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Idle Villager
On this page
  1. Best build
  2. Quick overview
  3. Bonuses
  4. Unique units
  5. Army options
  6. Missing tech
  7. Weaknesses
  8. Practical counters
  9. Openings
  10. Timeline
  11. Mistakes
  12. Related

Civilizations

Celts

Verified

Infantry and Siege civilization

Wood advantage, fast infantry, and siege that fires faster with more HP. Scorpions and Siege Onagers are both real.

Idle Villager is current for Update 177723, with minor updates through 180059. Facts on this page were checked on 2026-09-19. Counters are not unconditional. Numbers, upgrades, terrain, and micro change the fight.

Best build

Men-at-Arms into siege

Open land, 1v1 · 1v1 random map

  1. Sheep
  2. Wood
  3. Boar
  4. Berries
  5. Feudal
  6. Barracks
  7. Men-at-Arms
  8. Attack
  9. Click Castle
  10. Siege Workshop

Times are glance marks, not a streamer clock. Loom, animal spawn, and idle villagers move them. Food in the bank matters more than the minute. Extra wood from lumberjacks. Infantry already walk faster. Add a workshop after the Feudal fight, not instead of it.

Quick overview

Beginner difficulty: moderate. Wood and siege are straightforward. Infantry speed helps raids. You still need to not eat Knight charges with unsupported siege.

Main strengths: Lumberjacks, Siege fire rate, Furor Celtica HP, Siege Onager, Woad raids

Bonuses

Verified fact. Wording follows the in-game civilization string.

  • Lumberjacks work +15% faster
  • Livestock animals within Celt unit line of sight cannot be stolen
  • Infantry moves +5/10/15/20% faster in Dark/Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age
  • Siege Weapons attack +25% faster

Team bonus: Siege Workshops work +20% faster

Unique units and unique techs

  • Woad Raider: Celt unique infantry. Fast for infantry, good at raids and at catching siege.

Stronghold (Castle Age)

Castles and Watch Tower-line attack +33% faster; Castles heal allied Infantry in a 7 tile radius

Cost: 250 food, 200 gold. Research time: 30s.

Furor Celtica (Imperial Age)

Siege Weapons +40% HP

Cost: 750 food, 450 gold. Research time: 50s.

Strong army options

Scorpions

25% faster fire plus Heavy Scorpion. A different Scorpion civ from Khmer: less range, more shots.

Siege Onager

The late hammer. Furor Celtica keeps them alive.

Paladin plus siege

You have Paladin without Bloodlines. Support the siege, do not replace it.

Important missing units and upgrades

Verified from the aoe2techtree dat extract.

Missing units: Arbalester, Hand Cannoneer, Bombard Cannon, Battle Elephant, Camel Rider

Missing upgrades: Thumb Ring, Squires, Bloodlines

Common weaknesses

  • No BBC
  • No Thumb Ring or Arbalester
  • No Bloodlines
  • Siege still dies to cavalry if naked

How opponents exploit them

Strategic advice on top of the missing-tech facts above.

  • Knight dives on workshops
  • BBC if they have it
  • Halberdiers vs Paladin

Practical counters this civ can field

Limited to units this civilization can actually train in the published set.

Recommended openings

Wood into infantry or a Castle Age workshop

Open land, 1v1

The lumber bonus funds extra farms and extra siege. Feudal infantry is faster than generic. A Scout opening is still fine.

Age-by-age timeline

This is gameplay progression, not real-world history. Timings are approximate. Each age states its assumptions.

Dark Age

1v1 random map on an open land map. Food from sheep, boar, berries, then farms. No exact minute marks. Click-up time depends on villager count and idle time.

Priorities: Wood Food Do not let sheep get yoinked under your LOS

Openings: Standard Dark Age with extra lumberjacks

Power spikes: Wood stockpile

Upgrades: Loom

Feudal Age

1v1 random map on an open land map. Food from sheep, boar, berries, then farms. No exact minute marks. Click-up time depends on villager count and idle time.

Priorities: Men-at-Arms or Scouts Keep chopping Blacksmith if infantry

Openings: MaA Scouts Archers as a mix

Power spikes: Infantry already +10% speed

Upgrades: Double-Bit Axe Forging

Castle Age

1v1 random map on an open land map. Food from sheep, boar, berries, then farms. No exact minute marks. Click-up time depends on villager count and idle time.

Priorities: Siege Workshop Knights or Woads Pikes vs cavalry

Openings: Scorpions Mangonels vs archers Woad Castle drop

Power spikes: First siege pack with 25% fire rate

Upgrades: Ballistics Capped Ram as needed Stronghold if Castles are up

Imperial Age

1v1 random map on an open land map. Food from sheep, boar, berries, then farms. No exact minute marks. Click-up time depends on villager count and idle time.

Priorities: Siege Onager Furor Celtica Heavy Scorpion Paladin or Hussar support

Openings: SO deathball Scorpions plus Paladin

Power spikes: Furor Celtica Siege Onager

Upgrades: Siege Onager Furor Celtica Heavy Scorpion Halberdier Paladin

Common mistakes

  • Naked siege.
  • Archers into Imperial Age.
  • Forgetting cavalry guard vs Khmer Hussars.