Age Of Empires 2: Best Technologies To Unlock First

Highlights

Horse Collar: Upgrade farms to produce more food, essential for all civilizations in Age Of Empires 2 to overcome early-game struggles.
Fletching: Vital military technology that increases range and attack for archers, towers, and castles, improving defense and offense.
Crossbowman: Powerful unit upgrade in the Castle Age, provides a big advantage in battles against other land units, a must-have for armies.

With such an expansive tech tree in Age Of Empires 2, it can be hard for players to decide what to focus on research-wise, especially in the early stages of the game. There are upgrades for nearly every aspect of the game to make life for the player's civilization easier and more efficient, and some are more effective than others.

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Whether they are military upgrades that provide access to new and more effective units, or they just increase villager speed, there are a lot of opportunities for players to improve their virtual societies. So, the question remains: what are the best technologies in Age Of Empires 2, and which should be prioritized first?

11 Horse Collar

Farms Produce More Food

Four farms in a square in Age Of Empires 2

Food is a vital resource in the famed Age Of Empires 2, and it's one that a lot of early-game players struggle to stockpile. Horse Collar is a Feudal Age upgrade that allows farms to produce up to 250 food before they have to be reseeded, a 75 upgrade from before the upgrade is applied. While this technology only applies to farms built after the technology is researched, it is still a key upgrade for all civilizations.

Horse Collar should be researched, no matter what civilization players choose to control, as without it, collecting food can be a struggle.

10 Fletching

+1 Range & Attack For Archers, Towers, & Castles

Archers in Age Of Empires 2 lined up in a desert

Fletching is one of the best military technologies available to players in the early game. This is because it increases the range of a lot of key units, such as archers, towers, and castles, as well as increasing the strength of the attacks. This technology also increases the attack of town centers by 1, making it a vital technology to research for defense-focused players.

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Fletching is so core to Age Of Empires 2 that it is another technology that cannot be missed, as the benefits it offers are invaluable.

9 Crossbowman

New Unit

Crossbowmen in Age Of Empires 2 lining up ready for battle

The Crossbowman is an upgrade available to the standard archer units once players reach the Castle age, and it increases their power by an incredible amount. This unit is particularly useful against other land units and provides a big advantage over other civilizations through its sheer power, making it a vital upgrade to players' armies. With sharp accuracy and decent range, the crossbowman can be the difference between winning battles and losing them.

The Crossbowman becomes a key advantage for the middle game and the late game, making it a much-needed upgrade.

8 Scale Barding Armor

Increases Calvary & Pierce Armor By 1

A huge castle in Age Of Empires 2 with villagers walking around it

Scale Barding Armor is an available technology for every civilization in Age Of Empires 2, bar the Incas, Aztecs, and Mayans. It is the starting point for some extremely useful upgrades that only become available in the later ages of the game, and even by itself it gains players a big advantage. Increased armor strength can increase the longevity of the other military units, meaning less time spent replenishing them.

Scale Barding Armor is a key upgrade for players with weaker armies, as this simple and relatively cheap upgrade can make them last for longer.

7 Conscription

Increases Speed Of Production By 33%

Villagers in Age Of Empires 2 working the farms

Conscription is one of the most useful technologies in Age Of Empires 2, and it should absolutely not be missed. Just this one tech increases the work rate of the Barracks, archery ranges, castles, kreposts, stables, and donjons by 33% while simultaneously increasing the speed at which technologies are researched by all of these buildings too. Conscription, then, is one of the most powerful technologies in the game.

Conscription might not seem that vital to players at first glance, but once all of this is considered, it seems impossible to win without it.

6 Light Cavalry

Effective New Unit

Cavalry units from Age Of Empires 2 in a field

Light Cavalry is a fast and powerful unit available to be researched during the Castle Age, especially considering it only costs food to build. For players who are low on other resources, Light Cavalry is a unit that will help the situation and allow players to continue to build their army despite this fact. They are excellent against archers, Monks, and siege units while not being quite so good against heavy cavalry.

Light Cavalry is a cheap technology to research and it will get players results fast, making it a great one to go for.

5 Man At Arms

Strong New Unit

Man At Arms unit from Age Of Empires 2 as seen from the Japan civilization in game

Man-At-Arms is another early-game unit that holds a big advantage over most of the other units available during the Feudal Age. Being an all-purpose infantry unit, there are not many scenarios in which this unit isn't useful. Later in the game, this unit can also be upgraded to a Long Swordsman, meaning researching this unit technology as early as possible will have benefits all through the game.

Man-At-Arms is one of the best units in Age Of Empires 2, especially in the early game, and should be prioritized for research as soon as possible.

4 Double-Bit Axe

Villagers Collect Wood Faster

Wooden buildings in grassland as seen in Age Of Empires 2

Double-Bit Axe is another technology aimed at helping players who struggle to collect resources fast enough for all of their city-building plans in Age Of Empires 2. This technology makes villagers collect wood 20% faster, which may seem like a small increase but, in actuality, it will feel miles faster. This technology is also a prerequisite for the much-loved Bow Saw technology for later in the game, which speeds wood collecting up even more.

Double-Bit Axe is a technology that will massively help players speed their civilizations up, making it invaluable.

3 Wheelbarrow

Faster Villager Movement & Increased Carry Weight

Villagers working with wheelbarrows on a farm set in grassland

Wheelbarrow should be one of the first Feudal Age technologies researched in any civilization due to its huge bonus to villager movement speed and villager carry capacity. Again, this technology really works to speed things up, as the bonus for speed is 10% while the carry capacity is increased by nearly 27%.

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This more than makes up for the 75-second blockage of the town center villager production while it is researched. Wheelbarrow is a core technology in Age Of Empires 2 and players should not miss out on it.

2 Gold Mining

Villagers Mine Gold 15% Faster

Gold mines lined up by the sea in Age Of Empires 2

Gold Mining is a technology that helps players get gold faster. While this is a very simple upgrade, it opens doors to increase the speed of gold gathering even further as the Ages progress. Gold is a key resource in Age Of Empires 2 for any civilization, and so the ability to gather more gold in less time is obviously a huge advantage, no matter what the play style.

Gold Mining is often missed by players who seek to research other technologies first. However, it can be a massive help in the early stages of the game, and therefore, it should be researched as soon as possible.