Improved Bowman

Improved Bowman
Age	Bronze Age
Trained at	Archery Range
Type	Archer
Cost	40 Food, 20 Gold
HP	40
Attack	4
Range	6
Armor	0
Pierce Armor	0
Speed	Medium

Improved Bowman is a unit in Age of Empires. Note that it is not an upgrade of the Bowman, since a new tile slot would appear once the "upgrade to improved bow" is researched. Improved Bow must be researched at the Archery Range before they can be created.

This unit is not generally used in combat since most civilizations that can train this unit can improve them to Composite Bowmen. They have more hit points, attack, and range than the Bowman, but are still generally weak. Their primary role in combat is taking out Stone/Tool Age infantry such as the Axeman. The Improved Bowman can be upgraded to the Composite Bowman.

Upgrades

Tool Age

• Leather Armor: for archers increases armour by 2.
• Woodworking: increases range by 1.

Bronze Age

• Scale Armor: for archers increases armour by 2.
• Artisanship: increases range by 1.

Iron Age

• Alchemy: increases attack by 1.
• Ballistics: increases accuracy.
• Chain Mail: for archers increases armour by 2.
• Craftsmanship: increases range by 1.

• Improved Bowman can be upgraded to Composite Bowman.

Civilization Bonuses

• Improved Bowman is not available for Assyrians, Greeks, Hittites and Sumerians.

History

The simple bow was improved by using better materials and by better training. Employing better wood or strips of laminated wood increased the tensile strength of the bow, increasing power and thus range. Arrows were improved also by such changes as metal arrowheads. In modern times, hundreds of bronze arrowheads were recovered from an archaeological excavation of the battlefield at Thermopylae. On this site a Spartan force under Leonidas had perished under a hail of Persian arrows after delaying the huge Persian army for many days.

See also

• Bowman
• Archer (Age of Empires II)
• Toxote