Elite Serjeant
InfantryBase values, before Blacksmith upgrades. The Blacksmith raises attack and armour for infantry, cavalry and archers — Blast Furnace, for instance, gives "+2 Attack for infantry & cavalry". Late in a game, the real numbers are higher.
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Serjeant
Castle Elite Serjeant
ImperialThe coach's briefing
You now have 85 HP, 11 attack, and 6 melee armor! That's absurd tankiness. The upgrade costs 800F/675G - expensive but worth it. With Sicilian bonus damage reduction plus 6 melee armor, you're nearly unkillable by melee units.
STRONG AGAINST
You win these trades cost-effectively.
WEAK AGAINST
Avoid these fights or bring support.
Just lost against this unit?
Your coach names the counters during the match — not once the game is over.
Strategic Analysis
Tactical Identity
The Elite Serjeant becomes a **nearly unkillable melee tank** that keeps building pressure.
Tactical Playbook
6 Melee Armor
Highest melee armor in game. Knights deal 6 damage to you.
13 Attack
Competitive damage now. Good sustained DPS.
Still Builds
Donjon construction unchanged. Forward aggression maintained.
Critical Point
**Still weak to archers**. Only 3 pierce armor. Arbalester masses hurt.
Understanding The Stats
The Elite upgrade creates the tankiest melee infantry in the game.
Extreme Melee Armor
+3 over base. Highest in game.
Higher Attack
+5 over base. Competitive DPS.
More HP
+20 HP. Very tanky.
Build Ability
Still builds forward towers.
Coach's Tip
11 attack is competitive. You beat Champions (70 HP, 1 armor) in 6 hits while they need 12 hits on you.
Mechanics & Bonuses
Attack Bonuses
| Target | Bonus Dmg |
|---|---|
| No damage bonus: this unit deals the same damage to every target. | |
Armor Classes
Infantry
Takes bonus damage from Hand Cannoneers, Slingers, and anti-infantry unique units.
Unique Unit
Vulnerable to units with bonus damage vs this class.
Key Upgrades
Feudal Age
Castle Age
Civilizations
* 1 civilizations have access to this unit.
AoE Coach analysis
Context & meta
The Elite Serjeant is the Sicilian unique infantry, costing 55 food and 25 gold for 85 HP, 11 attack, 6/3 armor, 0.95 speed, line of sight 5, and a 12-second train time. It can construct Donjons, so the unit is both a soldier and a way to anchor territory. The official help gives the categories: Strong vs. Infantry and Camel Riders; Weak vs. Mounted Archers and Gunners. Sicilian soldiers take 40% less bonus damage, while Donjons replace the Watch Tower-line and can appear in Dark Age, making every Elite Serjeant pressure more structural than a normal infantry raid.
History & balance
The Elite Serjeant is a territorial infantry design. Its 12-second train time and 55 food/25 gold cost make early numbers possible, but the defining value is that the same unit can turn a resource position into a Donjon. Eighty-five HP and 6/3 armor are enough to escort builders, while the Sicilian -40% bonus-damage rule makes the line harder to remove with specialized attacks. The civilization also starts with +100 stone and builds fortifications 50% faster. The result is a unit whose history is expressed through map shape: every successful escort can become a permanent production and vision problem.
In pro play
Use Elite Serjeants when the first goal is to make a location safe, not merely to win a skirmish. Twelve seconds of training supports a quick escort, and 0.95 speed is enough to stay with builders without pretending to be cavalry. Place a Donjon where it protects a resource or closes a route, then use the Elite Serjeants as the infantry body around that anchor. Their 85 HP means the timing must be coordinated: send builders only when the opponent cannot focus them, and keep reinforcements moving to the same point. Sicilian bonus-damage resistance rewards fights near your fortifications, where every second of survival creates more space.
How to counter it
The classic mistake is to attack an Elite Serjeant-and-Donjon position with ordinary melee units and fight under the structure until the Sicilian player adds more bodies. The official help gives the weak categories: Mounted Archers and Gunners. Cavalry Archers can kite a 0.95-speed infantry unit, while Hand Cannoneers carry +10 against Infantry and punish the 85 HP body from range. Keep the fight away from the Donjon, deny the builders first, and use mobility to choose a second angle rather than feeding one choke. If you keep losing to Elite Serjeants without knowing what to produce or when, AoE Coach reads your match-up and gives you the counter composition and timing.