Arquebusier

This article is about the unit in Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties. For the technology in Age of Empires II HD: The African Kingdoms, see Arquebus.

Arquebusier
Unit information
Introduced in	The Asian Dynasties
Type	Infantry Ranged infantry Gunpowder infantry
Civilization	Chinese
Age	Fortress Age
Training
Banner army	Territorial Army Imperial Army Black Flag Army
Population	1
Coin	85
Statistics
Hit points	97
Resists	30% vs. Ranged
Speed	4.0
Line of Sight	24
XP train bounty	9
XP bounty	9
Melee damage
Attack	5
Multipliers	x2.0 vs. Heavy infantry, Light cavalry and Eagle Runner Knight x0.75 vs. Cavalry and Coyote Runner
Rate of Fire	1.5
Ranged damage
Attack	14
Multipliers	Same as melee
Range	20
Rate of Fire	3.0
Siege damage
Attack	9
Range	6
Rate of Fire	3.0

“	Cheap Chinese foot soldier armed with a rifle. Good against infantry.	”
—In-game description

The Arquebusier is a ranged infantry in Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties that is unique to the Chinese and can be trained as part of Territorial Army, Imperial Army, and Black Flag Army. It functions identically to the Skirmisher.

Overview

The Arquebusier has a long range attack with a multiplier against heavy infantry and light cavalry and a good ranged resistance, but (like all Skirmishers) has low hit points and a weak melee attack.

Upgrades

The Arquebusier is automatically upgraded to Disciplined (+20% hit points and attack) at the Fortress Age.

Age	Improvement	Cost	Effect
	Honored Arquebusier	300 wood 300 coin	Upgrades Arquebusiers to Honored (+30% hit points and attack)
	Exalted Arquebusier	750 wood 750 coin	Upgrades Arquebusiers to Exalted (+50% hit points and attack); requires Honored Arquebusier

Further statistics

As the Arquebusier can only be trained by the Chinese, only improvements available to them (including native improvements) are listed here.

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Heavy infantry, light cavalry, Eagle Runner Knights
Weak vs.	Heavy cavalry, Coyote Runners, artillery
Improvements
Hit points	Cree Tanning (+5%) Navajo Weaving (+5%)
Attack	Yoga (+5%) Smokeless Powder (+30% siege attack) Clenched Fist (+30% melee attack)
Speed	File:Inca Road-building.png Incan Road-building (+20%) Apache Endurance (+5%)
Creation speed	File:Inca Chaquis Messengers.png Incan Chasquis Messengers (-12%, Black Flag Army) Cheyenne Horse Trading (-12%, Imperial Army)
Train cost	Mapuche Ad-mapu (-10% coin cost, armies)
Other	Meritocracy (-20% upgrade cost)

Home City Cards

As the Arquebusier is exclusive to the Chinese, only other civilizations' TEAM cards that affects them are listed here.

Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Arquebusier

Green: TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team Chinese Card Description Age HC level 10 Arquebusiers Ships 10 Arquebusiers 1 17 Arquebusiers Ships 17 Arquebusiers 1 Emperor's Army Ships 22 Arquebusiers and 8 Hand Mortars; costs 1,500 food 40 File:Dutch Home City 2 (Infantry Combat).png Territorial Army Combat Arquebusiers and Changdao Swordsmen get +15% hit points and attack 25 Repelling Volley Chu Ko Nu and Arquebusiers get +10% attack and +1.0x multiplier against heavy infantry and light cavalry 10 Western Reforms All units get +8% hit points and attack 40 Acupuncture Unit train time -20% 10 Banner School Banner army train time -23% 10 Dutch Card Description Age HC level TEAM Infantry Hitpoints Infantry gets +15% hit points 10 French Card Description Age HC level TEAM Ranged Infantry Attack Ranged infantry gets +15% attack 10 Indians Card Description Age HC level TEAM Shivaji's Tactics All units get +5% hit points and attack 25 Iroquois Card Description Age HC level TEAM Scout Infantry Infantry gets +8 LOS 10 Japanese Card Description Age HC level TEAM Cheaper Unit Upgrades Unit upgrades cost -20% 1 Portuguese Card Description Age HC level TEAM Gunpowder Infantry Hitpoints Gunpowder infantry gets +15% hit points 10 Russians Card Description Age HC level TEAM Dueling School Infantry train time -25%; banner army train time -12% 25 Spanish Card Description Age HC level TEAM Inquisition All units get +10 LOS 10

History

“

The arquebus was a European matchlock gun that was adopted by Asian cultures in the sixteenth century. When Portuguese explorer, Fenrao Mendes Pinto, accidentallly landed on the small island of Tanegashima in the Japanese archipelago in 1543, he introduced members of the Shimazu clan to the arquebus, and altered Japanese warfare forever. Within ten years, Portuguese guns could be found on every battlefield in Japan. Despite the advantages of requiring smaller ammunition, and having a jarring psychological effect on its targets, the arquebus had many disadvantages. It was slow to reload, leaving its user at the mercy of archers firing at a much faster rate. It was also horribly inaccurate. Training to use the weapon was required, but this took time. However, once the training was complete, the arquebus proved to be a frighteningly lethal weapon, especially once the rate of reload was shortened by the development of volley-fire tactics. Japanese Ikko-Ikki warrior monks were the first to use controlled volley-fire in battle, unleashing 3,000 arquebusiers on the body of Oda Nobunaga’s army before the Battle of Nagashino in 1575. With the strength of their new weapon, the monks were able to repel the daimyo’s forces and hold the castle. It was such a stunning display that by 1592, when Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded Korea, the arquebusier was the primary weapon used by Japanese soldiers in the attacking army. The Chinese began to use the arquebus at about the same time as the Japanese, although it is not as well recorded. It is generally believed that early Chinese firearms were based on designs taken from the weapons used by Japanese wokou pirates, who in turn had copied the designs of the Portuguese. Once the gun was introduced to the Chinese it became a standard issue. In 1558, Chinese gunsmiths manufactured a total of 10,000 guns for the Chinese Imperial Army.

”

Gallery

An in-game Arquebusier

Icon from the website