Arquebusier

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

Age	Icon	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

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 related Home City cards

Red: Shipment that costs Food Europeans Native Americans Asians Chinese Icon Card Description Age Home City level 10 Arquebusiers Ships 10 Arquebusiers 3 0 17 Arquebusiers Ships 17 Arquebusiers 4 0 File:Emperors army.png Emperor's Army Ships 22 Arquebusiers and 8 Hand Mortars; costs 1500 Food 4 40 Territorial Army Combat Arquebusiers and Changdao Swordsmen get +15% hit points and attack 3 25 Repelling Volley Chu Ko Nu and Arquebusiers get +10% attack and +1.0x attack bonus vs. Light Cavalry and Heavy Infantry 3 10 Western Reforms All units get +8% hit points and attack 4 40 Acupuncture All units train 20% faster 3 10 Banner School All banner armies train 23% faster 2 10

History

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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.

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Gallery

An in-game Arquebusier

Icon from the website