Chinese vs Byzantines: how to win the matchup
Playing Chinese against Byzantines, you win 45.7% of ranked 1v1 games (4,143 games). Here is how to beat Byzantines, what they do and when.
Win rate by rank
bronze
45%
331
silver
50.2%
399
gold
43.1%
1,452
platinum
45.7%
921
diamond
45%
553
conqueror
53.7%
393
How to beat Byzantines
- Early rush: kill the stone and berry villagers and deny the second berries
- Pressure before their 12-13 minute Castle
- Against Cataphracts: upgraded Spearmen, Crossbows and Camels
- Against Limitanei: Men-at-Arms or Horsemen; Archers are weak vs Shield Wall
- Scout: stone villager count and Cisterns, Winery or Hippodrome, Golden Horn at 10:30
Units that work against Byzantines: Spearmen · Crossbowmen · Men-at-Arms · Horsemen · Mangonels
When Byzantines hits
- 4:38Feudal: non-stop Limitanei and mercenary Longbows or Javelins
- 9:00Ram timing between 8 and 10 minutes in the Winery build
- 13:05Castle: Cataphracts and Longbows, that's his main hit
Chinese strengths to lean on
- Villagers build twice as fast
- Officials collect taxes and speed up production by +150%
- Song Dynasty: villagers produced 33% faster and Zhuge Nu
- Gunpowder and strong siege in Castle and Imperial
- TC and towers fire Handcannon shots for free
Chinese weaknesses Byzantines can punish
- Weakest civ in the stats right now
- Hard economy that needs APM; misplayed Officials are wasted
- Average Feudal army that falls to armored units
- Economy is fragile while investing in Officials and Landmarks
Strongest Castle Age armies (simulator)
- Chinese: Veteran Spearman + Veteran Zhuge Nu (0.91)
- Byzantines: Veteran Musofadi Warrior (0.67)
FAQ
- Is Chinese good against Byzantines?
- Chinese wins 45.7% of 4,143 ranked games against Byzantines (Byzantines is favored).
- How do I beat Byzantines as Chinese?
- Early rush: kill the stone and berry villagers and deny the second berries Pressure before their 12-13 minute Castle Against Cataphracts: upgraded Spearmen, Crossbows and Camels
- When does Byzantines attack?
- 4:38 — Feudal: non-stop Limitanei and mercenary Longbows or Javelins · 9:00 — Ram timing between 8 and 10 minutes in the Winery build · 13:05 — Castle: Cataphracts and Longbows, that's his main hit
Data from the open game data (aoe4world/data), patch 16.2.10884, public ranked statistics, and Layla Coach's battle simulator. Layla Coach is an independent tool, not affiliated with Microsoft, Relic Entertainment or World's Edge.