age of empires 2 archer flush build order

A fight between archers and Mangonels comes down to which player has better micromanagement. They have a high Area of Effect attack, allowing them to quickly and cost effectively mow down large groups of archers. Mangonels are an effective pair to crossbowmen. Mixing in a few Spearmen, or their upgrade, the Pikeman, can also help fending off Knights, but this is taxing on the economy. When the archers reach a critical mass however (and preferably are entrenched in a tight space), they can kill Knights in one volley, evening the odds, or even overcoming them. Knights have high pierce armor, high HP, and fast speed, allowing them to decimate archers if both are in small numbers. In the Castle Age, the main counters to archers become available: Knights and Mangonels, and situationally Light cavalry. If the player already invested in a Feudal Age Archer rush, upgrading to Crossbowman should be a top priority. The Spearman line is an excellent deterrent for cavalry, while friendly cavalry can counter siege units and Skirmishers. On the offense, it is better to put Crossbowmen in a group of melee infantry as ranged attacks are weak against buildings. They work especially well with infantry in this regard. Creating Crossbowmen is a good choice as they are cheap to produce and provide good covering fire.

Archers get considerably stronger in larger numbers by getting the capability of killing enemy melee units before they can close the gap and attack. Upgrading to Crossbowman reduces the training time of Archers from 35 seconds to 27 seconds, making this a critical upgrade if the chosen strategy is/involves massing Archers.

Age of empires 2 archer flush build order