Britons Overview AoE2 (updated for DE)

Overview of the Britons in Age of Empires 2 DE. We'll look at their bonuses, tech tree, and the longbowman.
BONUSES
0:58 Team bonus - archery ranges work 20% faster
1:40 Town centers cost -50% wood in Castle Age (compared to other wood bonuses)
2:35 Foot archers (except skirmishers) have +1 range in castle age, +1 range in imperial age (for +2 total)
3:40 Shepherds work 25% faster
UNIQUE UNIT AND TECHS
5:10 Longbowmen (vs crossbows/arbalest and when I think each unit makes more sense)
A more in-depth look at Lonbows vs Crossbows: • Longbow vs Crossbow [A...
7:00 Yeoman (foot archers +1 range, towers +2 attack)
9:00 Warwolf (trebuchets deal blast damage and have 100% accuracy)
TECH TREE
10:30 Infantry B
10:55 Cavalry C
11:25 Archers A
12:00 Siege B
12:25 Navy B+
12:50 Monks B-
13:23 Defences A-
13:45 Economy B+
14:05 Final thoughts
______________________________________________________________________
The original 2015 overview, for old times' sake: • Britons Overview AoE2
Patreon: / spiritofthelaw
Full intro song: • Spirit of the Law Chan...
Background music from Epidemic Sound: www.epidemicsound.com
Game: Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition, with Forgotten Empires, African Kingdoms, Rise the Rajas, and Last Khans expansions

[@michaeltaylor8698]

This man's a hero for redoing his older civ overviews!

[@ruthswann88]

Honestly he deserves a team to constantly update and make new civ overviews as patches and content appears

[@prabhureubenthomas6052]

Wait.. Are you that guy who had custom campaigns.. Commenting in T west channel

[@aleksanderkaczinski3656]

Honestly, I've been waiting for it and I'm glad he did it

[@josephgrassilli8521]

Most youtubers redoing content = cash grab and lazy Spirit legitimately redoing content because of a definitive edition = you son of a bitch... I’m in.

[@michaeltaylor8698]

@@prabhureubenthomas6052 Yes I was :)

[@mal3xia]

"The archery ranges help on neutral island landings."

[@vagnerseibert1748]

*T90 wants to know your location*

[@samukis272]

I think that whooshed over a lot of folks... cheeki breeki tho

[@theyremykidstoo1642]

@@samukis272 Not knowing something does not equal being whooshed. Learn to use whoosh would you

[@HandsomeGamerGuy]

@@theyremykidstoo1642 Take my Updoot.

[@Outlaw-of1gg]

T90 😂

[@technologic_dev]

A for Archers B for Barracks C for Cavalry Britons certainly keep in line with their English

[@EyeOfEld]

I hate this. Take your 'like'.

[@fernalon3398]

B for barracks, I guess.

[@technologic_dev]

@@fernalon3398 Hahaha makes sense

[@Dooper-nv4fe]

A for archery angle B fo barracks and c for Calvary stable :)

[@niconilo97]

@technologic you whit their latin ! :>

[@eMpTy0911]

A for Archers, C for Cavalry and B for Binfantery

[@light_david7]

🅱️-emoji is so funny

[@Jonathanizer]

This comment put a smile on my face. Thanks stranger!

[@sirlight4954]

And D for defences, and B for boats

[@Alkhalim]

Facts.

[@mackycabangon8945]

hahaha english

[@kwdblade4683]

"So why are Britons so popular on two completely different maps?" *machine gun longbow sounds intensify*

[@edwardteach3000]

Now imagine if they had the Instant Legolas .... If you don't know what that is, think of it like adding the Chu ko nu's multi shot ability to a longbow. And look it up.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

@@edwardteach3000 Oh. Oh dear... READY THE COBRA CAR DIVISION!!!

[@MrGenericNickname]

"You're also heavily sheperded towards the archery range". I see what you did there.

[@jefffinkbonner9551]

I was looking to see if anyone else caught that too

[@TheLeaderofNoone]

"Any neutral Islands" T90 INTESFIFIES

[@funkykriz21]

word :D

[@TheLeaderofNoone]

@@funkykriz21 İ suck at spelling lol

[@BobfromSydney]

SotL: "Those are just my thoughts..." Also SotL: 279k subscribers, biggest YT channel for AoE2 and most authoritative source for AoE2 number crunching

[@nelsonmejiaslozada9362]

At least he is based in stats and don't Say thing because he's is a "tech tree expert".

[@tvremote9394]

12 range elite longbows + AI micro = me punching a hole in my monitor when playing single player against then

[@meepo5223]

Lol ai is sooo annoying mricoing archers against onager

[@ToastyWaffle456]

I've been playing extremely casually since around the time the game released and yesterday I managed to beat the AI 1v1 on extreme while playing as the bulgarians. It indeed felt like a great accomplishment lol.

[@PriyamvadRai]

"Good against Indians" colonialism intensifies

[@mackycabangon8945]

it was 'good with' so they are teammates XD but ok

[@saadiftikhar3317]

Indians be goths on social media

[@PriyamvadRai]

@@saadiftikhar3317 just wait till we reach the imperial age

[@HighKingoftheElves]

Well it is an age of empires

[@jimhalpert9803]

@@saadiftikhar3317 and videos with India in title get the real goth flood

[@sacker987]

"Assuming you don't have a Saracen teammate, rams and trebs can also add some much needed damage toward buildings." Gotta love a good roast of the Saracens' bonus, well played.

[@CrnaStrela]

I laughed at that until the saracens bust out my stone walls with their cav archers

[@Hanfgurkenhasser]

@@CrnaStrela Stories that never happened, part 1. :p

[@born2hula325]

Tbf longbow deathball is about the only time that bonus is decent.

[@sacker987]

Mayans: *laughing to themselves* "When do you think the idiots will figure out the whole obsidian trick??"

[@mattender8323]

@@Hanfgurkenhasser That bonus isn't actually as bad as you would think at a high level. Archers are much better against palisades that way.

[@ramsessiereveld2824]

Ah yes, the old archery range landing on neutral islands strategy! The way you just slipped that in there is a thing of beauty

[@filodipicori]

Re: Britons as popular pick: It may have to do with how the A.I. plays versus humans, and how longbows are very adept at countering their tactics. Especially with the new A.I., non-elite players can find themselves overwhelmed by the computer's APM advantage- they can't manage their eco while trying to stem the constant stream of individual units the A.I. throws at you. Mass Longbows simplify micro, letting them stand ground and arrow down the enemy as they come in, freeing up mental space for the player to expand eco, build units, move siege into position, etc. Then that preference for Britons gets carried over into multiplayer.

[@brettturner4488]

I agree with you 100%. It's also nice to mass them underneath a castle with some counter units to hold the position and get as much value as you can.

[@deschloro]

Historical note: Warwolf (Briton unique tech) was the name of a trebuchet that was said to be the largest ever constructed. It was used by Edward I of England to subdue Sterling castle in 1304.

[@Mike-om4tv]

Great comment

[@michaelandreipalon359]

So much for the epic alternate ending from the William Wallace campaign.

[@mackycabangon8945]

Isnt that the castle that surrendered before the trebuchet was built, and the English were like 'nah wanna test it' and fired it anyways

[@agustinfranco0]

@@mackycabangon8945 apparently, yes "Even before construction could be completed, Scottish soldiers offered surrender, fearing the weapon's potential to destroy the entire castle. Edward sent the truce party back inside the castle, declaring, "You do not deserve any grace, but must surrender to my will." Edward decided to carry on with the siege and witness the destructive power of the weapon. Reportedly, the Warwolf could accurately hurl rocks weighing as much as 135 kilograms (298 lb) from distance of 200 metres (660 ft) and level a large section of the curtain wall."

[@beastwarsFTW]

Edward I was pissed that Sterling surrendered right when he finished building the Warwolf so he shelled the castle anyway.

[@Ryan-Diez]

Hey Spirit of the Law, guys here

[@yajamanvamsikrishna509]

Cough cough. U stole it

[@Ryan-Diez]

@@yajamanvamsikrishna509 eh, just something to say when getting early to the video

[@CBRN-115]

Hey, Spirit of La Hire

[@ADCFproductions]

Hey Spirit, guys of the Law here.

[@Foxx488]

@@ADCFproductions Hey Law, Spirit of the guys here

[@Podcito]

Britons were one of my favourite civs just because of longbowmen, to the point that I neglected siege units because I could take out castles safely and slowly from a mile away with them.

[@jonkoxl2069]

Add saracen ally for 2x faster building melting

[@josepetersen7112]

Crenellations find a use!

[@jonkoxl2069]

@@josepetersen7112 laughs in turkish bombard cannons

[@stevensamuels4041]

Noobs

[@_antares031]

Imagine updating every civ overview for the latest DE version, that's definitely not an easy work to do

[@thalasyus]

The original Britons overview was lacking. This one was overdue, really.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Not easy, yes, but still needed for the masses.

[@Xaders1]

12:42 veeeeery subtle hint, Spirit, very subtle.

[@Physiker17]

Can you explain what the comment about "neutral islands" means?"

[@dimitrikemitsky]

@@Physiker17 a neutral island is one with no player spawn, just empty with some resources. It is a reference to T90Official, another very well known AOE2 caster/youtuber/player. In one of his early tournaments, T90 famously built several archery ranges on a neutral island by accident, instead of on the enemy island.

[@mackycabangon8945]

@@dimitrikemitsky oh. Thought it was a reference to the British Empire wanting small uninhabited islands in the middle of nowhere

[@daisychain5125]

For an archer civ, I think that rather than thinking the TC wood discount adds 2 farms per TC, the real bonus is that you can go university + ballistics and still add TCs. Archer civs generally have to either prioritize TCs or fast ballistics and they tend to fall behind knight civs economically because they're later to their TCs (even the strongest eco of the archer civs, Vikings, often is kinda all-in with 1-2 TCs at most). Britons can get the best of both worlds and this is a gigantic eco bonus to me.

[@gabrielmelnik6796]

Or slap that siege workshop and eat enemy tcs

[@light_david7]

I remember i hated that bonus for being so useless. I usually didn't make extra tcs. I thought it was meant for when your starting tc was destroyed you could recover easier.

[@aleverettes2789]

Finally SOTL's Civ Overview: Definitive Edition!

[@SergioGarridoPaco]

Actually, trebs don't have full accuracy against 1x1 buildings like towers

[@Volcano4981]

True. I recall ZeroEmpires making a video on them where he mentions Trebuchets having a hard-coded accuracy of 80% against buildings that's hard to see on stats editors. And 15% against units; 45% if you're the Huns. I'm also surprised Spirit didn't mention the Briton Trebs could be a good counter against Onagers that could potentially get too close for comfort, or Bombards.

[@SergioGarridoPaco]

@@Volcano4981 that's exactly the place I found the info!

[@annaairahala9462]

They don't have full accuracy vs all buildings, but large buildings 2x2+ are large enough that the "missed" shots are still hits.

[@Muenni]

@@annaairahala9462 With full or half damage?

[@annaairahala9462]

@@Muenni I believe trebs are unique in that it's full damage, but I have not tested actual damage numbers

[@jahrazzjahrazz8858]

12:44 Casually throwing shade at T90

[@dontspikemydrink9382]

What

[@light_david7]

@@dontspikemydrink9382 SotL is referencing the infamous first ranked/serious/tournament or whatever game T90 did, where he played on islands, and was behind and all, and needed to make a move, and so he transported sneaky vils over to the other players island and built three archery ranges and started production, and when he ejected his archers to go kill some enemy vils, he realized he was on a neutral island, and instantly resigned.

[@johnflannery6763]

@@light_david7 cheers bro

[@tako158]

@@light_david7 that was sad to read

[@MrSssscatman]

I'm early, but not as early as Viper reaching Feudal

[@BlueBolt5000]

Lmao

[@sandmaster4444]

Reference? =D I missed this one

[@nostalgicdouchebag1912]

You thought Viper feudal was fast? You haven't seen Liereyy feudal times at all

[@laservsvecchiette]

SOTL: "It's time to refresh an old civ overview. Britons did not change in years." Forgotten Empires pitch meeting: "And that's why we propose for the October patch this breaking change to Britons making Longbows an evolution of Arbalesters, and give them a brand new unique unit. This will give Britons a new strategic value"

[@PAZ1984]

that would be bautiful

[@PAZ1984]

a mounted skirmisher ♥

[@theobsidiangaming5381]

@@PAZ1984 They already got that from berbers.

[@PAZ1984]

@@theobsidiangaming5381 what do u mean? They have the Camel Archer, it would be a different unit.

[@StarryxNight5]

@@PAZ1984 Isn't the genitour a cavalry skirmisher?

[@allgamesturkey8627]

I was just watching the britons overview and thinking that it was pretty much old and then you uploaded the updated version

[@3851035]

Glad you mentioned bringing a few monks along with massed longbows. Really adds to their longetivity.

[@Joker-yw9hl]

So glad to have the full intro for these civ overviews

[@HECKproductions]

spirit: why are britons popular literally everyone in the known universe and every state of conciousness there could ever be: 6+6 range arrow bois

[@robdenini6972]

fun fact, historically the english have always been fond of sheeps, and the scots (celts) used to cross the border to steal sheep. This is accurately portrayed in game

[@sirtaelellevalerie1056]

@jocaguz18 english are partially descended from celts.

[@hannibalburgers477]

I didn't know my Kurdish cousin was British

[@nikhilsrinivas709]

You know life's good when you hear that opening

[@BlueMK12]

One of the things I love from the Britons in DE, aside choose them frequently, is to hear their remastered theme when starting a game, pure bliss.

[@mrid191]

I just love how your videos show serious numbers and precise calculations and you still manage to put in memes and jokes at the perfect moment. You truly are amazing as a content creator.

[@bob_INO]

Man! I've missed these so much! Love the civs overviews

[@fightingpeacock1244]

Bless you making the updated version!

[@CrossbowManD]

Very excited to see you redoing the old reviews.

[@andrewwang8021]

Please keep these updated overviews up!

[@1999Fusion]

Keep 'em coming! After all, your civ overviews are both the most informative and fun to watch kind of videos for me :D

[@armaanraut4287]

You are an absolute legend for doing these older civs again. These are your best videos and my favourite to watch.

[@SuperJamSports]

I’m so happy and thankful these are being redone! 🙏🙏🙏 I’ve watched the old ones way too many times.

[@KellyHoyPhoto]

Really appreciate all the videos you put up. Thank you very much, kind sir!!

[@Sharnoy1]

I love the civ overviews! I've watched them more times than I'm willing to admit. These remakes make them even better ^^

[@stebdylan6188]

Thanks so much for redoing all of the old civs, what we would do without I know not.

[@JelloPiranha]

Love that you're updating these. Just started playing again with some friends after ten or twenty years, lol, so we've been watching your vids. But it's crazy how much things have changed, so thanks for going back and putting in the extra work.

[@armandsriekstins7646]

Well done, Spirit! Keep doing what you're doing!!!

[@The_Room_2_Doggys_Revenge]

I find it funny that they still specify "Foot archer civilisation" since all archer civs bonuses lean towards the foot archer-line (Mayans, Ethiopians, Italians)

[@kristjanabel9423]

I´ve watched this channel for 3 years and just now started playing, lovely to see the updated civ overviews as many of them are indeed quite outdated. Thanks man.

[@taintedmyth0s636]

This is awesome! I've wanted to dip my toes into the older civs but the guides are super outdated. Very cool of you to make updated guides :)

[@markdowse3572]

Dear Mr SOTL, I always love the clarity and depth of your videos. They really help me learn about the game. I just wish I could play it!

[@williamwilson1870]

So glad to see these updated civ showcases, love it!

[@twohandedswordsman852]

YES! FINALLY! I knew you'd do that because of how the old one wasn't really helpful at all. May the Father of Goth Spamming guides us!

[@AgeofNoob]

TWO HANDED SOWRDSMAN IS BACK!

[@twohandedswordsman852]

@@AgeofNoob Yes :) May the Father of Goth Spamming guides us!

[@Cblazer100]

Literally been waiting for these since DE came out

[@fartz666]

You're the hero we need, not the hero we deserve. Thanks for remaking the old videos, I love watching them all.

[@heycidskyja4668]

Wait, is that a jojo reference??

[@PortugueseUN]

Thank you for revisiting!!!! You're extremely thorough and your analytical view on all your videos is so good that I sometimes prefer just watching your uploads over playing (mostly rewatching because I've seen most if not all). Also, your narration voice and volume is on point 👌 watch out David Attenborough and Morgan Freeman 😎

[@tomasdesde2004]

Spirit - Love your videos! You made me come back to AoE2, where I started to play competitively. Now I'm playing around 1200 elo, and am watching a lot of T90, Viper and Hera, too! Thanks for introducing me to the community! If I could recommend a topic for you: I'd love to see an analysis of how many knights are needed to wipe up a group of crossbows - I feel that's a classic clash of popular strategies (Knight vs Archer rush), and I never know how many knights I need to engage. You could twist it by analysing how different armor and attack upgrades affect the trade, how civ bonuses work out and when it is cost efficient vs effective (clean all archers, regardless of resource efficiency). Happy to discuss!! Love your work, keep it up!

[@BuyrukA]

Seen the length of the video, knew there would be "the intro" coming. And come it has!

[@lucasshulman54]

Wow! Thank you, we were needing this update.

[@condeaarondarkusexcubitor3155]

Thanks. This was the most expecting video of the year for me. Now I´m waiting for the Byzantines. I played AOE II as a child like in 2010. Now I want to come back to revive memories, and the two civilizations that most attract my attention are the britons and the byzantines. Because I´m more interested in the DE than in the HDE, that´s why I wanted an updated guide. My wishes have been granted.

[@oxcaxx]

Yesss redoing civ overviews, you love to see it

[@silverkoffee]

I hope we get more updated civ overview videos soon!

[@stfnknbb]

I love a good civ overview!! Thanks!

[@prastavanasumit4871]

Hey spirit of the law I like your (updated for de) civ overviews so please put more of these videos

[@Kaiser282]

I was just looking for updated Britons, huns and Byzantine stuff and what do you know, he's updated one of them. My hero.

[@gavinrammic984]

I want to take a moment and thank Spirit for all of his past breakdowns. I was raised in an AoE household. Been playing for 20 years. Spirit has given a much more in depth game analysis than even the devs. Good work.

[@assassinhamza1238]

i see he is gonna do all the civ overviews again great

[@ianian830901]

Finally new review! I'm so happy

[@Ahmadabdal_]

yo spirit of the law i haven't watched this video yet but knowing your other videos im sure this gonna be good :D

[@Hai43561]

SOTL voice is so soothing I use his videos as asmr to fall asleep to :)

[@petersmythe6462]

"Faster working archery ranges can help on any neutral island." This message is approved by T90.

[@neosomier8781]

Thank you so mucho for this update

[@technoir_]

Finally some aoe2 content, im glad it returns

[@HankIndieGames]

Dude, I don't even own DE and mostly played aoe2 years and years ago, yet i watch these videos as soon as you upload them. It's some combination of the thorough detail, excellent editing with clear examples of what you're talking about, and your sikly smooth voice. Keep up the good work.

[@RomaInvictusSPQR]

we love your Overwies

[@swapnilyadav714]

Our favorite series is back!!!!

[@renaudgauthier6985]

I love the idea of revisiting civs. Thank you for doing so ! If I may, I have 2 nuances though : -Yeomen for Imperial : mostly true, but highly aggressive castle age that lasts forever is not *that* rare and Yeomen can make quite a difference there. Corner case maybe ? I think it still deserves a shout out. -Cavalry : Although lacking Bloodlines, Husbandry is cool and a full blacksmith tree is a C+ to me, since you wont hand out D and below anyway. Take Celts for instance, I'd rather have fully upgraded Cavaliers than super expensive Paladins lacking Plate. Anyway, fantastic job as always, I wish you keep going for a long time

[@deadlyundead]

That T90 roast lol! archery ranges help on neutral island landings

[@nickabc1234]

Your videos are great :) keep it up man

[@adnanhuzaifa6391]

love you mr spirit of the law for this video

[@sokolovremwwii2205]

Hello and thanks for this video! Love this series, and while you obviously have a lot of projects, could you also do this for the Italians? They are an underrated civilisation in my opinion. Keep up the good work!!

[@Morrneyo]

Yay please do review all civs!

[@unnamedshadow1866]

Been waiting AGES for this one! Hope the Huns come next!

[@herr_rudolf]

Yesssss, finally the updated version!

[@CommissarMitch]

Happy 6 Years on KZbin

[@erwinwendler4621]

I LOVE YOU!!! keep em coming!

[@JewelManDLN069]

Very nice!! :D Now I think we just need the update civ overview for the Huns and the Slavs.

[@stevenundisclosed6091]

So many things have been added to the game since I've last played according to this video.

[@murtazashakir8463]

looking forward for all civ updates...

[@jamesinciardi5099]

I thought this was one of your best videos yet! The video was very informative. There was a lot of info that I didn’t know. Also the video keeps going at a good pace- not too fast but not too slow. I noticed you changed some of the music too! Overall, well done! I think the developers should have given them a better navy. “Britannia rules the waves”, right? Oh well.

[@Specificify]

They didn't rule the waves in aoe2 time period

[@jamesinciardi5099]

@@Specificify I guess not. Oh well.

[@KakashiHatake-ou7mp]

Even your video quality got a DE upgrade 👍

[@GodOfReality]

Wait I thought you got rid of your intro? I'm glad one of the best intro themes of all time ever is back.

[@phillipvanrensburg7077]

Rumour has it SOTL hearts early comments 😉

[@ADCFproductions]

apparently yes.

[@ADCFproductions]

@@Nuuk_Nuke_Nook SOTL doesn't like me :C

[@ugurcankalayci4060]

Spirit updates his Overwievs, I upvote.

[@SuperJamSports]

When’s the next civ overview update? They’re the most helpful videos imo 🙏 thanks Spirit.

[@-Raylight]

4:52 Britons : Tree nothing map -> I sleep _Sheep nothing map -> _*_It's free real estate_* So basically, long bowmen are snipers but with bow?

[@theobsidiangaming5381]

There is a different between Longbow man and Long bowman.For the sniper part,not really since they lack thumb nails. They are more like artillary.

[@RimaNari]

@@theobsidiangaming5381 Oh my... no thumb nails. Is that what it takes to motivate them to shoot so far? How gruesome. Ya, they are exactly not snipers with this ridiculously bad accuracy. More like super-high-range shotguns.

[@JasonWolfGames]

Niced work. Can't wait for the Byzantines guide!

[@herman1francis]

I don't even play this game but im addicted to his videos

[@davidmulit8167]

Perfect, more excellent content.

[@dreepersen.9201]

Reworks of old civ overviews? :O Big fan of that,!

[@mirinewman]

Hey, SOTL, you should do a Top Five Most OP Team-Ups or something! Take a look at a pair of civilizations whose team bonus and unit composition boost eachother beyond the sum of its parts (and that way my brother and I can use it as a guide to crush everyone else!)

[@jefffinkbonner9551]

I'd start with Persians and Britons on Black Forest. The only thing left to say when facing war elephants and longbows is "What can men do against such reckless hate?"

[@belladesa91]

@@jefffinkbonner9551 Italians got crossbows to deal with elephants

[@JRSasquatch]

Oh heck yes love the overviews.

[@Rainoryo]

Yesss thank you so much! I love this!