On the AoE4 battlefield, there is no invincible unit. Every soldier, knight, or archer has its strengths and weaknesses. That is why it is crucial for us as strategists to know these details in order to have an edge in every match.
The Feudal Age triangle: the spearman beats cavalry, cavalry beats the archer and the archer beats the spearman.
To illustrate this better, I want to show you a couple of truly revealing charts. The first was created by BeastyQt, one of the most prominent players on the AoE4 world scene. This chart presents not only "hard counters" (direct counters), but also "soft counters" (indirect counters). But what is the difference between the two?
⚔️ Hard counter
•A direct, decisive advantage that neutralizes the enemy quickly
•Spearmen vs cavalry: enormous damage, the cavalry dies fast
•Archers vs Spearmen: a few shots finish them off
⚖️ Soft counter
•An edge that exists, but the fight stays close and prolonged
•Man-at-Arms vs Spearmen: the Man-at-Arms probably wins, but slowly — the Spearman is hard to kill quickly
•Knight vs Horseman: the Knight has the advantage, but not enough to be a hard counter
Hard counter: the spearman stops cavalry in seconds.
You can try our Duel tool to simulate combat between units.
I hope these examples make this concept clearer. And if you are someone who understands things better with visuals, I also include a screenshot from an English-speaking content creator that visually shows the relationships between units and counter-units.
Studying these dynamics can be the difference between victory and defeat, so I hope this information proves very useful! Until the next battle!
VIDEO DEMONSTRATION At the advanced level we will study each and every unit and counter-unit in detail (including unique units), examining the strengths and weaknesses of each unit. For now, I share a video that visually analyzes matchups between the most common units in the game. I hope it is of great help!
Finally, I also share a chart created by an English-speaking content creator — not as comprehensive as BeastyQt's, but more visual. Although at first the full list of units and counter-units may seem very daunting to memorize (because there are many), trust me, you will learn them quickly and passively without even realizing it. As long as you know the most well-known counter relationships at the start, such as "the Feudal Age unit triangle" we covered in earlier sections, you have more than enough information to start playing.
spearman beats cavalry, cavalry beats the 
archer and the 
knight, or 
Feudal Age
English-speaking content creator that visually shows the relationships between units and counter-units.