"Ranged raiding cavalry. Good against cavalry."
—In-game description
The Bow Rider is a mounted archer in Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs that is unique to the Sioux and can be trained at the Corral.
Overview 
Edit
The Bow Rider is best used against heavy cavalry units as a group of them should easily take down an enemy's group of heavy cavalry. They can also be used to fend off Heavy Infantry due to their good resistance toward melee damage and high speed.
Unlike other ranged cavalry, Bow Riders lack the 0.5 multiplier against Villagers, so they are among the best at harassing an enemy's economy, third only to Apache Cavalry (with Apache Raiders researched) and to Cavalry Archers with Irregulars researched. They should be escorted with Dog Soldiers and/or Axe Riders, who can attack ranged infantry units, while also assisting at killing Villagers.
Bow Riders can be trained at the Corral, at the Colonial Age, unlike other similar units. This encourages Rushing, despite their high food cost. It is highly recommended to accompagny Bow Riders with the War Chief, as he provides a speed bonus that allows them to outrun most enemy units.
A severe drawback of this unit, meant to balance the lack of a 0.5 multiplier against Villagers, is that there are no shipments of Bow Riders available to a Sioux player, unlike Axe Riders and Rifle Riders. This, combined with their high food cost, means that they require close micromanagement; they shouldn't be sent without correct purpose into enemies.
Upgrades Edit
| Age | Improvement | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
 |  Elite Bow Riders
| 200 wood, 100 coin | Upgrades Bow Riders to Elite (+25% hit points and attack) |
 |  Champion Bow Riders
| 400 wood, 200 coin | Upgrades Bow Riders to Champion (+25% hit points and attack); requires Elite Bow Riders |
 |  Legendary Bow Riders
| 1,500 wood, 1,500 coin | Upgrades Bow Riders to Legendary (+50% hit points and attack); requires Champion Bow Riders |
Further statistics Edit
As the Bow Rider can only be trained by the Sioux, only improvements available to them (including native improvements) are listed here.
| Unit strengths and weaknesses | |
|---|---|
| Strong vs. | Heavy cavalry, Coyote Runners, artillery |
| Weak vs. | Heavy infantry, ranged infantry, light cavalry |
| Improvements | |
| Hit points |  Horsemanship (+10%) Comanche Horse Breeding (+10%) Cree Tanning (+5%) Navajo Weaving (+5%)
|
| Attack |  Bonepipe Armor (+1.0x multiplier vs. artillery) Ranged Cavalry Caracole (+10%) Carib Kasiri Beer (+10%) Carib Garifuna Drums (+1.0x multiplier vs. villagers) Seminole Bowyer (+25%) Tupi Poison Arrow Frogs (+10%) Yoga (+5%)
|
| Range | Ranged Cavalry Caracole (+2)
|
| Sight | Ranged Cavalry Caracole (+2)
|
| Speed |  Comanche Mustangs (+10%) Apache Endurance (+5%)
|
| Creation speed |  Cheyenne Horse Trading (-25%) Incan Chasquis Messengers (-25%)
|
| Train cost |  Mapuche Ad-mapu (-10% coin cost)
|
| Other |  Meritocracy (-20% upgrade cost)
|
Home City Cards Edit
As the Bow Rider is exclusive to the Sioux, only other civilizations' TEAM cards that affects them are listed here.
| Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Bow Rider | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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|
Green: TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team Germans
|
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 TEAM Cavalry Attack
| Heavy cavalry, light cavalry, and light infantry gets +15% attack |  | 10 |
Indians Edit
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 TEAM Shivaji's Tactics
| All units get +5% hit points and attack | | 25 |
Japanese Edit
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 TEAM Cheaper Unit Upgrades
| Unit upgrades cost -20% | | 1 |
Russians Edit
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 TEAM Cavalry Scouts
| Cavalry and light infantry gets +10% hit points and +4 LOS |  | 1 |
Sioux Edit
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 Cavalry Damage
| Cavalry gets +15% attack | | 10 |
 Cavalry Hitpoints
| Cavalry gets +15% hit points | | 10 |
 Cavalry Combat
| Cavalry gets +15% hit points and attack | | 25 |
 Mustangs
| Cavalry costs -10% | | 10 |
 Riding School
| Cavalry train time -40% | | 10 |
Spanish Edit
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 TEAM Inquisition
| All units get +10 LOS | | 10 |
History Edit
"When forced west by the encroachment of the European colonists, the Sioux adapted to a wide-ranging, nomadic lifestyle - aided primarily by their mastery of the horse. The Sioux were known as expert horsemen and horse breeders. They developed extremely sophisticated riding tactics. When in battle, they would wrap their legs about their horse's upper body and lean over to the side opposite their foes - taking aim from beneath the horse's neck and using the animal for cover."
—In-game history section
Gallery Edit
