Elite War Elephant
War ElephantBase 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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War Elephant
Castle Elite War Elephant
ImperialThe coach's briefing
You're now at 600 HP with 20 attack. With +20 bonus vs cavalry, you destroy any cavalry trying to fight you. Your splash damage combined with massive HP makes you the ultimate deathball unit. The Elite upgrade costs 1350F/800G - commit only when you're sure you can protect them from monks and halbs.
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 War Elephant is the **ultimate land unit**. 600 HP and 20 attack with splash damage means nothing survives long in melee combat.
Tactical Playbook
Cavalry Crusher
+20 bonus vs cavalry means you deal 40 damage to Knights and Hussars per hit.
Deathball Core
Mass Elite War Elephants with Arbalesters behind them. The elephants tank, archers kill counters.
Endgame Siege
In post-Imperial, War Elephants + Trebuchets is nearly unstoppable if protected from monks.
Critical Point
**The upgrade is extremely expensive**. 1350F/800G is massive. Only upgrade when you have map control and resources secured.
Understanding The Stats
The Elite upgrade pushes War Elephant stats to absurd levels - 600 HP and 20 attack make it the strongest land unit in raw stats.
Extreme HP
+150 HP over base. Takes 10+ Halberdier hits to kill.
Devastating Attack
+5 over base. With +20 vs cavalry = 40 damage per hit to horses.
Better Armor
+1 pierce armor helps slightly against archer masses.
Wider Vision
+1 line of sight. Spots danger slightly earlier.
Coach's Tip
600 HP with 1/3 armor is godlike. Even 30 Crossbowmen need many volleys to kill you. But 0.8 speed is still your weakness - you can't chase anything.
Mechanics & Bonuses
Attack Bonuses
| Target | Bonus Dmg |
|---|---|
| Building | +30 |
| Stone Defense | +30 |
Armor Classes
War Elephant
Vulnerable to units with bonus damage vs this class.
Cavalry
Takes heavy bonus damage from Pikemen/Halberdiers and Camels.
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.
Other Units
AoE Coach analysis
Context & meta
Elite War Elephant is the Persian heavy cavalry unit with a massive 600 HP profile. It costs 170 food and 85 gold, trains in 25 seconds, and has 20 attack, 1 melee armor and 3 pierce armor. Its speed is 0.8 and its line of sight is 8. The elephant is a slow moving commitment: it can trample close units and threaten buildings, but every route is visible and every loss is expensive. Use it when the economy can sustain the cost and the map gives the army a way to reach contact. Route planning is mandatory.
History & balance
The War Elephant is one of Age of Empires II's clearest images of battlefield shock: a huge body that turns a close formation into a danger zone. The Elite form amplifies that image, but the strategic story is not simply power. An elephant army pays for its certainty with food, gold, and speed. The unit teaches the importance of target choice and route planning: a mass that reaches the enemy can reshape a fight, while a mass that is stalled becomes an expensive landmark. Its cost makes patience part of the design.
In pro play
Build Elite War Elephants as a planned breakthrough, not as a reflex after reaching the required technology. The 600 HP lets the front absorb contact, while the trample effect rewards a dense enemy formation; the 0.8 speed means walls, escorts, and rally points decide whether the elephants arrive together. Keep the group moving toward buildings or close units, add support that handles the long approach, and do not send one elephant ahead to be converted or surrounded. The 25-second train time and 170-food, 85-gold price demand a real economy plan.
How to counter it
The classic mistake is using ordinary melee units in a tight blob and discovering too late that the elephant's trample turns contact into a disaster. The official help gives the categories: buildings and close units as strengths, and the Spearman-line and Monks as weaknesses. In practice, Halberdiers have a real bonus against War Elephants, Pikemen also carry a real bonus, and Monks can convert the expensive targets. Spread the screen, focus one elephant, and keep conversion units protected behind the line. Facing Elite War Elephants without knowing what to produce or when? AoE Coach reads your matchup and gives you the composition + timing.