Age of Empires Mobile Military Exercise Guide: Best Lineups, Dungeon Tips & Rewards

The Military Exercise is one of the most rewarding PvE activities in Age of Empires Mobile, challenging commanders to assemble the right hero combinations and march through a series of dungeon-style stages. Whether you are a free-to-play player building your first real team or an experienced governor pushing for Rank V advancement, knowing the AoE mobile best lineups, understanding the unit counter system, and selecting the right custom skills will directly determine how far you can climb. This guide breaks down everything you need to master Military Exercise — from the four recommended F2P-friendly lineups for swordsmen, pikemen, cavalry, and archers, to detailed dungeon clearing tips and the full rewards list.

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What is Military Exercise in Age of Empires Mobile?

Military Exercise is a dedicated PvE dungeon event in Age of Empires Mobile where players build a hero lineup and challenge a sequence of stages. Each stage is guarded by enemy formations with specific unit types, and progress is gated by both your hero power level and your tactical understanding of AoE mobile hero combinations.

Unlike open-field PvP, Military Exercise rewards methodical preparation:

You can review the defending unit type before engaging, allowing you to pick a counter lineup.
Hero signature skills, rank upgrades, and custom skill allocation all matter more than raw troop count.
Clearing higher stages unlocks better rewards, including hero fragments, skill tomes, and progression resources.

Because the mode is fully PvE, it is also the ideal testing ground for new AoE mobile best lineups before you commit resources to them in PvP. For a broader overview of hero synergies, the community-driven Heroes Guide on gameplay.tips is a solid companion to this article.

Best Lineups for Military Exercise

The four lineups below cover all four primary unit types in the game. Each is designed to be approachable for F2P players first, with notes on how far you should invest to unlock its full potential.

Swordsmen Lineup — Retreat Effect Chain

Main General: Hammurabi (free from the 7-day login event)
Deputies: King David (free from the Giant's Roar event) + Josephine (Battle Survivor event)
Core Strategy: Hammurabi applies the Retreat (溃逃) debuff to enemy units → King David's kit amplifies damage dealt to retreating targets → Josephine provides sustained damage output and healing to keep the march alive.
Investment Level: Low — this is the most F2P-friendly lineup in the list and an excellent entry point into Military Exercise.

The strength of this comp lies in its synergy loop. Hammurabi's debuff is the trigger condition for King David's damage bonus, which means the team scales well even at moderate ranks. Josephine's sustain also reduces how often you need to swap in healing skills, freeing up custom skill slots for offense.

Pikemen Lineup — Counterattack Mechanism

Main General: Joan of Arc (obtained from Battle Survivor)
Deputies: Darius the Great + Wu Wei (Epic hero)
Core Strategy: Joan of Arc and Wu Wei form a dual counterattack core, punishing enemy attackers on every hit, while Darius the Great provides an all-stat buff that lifts the entire formation.
Investment Level: Full — this lineup needs to be maxed to perform at its best.

Pikemen shine against cavalry-heavy defending formations, and the counterattack chain means the harder the enemy hits, the more damage you reflect. Because both Joan and Wu Wei scale with survivability, prioritizing defensive custom skills and HP-boosting gear pays off disproportionately here.

Cavalry Lineup — Pursuit Output

Main General: Narses (Epic hero)
Core Strategy: After a normal attack, Narses triggers an additional Might-based attack, and his kit further increases Might damage output, creating a pursuit-style damage pattern that scales with attack speed and Might stacking.
Investment Level: Full — Narses needs full investment to maximize the extra attack triggers.

Cavalry's natural advantage against archers makes this lineup the go-to pick for archer-defended stages. Focus your custom skill allocation on Might amplification and attack-speed buffs to compound Narses' pursuit effect.

Archers Lineup — Might Maximization

Main General: Josephine
Deputies: Cui Ruyi (Epic hero) + King David
Core Strategy: Combine Weak Spot Attack with Double Attack to maximize Might damage in a single turn, producing burst windows that can melt high-HP targets.
Investment Level: Full — needs maxed signature skills and rank to hit the damage breakpoints.

Archers counter infantry (swordsmen), which makes this lineup particularly strong against swordsmen-defended stages. The synergy between Josephine's Weak Spot Attack and Cui Ruyi's Double Attack is where the real damage comes from — King David's retreating-target bonus is the multiplier that pushes the burst over the top.

Four Lineups Comparison

Lineup	Unit Type	Main General	Core Strategy	Investment
Swordsmen	Swordsmen	Hammurabi	Retreat effect → King David bonus damage → Josephine sustain	Low (F2P)
Pikemen	Pikemen	Joan of Arc	Dual counterattack (Joan + Wu Wei) + Darius all-stat buff	Full
Cavalry	Cavalry	Narses	Pursuit Might attacks after normal attack	Full
Archers	Archers	Josephine	Weak Spot + Double Attack for max Might burst	Full

For deeper hero ratings and rankings, the AoE Mobile Guides Tier List and the AoE Mobile Hub Tier List are both regularly updated and useful for cross-referencing your roster before committing resources.

Unit Type Counter System

Military Exercise is balanced around a strict rock-paper-scissors counter system. Picking the wrong unit type into a defending formation will cost you a stage no matter how strong your heroes are, while picking the correct counter can clear stages well above your power level.

Attacker	Strong Against	Weak Against
Cavalry	Archers	Pikemen
Archers	Infantry (Swordsmen)	Cavalry
Infantry (Swordsmen)	Pikemen	Archers
Pikemen	Cavalry	Infantry (Swordsmen)

Practical takeaway: before each stage, always check the defending unit type and rotate to the counter lineup. This single habit will save you more resources than any single hero upgrade.

Dungeon Clearing Tips for Military Exercise

The AoE mobile dungeon guide section below distills the most impactful habits for clearing Military Exercise stages efficiently.

1. Scout the Defending Unit Type First

Every stage tells you which unit type you will face. Match it to the counter table above and pick the corresponding lineup. If the stage is cavalry-defended, bring pikemen; if it is archer-defended, bring cavalry. Skipping this step is the most common reason players get stuck on stages they should be able to clear.

2. Prioritize Signature Skills on Core Heroes

Signature skills are the largest single source of power for your main generals. Before pushing deeper stages, make sure your main general's signature skill is upgraded to the highest level you can afford. Hammurabi's Retreat application rate, Narses' pursuit trigger, and Josephine's Weak Spot damage all scale directly with signature skill level.

3. Push for Rank V Advancement

Rank V advancement is a major power spike that dramatically raises a lineup's combat effectiveness. Once you have committed to a main general, focus your resources on getting them to Rank V before spreading investment across multiple secondary heroes. A single Rank V main general with a properly built deputy pair will outperform a wider roster of under-leveled heroes.

4. Allocate Custom Skills Thoughtfully

Custom skills let you tune a lineup for the stage in front of you. A few principles:

Sustain skills (healing, damage reduction) for counterattack lineups like Joan of Arc + Wu Wei.
Might amplification and attack speed for Narses' cavalry pursuit comp.
Burst damage and extra attack triggers for the archer Might-maximization lineup.
Debuff extension for Hammurabi's Retreat chain to keep King David's damage bonus active longer.

5. Don't Waste Resources on Mismatched Stages

If you cannot clear a stage after two attempts, stop and check whether you have the right counter lineup. Pouring more troops or heals into a losing matchup will only drain your resources. Swap lineups, upgrade the relevant signature skill, and return.

For more community-tested lineup ideas, the Mobi.gg lineup guide is a useful cross-reference, and the Fandom Wiki Heroes page is the best place to verify each hero's source and skill kit.

Military Exercise Rewards

Clearing Military Exercise stages and milestones grants a steady stream of progression resources. The table below summarizes the typical reward structure you can expect as you push deeper into the dungeon.

Reward Type	Source	Use Case
Hero Fragments	Stage clears & milestone rewards	Unlocking and starring up heroes
Skill Tomes	Stage clears & milestone rewards	Upgrading signature and custom skills
Empire Coins	Milestone rewards	Premium currency for summons and shop purchases
Speedups	Stage clears	Building, research, and training acceleration
Resource Packs	Stage clears	Food, wood, stone, and gold for city development
Equipment Materials	Higher-stage clears	Crafting and upgrading hero gear
Gems	Milestone rewards	Additional summons and event purchases

The deeper you push, the more the reward pool shifts toward hero fragments and equipment materials — both of which are essential for Rank V advancement. This is why investing in a single strong lineup first, then expanding to cover all four unit types, is the most efficient long-term strategy for Military Exercise.

FAQ

Is Military Exercise available every day?

Military Exercise runs as a scheduled PvE event. Check the in-game event calendar for the current rotation, and plan your signature skill upgrades and Rank V advancements around the event window so you can push as far as possible while it is active.

Which lineup should I build first as a F2P player?

The Swordsmen lineup (Hammurabi + King David + Josephine) is the best starting point. All three heroes are obtainable through free events, the investment level is low, and the Retreat effect chain is strong enough to carry you through the early and mid stages of the dungeon. Once you have a stable swordsmen team, branch out into the counter lineup you need most often.

Do I need to max all four lineups?

No. A single maxed lineup can clear most of the dungeon, but having two or three lineups ready lets you exploit the counter system on stages where your main comp is at a type disadvantage. The recommended order is: max swordsmen first, then build pikemen (to counter cavalry-defended stages), then cavalry (to counter archer-defended stages), and finally archers (to counter swordsmen-defended stages).

How important is the unit counter system?

Extremely important. The counter bonus is large enough that a correctly matched lower-power lineup will often outperform a higher-power mismatched one. Always scout the defending unit type before engaging.

What is the fastest way to get Hammurabi?

Hammurabi is rewarded through the 7-day login event, which makes him effectively free for any active player. Make sure to log in for seven consecutive days during the event window to claim him and start building your swordsmen lineup immediately.

Should I spend Empire Coins on summons for Military Exercise?

It depends on your roster. If you are missing a key deputy like King David or Josephine, targeted summons can accelerate your lineup. However, the four lineups in this guide are deliberately built around F2P-accessible heroes, so most players can clear Military Exercise without heavy summoning investment.

Conclusion

Military Exercise in Age of Empires Mobile is a test of preparation, not luck. The players who clear the deepest stages are the ones who:

Build AoE mobile best lineups around free, accessible heroes like Hammurabi, King David, Josephine, and Joan of Arc.
Respect the unit counter system and rotate lineups to match each stage's defending unit type.
Concentrate resources on signature skills and Rank V advancement for their main general before spreading investment.
Allocate custom skills to match each lineup's core mechanic — sustain for counterattack, Might for pursuit, burst for archers, and debuff extension for the Retreat chain.

Start with the swordsmen lineup, expand to cover the unit types you face most often, and use the reward stream from Military Exercise to fund your next Rank V advancement. With the lineups, counters, and dungeon tips in this guide, you have everything you need to push deeper than you ever have before.