How to beat
Byzantineas Jeanne d'Arc
Matchup tips
You need like 20 or 24 archers to one-shot Limitanei with their shield wall.
Against many Limitanei, you should pick Jeanne's Champions at level 3 rather than Jeanne's Riders, because they help hold the line against the Limitanei.
As long as the knights survive, they can take engagements even against Limitanei and Spearmen; knights are the backbone of JD's army.
Typically in this matchup, we see Javelin throws more often than Longbows because you gain access to camel riders in the castle age, which give you the camel rider debuff against your opponent's knights.
JD's healing ability allows knights to win early engagements against Limitanei when numbers are low.
JD can use consecration to reduce the cost of horsemen and spearmen, fielding a lot of infantry early. This can deny Byzantines berries, making it hard for them to get units out.
If Byzantines go heavy on javelins, JD is forced to go melee form.
Against Jeanne d'Arc, Byzantines should get Javelin Thrower mercenaries because they have more mobility and later give access to Camel Riders.
It is very risky for Byzantines to move across the map against a mobility-heavy civilization like Jeanne d'Arc.
Whenever you're up against Byzantines or Malians, if you pick range Jeanne, your win probability probably goes down by at least 25%.
Against Byzantines, you want to do as much pressure as early as possible, just because once those mercenaries really start coming in, it's only going to get harder from there.
Getting a few hits in with JD, making sure the Limitanei aren't full HP, makes it easier when you charge your knights against them. Being able to kill a Limitaneius one hit earlier makes a big difference. Limitanei often have shield wall enabled, meaning they attack slower; if you kill them quicker they get less damage out, and your knights can take reasonable engagements against them even while shield wall is up.
The Painted Shield upgrade makes Limitanei movement speed crazy fast: 1.8 while charging, 1.44 outside of charge. Knights won't be able to get that many pickoffs anymore.
I think if you're playing the game as Jeanne and you don't go Royal Institute, instead champions is a serious consideration against Byzantines. Because when they build javelins and Limitanei, they actually have no answer. And specifically, champions do counter out the Limitanei. They get first damage against spears.
Limitanei cost 90 total resources (80 food, 10 wood), so when Jeanne d'Arc kills one, she gets +9 XP instead of +8 from a generic spearman. Over many kills, this can help her reach level three quicker.
While Shield Wall is active, Limitanei attack much slower, so their DPS goes down a lot even against Knights.
Even when Jeanne d'Arc gets Royal Institute upgrades like Arbalétrier, stirrups, and Royal Bloodlines, a composition of Javelin Throwers and Limitanei still does well.
Jeanne's cleave is good against spears, but Limitanei have more health than standard spearmen, so Jeanne needs to be careful not to overextend or the Limitanei can turn and kill her.
Jeanne d'Arc can deal with Cataphracts reasonably well as long as they aren't massed, thanks to her area healing and bonus charge damage.
Cataphracts can block your retreat and surround you with their trample ability, so positioning is key.
If you don't have a barracks and you get seen building the Outpost, Jean is not going to die to villagers because she has 150 HP.
Byzantine Unique Units
Byzantine Landmarks
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