How Strong are the Ottoman Janissaries in AoE4?

The Ottoman Janissaries have been a controversial unit since their introduction in Age of Empires 4, but how good are they? Let's find out!
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#AgeofEmpires4 #Janissary #AoE4
0:00 - Intro
0:26 - Janissary Stats
1:45 - Training Times
2:32 - Janissary Unique Ability
2:56 - vs Spearman
3:31 - vs Donsos
3:58 - vs Man-at-Arm
4:38 - vs Landsknecht
5:11 - vs Archer
5:26 - vs Longbow
5:41 - vs Zhuge Nu
5:52 - vs Crossbow
6:09 - vs Javelin Thrower
6:21 - vs Handcannoneer
6:34 - vs Streltsy
6:50 - vs Musofadi Gunner
7:07 - vs Grenadier
7:47 - vs Scouts
8:01 - vs Horseman
8:27 - vs Knight
9:01 - vs Camel Rider
9:21 - vs Sofa
9:52 - vs Sipahi
10:31 - vs Fire Lancer
10:54 - vs War Elephant
11:13 - vs Horse Archer
11:41 - vs Camel Archer
12:02 - vs Mangudai
12:18 - vs Tower Elephant
12:31 - Siege & Mangonel
12:57 - Summary of Engagements
13:17 - Rules of Thumb
14:18 - Covering their Weaknesses
15:14 - Conclusion

[@AgeofNoob]

Sorry for the delay with this one folks, but hope you all enjoy this promised analysis video of the Janissary! As mentioned in the video, I will be away from my PC for a few weeks, but I will be back with many videos in December. I will be launching a new series for AoE4, so stay tuned. Thanks for tuning in. :)

[@anonymeoui3248]

Its better to give a video of good quality late than giving a bad video in time

[@zwojack7285]

Could you make a similar video for the Landsknecht? It feels like the only thing they can effectively deal with are spearmen and MaA. Cavalry technically, too, but in reality they can just run away

[@anonymeoui3248]

@@zwojack7285 Landsknecht are exactly like that. its a unit that is strong when mixed with man at arm because it is realisticly impossible to micro ranged unit to focus the Landsknecht.

[@MyViolador]

AoE 2 and 3 Janissary: super strong and versatile troop but high cost AoE 4: expensive ranged spearmen

[@daswordofgork9823]

Janissary: Carries a musket, the one weapon that changed the world. Literally gets slaughtered by toothpicks (ie all the other weapons/units in this game)

[@attractivegd9531]

yeah, Janissaries were incredible elite warrirors of the Ottoman empire, not sure how they thought it would be cool to make them so weak, maybe for balance changes.

[@Projolo]

@@attractivegd9531 they were just slave warriors

[@Projolo]

Musket would be in Age III This is medieval musket didn't exist yet.

[@blecao]

I mean on the era that aoe4 covers you would never see arquebus alone they where a support element to pikemen and polearm troops And otoman armies althougth what it may seem was mostly consistent of cavalry they tended to have more cavalry than infantry and infantry was also mostly the levies and auxiliary troops from the subjects not the jannisaries

[@duncanbrewster439]

Such a thorough and high quality video, love these!

[@AgeofNoob]

Glad you like them Duncan!

[@inkarnator7717]

IMO they should have been a stronger version of the hand canoneer. There is no obvious reason why a gunner should be an anti-cavalry specialist. It is counter-intuitive and AoE4's conuters system is already complex enough.

[@kelleren4840]

So, from a historical perspective it makes sense because the sound of gunfire would spook horses unless they were highly trained (which was rare). Not sure if that's what the devs were going for though

[@BarisPalabiyik]

@@kelleren4840 If regular hand cannoneers not using silencers, they should have the bonus too then.

[@marcopolo1613]

Excellent review as usual, thanks for all the work!

[@AgeofNoob]

No problem! :)

[@TheRok1071]

if the janissaries are not a ranged unit, the ottomans should also have normal H.C. I don't understand why the janissaries aren't just made as a bonus unit like the other races. camel riders, landsknechts, mangudai, mounted archers, genadiers, etc. all agree that the janissaries are not handcannoiers, so the Ottomans lack this unit. Unfortunately, crossbowmen did not replace handcannoneers. And no special unit performs worse compared to the normal version except for the Janissaries. Still a super cool and informative video.

[@maxmustermann3811]

Yes, I agree that would be nice

[@williamschubert4819]

I do agree with this. Make them special HC in imperial age instead of a completely different unit. Keep their uniqueness in castle age with a small buff.

[@tokash1337]

The quality of your Videos is so high. Thank you so much for all the effort you put in here.

[@deliesek9126]

How are your graphics and shades so good, man its perfect

[@alcerscruro6107]

And to think that the janissaries have a musket, instead of that stick with the metal cylinder of Handcannoneers.

[@Anonymous47007]

extra 50% damage from ranged units is crazy they should remove that

[@carlossime6572]

No. The unique funtion on janissaries is to protect siege bro against cav. So always the janissaries has to go with mangonel / great bombards those units melt the archers.

[@cseijifja]

@@carlossime6572 i would rather have the janissiers be weak against artillery really.

[@holoqofholoqqia9503]

@@cseijifja Same. Idk about your reasoning but my reasoning is ALL ranged units should be weak to Artillery. Janissaries are weak to literally every ranged unit in the game whilst being more expensive than HC and that's kind of bullshit. Janissaries are not just good gunpowder infantry, they're good melee infantry as well. They're one of if not the most robust military unit in the late medieval and throughout the renaissance period. But I agree with one comment in this thread. Make it underpowered so it can be buffed, instead of making it overpowered and then nerfed to oblivion.

[@lorenzos.4442]

Excellent presentation

[@HasanBabasi]

Also it doesn't make any sense for the Ottomans to not have horse archers, I am Alevi-Turkmen, we lived on our horses and the Ottoman empire wouldn't have gotten anywhere without horse archers. Did AoE4 devs do any research on the Ottomans?

[@duchessskye4072]

It's a balance thing. There's a lot of factions in this game which don't have units which would've made sense historically, because the devs want to keep the factions more varied and balanced.

[@anilkarakaya9343]

Only in early stages. Ottoman army was infantry heavy aside from light cav

[@duchessskye4072]

@@anilkarakaya9343 no, the ottomans used Sipahi cavalry who were horse archers well into the 17th century, and the sipahi could be heavily armoured as well for the highest status ones.

[@anilkarakaya9343]

@@duchessskye4072 their main force was always byzantine style infantry. you can see people like shah ismael mocking them for this

[@duchessskye4072]

@@anilkarakaya9343 the ottomans made use of troops recruited from the balkans and other territories as the primary force in battles yes, hence why it can be considered 'byzantine' as the byzantines did similar things back in their day. However their own raised troops such as the Sipahi and the Janissaries would make up the last line of defence in a battle and they still made up a significant part of the army. Of those, the sipahi would serve as horse archers and melee cavalry at the same time, and the janissary would serve as foot archers/gunners and melee infantry, in a system very unlike the byzantines.

[@AzzeddineXT]

you know they suck when he said back them up with spears so to summarize it you are better off making spears instead, more health and they stop charges, cost half the jans, wood instead of gold and only take bonus damage vs archers instead of every ranged unit in the game

[@zaganim3813]

but jans clean up cav much fast than spears in equal numbers.

[@AzzeddineXT]

@@zaganim3813 true, but they are alot more squishier than spearman

[@maxmustermann3811]

The thing is, janissary aren’t a main army unit, they are IMO a support unit. Just mixing a few into your normal army composition makes it much harder for enemy cav

[@acommoncommenter9364]

@@maxmustermann3811 I agree. I use them to guard my xbows from cavalry. They're much more reliable in that guarding role than spearman because, unlike spearman, they don't need to expose themselves to archer fire to deal with the threat of cavaly at the frontlines. But they are pretty much unreliable in everything else, which is bad for Ottoman imperial age imo.

[@hafidzsiddiq9827]

@@acommoncommenter9364 that's it, their role is protecting siege or ranged units from cav But still they need buff, maybe 10 more HP, and 4,5 range?

[@cabi0409]

Did they get any buff after this video was made...? I recently picked up the game again, so I was wondering if Janissarys are viable or considered good in any way? ☺️

[@donjeremino7958]

Hello Age of Noob, are siege crews worth a vesir point, you may get 25% more attackspeed but the units supply cost is sort of raised by 1...

[@08vinster]

this is a great video, but how much does it change when you add mehters, which is what the civ is supposed to use how much does it change when you add mehters, which is what the civ is supposed to use. its like discussing HRE eco without factoring prelates, or mongols without the signal arrow or yam or stone or improved tech

[@FrenkBenjaminGaming]

The rifle began to be used by the Janissaries as it became widespread in the army from the 16th century. But on the other hand they mostly used sword, shield, reaper and axe + their "smack". They were one of the most terrifying and horrific unit in their timeline but IDK why, AoE team always represent them like only musketeers but actually they are not. I was expecting both ranged and melee unit in AoE4 at least but it's quite same unit as like 2 and 3...

[@JiminyCricketeer]

Relic probably thought that melee would make them streltsy reskins or something

[@Loreweavver]

I haven't been playing long and I'm on a console so take all this as opinion but iI find the flow of units produced to complement one another for the ottoman. The military schools are supposed allow you to field a more diverse army and spend resources on upgrades and siege spears into archers with a mangonel or springald holds up well and adding in jans and bombards to that ball is an easy transition. Make cavalry as needed if the enemy is going mass siege/archers. I find most opponents go mass knights and archers/Xbow in lategame and the bombard jan combo with a few lancers to shield them can be brutal. Side note: the little drummer horse should not be ignored. Pretty sure with multiple meta one can have all three buffs active at once plus the speed buff from the viz point.

[@Spiror]

Nice video. Do the same with rus streltsy to see the diffs with janissary….

[@alishanjavid]

much awaited video

[@dragonscaleshields]

Guns losing to bows is the worst ape-shit Relic has ever done.

[@ratzrudi]

It's historically accurate, however. When wieldable handheld gunpowder guns and weapons first became usable in warfare, in the late and high medieval era, they weren't anywhere near the high velocity high calibre guns we see today. They also didn't have the same accuracy or range as they do today. A bow most certainly outranged a gun, as it does in the game, and it was also much faster to prepare a new arrow than a new shot/pellet.

[@dragonscaleshields]

@@ratzrudi Still even when in range and outnumbering the bow wins, it's rediculous. I could get behind the idea of bows outranging early hand cannons but the shots are so weak even when compared to AoE II. Their guns do the same damage as the arrows. And you can't win even when outnumbering or ambushing the bowmen. It's just bad design. The same balance of bows/crossbows countering handguns and handguns countering everything else can be achieved by just the range difference alone. There's no need for bullshit bonus damages and weak base damage.

[@mertroll1]

@@ratzrudi if you go by that logic, then jannisarries or any other gunpowder unit should cost nothing compared to bowmen, since training a man to shoot an arrow accuratly is way more time intensive and than holding a gun infront of you hoping for the best. So therefore your argument makes no fucking sense, since bowmen themselves are not historically accurate

[@ilansobel1631]

This video is excellent. Janissary does not fit squarely into the traditional rock-scissor-paper role, so the only way to analyze it is to do all matchups individually and then combine it. Now we see why Janissary is so rare in competitive matches, and "didn't exist" in Redbull Wololo. A shame. But Great Bombard and Grand Galley are even worse

[@arda213]

It is a shit unit.

[@rubingerard]

Was that a skyrim BG music? It seemed familiar to my ears, but cant remember where i heard it

[@AgeofNoob]

Indeed, it's music from Skyrim. :)

[@AnotherSeeker]

I think they need to raise their range by a tile or even a half* tile. IMO, the Chinese handcannons should be on equal terms for range with the janissaries with janissaries edging out the chinese with damage by 1 or 2 while retaining that siege repair. China is credited with birthing gunpowder onto the battlefield, but in game they are clearly using some simple weapon designs where as the janissaries have crafted their guns with metal barrels and are specifically trained to use them. Their reload should be improved with the elite upgrade also.

[@leopardhunter99]

What I gathered from this video is that they suck and need a buff. They're an expensive ranged spearman.

[@depressedespresso3928]

I think that if we remove the 50% damage they receive from ranged units they will be allright

[@BuggyDClown-pc7sc]

@@depressedespresso3928 they will still be the worst unit. They need more cav dmg. Janissary purpose is having 4-8 around a great bombard to protect those great bombards enemy knights. Knights melt down siege +jans in EVERY ladder game.

[@BuggyDClown-pc7sc]

@@depressedespresso3928 its a gun powder unit and loses to maa😂

[@depressedespresso3928]

@@BuggyDClown-pc7sc Maybe more ranged + removal of the ranged debuff will be the answer. Having the range to perform 2 attacks before being hit sounds great

[@Andreas-cp4go]

Where are the new videos? There are a lot of things that needs to be analyzed including gathering upgrades now when they are cheaper.

[@Autonomous_Don]

Jannisaries are meant to be with speed buffed Mehters. If you give them an “maa front line” and “aoe healers” on top of that. it’s over for any civ. No one beats that

[@TommyLikeTom]

why do the horse archers just stand in place?

[@berkerdemirer7982]

Thanks, I will never use Jannisaries after this

[@BloomingBlueClayon]

I watch this at 2 AM even though I don't play the game...

[@vic0th380]

Can you also share the name of the songs you use in the description if possible ? I usually love them and its bad that I cannot find em.

[@ahmedkeremsayar]

janisarries seriously need a touch never used one or saw someone use them in mp.

[@lowaimnobrain]

crushing in conq with them in every single match that the enemy makes a stables. there is nothing more cost effective in the game than having a small clump of these behind your other units.

[@Projolo]

They are a support for siege

[@Projolo]

@@theequalizer5501 They wanted freedom

[@faziruddin]

Waiting for this video. Sadly janissaries arent as i expected so im avoiding using them mostly.

[@SamuraiHonor]

Oof most comments didn't age well. Either a bunch of bronzies, aoe2 fanatics or overly patriotic turks. Turns out putting ranged units into direct fights (weird how ingame you'll play to avoid that like the plague) doesn't give a great view of reality in the end. Kinda spicy that units with similar stats to a crossbow (to which nearly every age 3 army defaults to for range), will do quite well if you don't let it get bumrushed. Especially if the bumrishing cav gets near insta deleted by them.

[@Kwargh]

This janissary is the worst janissary, that I have seen for ages. Gunpowder “destroys” armored units. Period. This useless thing can not even win against spears, horse archers, streltsy, bowman, longbowman, javelin throwers? Really? Really? It’s anti cav but loses to mangudai, knights, african cavalry? What is this anyway? Than you are wondering why people dont play aoe4. Give janissary a unit count and make them robust like hell. They were the only proffessional army of europe for a long time.

[@LaurensPP]

On the other hand, I'm glad they don't launch it OP and nerf it down. I'd rather have them launch it underpowered and buff them to a good spot.

[@kelleren4840]

Uuuuhhhh gunpowder didn't destroy armor no questions asked for hundreds of years after it was in use. The term "bullet proof" comes from armorers literally shooting their armor with bullets to "prove" that it could protect against them. So no, gunpowder units absolutely didn't annihilate all armor until well after the middle ages and even the rennaissance. That said, sure, it can be re-balanced for better gameplay. But if no one plays AoE4 then why are we all here watching this video? Lol

[@guardsmensquad]

@@kelleren4840 lol I'd rather watch the video than play a crappy game, my money will stay in my pocket

[@SamuraiStyle1]

The game is actually awesome lol

[@Projolo]

@Snorbo Plate armor could stop 3 musket shot and they used musket for testing.

[@sandybarton1797]

I feel like their bonus should be expanded to all melee units, and not just cavalry. Its very strange that they counter cavalry, but the slower infantry units can still beat them rather consistently. That plus their lack of range could be fixed by a buff or by providing the Ottomans with normal hand cannoneers as well.

[@kolterclayton2385]

i love the janissaries

[@crowrider199]

İ think they were win against only wilagers😢

[@yhuveys1216]

You have to make translate for turkish language too

[@HasanBabasi]

I am Alevi, there's a good chance I have an ancestor who was a Janissary. It's highly upsetting seeing them being so awful in this game. There was a reason why the Janissaries were so powerful and effective that the Sultan had to use Sipahi's to betray and destroy the Janissaries. I don't get offended by stuff like this, but damn.

[@oa7554]

This is why the Sultan destroyed them. You Alevis are evil.

[@crowrider199]

Soryy alevi but they are ortadox childs

[@HasanBabasi]

@@crowrider199 Yes the Janissaries were composed of many Orthodox Christian children that were stolen and forced to convert to Islam, but Alevi people were not seen as Muslim, so they took us too. The Janissary Corps school was the Haci Bektaş Veli, an Alevi school.

[@anilkarakaya9343]

Alevi means you were not only turkmen, you were on opposite side against ottomans rum-western orientation. And janissaries were never ever turkmen

[@HasanBabasi]

@@anilkarakaya9343 Yes and no, I think you are misunderstanding me. Janissaries included Alevi-Turkmen. The Janissary corps school was that of Haci Bektaş Veli. The people were a mix of Greek Christians and Alevi because they did not consider us Muslim, it is why there are and have been many pogroms against us. Especially when the Ottoman empire betrayed the Janissaries and uses the Sipahi to do it.

[@oneminutecoder]

While you were fighting with wood, we were destroying castles with big cannons. We were firing guns while you were throwing wood into the air. Now we understand that you want to make yourself look bigger here. Because you are small.

[@Goldsnip]

Would be nice to have the info without micro. as usuallly in big fights it is tough. Does noy look like the Janissary is a good units, and you are better to make spears, requires less micro.

[@vinifrss]

Some may say Janissary is for "protect siege from cav"(?) but fact is, 1- siege kills siege 90%, not cav, 2- the HC / Streltsy unit plays a critical, life-or-death role for all civs in Imperial, and the Ottomans don't have any unit to fill this life-or-death role, 3- Mango +Jan combo is very hard to micro, and so vulnerable vs skilled player, 4- "ranged spearman" function is strcturally redundant, 5- dependence on babysitting from Mango, is recipe for a very useless, terrible unit, 6- Ottomans desperately need tanky Imperial units per population slot, not weak units wasting the pop slot, 7- Great Bombard is too fragile, dies too fast, too weak, too ineffective to be able to make a difference in combo in competitive play etc etc etc. Summary, it all makes no sense. Janissary is iconic and beloved: I DON'T believe AoE4 balance devs are acting in good faith.

[@zaganim3813]

why dont you believe the devs are not acting in good faith? its much more likely that they just wanted to make a cool niche unit and missed the mark a bit. people have too much emotions invested into a damn unit and its clouds judgement. honestly i think what they will do is buff the base damage a bit to make it on par with other hand cannoneers and then excel vs cav. dont think devs will change their mind too much about the niche

[@vinifrss]

@@zaganim3813 What emotions. It's all rock solid argumentation there. Can read?

[@maxmustermann3811]

Haha, ottomans have tanks units in imperial, what do you mean with no tanks units per population? They have knights and maa

[@patriciogonzalez9329]

"the HC / Streltsy unit plays a critical, life-or-death role for all civs in Imperial" can you elaborate on this one please?

[@holycrapitsachicken]

​@@zaganim3813 Fully upgraded, Janissaries do practically match Hand Cannoneers. It's just that they did a strange twist in AOE4 where Janissaries are dramatically lower cost than Hand Cannoneers where in the other AOE2 and AOE3, they were higher cost. In AOE4, a Hand Cannoneer is 240 total cost while Janissary is 160 total cost. To do an accurate cost comparison, you need to compare 2 Hand Cannoneers to 3 Janissaries. On top of that, base production times are 35 seconds for Hand Cannoneers and 24 seconds for Janissaries so you can make 3 janissaries in practically the same time frame as 2 hand cannoneers anyways, and dramatically quicker when you consider the ottoman influence reducing it to 18/15 seconds. When you look at it that way, it makes sense why they feel weak in a 1-to-1 comparison. In fact, I think that's why Janissary Guns exist: to keep their damage almost equal to Hand Cannoneers at equal cost comparison. That +3 boost lets 3 janissaries deal 69 damage where 2 hand cannoneers would deal 70. I do agree with the siege destroys siege thing though. The introduction of the springald just made that the norm and Janissary really isn't a good answer to that from the Ottomans. A Chinese Clocktower Springald after Siege Works can even tank a hit from the Great Bombard.

[@yoyodude-aoe2726]

This is a so bad, aoe2 janni is one of the most powerful ranged unit in the game. And this one dies to Spearman 11

[@AgeofNoob]

They have to balance the unit somehow. If the Janissaries could deal with both Infantry and Cavalry, then they'd be unstoppable. :D I do agree though that I would've taken a different approach designing their place in the game.

[@ArawnOfAnnwn]

@@AgeofNoob Well at least they shouldn't lose to Sofas then. And win much harder against Sipahis. They're cavalry after all.

[@yoyodude-aoe2726]

@@AgeofNoob there's archers/xbow, and these units have 3.5 range. So any ranged unit should deal with them, They should be able to wreak melee units in mass and when microed though. For 100g a unit, they shouldn't die to Spearman, I assume spears don't cost gold like age2

[@Stelphy876]

@@AgeofNoob in AoE2 they have less bonus dmg against infantry too, they're mostly to deal with cavalry and siege. and they get wrecked by archers there too.

[@MarkhasSteelfort]

@@Stelphy876 Aoe 2 Janissaries are not anti Cav units, they are generalist allrounders with good damage to everything.

[@luckymelih6064]

what the f is this even troop? %60 or higher buf needed or make it range even longer.

[@sebaaullador1292]

If people is so mad at this jenissary, then they should just change them to be anti-armour and problem solve

[@BeholdEmir]

incredible video with great content, I always keep coming back for more!!! amazing work!!

[@JorjiCostava-]

So stupid how weak janissaries are. Losing to a Zhuge nu is absurd, as that weapon was considered poor for military use and just suitable for self defense of scholars and women due to the low energy of the darts. In a military setting the darts were poisoned because of how weak they are. They just get destroyed by trash units too, when in their time period they dominated the most advanced armies of their time, like the French at Nicopolis or the cream of Europe's knights at Varna.

[@rayyanbinothman]

As kids in Malaysia, we're told about a great empire of the past. When Europeans were pillaging Africa, America and Asia, the Ottomans welcomed all peoples, defeated Europeans in the heart of Europe, and sent powerful navies with gifts and elite troops to defend us: the Janissaries. I can't describe my sadness to see what Age 4 devs have done to the Jans, dude. Our own family name, common here, is a tribute of affection and respect to the great Empire. You did a brilliant analytical video, I just had to comment this.

[@Deathskull0001]

Yeah, Janisaries were also recruited via a blood tithe, so not quite the romantic picture

[@tomasstanek2982]

Yeah, they were so great that about 1/5th of the empire were actual slaves and sex slavery only got banned in the 20th century. The Ottoman empire was somewhat tolerant compared to early modern Europe, but your "Malaysian schools" seem to be spewing pure uncritical propaganda.

[@zaganim3813]

dude there is a lot of historical propaganda going on there. i bet ottoman empire did a lot of great things for you country but know that there is a lot of other not so bright parts of history where "welcoming all peoples" is a lie. you know ottoman empire had a slave trade right? sure the war with european countries was a lot about religion but at its heart it was also about economy.

[@Kameeho]

@@Deathskull0001 Gotta love them young boys taken away from their families to become soldiers. In a scale that an african warlord would shed a tear of envy.

[@rayyanbinothman]

@@Deathskull0001 What feudal lord in Europe didn't impose soldier levy on its subjects? Or anywhere in the world ftm? Difference is, they were paid Nothing and got No training, cannon fodder for sacrifice. Janissary was the highest paid, highest status, best training soldier / officer of the age.

[@wawaweewa9159]

the damage is toooooo weak.

[@kelleren4840]

Help me Anakin!! -Janissaries, probably

[@IRONJUGGERNOT]

So paying food and gold for a reasonably powerful ranged spearman? A real shame that we don't have a bulk army unit, but a specialized counter. As long as we see them fairly frequently it should still be fine.

[@omerk3813]

Amazing review indeed, many thanks! What is the title of the tune played at the 'Covering their Weaknesses' part btw?

[@KommandoMGS]

Yelkenler Biçilecek

[@aragornii507]

AOE 3 Janissaries are still better though. I still think Relic did a terrible job with this game.

[@Autonomous_Don]

The jannisaries comped with buffed Mehters, aoe healers and an maa frontline shreds everything. Even HRE gets taken to the woodshed

[@Mochido89]

I think they should buff their range a bit and lower that insane bonus damage they take from ranged sources. Otherwise, they are a good option to counter cavalry charges, specially to guard your siege units.

[@ayuuraragna3998]

lol and i wanted to buy aoe 4 only for this unit, not anymore.

[@waffle-waffle5416]

Tbh historically you don't do equal number with gunnery, you get as many peasant as you can and give them as many guns as you can then just train them how to load and point their gun at the enemy for few days and they'll plough through anything

[@ertegi64366]

takes 50% more damage... there is nothing as stupid as this in the game. why? why he takes more ranged damage? honestly, these developers should turn off their brains and just make janissaries as a skin to handcannoners.

[@AzzeddineXT]

The balance team is a joke in this game

[@ArawnOfAnnwn]

@@AzzeddineXT Considering all the civ win rates are fairly close, that doesn't seem to be the case at all.

[@AzzeddineXT]

@@ArawnOfAnnwn because nobody makes them, instead it archer mehter sipahis feudal rush

[@ArawnOfAnnwn]

@@AzzeddineXT Makes what? I said CIV win rates, not any specific unit. However you may feel about any of the particular units in the game, the civs have been pretty well balanced overall so far.

[@guerreirodaliberdade7800]

@@ArawnOfAnnwn No AoE4 civ win rates and pick rates are very not close.

[@MegaMOUNDS]

The scaling of this game really is terrible, the buildings look like cubby houses next to all the giant humans

[@oneminutecoder]

The Janissaries turned the largest western church into a mosque. (Hagia Sophia) Bad game. If the rifle is so weak, why did they use a rifle? The West's hypocritical and false historical view appears in this game. In reality, 100 Janissaries easily defeat 1000 archers. Otherwise, Istanbul would be in the hands of Europe, not the Turks. They were coming together and getting beat up and leaving. They were so afraid that the Turks were coming, they discovered America while escaping from the Ottoman Empire. The Black Sea and the Mediterranean were like a Turkish lake.

[@anadolurocker]

This game developer doesn't know who are the jenisseries period. Also the sipahis stronger than any other units . Also ottoman has also horse archers as well .

[@hadimali6392]

It might be better with Mehter but, still Janissaries are horrible! It must be like in the history, the strongest one must be. They could be the most expensive gunners yet the best must be. They should swap with russian one and swap it with terico. Terico should have bonus damage against calvary and they could be weak against others...

[@elefant4561]

Great video as always! Really looking forward to an updated version on which economic upgrades that are worth getting when, now that eco upgrades are cheaper.

[@kelleren4840]

Janissaries being anti-cav makes tons of sense. AND THEN THE WINGED HUSSARS ARRIVED!!!!!!!

[@williamvangeance913]

Love your videos! Keep it up

[@mubashirali8898]

very nice video.

[@VuLe-fv8cg]

You forgot to test with french knight. I think heavy lose and lose when equal number. Another UU pay to lose in this game 😂😂

[@jack0123nj]

thanks for your testing.

[@Quinti22]

good video as usual, the production and editing is impecable as always. but i'm a little dissapointed (english is not my first language and this word it's too strong for what i'm trying to convey but i can't find another that fits) in the analysis part, it's a good analysis but it's have room from improvement. just throwing a unit type against each other is just a face level analysis that more often than not fail to tell the whole story, Specially when is about ranged units. i know that it's imposible to perfect analyse this kind of topic. but some feedback: show us how other similar units perform in the same test to have a point of comparison. also, when analysing ranged units vs melee units don't only show us a fight between the units but also the DPS that the ranged unit deal to the melee unit to have an idea about how they perform when having a meat shield in front. also. some footage/test were recorded during PUP when they were bugged and being considered ranged despite not having the ranged tag? because at 06:09 you say that janissaries take two bonus damage from the Javelins thrower. and at 12:48 you can see some full hp janissaries getting two shooted by the mangonels but that doesn't happens on the live server, they take three mango shots to kill instead of two like archers and crossbows.

[@AgeofNoob]

While you make good points in the first part of your comment, it's just a matter of time & effort spent, as well as the length of the video. For more detail, the video would include when you'd use Archers vs Crossbows vs Spear, and include critical mass of each vs each type of unit (and take into account blacksmith upgrades and different unique civ upgrades). It's impossible to cover every single scenario in the game without making the video 2 hours. Hence, while I do agree with you, players can still watch this video and get a rough idea on how much damage they deal and take from all units, and they can decide on their own how to engage after a bit of experience. Regarding the second part of your video - all of the footage in the video was filmed using the current live patch. Mangonels' RNG spread matters in whether or not they take the full damage and subsequently die.

[@Quinti22]

@@AgeofNoob thanks for the answer and sorry if i sounded a pedantic. i don't know how to proper phrase myself in english and reading my coment i feel like i sound like and a**hole. just to be clear, amazing video as always, top notch aoe content, and i know that it take a lot of time an effort. . regarding the mangonel part, there is something weird in the footage that you are showing, maybe a bug or something. but the maximun possible damage that a mangonel should deal to a janissarie per voley is 36 (they deal siege damage so it's damage shouldn't be amplified by 50% like the damage of archers, crossbows and springalds. and janissaries not having the ranged tag shouldn´t take the extra 18 bonus damage of mangonel vs ranged units) so the full hp janissaries even if they take full splash damage from both mango shots should survive with 18 hp.

[@AgeofNoob]

No worries at all mate, no offense taken. :) You make a good point regarding the mangonel damage actually. I'll run some tests to double-check and ask the devs if the interaction is intended. Could be a carry-over bug perhaps.

[@abrameleh5865]

Hi Age of Noob! is it possible for you to look deeper into units fighting and espiecialy their death animations? Drongo lately has shown closer a death animation of two spearmen killing each other and it looked amaizing.

[@AgeofNoob]

Actually, I might give this a shot. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@Kameeho]

@@AgeofNoob make sure to add Dramatic sad music for the prolonged death scenes!

[@msc7594]

Really badly designed units overall. It forces the Turks to rely on seige engines. IRL the Ottomans changed warfare, the Janissaries were used as elite shock troops and would constsntly be put in the worst situations available, i.e. a breaking center or full breach in a seige, and they would persevere against anything. These guys literally made the knight obsolete in warfare as it was a complete counter, light armor, far ranging weapon, with am emphasis on mace close to close combat they were ridiculously effective.

[@anonymeoui3248]

How does the damage interaction work with mangonel? Janissairy are Light Gunpowder Infantry that mean they don't take hte bonus damage from the mangonel. But they take 50% more damage from ranged source does this apply to mangonel?

[@hafidzsiddiq9827]

They removed extra damage from mangonel

[@camroth89]

Mangonel has "siege" damage which is different than "ranged" damage.

[@maxmustermann3811]

They are better against mangonels than archers, they don’t take any bonus damage

[@carlossime6572]

Nice!!!

[@MrRhyswoodland]

So the Janissary unit is pretty terrible then really...

[@SimCityEA1989]

What kind of music did you use for the ending Conclusion? It's very nice! :D

[@acommoncommenter9364]

It's a version of a Mehter aspirant march, Yelkenler Biçilicek/Sails will be cut.

[@SimCityEA1989]

@@acommoncommenter9364 Almost had me there XD

[@acommoncommenter9364]

@@SimCityEA1989 ah, did I interpret your question wrong? Thought you were asking the music at the end.

[@SimCityEA1989]

@@acommoncommenter9364 Oooooh I see what happened here- Unfortunately you did interpret my question wrong! Im talking about at the VERY end of the video. The conclusion part! You see, i interpreted your comment as satire or a trick question since I looked it up and couldn't connect the two, so it sounded like your comment was a tricked question (Cause I've gotten many of those before when asking for music, they would send me the wrong ones lol) I'm sorry for misjudged you bro- my bad- But yeah, I'm taking about at the VERY end of the video starting at 15:14

[@CloudCuckooCountry]

Great video! I've been playing the Ottomans on ranked, and something I think is underappreciated when testing unit matchups like this is how well the janissary is positioned in the evolving game state of a typical match. Ottomans are currently known for big feudal archer masses with multiple archery ranges built in feudal age. This means that when you get to castle age, you A) already have the ranges you need to start massing janissaries, B) already have a ranged mass that you can just start mixing your janissaries into, and C) will have likely forced your opponent into making cavalry to counter your archers, which you can then counter with janissaries. So I've found that an early castle age switch into janissaries is a really good tactic (except against English lol longbows). Of course, whether janissaries continue to be strong in castle age depends on what the opponent techs into, but they definitely have a stage of the game where they consistently feel powerful imo

[@ilansobel1631]

You're describing a super situational (= TERRIBLE) core unique unit

[@CloudCuckooCountry]

@@ilansobel1631 Dude this is getting old now. Move on

[@ilansobel1631]

@@CloudCuckooCountry Truth never gets old. I'm correct, and proven again. You move on

[@zaganim3813]

@@ilansobel1631 why must the unique unit be spammable? this is like how people play rts when they are a kid. like in starcraft 1 when you fight the AI and build 30 battlecruisers just because its cool.

[@YoMaDeRe]

Any chance of seeing these comparisons with the drummer boys and talent upgrade? 15% attack seed and movement is no joke.

[@AgeofNoob]

Drummer boys analysis will be a standalone video, so it'll be covered then. :)

[@adrianrafaelmagana804]

So they suck?

[@SaW906AC]

Excellent review, thank you very much for yet another great video!

[@adibtatriantama]

Jannissary is my favorite in AoE 3. It has good ranged and melee. The feature that a unit has either melee or ranged weapon in AoE 3 is neat.

[@guardsmensquad]

they look weak, they were stronger in AGE OF EMPIRES 3, had the same melee strength as halberds

[@eljouser]

soo....useless?

[@multitalentedman1284]

I played like 200 games with ottomans without even touching jannisary icon xD I am diamond now with happy stats. Ottomans are just fine. But DO NOT create or try janissaries or GB's.. Devs made ABSOLUTE HUUUGE mistake by designing Ottoman gunpowder units to be niche and crap like this. Idk this game left me speechless about the design. Sipahi+Mehter+Archers+M@A with some Heavy cavalry is only way to go with ottos... WORST UNITS IN THE GAME ! 1) Great Bombards 2) Jannisaries 3) Eleps. 4) Langshedlts

[@malbatahan801]

You forgot the "even worst of the worst" of all AoE games: Ottoman Grand Galley

[@multitalentedman1284]

@@malbatahan801 Yea thats true. But i dont play sea maps xD

[@maxmustermann3811]

I think with 4 you mean Landsknechte? They are one of the most powerful units in the game, and every pro uses them when playing hre. Also Jans are definetily better than melee elephants

[@multitalentedman1284]

@@maxmustermann3811 yea i mean landsckenete or whatever. U are right maybe they have some way to go. But definetely jans are CRAP i dont even argue about it

[@kelleren4840]

Not sure if you meant landsknecht for number 4 but they're far from the top 4 worst in the game. You see them in top-tier competitive matchups all the time.

[@kurosujiomake]

What abotu Malian warrior scouts? They both have bonus DMG against each other but scouts are significantly cheaper

[@shermuhammadkhan3383]

Hey age of noob! Really great and informative video! The janissary is indeed a very complex unit, two key questions that are left in my mind after watching this video are 1) how do janissaries do vs cavalry compared to the traditional cav counter, the spearman if compared 1 to 1 ? And also 2) how do the jannisarries do compared to the crossbowmen when it comes to units like the knight and sofa ?? I understand probably mixing them with a spear frontline is ideal vs Knights and sofas, as their ranged attack can be very beneficial making them very efficient that way, but from a raw comparison standpoint I want to know what i am getting out of the trade investing my resources into one or the other yk! Thanks again for always producing such amazing content ! (I thought these questions would be addressed like in your MaA vs Landsknecht video ! )

[@125discipline2]

janisary in history: i will conquer balkan for my sultan janisary in aoe4: helmp armcher

[@Autonomous_Don]

They are meant to be with speed buffed Mehters, which turns them into a fast tankier unit.

[@danielag7995]

What songs did you use for this soundtrack?

[@elysium3079]

Stupid game mechanics. Gun loses to arrow lol

[@zine_eddinex24]

🔥

One of the devs must be either from Greece or Armenia. Ottomans have no real power or strategy to surprise enemy. All UU' s are basically BS. Huge failure.

[@nothing5841]

they ruined ottomans in game completely let alone janissaries hope they fix it

[@slayer19978]

Shouldnt they get jassanaries archers too

[@kapish2222]

I am new to AOE4, Can anyone please tell me how to get Fire bow for archers ? What civilization and what upgrade ?

[@floylde]

Any civilisation in university « flaming arrow » technology

[@kapish2222]

@@floylde amazing thank you so much

[@nonchaitad3310]

I love skyrim ambient music

[@taurohkea2169]

aoe4 killed janissary rip

[@Arcodus]

Wait a minute! Moustaches ARE seroius business!! Thanks for the video! I don't know what I was expecting from the Janissaries other than being more 'ard than your video depicts. I know that placing them in age 3 means they can't be powerful in all categories, but the janissaries seemingly got pwned more often than not. Plant them with other parts of your military then and have them defend(against cav) and mend artilllery as opposed to being a super unit on it's own.

[@acommoncommenter9364]

How is archer defeating jannisary in equal numbers? Doesn't Janissaries have better stats even when you amplify archer damage by %50?

[@AgeofNoob]

Yes, and they still lose. Remember that the Janissaries' range are also very low, so they lose one or two before they can even begin engaging.

[@acommoncommenter9364]

@@AgeofNoob Oh I see. Thank you for explaining and, as always, thank you for top notch content.

[@omerzahidkara4827]

Absurt

[@kaniox141]

Musofadi hand cannoneers are good against siege

[@zine_eddinex24]

❤️

[@psssshhh7730]

This analysis goes pretty deep but there are a few key asterisks: -You need to actually micro the jans to beat basic spearmen - and even then you lose to basic maa which everyone has -Vs other gunpowder units jans dont scale as hard with numbers - e.g. 30 hc's can take out 45 jans, but as we saw smaller numbers favor the jans. At a critical mass, jans DO NOT counter hcs of any kind. In smaller numbers hc' can also kite jans like most ranged infantry. -Camel archers do not cost gold. Ottomans can get free units, but think very carefully about messing with a food heavy, trash unit back by abba eco. -CA's might struggle (or might not) but horse archers and even tower eles can beat jans in even res if allowed to kite. Most ranged cav outrange jans with the exception of mangudai (that apparently just beat them) and have the speed to keep distance. It takes ranged cav staying in 3.5 tiles for jans to win. In lower numbers, expect kiting, in higher numbers (even pop scenario) stay away from CA's and Mangudai. -Just make ribauldequins instead.