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Chinese vs French: how to win the matchup

Playing Chinese against French, you win 46.4% of ranked 1v1 games (16,363 games). Here is how to beat French, what they do and when.

Win rate by rank

  • bronze

    42.4%

    2,297

  • silver

    47.6%

    2,639

  • gold

    45.2%

    6,407

  • platinum

    50.3%

    2,913

  • diamond

    46.9%

    1,075

  • conqueror

    49.8%

    639

How to beat French

  1. Scout the School of Cavalry at 2:30 to 3:00
  2. Get Spearmen before 3:40, and keep sheep and gold under the TC
  3. Outpost with Arrowslits or Palisade on exposed resources
  4. Spearmen and Archers together, never send Spearmen alone
  5. Build behind walls and scale, then meet the Keep push with Crossbows and Springalds

Units that work against French: Spearmen · Archers · Crossbowmen · Camels · Springalds

When French hits

  1. 3:40First Royal Knights raid (3:40 to 4:30)
  2. 6:003-5 Knights with Archers (6:00 to 8:00)
  3. 13:20Castle Keep push with Knights and Arbalétriers

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 French 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)
  • French: Man-at-Arms + Arbalétrier (0.8)

FAQ

Is Chinese good against French?
Chinese wins 46.4% of 16,363 ranked games against French (French is favored).
How do I beat French as Chinese?
Scout the School of Cavalry at 2:30 to 3:00 Get Spearmen before 3:40, and keep sheep and gold under the TC Outpost with Arrowslits or Palisade on exposed resources
When does French attack?
3:40 — First Royal Knights raid (3:40 to 4:30) · 6:00 — 3-5 Knights with Archers (6:00 to 8:00) · 13:20 — Castle Keep push with Knights and Arbalétriers

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.

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