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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

Longbowman

Partial

unique · Castle · castle Age

Briton unique foot archer. Extra range is the whole identity.

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

Win map control by shooting first. Keep spears vs Knights.

Strengths

  • Range.
  • Cheap for a unique unit.
  • Pairs with Briton foot archer bonuses.

Weaknesses

  • Still an archer vs Skirms and siege.
  • Needs Castles to mass.

Strong counters

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

  • Skirmisher · cost-effective · can win in equal numbers

    Still an archer. Skirms work. Range means you need to take the fight, not stare from 10 tiles away.

    • Yeomen Skirmishers on the Briton side.
    • Onagers.

  • Mangonel · cost-effective · needs numbers, surround, or micro

    Onagers punish the clump that Longbows like to stand in.

    • Briton range can snipe a lone Onager.

Situational counters

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

    Knights win if they arrive. Briton range makes the arrival harder.

    • Halberdiers.
    • Forests.

What it counters

No published reverse rows yet. Use the strengths list above.

Why matchups work

Range lets them fire more volleys before melee arrives. Skirmishers still have the archer bonus.

Line, cost, and age

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

Longbowman line stats
UnitAgeHPAttackRangeArmorCost
Longbowmancastle356 pierce50/035w 40g
Elite Longbowmanimperial407 pierce60/135w 40g

Upgrades

  • Yeomencastle Age

    Foot archers and Skirmishers +1 range. Towers +2 attack.

  • Briton foot archer rangecastle Age

    +1/+2 range in Castle/Imperial for foot archers except Skirmishers.

Common mistakes when fighting it

  • No Skirmisher answer of your own.
  • Massing into Onagers.

Supporting units

Civilization-specific exceptions

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

  • Britons

    Only Britons train Longbowmen.

    verified fact