Sicilians

[ AOE2 CIVILIZATION ]

Sicilians

The defensive knight + Serjeant civ — 50% bonus-damage resistance and unique Donjon towers that train infantry.

Tier A cavalry infantry donjon rush defensive hybrid

[ IDENTIDAD ]

Sicilians are the defensive knight and infantry hybrid civilization. Their signature bonus is "First Impression" — Serjeants, Knight line, and infantry take 50% less bonus damage from all sources. This means Paladins shrug off Pikemen, Knights soak Camel damage, and Serjeants laugh at archer fire. In addition, farms build 100% faster (saving vil-seconds during Feudal and Castle), castles build 33% faster (enabling forward castle drops and supplementing the Donjon mechanic), and transport ships carry more units. Their truly unique mechanic is the Donjon — a tower-class building that only Serjeants can construct, that garrisons 10 units, and can train Serjeants itself. A Serjeant can found a Donjon in the Castle Age inside enemy territory, then the Donjon pumps more Serjeants on-site, creating a forward pressure pattern that no other civ has access to. Unique techs are Scutage (team bonus refund into gold, Castle Age) and Hauberk (cavalry +1/+2 armor, Imperial Age). Sicilians have full Paladin and full Champion but lack several late-game archer upgrades (no Arbalest) and camel/ eagle/elephant lines entirely.

Datos clave

Mejor mapa
Arabia (Donjon rush) and Arena/closed maps (castle speed + boom)
Peor mapa
Pure water maps (Team Islands, Islands)
Estrategia firma
Serjeant + Donjon forward push → Knight mass → Paladin Imperial
Pro icon
Hera has streamed Donjon rush tutorials; occasional tournament pick by European pros

⚡ Civ bonuses

Team bonus

Transport Ships carry 5 more units (total 15 instead of 10) and have +50% HP.

Unique bonus #1

First Impression: Serjeants, Knight line, and infantry (barracks) take 50% less bonus damage from all sources.

Pikemen deal 16 vs Cavalry base; vs Sicilian cavalry, only 8. Halberdiers deal ~32 vs cav; vs Sicilian cav, ~16. Camel Rider bonus vs cavalry halved. Anti-cavalry archers (Arbalest, Slinger) lose their bonus damage too (if they have one). This extends to Serjeants as infantry (vs cavalry bonuses reduced on them).

Unique bonus #2

Farms are built 100% faster.

Farm construction time drops from ~15 seconds to ~7.5 seconds. Saves 7.5 vil-seconds per farm, times 40+ farms across a game, equating to ~5 minutes of total villager-time. Most impactful during the Feudal→Castle window when farm spam matters most.

Unique bonus #3

Castles are built 33% faster.

Castle construction time drops from ~200s to ~134s (at baseline vil speed). Combined with Sicilian castle discount [VERIFY: some sources say Sicilians have standard castle cost, others say -33% build time only], enables forward castle drops at timings no other civ can match.

Unique bonus #4

Transport Ships carry 5 more units (10→15) and have +50% HP (team bonus, see above).

See team_bonus above.

⚠️ Key tech the civ DOES NOT have
  • · ArbalestStop at Crossbowman — no Arbalest upgrade. Foot archers are a supplement, never a main line.
  • · Heavy Cavalry ArcherNo HCA — cavalry archer stays Cavalry Archer only. Not a core unit anyway.
  • · Siege OnagerStop at Onager — siege cap limits late-game push tools. Must rely on Bombard Cannon + Trebuchet for mass clears.
  • · Heavy Scorpion[VERIFY] — believed Sicilians have Heavy Scorpion. Confirm current patch.
  • · Bombard TowerNo Bombard Tower — despite having Bombard Cannon. Combined with Donjon this is less painful than for other civs.
  • · Thumb Ring[VERIFY] — believed Sicilians lack Thumb Ring. Makes crossbow line even weaker since they can't hit on the move.
  • · Parthian TacticsNo CA buffs; consistent with lacking full archer development.
  • · Camel RiderNo camels at all. Relies on First Impression to resist bonus damage from opposing camels instead of mirroring.
  • · Eagle WarriorNo eagles — Mediterranean civ.
  • · Battle ElephantNo elephants — Mediterranean civ.
  • · Supplies (Militia-line cheaper food)[VERIFY] — believed Sicilians have Supplies; confirm.
🛡️ Unique unit · Castle Age

Sargento

heavily-armored infantry with unique building ability (Donjon)

  • · Forward Donjon push — walk 3-4 Serjeants to opponent gold, build Donjon, produce more Serjeants on-site
  • · Garrison fillers in Donjons — a Donjon with 10 Serjeants becomes a mini-castle
  • · Anti-archer infantry — 2/2 armor base plus First Impression soaks crossbow fire
⚗️ Unique tech · Castle Age

Scutagium

Each team member gains 15 gold per military unit on research (one-time effect).

When: Team games: research once full Castle Age military mass is on the field, typically 20-25min. Don't research too early — you want maximum army size when it triggers. In 1v1 it's a lower-priority tech; research only if you have continuous army production and excess Castle time.

⚗️ Unique tech · Imperial Age

Cota de Mallas

Knight line gains +1 melee armor and +2 pierce armor.

When: Imperial — research immediately after the Paladin upgrade if committed to cavalry composition. Lower priority if going infantry-focused or Donjon-heavy.

🎯 Recommended build order

Hybrid Scouts → Donjon Rush Option

Bracket 1300-1600

Decide at ~14min based on scouting: standard Knight rush or Donjon commit.

Alternativa

Scouts + M@A FlexOpponent scouted as archer civ or eagles civ

❌ Common mistakes playing Sicilians

  • Attempting Donjon rush without scouting

    Donjon dropped at wrong time/place wastes Serjeants and Castle Age tempo. Requires scouting accuracy not reliable at this bracket.

    fix:At this bracket skip Donjon rush — play standard Scouts → Knights → Paladin.

    Ignoring First Impression — playing cautiously in Paladin mirror

    Your Paladin takes half bonus damage from Pikes/Halbs. That means you can push cavalry mirrors that other civs lose. Playing timidly wastes the bonus.

    fix:Lean into Paladin mirror and Halb engagements — your units will survive fights that look lost.

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As soon as we detect you started a ranked match, a strategic brief lands on you in ~10 segundos. We tell you who your rival is, what they usually do on that map,and what to adapt in your Sicilians build order.

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⚔️ Which civ will you face?

Sicilians vs Berbers

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🛡️ Cuidado con estas unidades

Samurai / Jaguar Warrior (anti-infantry bonus) HIGH

Anti-unique attack bypasses First Impression in some mechanics [VERIFY]; high bonus damage vs Serjeants.

Siege Onager / Heavy Scorpion HIGH

AoE damage shreds Paladin+Serjeant clumps; Sicilians lack mirror Siege Onager.

Monks (well-microed conversion) MEDIUM

Paladins are gold-intensive; losing them to conversion is painful. First Impression doesn't block conversion.

Massed Arbalester + Siege (archer civs with siege) MEDIUM

Ethiopian/Mayan Arbalest + Siege Onager combo out-clears Sicilian Paladin mass before Halberdier can close.

Bombard Cannon (well-microed) MEDIUM

BBC kills Paladin clumps at range; Sicilians have BBC but not BBT for mirror siege.

🗺️ Performance por mapa

arabia
A

Strong open-map pick. Donjon rush at 15-17min is unique and punishing vs unprepa…

arena
B

Faster castle build + free farm speed + Paladin boom work on Arena, but no Arbal…

nomad
B

Farm speed helps initial eco setup. No signature bonus forces a nomad-specific p…

megarandom
B

Solid all-rounder with slight advantage — Paladin + First Impression handle most…

glade
A

Sicilians over-perform on Glade — likely closed-map + booming + Paladin identity…

black forest
B+

Paladin + Hauberk is a strong late-game cleanup comp. BF castles speed-up by 33%…

fortress
B+

Castle bonus + Donjon + boom potential — good closed-map performer.

hideout
B

Similar to Arena — castle speed helps, archer weakness hurts vs archer civs.

four lakes
C

Weak navy middle-tier. Land-side play solid but water decides many games.

team islands
D

Very poor navy. Transport bonus is irrelevant vs opponents with strong naval civ…

migration
C

Transport bonus helps migration phase, but Sicilian navy middling. Mixed value.

mediterranean
C

Water split — Sicilians land side fine, cede water.

runestones
A

Open map like Arabia — Donjon rush + cav transitions work; Paladin late.

socotra
B

Hybrid — land is Sicilian-strong, water neutral.

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