GUIDE · TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY
Curare poison-volley discipline
Curare adds poison damage to the Elite Blackwood Archer, which can keep hurting armored targets after the volley lands. Concentrate fire efficiently so the army does not waste repeated shots on enemies already certain to fall.
Overview
Curare adds poison damage to the Elite Blackwood Archer, which can keep hurting armored targets after the volley lands. Concentrate fire efficiently so the army does not waste repeated shots on enemies already certain to fall.
Plan and execution
Use a compact archer group to focus one durable high-priority unit, then redirect volleys as its remaining health and poison damage make the outcome clear. Keep the formation protected by infantry or terrain while the poison ticks, and use mobility or a screen to prevent cavalry from reaching the archers. Against heavily armored targets, its armor-independent damage makes sustained volleys more useful than spreading fire across the entire front.
Risks and adaptation
Poison takes time to deal its damage, so retargeting late can waste volleys and a target may survive long enough to retaliate. Avoid splitting shots across many units when one kill would remove a major threat. The upgrade does not make the archers safe from a cavalry dive or replace the need for positioning.
- Focus
- Damage-over-time focus-fire management
- Signature / category
- Plan and execution
- Release / context
- Age of Empires II system
- Region
- Technology strategy
- Classification
- Technology strategies