The Britons
Military Analysis
The Barracks
With full upgrades for its infantry line the Britons
can field potent Champions and protective Halberdiers. A Champion army
supported by foot archers can wreak havoc on a non-supported Champion army.
The Archery
(a) Foot Archers With the faster build time (BT) and
the extra range; Briton foot archers are the best in the game. In fact, it is
often wise to go heavy on foot archers in the castle age and make the
transition to arbalests in Imperial rather than going with the powerful Longbowman.
The benefit here is that while the Arbalest costs an extra 5G, it can be
produced more rapidly as it is easier to build several Archeries than to build
several Castles. This also frees Castles for Treb production.
(b) Cavalry Archers The Britons do get Heavy Cavalry
archers. However, they lack many of the technologies (Thumb Ring, Parthian
Tactics) required to make them an effective unit. Considering the advantages
given to the foot archer line, a serious attempt by the Briton player to
develop an effective Cavalry Archer army is unlikely and hardly recommended.
The Stable
Although they lack the Paladin upgrade and Bloodlines,
the Briton cavalry line is of moderate usefulness. While Bloodlines would have
been a useful tech to have available to the Briton player, the addition of
another gold heavy tech like the Paladin would mandated a removal of other
Cavalry techs (for game balance purposes) from the Briton Blacksmith that are
actually of more practical use to the Briton player using Light Cavalry or
Cavaliers (than a unlikely to-be-used Paladin upgrade). While the Briton player
does not always use the Cavalier option, combining them with an archer army for
support can make for a powerful, but gold intensive combination.
The Britons do lack the Hussar upgrade and Bloodlines,
but with all the Blacksmith upgrades, Light Cavalry should still have use as a
raider on enemy economic centers that lack Castle protection.
The Siege Workshop
Even though they seem to be rather light on siege
options, the Britons in fact have everything they need. With the increased
effectiveness of the various siege lines in the XPack, the Briton have the
option to upgrade to the mid-level Capped Ram and Onager. The lack of the Heavy
Scorpion and its powerful ranged pierce attack is more than made up for with
the powerful Briton archer line. Briton Trebuchets are fully upgradeable (Siege
Engineers) and only lack the unique techs or bonuses that some other civs have.
The Monastery
The Briton Monastery is pretty decent as it has what
are in my opinion the only two worthwhile monastery technologies: sanctity and
block printing. All the others are for the most part added extras that you can
often do without. However for the player who heavily uses monks, they will
likely miss redemption and atonement
The Dock
One area the Britons have noticeable limitations is in
Imperial Age naval options. While they are no longer the only civ that does not
get cannon galleons, the Britons still do not have a coastal bombardment tool.
While a castle on the coastline is not a deterrent to many civs due to the
power of the Cannon Galleon, it will limit the tactical option for a Briton
navy. Surprisingly enough, this turns out to be somewhat of a limitation on the
Briton Real World map, since much of the land is near a coastline. As expected,
the lack of a particular naval advantage can make it hard to play on a map such
as islands, where control of the sea is control of the game.
The one notable advantage that the Britons do possess
is that the cheaper wood cost of TCs make it slightly easier to place TCs early
in Castle Age while producing ships - and benefit from the cascading effects of
more Villager-producing TCs.
The lack of Heavy Demo Ships leaves a hole in
defensive options, but since very few players use them frequently, it is only
worth mentioning to be complete.
Gunpowder
The Britons have a gaping hole where their gunpowder
units would lie. This is actually not much of a problem for the Britons with
the sole exception of the previously mentioned Briton Navy.
With the improvement in various gunpowder technologies
in the XPack, the Briton player may feel that they are missing on some of the
new tactical options for supporting units. However, lacking Hand Cannoneer is
really of limited concern given the strength of the Briton foot archer and
usefulness of the bombard cannon still needs to be determined.
Technology Analysis
Economy
The AoK Imperial Age Briton economy is noticeably
lacking only Crop Rotation. With the introduction of farm queues in the XPack,
the player has the option of muting the micromanagement hassle of expiring farm
at the committing wood upfront. Stone Shaft Mining was also missing, however
the effects of this hole were not terribly noticeable since there is less
overall stone on the map compared to wood or gold.
Military
No matter what force you chose to go with there are
certain critical steps in getting the proper upgrades for you troops. With the
full upgrade options available to the Briton player, the choices may not be so
obvious to all players.
Range upgrades - consider these a priority and
definitely grab them before researching the armor techs for your archers. Being
able to drop the enemy before he can even close with you is better than having
a slightly tougher unit.
Ballistics - many players simply do not realize how
much of an impact this makes on your troops. If you are playing vs. a cavalry
based civ this tech is an absolute #1 priority. Watch some recorded games
before ballistics is researched and after and you will understand the power of
this tech.
Armor upgrades for your support troops - whether you
choose to add infantry or cavalry to your archers, focus on beefing up their
armor first and attack second. This will keep them alive longer while your
archer's pincushion the enemy.
Chemistry - all those +1 attacks really add up when
you have a horde of archers.
Similar to the way in which Frankish Cavalry do not
get the Bloodlines tech, Briton Foot Archers do not get Thumb Ring. The
assumption is that supplying archers with the longest range in the game 100%
accuracy and an increased firing rate was potentially unbalancing.
More expensive upgrades such as Yeoman should be
considered if a suitable number of archers remain that would benefit from the
upgrade. Otherwise, it may be wiser to diversify the unit mix to include
Swordsmen or rebuild the archer armies.
Comments:
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19.10.06 00:05 -
dave |
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very useful information |
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03.01.07 12:28 -
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briton are really good |
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18.04.07 13:14 -
mike |
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britons are really good civ, but you don't mention much bout civs that can really shut down britons, such as goths which can overproduce any briton archer army (with perfusion and anarchy abilitiesto make huskarls at barracks and increased speed) and decimate it due to its 7 pierce armor or somthing (haven't played for ages) or aztec mass eagle warriors that can cut the archer army down with a little skirmisher support. |
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12.07.07 19:59 -
Calado |
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a few knights with longbowmans can stop easily a eagle warrior whith skirmishers attack!! |
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20.07.07 21:01 -
Someone |
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Completely upgraded longbowmen (30) [in three groups of 10 or 5 groups of 6] + halberdiers (10) + Cavaliers (10) + 3-5 monks
will finish off almost any army that invades. (Upto a size of 25-30)
[works for me against the computer on hardest ;) :P ]
You can add the support of a castle or a few towers.
Weaknesses : bombard cannons and trebuchets and mabye a massed cavalry attack
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21.07.07 19:10 -
Dhruv |
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Love the britons... thee most amazing civilizations. Though they have been cut down on ability in the Xp, they still are lots of fun and very very reliable. |
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21.07.07 19:11 -
Dhruv |
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My usual attack force is
30 longbowmen
6 covaliers
4 monks
that completes the max selectable set of 40.
add 3 trebuchets to the tally and its a very strong attack force. |
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09.10.07 18:23 -
krishna |
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what is the best way of tackling the longbowmen , skirmisher's and mangudai's (40) weren't good enough against 40 elite longbowmen and 20 paladins |
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14.10.07 03:14 -
fnwofwo;\' |
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well krishna obviously skirms and mongudai can't take paladins |
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25.10.07 03:14 -
someone=idoit |
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army of 55 stoping army of 25-30 no shit you'll win |
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04.11.07 02:18 -
juho |
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my dfence against britons are onagers.
They can wipe an entire leigion when you have like 4 upgraded onagers.
Celts and koreans are the answers to longbowmen
I think brits are good against noobs and brooks, or people that dont trust massed seige weopons.
Britons do have bonus in sheep meat, so they should attack early with normal archers to kill vils |
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21.01.08 22:48 -
Kay |
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I can't get any fire ships, cannon galleons, or demo ship. why? |
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08.02.08 01:23 -
Someone |
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Britons have the full dock minus cannon galleons (which sucks cause you can't attack on land by sea)
Britons have an excelltnt sea defence |
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21.06.08 08:53 -
juho=bullshit |
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everyone knows that the goths will take down the brits any day bitch. any day. |
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22.06.08 19:53 -
Ma2ReeD |
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thank you for making this guide. im a complete noob at RTS's but i love playing coms in AOE2. im gonna LAN with a friend soon so i wanted to know some basics, which you covered very nicely |
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24.06.08 23:00 -
AOE FREAK |
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juho. Goths actually couldnt take down the brits. Add a few cavvy in the front on on attack stance and its a perfect barrier. The goths cant even get to brits. The 12 range also takes out onigers. Their best counter is 2 rams to take hits going in front, and a few onigers sneaking behind it. |
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15.09.08 03:22 -
someone |
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that only works if your opponents not watching the rams. Skirms need to outnumber to win leaving cavalry (hussar and paladins) to counter. Full pallys beat pally and bows, and can work vs pikes and bow. Eagles should own anything but heavy infantry while huskarls own bows. |
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17.10.08 08:17 -
turtle ship |
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Umm, I think u were wrong. The strongest foot archer in Age of King was chu ko nu, not longbowaman, cos chu ko nu can fire multiple arrow in one attack, although he has shorter range |
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31.12.08 10:07 -
ADD |
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Just like any civ or unit, there is a nemesis for the Briton archer. (in this case the Huskarls) This is why it is always important to have a well balanced army with plenty of units to be able to defend the archers. (mangonels behind them with halberdiers in front, etc.) |
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06.06.09 17:19 -
a |
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don't fight byzantines using britons, they got nothing to stop cataphracts |
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06.06.09 17:20 -
wasd |
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wasdvjfhnv |
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07.06.09 17:19 -
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What is TC? |
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07.06.09 17:19 -
Rollun |
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What is TC? |
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11.06.09 20:20 -
lobgo |
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towncenter |
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06.07.09 14:59 -
Homer |
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How to tackle Palladins and Castles. My enemy makes a lot of Castles and Palladins. I love archers. So can archers in any civilization fight palladins? If yes then whic? |
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09.07.09 23:02 -
Indigo |
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Longbowmen when in groups of 40 can beat most anything. i faced an AI using the goths againt me and by the time he got into to close for comfort range on my archers there were only 4-5 remaining. if they use Castles and palladins that usually means they are using the franks which is kinda sad becuz the britons can wipe out throwing axemen at really far range. and when i use britons i use longbowmen and cavaliers as my major force to attack anybody |
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25.07.09 06:59 -
carpe |
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yea the britons are the best, strong through the whole game from dark to imperial.It sux about the cannon galleons tho |
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19.08.09 21:26 -
i hate britons.. |
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if u r a goth take some 4-5 rams full of huskrls..
i.e.20-25 units...
its easy to reach themb'cazbri.archers takes a lot time to kill rams.meantime u can reach bri.arch and takeout heskrls to finish archera..
or u can use some cavilary to divert them.... |
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12.09.09 05:34 -
wulf |
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brits obliterate goths just go champs longbows and a few onagers will decimate anything goths throw at you and if they go 100% husks just go 100% champs
not as if goths can go cavalry either they have to go inf which brits decimate. |
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20.12.09 17:12 -
bill |
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cool |
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15.03.10 02:18 -
2010 comment wewt |
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ffffffffffffffff |
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23.03.10 23:18 -
homo |
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pillu |
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31.03.10 00:08 -
joe |
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britions are the best in every LAN match i just spam cavalier and longbow men it wins every time which kind of makes it unfair because no other army can counter this force/spam |
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01.04.10 11:42 -
nimesh |
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goths can take down britons but others cant beat them. and goths can be easily beaten by other civilizations. |
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08.04.10 14:15 -
Rory Gibson |
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if you focus on food with mongols you can just mass loads of hussars they have good peirce defence and are cheap if you have loads of farms or loads of golds and alow food/wood price |
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24.04.10 18:41 -
Jallen |
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Cheers for the guide. I've been trying to decide on my civ, after getting decimated on non-water maps as the vikings.
Played as the britons today with the champion / longbowman mix and I found it to be unstoppable.
Mixed with cavaliers and trebs I destroyed the enemy base so fast it was ridiculous (I even took out the bases surrounding towers with longbowmen :D )
Not only are they awesome fun, they are also well suited to me because I'm english :D |
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22.05.10 04:50 -
Ct |
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Byzantines, aztecs can neat goths. But goths pown everyone else, especially brits and mayans |
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04.06.10 23:16 -
ess10 |
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Anyone got a good unite that can take Yeomen's that is protected by palladin's? |
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08.06.10 06:11 -
c0rsana |
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I'm trying to find a good turtling tactic, and the britains seem the right choice with their versatility and long range archers. Any other turtling suggestions? It be my favorite tactic. :) |
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13.06.10 01:03 -
Rennuek |
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Hi I have a problem and I wondered if any of you have an Idea.
My favorite race is the Britons but I’ve been playing a guy who always plays the Persians with postimperial Deathmach and rushes with Elite warelephants I’ve tried halbutters but you need 3/1 odds and since elephants have an area attack and can stack (a little), groups of ten or more you need 5/1 odds to even have a chance. Onigers have potential but its hard to keep them alive long enough to do much good. Walls slow them down a little but not much. And con take down a castle in just a couple of minutes. The real problem is that they come in armies of 25 or so and before the first army is gone the second is on the way and they just keep coming until your overwhelmed.
My next Idea is a fortress like this: ---- = wall, ===== = double wall, o =castle( with walls around it), ^ = attacking elephants, ~ = long bows.
Any ideas or improvements?
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13.06.10 01:16 -
Rennuek |
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Fortress: ~~ ~~ ~~
-------------
O O O
============= |
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13.06.10 01:18 -
Rennuek |
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That didn't work. |
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21.06.10 19:31 -
PalpaT |
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2 ideas. <br> - Dont let him mass all this power, harass his economy (send bowmans to kill villagers), from at least 2 sides at same time, force him to make something faster to counter your harass ; <br> - to counter the incoming elephants, make spears / upgrade them, try to circle his attack group to minimize area effect (attack from 2 sides) :) |
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24.06.10 05:58 -
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Alright civ, but skirmishers easily kill longbowmen. I perfer the spanish or aztec |
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26.06.10 23:10 -
Rennuek |
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PalpaT thanks for the advise I’ll give it a try :).
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26.06.10 23:15 -
Ronsferd |
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“Alright civ, but skirmishers easily kill longbowmen. I perfer the spanish or Aztec”
Properly managed Longbow men can cream skirmishers Any day of the week!
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26.06.10 23:17 -
Ronsferd |
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(Alright civ, but skirmishers easily kill longbowmen. I perfer the spanish or Aztec)
Properly managed Longbow men can cream skirmishers Any day of the week!
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29.06.10 05:39 -
Robin Hood |
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The answer to War Elephants is monks. Make an army of monks, convert one elephant+continuous healing = invincible elephant. Convert some more. Hooray. |
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10.07.10 17:49 -
Genghis Khan |
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1 Onager > 20 Longbowmen
<br />
80 Longbowmen > 1 Onager |
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18.07.10 08:10 -
zac |
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good information
could you explain the rest of civs
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29.07.10 05:30 -
John |
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Rennuek- just make the archers walk away to a safe distance, a little micromanagement might be annoying but will kill them, also try converting them, i love converting persian elephants to use them as rams instead of paying for rams |
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03.08.10 19:09 -
Andrew |
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I find the Byzantines and the Huns to work fairly well against the Britons. But any Cavalry Civilization should be able to take the Britons Longbowmen. |
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07.08.10 20:30 -
Ronsferd |
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Andrew-remember that the British have good pike class units. I fight the Spanish all the time and even there paladin/conquistador armies don’t stand a chance agents a good Longbow/pike mix. |
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08.08.10 00:29 -
Sasori |
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britons sheep bonis makes them efficent for getting resources faster |
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08.08.10 12:08 -
sasori |
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actually britons would be a poor choice vs mayans cause eagles stop longbows and knights |
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01.09.10 05:41 -
John |
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longbows with champs/cavs or halberds are almost unstoppable. against mangudai you're done for though |
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