Falconet

The Falconet is the standard artillery unit of European civilizations in Age of Empires III.

Overview
The Falconet is a simple yet capable artillery piece, important because of their early accessibility and impact on early battles. The Falconet's counter bonus against infantry is very useful and combines well with its area damage and versatility. Sent early into the Fortress Age they can allow friendly infantry to quickly turn the tide of battle. They are usually used in small groups, such as the early "2 Falconets" Home City Card.

Each shot deals 300 damage to nearby infantry, which are usually packed very densely. Limbered, the unit is also quite fast for artillery, keeping pace with infantry, and can reposition along with an army between battles. Falconets can be easily countered with the Culverin, which is effective against other pieces of artillery. They are also weak against cavalry and should be protected by nearby heavy infantry or ranged cavalry, or placed behind obstacles like walls.

Despite their anti-infantry properties, they are not designed for heavier tasks such as destroying enemy buildings. For example compared to the Mortar razing a town, the equivalent-era upgrade to Field Gun will do half their damage, for more than the same cost. If the battle drags on, Heavy Cannon or unique equivalent may prove useful.

The Portuguese have Organ Guns instead of Falconets, focusing on anti-infantry and with reduced cost. The Japanese Flaming Arrow is also very similar. The Iroquois Light Cannon is much less impactful but an effective artillery piece none the less. Together with the Culverin, they are the second lightest and second cheapest cannon in the game that is available to the European civilizations (the first is the Organ Gun).

Home City cards
As the Falconet is exclusive to European civilizations, only Native American and Asian civilizations' TEAM cards that affects them are listed here. {| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="width:100%;" ! sab="1148" | Click for a list of related Home City cards
 * - sab="1147"
 * - sab="1149"
 * sab="1150" |

Ottomans

 * }

History
"Falconets were among the smallest artillery. They weighed about 280 pounds, had a six-foot barrel and used about a pound of powder to fire a one pound shot. Still, the small quantity of powder (relative to larger artillery pieces) was enough to make a properly braced Falconet fly back up to 10 yards when fired."