Malians vs Chinese: how to win the matchup
Playing Malians against Chinese, you win 52.3% of ranked 1v1 games (3,770 games). Here is how to beat Chinese, what they do and when.
Win rate by rank
bronze
50.6%
352
silver
52.7%
427
gold
53.2%
1,321
platinum
52.8%
869
diamond
53.9%
395
conqueror
46.1%
312
How to beat Chinese
- Pressure early from 4:00 to 7:00 with Knights, Men-at-Arms or Archers
- Kill the Officials and villagers near the Academy
- Barbican after the Academy means 2 TC, hit the second TC (6:30)
- Clocktower or Imperial Palace means siege, kill it with cavalry or Springalds
- Don't fight under the Barbican and the TC
Units that work against Chinese: Men-at-Arms · Knights · Crossbowmen · Cavalry · Springalds
When Chinese hits
- 5:00Feudal pressure with supervised production (5:00 to 8:00)
- 6:30Song second TC around 6:30
- 10:00Song late-game economy or Fast Castle with siege
Malians strengths to lean on
- Very strong gold from the Pit Mine and Mansa Quarry
- TC costs gold instead of stone, so expanding is easy
- Safe food from cattle and Ranches
- Strong Feudal units: Sofa, Donso, Javelin Throwers and Musofadi
- Veteran upgrades at half cost and time
Malians weaknesses Chinese can punish
- No boar, and houses give half population
- Unique units have low HP and need micro
- Weak against Abbasid Dynasty (Camels and Ghulams) and strong tempo
- The Pit Mine and houses are outside TC protection
Strongest Castle Age armies (simulator)
- Malians: Veteran Mansa Musofadi Warrior (0.53)
- Chinese: Veteran Spearman + Veteran Zhuge Nu (0.91)
FAQ
- Is Malians good against Chinese?
- Malians wins 52.3% of 3,770 ranked games against Chinese (Malians is favored).
- How do I beat Chinese as Malians?
- Pressure early from 4:00 to 7:00 with Knights, Men-at-Arms or Archers Kill the Officials and villagers near the Academy Barbican after the Academy means 2 TC, hit the second TC (6:30)
- When does Chinese attack?
- 5:00 — Feudal pressure with supervised production (5:00 to 8:00) · 6:30 — Song second TC around 6:30 · 10:00 — Song late-game economy or Fast Castle with siege
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.