Hard counters, soft counters, and the bonus damage that decides any Age of Empires 2 unit matchup.
Instantly find the counter to any Age of Empires 2 unit: hard counters, soft counters and the exact bonus damage behind them, for all AoE2 units. To counter a unit you need the ones that deal attack bonus damage against its class — Pikemen against cavalry, Skirmishers against archers, Mangonels against grouped infantry. Type a name into the search above, or use the counter chart by unit type further down.
Two things decide most fights. A hard counter carries a bonus damage value against a whole unit class — a Halberdier hits a Paladin far harder than its base attack suggests. A soft counter has no bonus at all and still wins the matchup, simply by being cheaper, faster or better armoured. The counter list for each unit separates the two, so you can tell a decisive answer from a merely workable one.
Unit counters in Age of Empires II are units that deal bonus damage to — or are more cost-efficient against — specific enemy unit types. Understanding counters is one of the most important skills in Age of Empires 2, letting you win engagements even when outnumbered.
A hard counter deals specific attack bonus damage against a unit class — for example, Spearmen vs. Cavalry. A soft counter wins the matchup through general cost-efficiency or favorable stats without a dedicated bonus, such as Hussars against Monks.
The best counters to Knights are Pikemen and Halberdiers (bonus damage vs. cavalry), Camel Riders (bonus damage vs. cavalry), and Monks (conversion). Crossbowmen also work well in numbers. See the full cavalry counter guide.
Counter relationships in Age of Empires II are based on unit classes and attack bonus damage, which rarely change between balance patches. When a patch does touch these values, we review the affected units and update their pages.