Italians

Civilization in Age of Empires 2

ArchersNaval

Ranked 1v1 on Arabia, current patch (since 23 September 2026), mirrors excluded. Source: aoe2companion. Updated weekly.

Overview

Archer and naval civ: Foot Archers and Condottieri have +1 melee and +1 pierce armor. Advancing to the next Age costs 15% less. Dock and University technologies cost 25% less, gunpowder units 20% less, Fishing Ships 15% less. Genoese Crossbowmen (unique unit from the Castle) have big bonus damage against cavalry. Condottieri (unique unit from the Barracks, Imperial Age) counter gunpowder units. Silk Road: trade units cost 50% less. Pirotechnia: Hand Cannoneers are more accurate and deal 15% pass-through damage. Team: allies can train Condottieri at the Barracks in Imperial Age.

Typical army

Feudal Age

ArcherScout CavalryMan-at-ArmsSkirmisher

Castle Age

CrossbowmanGenoese CrossbowmanElite SkirmisherLight Cavalry

Imperial Age

ArbalesterElite Genoese CrossbowmanHand CannoneerCondottiero

What to expect from the Italians

On open maps a mix: Archers, Scout rush or Barracks first, about a third each; on closed maps usually Fast Castle with the cheap Age-up. In Castle Age Crossbowmen, tougher than other civs' thanks to the armor, plus Genoese Crossbowmen against cavalry. On water maps they want to control the water early. In Imperial Age Arbalesters and Genoese, Hand Cannoneers with Pirotechnia and Bombard Cannons.

Build orders for the Italians

• Arena Fast ImperialFast Imperial · Feudal 10:55 · Castle 14:25 · Advanced · by Tomaaaszek
• Castle Drop → FIMPFast Imperial · Feudal 10:30 · Castle 13:35 · Intermediate · by WololoCrash
• Italians fast imp with fish boom on black forestFast Imperial · Feudal 10:05 · Castle 16:30 · Advanced · by NapoleonSmurf

Plus 149 build orders for every civ – step by step with voice guidance in the player.