Jenízaro Élite

leftElite Janissaries play similarly to Hand Cannoneers, but with superior statistics, and the Castle Age Janissaries are a good precursor to that concept. They are fragile but have a devastating attack. In groups they can send out a volley that will kill or severely injure enemy units that are too close. They are especially strong against infantry, but Hand Cannoneers are superior against infantry, as they have a +10 attack bonus against infantry in addition to what the Janissaries possess. They have some weaknesses against archers and cavalry due to the former's ranged attack and the latter's speed. In great numbers, however, Janissaries can kill them before they do too much damage. Janissaries in the Castle Age can be potent with their high attack. They can destroy a Tower Center in sufficient numbers if given enough time. That said, they cannot outrange Castles or towers, and using them aggressively can leave them vulnerable to overextending and getting caught out of position by Elite Skirmishers or Knights. Also a Mangonel shot from one will deal devastating damage to Janissaries if it connects. As gunpowder units, they are good vs buildings, because their pierce attack is enough to offset buildings' pierce armor. On Arena, Castle drop into Janissaries is a very popular strategy. Even without the support of a Castle, Janissaries can be very painful to stop because they counter Castle Age siege weapons very easily, while opposing foot archers can be countered by the support of two or three Mangonels, which is one of the strongest composition in the Castle Age. Up close, Janissaries can be killed easily due to their low hit points, but any unit attacking a dense formation of Janissaries up close is also vulnerable. Imperial Age siege weapons like Onagers and Heavy Scorpions (the latter only with Siege Engineers) are a threat to them with their splash damage. However, care needs to be taken, since the Turks can counter siege weapons with their Bombard Cannons, which are unlocked immediately upon reaching the Imperial Age. Archers and mounted archers are also an issue, because they can take advantage of the Janissary's low accuracy, low pierce armor, and high reload time, but said weaknesses can be covered by the Turk Light Cavalry, that not only gets free upgrades, but also gain extra pierce armor. Since Janissaries have low hit points and take bonus damage like , Elite Skirmishers counter them cost-effectively. Huskarls can easily overwhelm Janissaries in numbers and utilize their attack bonus, but Janissaries can do better due to their higher attack. Ghulams, Condottieri, Konas, and Winged Hussars are also threats due to their attack bonus and fast movement speed, and in some cases also utilizing their splash damage. Shrivamsha Riders are a notorious threat due to their shields that can absorb projectiles, and the attack speed of Janissaries is low enough to allow their shields to recharge.