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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

Militia

Partial

infantry · Barracks · dark Age

Gold infantry that starts in Dark Age. Useful for early pressure, then as Champions later if the civ has the full 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

Use Militia or Men-at-Arms to force the opponent off sheep and woodlines early. In Imperial Age, Champions are a meaty front line if you can afford gold infantry.

Strengths

  • Available from Dark Age.
  • Good vs buildings with upgrades.
  • Champions beat Halberdiers in equal numbers.

Weaknesses

  • Gold cost.
  • Lose to mass archers and Scorpions.
  • Many civs miss Champion, Squires, or armor.

Strong counters

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

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

    Archers beat militia-line on open ground after Feudal.

    • Early Men-at-Arms can still reach a woodline.
    • Scorpions later.

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

    Knights outrun and out-hit militia-line until Champions with full upgrades, and even then Knights raid around them.

    • Halberdiers mixed in.
    • Castle Age Long Swords in a choke.

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

    Infantry blobs are Scorpion food.

    • Need a front line so Champions do not reach the workshop units.

Situational counters

None published in this category yet.

What it counters

  • Skirmisher

    Men-at-Arms walk through Skirmishers in Feudal Age if they catch them.

  • Battering Ram

    Melee infantry with attack upgrades chew rams. Champions are the late answer.

Why matchups work

Melee infantry beat other melee trash when attack and armor upgrades land. Pierce damage from archers and Scorpions ignores that plan. Knights outrun them and raid around them.

Line, cost, and age

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

Militia line stats
UnitAgeHPAttackRangeArmorCost
Militiadark404 melee00/150f 20g
Man-at-Armsfeudal456 melee00/150f 20g
Long Swordsmancastle609 melee01/150f 20g
Two-Handed Swordsmanimperial6512 melee01/150f 20g
Championimperial7014 melee01/150f 20g

Upgrades

  • Line upgrades through Championfeudal Age

    Each step adds HP and attack. Champion is not universal.

  • Supplies / Gambesonsfeudal Age

    Food discount and pierce armor on the line. Khmer have neither.

Common mistakes when fighting it

  • Staying on Men-at-Arms into Castle Age vs Knights.
  • Assuming Khmer have Champion. They stop at Two-Handed Swordsman.

Supporting units

Civilization-specific exceptions

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

  • Khmer

    No Champion, no Squires, no Plate Mail Armor, no Gambesons.

    verified fact

  • Celts

    Infantry move faster with age. No Squires, no Thumb Ring, but Paladin and Siege Onager exist.

    verified fact

Line stats are from the dat extract. Opening-specific Man-at-Arms timings are advice, not recorded builds.