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Idle Villager
On this page
  1. What it does
  2. Strengths
  3. Weaknesses
  4. Strong counters
  5. Situational counters
  6. What it counters
  7. Why matchups work
  8. Line, cost, and age
  9. Upgrades
  10. Mistakes
  11. Supporting units
  12. Civ exceptions
  13. Related

Counter finder

Galley

Partial

naval · Dock · feudal Age

Standard arrow ship. Water fights after update 169123 need extra care. This page covers the land-player version of the line.

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.

What it does

On hybrid maps, get a Dock if fish or water control matters. Do not copy old fire-galley rules blindly after 169123.

Strengths

  • Range vs fire ships if you kite.
  • Core water unit for most civs.

Weaknesses

  • Patch-sensitive.
  • Needs micro vs fire ships.

Strong counters

Strategic advice built on verified armor classes and unit access. Not unconditional.

None published in this category yet.

Situational counters

  • Galley · spends gold to win · can win in equal numbers

    Water is a range and upgrade fight after update 169123. This site does not yet publish a full naval counter table.

    • Fire ships, Hulks, and Dromons need a dedicated pass.
    • Byzantine fire ship bonus is verified, matchups are not fully mapped here.

What it counters

  • Galley

    Water is a range and upgrade fight after update 169123. This site does not yet publish a full naval counter table.

Why matchups work

Range vs melee ships is the old logic. The Hulk line was added as a fire-ship counter in 169123.

Line, cost, and age

Verified fact from the aoe2techtree dat extract. Base stats, no civ bonuses.

Galley line stats
UnitAgeHPAttackRangeArmorCost
Galleyfeudal1257 pierce60/490w 30g
War Galleycastle1559 pierce70/690w 30g

Upgrades

  • War Galley / Galleoncastle Age

    HP, attack, range.

Common mistakes when fighting it

  • Using pre-169123 water builds without checking the new ship list.

Supporting units

Civilization-specific exceptions

These sit on top of the generic matchup, not inside it.

  • Byzantines

    Fire Ships and Dromons attack 25% faster as of update 169123.

    verified fact

  • Khmer

    No Shipwright. Navy is usable, not a bonus.

    verified fact

Published as a template so naval units appear in the finder. Matchup text is marked incomplete after the naval overhaul.