Malay

In Age of Empires II, Malay are best understood as a naval civilization, a profile that shapes everything from their economy to the units they lean on in a fight. Malay bring a distinctive set of civilization bonuses to the table — Advancing to the next Age is +66% faster, Infantry armor upgrades free, Battle Elephants cost -25/35% in Castle/Imperial Age and Fish Traps cost -33% and provide +200% food — each nudging their game plan in a particular direction. They are also a welcome addition to any team, thanks to the team bonus Docks +6 line of sight that extends to their allies.

Rounding out their toolkit are the unique technologies Forced Levy (Militia-line gold cost is replaced by additional food cost) and Thalassocracy (Docks are upgraded to Harbors), each capable of reshaping a game once researched. Typical age-up timings land at about 9:58 into Feudal and 19:28 into Castle. The matchup chart tells a clear story: Malay feast on Muisca, winning around 58.4% of that pairing, but stumble against Huns, where their win rate slips to roughly 46.5%.

Statistically, Malay hold a 51.8% win rate in RM 1v1 (from 105037 games) for a tier-list spot of #9 of 54, all while being picked in about 1.6% of matches. The Castle-trained Karambit Warrior headlines the roster, but the wider army is dominated by infantry (~32% of units), anchored by the ever-present Knight at about 22% of production.