Hand Cannoneer
ArcherBase 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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Hand Cannoneer
ImperialThe coach's briefing
The Hand Cannoneer is your infantry deletion button. With +10 bonus damage against Infantry, you shred Champions, Halberdiers, and even the feared Huskarls. Your 17 attack at range 7 is devastating. However, you only have 65% accuracy - micro carefully and let enemies clump up. Avoid Skirmishers and fast cavalry at all costs. Remember: you require Chemistry research first. Classes: Archer and Gunpowder Unit.
STRONG AGAINST
You win these trades cost-effectively.
WEAK AGAINST
Avoid these fights or bring support.
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Strategic Analysis
Tactical Identity
The Hand Cannoneer is the **infantry nightmare**. When your opponent goes heavy into Champions or Halberdiers, Hand Cannoneers are the hard counter that melts them from range before they can close the gap.
Tactical Playbook
Anti-Infantry Specialist
Position them behind your front line. Their 17 attack + 10 bonus = 27 damage per shot against infantry. Champions die in 3 volleys.
Gunpowder Timing
Available only after researching Chemistry (Imperial Age). Plan your transition - they're expensive at 45F/50G but worth it against infantry-heavy opponents.
Mass & Volley
Their 65% accuracy means missing shots. Counter this by massing them - 20 Hand Cannoneers hitting 65% of shots is still devastating against clumped infantry.
Critical Point
Extremely vulnerable to **Skirmishers** (bonus damage vs Archer class), **Hussars** (fast, cheap, can close the gap), and especially **Condottiero** who take no bonus damage from you.
Understanding The Stats
The Hand Cannoneer trades accuracy for raw power. At 17 base attack with massive infantry bonuses, even missed shots are offset by the sheer damage when you hit.
Massive Base Attack
Highest base ranged attack in the game for a non-siege unit. Against 0-armor targets, this is devastating.
Infantry Melter
17 + 10 = 27 damage per shot to infantry. A Champion (70 HP) dies in 3 shots. Halberdiers (60 HP) in 3 as well.
Accuracy Problem
You miss 1 in 3 shots. This is why you need mass - individual Hand Cannoneers are unreliable.
Glass Cannon
Very low HP for an Imperial Age unit. One Hussar charge can delete several. Position them carefully.
Coach's Tip
17 attack at range 7 is incredible, but 65% accuracy is a real problem. Never send lone Hand Cannoneers - they'll miss and die. Mass 15-20 minimum. Against clumped infantry, the damage is obscene.
Mechanics & Bonuses
Attack Bonuses
| Target | Bonus Dmg |
|---|---|
| Infantry | +10 |
| Spearman | +1 |
Armor Classes
Archer
Vulnerable to Skirmishers and Huskarls.
Gunpowder Unit
Vulnerable to Condottieros.
Key Upgrades
Civilizations
* 23 civilizations have access to this unit.
Other Units
AoE Coach analysis
Context & meta
The Hand Cannoneer is a gunpowder infantry unit with a massive attack bonus versus infantry, making it the premier answer to infantry masses in the Imperial Age. It deletes Champions, Halberdiers, Eagle Warriors and especially the Goth flood. Requiring Chemistry (a University Imperial tech) and costing food and gold, it arrives late but hits extremely hard. Its weakness is accuracy: Hand Cannoneers miss against fast-moving targets and have a slow rate of fire, so they need positioning and support. For gunpowder civilizations like Turks, Spanish and Portuguese, the Hand Cannoneer is a defining lategame unit.
History & balance
The Hand Cannoneer has always been the anti-infantry gunpowder unit, balanced around its high burst damage versus poor accuracy against moving targets. The Definitive Edition tuned its accuracy and the Ballistics interaction multiple times — at times Hand Cannoneers were nearly useless against mobile targets, at times too strong. Gunpowder-bonus civilizations (Turks with free Chemistry and +25% HP, Spanish with +18% attack speed) make the unit far more reliable, which is the main reason to field it. It remains a specialist counter rather than a generalist army unit.
In pro play
Hand Cannoneers see targeted use as an anti-infantry tech switch in the Imperial Age — pros bring them out against Goths, infantry-bonus civs and massed Halberdier/Eagle compositions. For gunpowder civilizations they are a core unit: Turks rush Chemistry (free for them) to field tanky Hand Cannoneers early, and Spanish Hand Cannoneers fire +18% faster for a major DPS boost. The key skill is positioning behind a frontline so the slow-firing, inaccurate Hand Cannoneers can hit stationary or pinned targets. They pair naturally with Halberdiers (which cover the anti-cavalry role they lack).
How to counter it
Hand Cannoneers are inaccurate against moving targets, so mobility is the counter — cavalry, especially Light Cavalry and Hussars, close the gap and run them down while dodging most shots. Archers outrange and out-accuracy them, kiting Hand Cannoneers effectively. Mangonels and Onagers punish their clumped formations. Skirmishers, with pierce armor, trade reasonably. The general rule: never feed Hand Cannoneers the infantry they crave — switch to cavalry or archers, keep moving so their poor accuracy wastes shots, and they become an expensive, slow liability.