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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

Monk

Partial

monks · Monastery · castle Age

Converts units and picks up Relics. Best vs high-cost cavalry and elephants.

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

Drop two to four behind your army vs Knights or elephants. Research Sanctity and Redemption if you will commit.

Strengths

  • Steals expensive units.
  • Relics win long games.
  • No food cost.

Weaknesses

  • Low HP.
  • Scout line bonus vs monks.
  • Needs monastery techs.

Strong counters

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

  • Scout Cavalry · cost-effective · can win in equal numbers

    Light Cavalry and Hussars have bonus damage vs monks.

    • Monks behind a pike wall.
    • Redemption conversions on siege.

Situational counters

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

    Archers snipe monks that wander. Cavalry is still cleaner.

    • Monks in a clump of Skirmishers.

What it counters

  • Ballista Elephant

    Converts steal the investment. Even a few monks change the fight.

  • Knight

    Conversions swing Castle Age Knight wars. Not a 1v1 unit counter.

  • Battle Elephant

    Monks steal or waste the elephant's time. Bring several.

  • Cataphract

    High-cost cavalry still converts.

Why matchups work

Conversion cares about unit value, not HP. Hussars have bonus damage vs monks and are cheap to throw in.

Line, cost, and age

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

Monk line stats
UnitAgeHPAttackRangeArmorCost
Monkcastle300 pierce90/0100g

Upgrades

  • Sanctity, Faith, Redemptioncastle Age

    HP, conversion resistance, convert buildings and siege. Tech trees differ a lot.

Common mistakes when fighting it

  • Monks vs Hussars.
  • No Faith when the opponent is also converting.

Supporting units

Civilization-specific exceptions

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

  • Byzantines

    Team bonus: monks heal 100% faster.

    verified fact

  • Khmer

    Have Faith and Sanctity. Monastery line is still not a monk civilization.

    verified fact