The Best Unique Unit in AOE2:DE | Dec 2022

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TheViper | Professional Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition Player for GamerLegion | Sponsored by Re-Bo

[@alexandredeschiever8304]

Did not think editing a tier list video could add value. I was wrong appreciate the effort, overlay and clips made it really nice to watch. Really good job

[@Tiramis_]

Thank you! 😇

[@Decodeish1]

I was gonna say the same, the editing is top-notch and clean. By the way the editor is not mentioned in the description, they deserve to be mentioned IMHO. :)

[@weasol]

Makes it significantly more watchable.

[@gabriel84511]

The new civs have so much new mechanics going for them, that sometimes you feel like the old ones are getting forgotten.

[@NoraNoita]

We had The Forgotten expansion already

[@theclipclipper]

The Cataphract still has some of the most complex mechanics going on under the hood in the game.

[@Just_a-guy]

This sounds that because we get use to the old ones but still Cataphract with armor and anti-infantry bonus, Throwing Axeman and Mameluke with range mele attack, Samurai with anti-UU attack, Mangudai with anti-sige attack. There was a lot of unique aspect of UU even in age of kings and dynasties of India give us only Shrivamsha Rider with dodge as sth new

[@LokaJohn]

@@Just_a-guy what is UU

[@Just_a-guy]

@@LokaJohn unique unit

[@mikewbma]

Xolotl Warrior will be S tier for some emotional damage

[@thefatherfarmer5282]

Definitely situational then 11

[@iiiiiifggffggffgfgfg]

For the ten seconds until the other side realizes, he's been spamming halberds versus a meso civ and suddenly they aren't just going into the meat grinder. Imperial verison should have at least been equivalent to an elite boyar with upgrades, not a cavalier without upgrades.

[@omarramirezcarballido4407]

"exolotel warrior", 11 sounds funny, grettings from Mexico.

[@darkmantlestudios]

@@iiiiiifggffggffgfgfg I hope they spam halb against my Inca.

[@EliasHasle]

When Xolotl warrior is included, shouldn't Winged hussar be too? 🤔

[@samwisegamgee8318]

I love that you/your editor used the Konnik clip where you purposely deleted all your horses to fight the halbs on foot 😂 I remember laughing so hard at that vid when it came out a while back

[@Freakattaker]

Which video is this? I'd love to watch it as I've been away from Bipah's content for a while now

[@samwisegamgee8318]

@@Freakattaker kzbin.info/www/bejne/i5mncoushKqMm7M 'The Ultimate Konnik Mastapiece!"

[@phazen9035]

for anyone not wanting to scroll through a 45 minute video, it's at 37:40 in the link posted. yw

[@Hunwutzzzz]

Before the Teuonic knight: hoping that theViper will see the potential this time After: Just sad, but that was expected

[@LocalBoyy]

I’ve wiped so many of those units with my Holy Knights blazing there way through any heretic in there path lol

[@Hennu_TRM]

I'm glad Mamelukes and Cataphracts are getting a high ranking here. Really cool units, with some much needed buffs recently. Personally I always thought it was silly that Mamelukes used to take so much bonus damage to skirms.

[@karnazacss]

Vipy I think that I talk for everyone when I say that you can extend as much as you want. Is great content even to listen podcast style. A think to add would be timestamps to each unit.

[@emilianozavaleta6930]

Not me thanks

[@SwirlyTurtle]

I just played and won my very first AOE2 RM game (unranked) after watching countless hours of your videos. It was so stressful but so much fun. Thank you for the great and inspiring content! much love

[@iuppiterr]

And after that u went back to league?

[@SwirlyTurtle]

@@iuppiterr havent played league much recently but League will always be bae 😂❤️

[@iuppiterr]

@@SwirlyTurtle sweet

[@ashleyabraham212]

@@SwirlyTurtle whats league? League of legends?

[@SwirlyTurtle]

@@ashleyabraham212 Yess

[@duongnhdn]

In my opinion Spanish Cannon galleon deserves to be on this because they are completely different from other civ's. And they are SSS tier easily.

[@Zeoinx69]

Yea, I really like the video SoTL did on the cannon galleon compare, when he photoshopped balloons over all the other cannon balls and then you got spanish just poping real cannon balls xD

[@donpendejo9468]

Just some fire galleys protecting them and you are the owner of the sea

[@fathinalbatamiy9290]

@@Zeoinx69 what the title of the video?

[@Zeoinx69]

@@fathinalbatamiy9290 I think it might have been his spanish overview for the civ overview.

[@Thomas-fn6sy]

Camel Scouts is great for being able to make camels before coming to castle age. This can lead to being 3-4 camels in front of your component

[@MaartenvanHeek]

Nice to see the Mameluke and Mangudai high up there. I played the game mostly as a kid vs easy AI (wasn't very good at it), and these were my favourite unique units.

[@212mochaman]

Once upon a time they were the only s tier unit (mangudai). Got nerfed to where they are now

[@WWFanatic0]

Slingers feel like a unit that was originally campaign only in design. It adds some variety to the American civ campaigns as those civs lack cav and naturally have lots of infantry.

[@TBPetitP]

I would have rated them higher. I don't know if Viper knows that they have the same bonus damage against infantry that hand cannons have (+10), while being available an age earlier and without chemestry, so I think it is a very good and useful unit.

[@Narkas]

@@TBPetitP I'm sure he has an idea lmao, they are good against infantry (arguably better than HC because of what you mentioned) BUT unlike HC's they cant kill anything else, they are practically useless unless they're fighting against infantry

[@sisigs4820]

Genoese Crossbowmen also have a secret bonus dmg vs. ships if I remember correctly.

[@thomasfplm]

I think they should make the hussite wagon more resistant to melee units, they were used to create "instant fortifications", so you should be able to use them like mobile palisades.

[@raynightshade8317]

Still would be really hard to position them right

[@thomasfplm]

@@raynightshade8317, but would be better.

[@thomasfplm]

@@raynightshade8317, I think it would be interesting if they had stationary and moving modes, like the trebuchet, but becoming like a palisade.

[@RoberioRoberioRoberio]

maybe reworking them as a siege tower, that when archers or hand canons get inside of it they can actually fire from it and still maintain the resistance of the hussite wagon

[@thomasfplm]

@@RoberioRoberioRoberio, I had a similar idea, but I think they were more about creating a barrier than things that could move and shoot at the same time. I think that if archers could garrison in, they should only be able to shoot at the static form.

[@BlueShellshock]

So many units just have one tiny, little thing that prevents them from being decent units. Like, I'd love Throwing Axemen and Gbeto's so much more if they just didn't miss. Others like Teutonic Knights... yeah, they're slow -- so slow -- but I'm a firm believer that any unit can be good without 'solving' their weakness if you just juice up their stats, so just give them 200 health!

[@btarczy5067]

Viper… S-Tier once you get him up and running. Incredibly hard to counter in all stages of the game.

[@capriccz]

"I don't want it to drag on for 30min" - makes it 28:57 :D

[@wotv.mangudai]

TheViper analysis are the only ones worth out time bois

[@jefffinkbonner9551]

What makes shiramsha riders dumb is that they’re just an additional powerful unique unit available from the stable immediately. It’d be like if Spanish got Conqs or Burgundians got Coustilliers from their stable immediately AND had another useful UU available from the castle. Cataphracts, Berserkers, Jaguars, Throwing Axemen and arguably Konniks and Longbows need significant unique tech upgrades to be fully optimized and scary. Genitours aren’t that insanely powerful right out of the gate. Shiramshas are just automatically good right out of the gate.

[@dirkauditore8413]

I wish more unique units were available from barracks/stable/archery range.

[@Hitzer89]

I think they should take away the ability to dodge gunpowder, and maybe cause the mango's to remove 1.5x the dodge it current does. I love to use them, but really they are just OP.

[@dirkauditore8413]

@@Hitzer89 Nah theyre fine let them dodge gunpowder, conquistadors are op enough as it is in Castle Age.

[@TheCsquared08]

RIP Winged Hussar, man

[@Julian-AJCP]

Crying in Xolotl

[@AndrewTheFrank]

I'd argue that S tier should be for units that are so good you'd want to or prefer to have made them. With that being said I think Cataphract is A tier and not S. They are very powerful but I think part of the reason why they are not seen often is they are an anti Infantry unit and infantry still isn't fairly popular or strong. That can be seen in this tier list with S and A being occupied by faster units and B and C being slower and infantry.

[@moormanjean5636]

Catas kill everything but paladin and arbalest, but can trade decently vs both and melts everything in between

[@cadethecruel3484]

@@moormanjean5636 I think Arbalest are weaker vs Cata in most instances when I use them because Byz have fully upgraded skirm at a reduced cost too

[@mertyilm_z]

How are these edits are so good! I would watch any tierlist video from viper but the visuals add so much!

[@samwisegamgee8318]

Agreed, even showed the classic konnik clip where viper deleted all the horses to fight the halbs on foot (it almost threw the game lmao, still worth it)

[@Tiramis_]

Thanks for the kind words! 😊

[@samwisegamgee8318]

@@Tiramis_ Absolutely! Edits are looking fantastic!

[@estebanmoretti3323]

yes vipa!! thanks for this, i love tierlists.

[@jemand8462]

"Genitours... they are extremely situational... I'll put them in C-Tier" He could have just deleted the situational tier.

[@tuxness]

Nice addition with the editing. As for the list itself… TheViper has spoken!!

[@MoneyMike2002]

Great video. I appreciate your insights Viper.

[@inkarnator7717]

Just to be pedantic, Xolotl isn't a unique unit, it's a regional unit like the Elephant Archer or Eagle Warrior.

[@cmleibenguth]

Nice to see so many in the top tiers

[@vianney768]

Really cool video. Was waiting for the Orjan Gun place 1111

[@Boom3120]

adding some clips of the unique unit in action was a pretty good addition

[@Andreecals]

What about the hussar variations? I mean, they are more relevant than xolotl warriors or flaming camels, and they are technically unique too

[@88porpoise]

I think the correct answer is the Xolotl Warrior shouldn't be included here as it isn't unique. It and the Winged Hussar are regional units, like Eagles or Steppe Lancers. Unique units are available to one civ (or one civ makes them available to teammates). The Xolotl Warrior is available to two civs (actually, is it possible for Mayans to convert an enemy monk from a player that has redemption and then use said monk to convert a stables? I know converted units keep their upgrades, but does that include monk abilities?) So it is not a unique unit.

[@Andreecals]

@@88porpoise no, it's not possible for mayans to have xolotl warriors, age 2 doesn't work like starcraft xD But there are actually 3 unique hussars with different names, each for just one civ and unique traits.

[@jww84]

@@88porpoise Maps like MegaRandom can start you with a Stable in Dark Age. This makes it available for Mayans.

[@88porpoise]

@@Andreecals I don't know what that StarCraft reference is, I didn't even suggest that converting a villager gives you full opponents tech tree. If units are converted they keep their upgraded stats, if you converted a monk from a civ that had researched sanctity, it would still have +15 HP. I said I didn't know if that extends to the abilities from Techs like redemption. As to Winged Hussar, as far as I can see it is one upgrade available to two civs. Now, they have different stats/abilities due to civ bonuses and unique techs, but that applies to many units.

[@Andreecals]

@@88porpoise I'll have to agree. the comparison with sc didn't really make sense. but I also don't know about your monk question, the last time I saw tests relative to weird monk stuff was either on spirit of the law's or zeroempires' channel, but some good years ago. at the time, they certainly didn't mention this being possible, but maybe it's changed now. regarding the hussars, it was also my mistake. I just remembered the video from spirit of the law that compared the units, but it's older than I imagined and I kinda invented another hussar in my memory of the video hahaha anyways, the winged hussar is still unique enough to warrant it's analysis, at least much more than the xolotl warrior xD

[@undefined6341]

I used to love Longboat rushing on Hill Fort, definitely an S tier unit

[@Khaleed3194]

Hi vipey, can you make videos about strongest unit composition for every civs? I am very curious about this

[@SweetestFoil]

I think the Karambit Worrier is an extremely underrated unit. Its also shockingly satisfying to tickle your enemies to death.

[@rovsea-3761]

My issue with Mamelukes in S tier is that they have very limited range. Even things that they *should* be countering, like Cavalry Archers, do ok vs them simply because in Imperial Age especially they just have so much more range. A 3 range Elite Mameluke is going to struggle to ever hit a 7 Range HCA, especially if both sides are using meatshields.

[@li4b294]

Bro I don't think CA are actually good against Mamelukes, ok you can hit and run, but Mames literally melt CA, either in low or high numbers you would have to micro very good the CA to win the fight. My biggest problem with Mamelukes (I love them), is how extremely expensive they are, it makes you suffer yo see a single Mameluke die.

[@kazogai]

I think I played enough CBA games to tell any range difference does not change the fact that great units like Mangudai, War Wagons and Boyars will just melt. Cavalry Archer civs use Hussars as meatshield. They will sublimate straight to gas form.

[@li4b294]

@@kazogai CBA xd

[@Leon.Stanic]

Memelukes are extremely strong now especially after they removed skirms as a counter.

[@jotfohm4644]

@li4b294 What is CBA, may I ask ?

[@ivanstrydom8417]

I would love to see them ''buff'' longboats by just having them be able to attack as well as transport units (Infantry/vils/monks/kings only) (loses transport ships (until castle age) but they have non attacking Longboats in feudal age.) I’d enjoy raiding coastlines and rivers using longboats to transport infantry and Angon skirms to the shores of my enemies.

[@JacoDeltaco]

it good that you did it quick the only reason I clique on the video is that 30min for that many unit is pretty good

[@shamimanon6591]

I love tier list videos, do more :D

[@CoffeeAndBusiness]

Viper you seem like the most chill dude on the planet.

[@AhmedHassan-dv2wc]

Thanks legendary Viper...can u do another video for best civilization in several maps like arabia, ...etc i will do appreciate it a lot.

[@IndSoc]

Placement of urumi really surprised me. I thought they were really underwhelming but I'll give them another chance

[@TheViperAOE]

They're mostly amazing in mass however.

[@sauravtripathi4128]

@@TheViperAOE the Urumi is the second fastest land unit for the Dravidians, just behind the shit Light Cavalry.

[@hartmann4710]

@@sauravtripathi4128 hey, no need to associate shit with Dravi L Cavs At least poop you can throw at people to disgust and repel them

[@zhaoyun255]

The Splash charge attack damage was what made it so cost effective en masse. They will win ANY trash battle and even against any cavalries except Battle Elephant with staggered formation, or Koniks, or range unit.

[@alexgow2866]

Please make a unique building tier list too

[@fishcake4473]

Urumi swordsmen are so loaded since they have both charged attack AND splash damage

[@goskiin]

lovely editing

[@LetsbeHonestOfficial]

I feel like Teutonic Knights should get one automatic bump just for the looks

[@JoycenatorGaming]

As an arena bohemians player, the low Hussite wagon rating hurt my soul. I get it but it still hurts to see 😭

[@xShikari]

When castle design tier list?

[@teslax006]

Yeah! Longbowmen look amazing... That's why i still use them.

[@totalanus843]

If Xolotl Warrior is in this surely the Winged Hussar should be aswel.

[@wilboehmer5620]

I'd put imp skirm, tectonic knights and war elephants in B. But everything else I agree with

[@zitrageonebrotpires8449]

I‘m around 1000 elo and it‘s real fun to see that the best units on my level are SO low for a pro gamer^^ Kamayuk, serjeant, war elefant, shotel, samurai, slinger ^^ those are extremely useful on my level

[@frankishknight707]

i play a lot with celts , woad raider is A, they produce quickly and they are useful at castle not imperial, they are good for raids, they amass very quicky, very good in nomad map (fast castle)

[@HaveYouSeenJeff]

I think you're sleeping on caravels. They're statistically identical to war galleys in range, health, damage, build time and armor, they don't need to be upgraded upon hitting castle age to make AND they have splash/pass-through damage at the cost of a bit more gold that still makes them cheaper than war galleys on other civs. I don't know why you wouldn't make them.

[@mradul2474]

placing teutonic knights in c tier is an absolute crime. they are slow but a few of them will deal with any melee unit in the game

[@VickyCruz]

Even urumi warriors can kill them with equal resources and ignoring armour

[@timosiimullins9853]

I'd have to disagree with the Urumi swordsmen. While they are great in melee situations, they are extremely squishy, having low hp and pierce armor. That makes them extra vulnerable to any ranged units. Skirms are a decent counter to them. Glad that you talked about how crazy good mamelukes are now. Although a little annoying to micro, the unit just melts its counters.

[@mikel839]

Having played a lot of clown maps in TGs, biggest thing teams forget about is Siege Onager. A lot of "OP" units just die to SO. SO is one of the absolute highest S-tier units in the game. Same with BBC. Think about it, after the upgrades an SO has the same gold cost as 3 arbalesters.

[@nothanks7475]

I noticed all the infantry are B and C tier. Maybe they need another buff? Or perhaps, somehow the cost isn't being considered? idk

[@omeryugenkorat8783]

Great rating, I dig almost everything you said. One question tho, why do you say that rathas get countered by skirms but not the same about mangudai or plumes? Aren't rathas actually more durable due to higher hp?

[@teomdoaham]

They are alower?

[@davidmolina-lx6zf]

probably because bengalis does not have a strong unit vs skirmishers, mayans have the best eagles and Mongols %30 hussars, bengalis instead have no hussars, no Knight-line, and no siege bonus.

[@birisuandrei1551]

Caravels on small bodies of water are stupidly OP.... Denying a landing so easily

[@AzureKaioshin]

14:42 this looks like one of those galaxy brained gotcha moments, but it's soo silly. Why would you delete your koniks! Just let the halbs hit them! You just saved that guy the trouble of killing your calvary! 😂

[@Leon.Stanic]

*Clearly* he was just memeing.

[@Progeusz]

Wow Dave was called out with Kipachakas.

[@LetsbeHonestOfficial]

If I had to pick one unit when looking at pro players playstyles, I'd pick Mangudai before their insta shot nerf. Their potential for micro could SO often make zero loss hits vs any army composition in the game. Onagers? Instantly f'ed. Any infantry? Too slow. Cav? Even they are too slow except the light cav range. Cav archers? Just statistically outclassed. Only thing you could really do is hide behind castles. Like closing the window before a swarm of bees are coming for you.

[@tobiasfeil1993]

"Don't wanna drag it on for 30 minutes" Close one!

[@basab1063]

It depends

[@markdowse3572]

Hi TheViper 🐍. Thanks for ANOTHER great video, Sir. Great production quality, video clips of Units being described, even the very chill music. 🎶 NICE. 😊👍 And BTW, please don't worry about feeling you need to keep your vids 'shorter'. Mate, you are the AoE2 GOAT. If you have something to say or an opinion, we'd love to hear it. What you think actually MATTERS. We all want AoE2 to be the best it can be - for all levels of Players - and the best way to do that is keep the conversation going. Cheers. 😁 M 🦘🏏😎

[@nevezetesazonossag]

i feel like TKs are more situational than C

[@sisigs4820]

They are amazing defense units

[@davidpieper95]

Can you redo this list? I'd be very curious considering the new civs.

[@matthewmcneany]

full on vibes only content.

[@josepetersen7112]

Teutonic Knights will always be may favorite, lol.

[@anabland8]

I think having 20 units in the s tier degrades the tier and make me question if they are all s tier

[@icarusthefly5458]

Whats better vs buildings? Lith paladins +5 relics or tarkins?

[@loswashos4667]

Blablabla... ;) but man, this editing is so great. Double what you pay your editor and then double it again.

[@maximilianmusterhans4659]

What's so great? Zoom into Viper face for 5 seconds, zoom out again. Wow, mind blown.

[@loswashos4667]

@@maximilianmusterhans4659 Yeah... exactly that... AND always showing some gameplay-scenes according to what he is saying and having to spend presumably HOURS to find and cut those is to be neglected compared to the zooming... Please pardon my excitement

[@husainjam]

If i heal a melee konnik to full health with monk, will it turn into a cav unit upon more healing

[@Duchess_Van_Hoof]

The Xolotl Warrior deserves some upgrade or quirky way to make it viable, and I think it should rather mirror the Cataphract rather than the common knight.

[@GR-cw4wc]

Oh yeah its Viper

[@eliecergalvis4191]

This is exactly what I was looking for. Are you reading my mind? 😅 Thanks you!

[@magnussonborski2664]

Finally someone who understands how unstoppable Ballista Elephants are.

[@mikelivingood7797]

I have been playing Spanish with missionaries because I watched a Viper video titlted "Missionaries are Amazing" or something similar. Now I find out they are shit. I feel so trolled.

[@Leibniz-ct6dx]

Tierlist Pog

[@Jolly123123123]

Samurai... B tier... a certain guitar playing age of empires 2 loving individual may soon come for you.

[@user-kp7ls7ml1h]

hi this is Paul, 1.plumed archer produce really fast and so cost effective to trade against other units, in another words , this unit is cheaper and can play like CA (rattan archer counter all archer unit but its a defensive unit, not like plumed arcehr you can move fast and attack in different area ) 2.mameluka just kill paladin so fast , incredible fast, i think only halberd can kill cavalary units that fast like Mameluka 3. there is a bug that if you place Shirvashe Raider next to the mangonel, this mangonel will reduce its coming damage, which means this mangonel its like immortal if there will be another village repair it. 4. xobotl warrior is a campaign unit ^_^ in conclusion, all the A units, if you used them well! they are actually very good in castle age, sometimes will result better than S units, because some of those S tier units, you need numbers to make it unstoppable, for example, ballista elephant, or mangadai, which also takes longer time to farm. cheers, deeply appreciated for the video

[@Duchess_Van_Hoof]

You can technically train the Xolotl Warrior in regular games. Quite a cute easter egg.

[@riccardocorradini6713]

Serjeants need to be 50 F/ 30 G at most to be viable

[@Vladd0r]

Sais the guy, who made War Elephants in Hidden Cup 2 :p

[@definitelynotthequestion5359]

Of course the micro god doesnt like Hussite wagon. They are only effective if they stay in place.

[@Jiffy_Park]

You should have also ranked them within each tier

[@darkranger116]

I am still confused by peoples perceptions of the Ghulam. I hardly ever find a reason to train them to specifically deal with an archer problem, and i hardly ever have trouble dealing with them when fighting Hindustani.

[@danpower7416]

25:12 That said they're just cool. I mean, you have guys who throw javelins, chakrams, darts and then you have these guys throwing friggin axes. How badass is that?

[@cleanerben9636]

Hussite wagon is S-tier of course

[@raynightshade8317]

Really want Genitors to be a regenal units for Iberain

[@georgeprchal3924]

Question then, would you rather see a Teutonic Knight with: the pierce armor of a Huskarl or the speed of a Woad Raider?

[@gildeddrake1479]

teutonic knight with pierce armor of huskarl literally solos the entire game. you don't need to be fast when you're immortal. you could even be a bit vicious and put a monk behind him

[@Manta518]

i hate that leitis and urumi swordsman hard counters teutonic knight :(

[@divicospower9112]

Mangudai kill everything. Imperial skirmishers laughing in the back of the room.

[@ezechiel194]

I think you missed Winged Hussars.

[@justmoddie5963]

Winged Hussar is missing. Scam. Kappa

[@DahakaxX]

Mangudai should have their own Tier, above S.

[@TheG1NGER]

Great list but no winged hussar my guy

[@damianvergaradominguez8484]

urumi is sick

[@MrJoossie17]

I can summarize this video, while 27 seconds in, in 2 words: it depends

[@jonathanhaas6730]

teutonic knights need a buff !!

[@Megiago]

If I'm up against Gurjaras I just wanna cry