Template:Infobox UnitThe Arquebusier is the Chinese equivalent of the Skirmisher in Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties.
Overview
The Arquebusier are trained together with Changdao Swordsman in the Territorial Army or Iron Flails in the Imperial Army from the War Academy, with a Flamethrower in the Black Flag Army from the Castle, or can be sent from the Home City. They have a long range attack, with a multiplier against heavy infantry and light cavalry, but has low hit points, although they also have a high ranged resistance.
Upgrades
The Arquebusier starts in the Disciplined level (+20% hit points and attack) when they are available at the Fortress Age.
Age | Icon | Improvement | Cost | Effect |
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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 |
Home City cards
As the Arquebusier is exclusive to the Chinese, only their Home City cards are shown in the following list.
Click for a list of Arquebusier-related Home City cards | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Red: Shipment that costs Food
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History
โ | 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 Nobunagaโs army before the Battle of Nagashino in 1575. With the strength of their new weapon, the monks were able to repel the daimyoโs 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. | โ |