infantry heavy civilizations like the Goths, Celts, Vikings, and Japanese are ideal victims for the Byzantine cataphract. Upgrading cataphracts is vital because they improve significantly in hit points and attack. To kill these units, employ cavalry and camels. |
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