Brown Bear

The Brown Bear is a wild animal in Return of Rome and Age of Empires II, a huntable animal in Age of Mythology, and a Treasure guardian and pet in Age of Empires III.

Age of Empires

Brown Bear
Animal
Introduced in	Age of Empires: Return of Rome
Hit points	20
Melee attack	3
Rate of Fire	1
Speed	Walking: 0.7 Running: 1.05
Line of Sight	3
Maximum food	100
Recommended no. of gatherers	2-3

Brown Bears (named Bears before update 141935) were introduced once Age of Empires game mode was launched in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Return of Rome.

Age of Empires II

Brown Bear
Animal
Introduced in	Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten
Hit points	25
Melee attack	3
Rate of Fire	2
Armor class	Predator Animals
Speed	Walking: 0.59 Running: 0.88
Line of Sight	10
Maximum food	0
Recommended no. of gatherers	2-3 (only to kill)
Behavior	Attacks nearby units

The Brown Bear (named Bear before update 141935) is a wild animal introduced in Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten. It appears in several areas around the map.

Bears have 25 hit points and hold no food, but attack Villagers and some military units on sight.

A single Bear can kill a Villager (except for Magyar Villagers) if it lands the first hit, but will die to anything stronger, even a Villager with the Loom upgrade. They are found primarily in European maps like Bohemia and Lombardia.

Trivia

• According to the fifth Design Document of Ensemble Studios (dated 17 July 1998), the Bear was considered to replace the Wild Boar as the dangerous huntable animal in the vanilla version. Bears were also envisioned as being able to feed on Farms, Berry Bushes, and Shore Fish, which would reduce the food they could provide for Players.
• Since update 141935, two other types of bears also appear in Age of Empires II: the Black Bear and the Polar Bear.

Age of Mythology

Bear
Animal
Introduced in	Age of Mythology
Hit points	90
Population	2
Hack attack	9
Hack armor	10%
Pierce armor	30%
Speed	4.30
Maximum food	200
Recommended no. of gatherers	5-10

• Retold
• Original

“	Villagers can hunt wild animals for Food. Brown Bears will attack any nearby villagers.	”
—In-game description

“	This animal can be hunted, but may also hunt you.	”
—In-game description

In Age of Mythology, the Bear is a huntable animal. Like other dangerous predators, it will attack workers on sight, but provides plenty of food if they manage to kill it.

Changelog

Age of Mythology

• Bears have 5.0 speed.

Retold

• With update 17.27932, Bears have 4.3 speed.

History

“	Scientific name -- Ursus arctos Size -- Up to 800 lbs. Diet -- Predominantly roots, fruit and nuts. Occasionally fish and mammals. The brown bear is the second largest bear species in the world, after the polar bear. Although smaller than the grizzly and Kodiak of North America, the European brown bear once inhabited the entire continent except for a few northern islands (such as Ireland). Deforestation and human expansion have pushed them into small populations in Romania and the former Yugoslavia, and large populations in Scandinavia and Russia. Brown bears are largely herbivorous, though they opportunistically feed on carcasses, fish and even anthills. Bears in cooler climates hibernate for several months, though those in Spain and Croatia may remain active all year. Little is known of brown bear social organization. They do not appear to be territorial and do not form pair bonds.	”
—In-game help section

Age of Empires III

Honcho the Pet Grizzly Bear
Information
Introduced in	Age of Empires III
Type	Pet Hand infantry Sees stealth*
Training
Cost	200 Food
Train time	10 seconds
Train limit	12
Statistics
Hit points	220
Resistance	10% Hand
Speed	5.0
Line of Sight	12
Train XP	20
Kill XP	20
Hand attack
Damage	27 Hand
Rate of Fire	1.5
Bonus damage	1.2× vs. Guardian 0.5× vs. Hero 0.1× vs. Villager

“	A pet grizzly bear that loves salmon and is good against guardians.	”
—In-game description

Honcho the Pet Grizzly Bear is a pet Grizzly Bear in Age of Empires III. He is one one the strongest pets in the game, as is capable of inflicting a fair amount of damage against treasure guardians, though he is incapable of delivering heavy damage to Settlers. Honcho is tied with Randy the Pet Rhino and Aiz the Tame Elephant for the most damaging attack among pets. Honcho can be rescued from Treasures on certain maps such as California and Great Plains.

The British and French have consistent access to Honcho the Pet Grizzly Bear by revolting to Canada, which grants them access to the "7 Grizzlies" Home City Card. The United States and Mexicans also gain access to Honcho through the California Federal State and the California revolution, respectively, granting them the "Bear Flag Revolt" Home City Card. Once sent, the United States General's Inspiring Flag ability will spawn 6 Honcho the Pet Grizzly Bears at its location, while the California revolution General's Inspiring Flag will spawn 5 Honcho the Pet Grizzly Bears.

Upgrades

Honcho the Pet Grizzly Bear, like all other pets, upgrades automatically each Age:

• +20% hit points and damage
• +30% hit points and damage
• +40% hit points and damage
• +60% hit points and damage

Further statistics

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Treasure guardians
Weak vs.	Villagers
Improvements
Hit points	Maya Cotton Armor (+20%) Infantry Breastplate (+10%) Gadaa System (+5%; Ethiopians only) Tar Kilns (+5%)
Attack	Zapotec Cult of the Dead (+20%) Carib Kasiri Beer (+10%) Master Lessons (+10%) Gadaa System (+5%; Ethiopians only) Wind Horses (-10% Rate of Fire)
Speed	Push of Pike (+10%; Swedes only) Apache Endurance (+5%) Wind Horses (+0.5)
Line of Sight	Town Watch (+3)

Home City Cards

Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Honcho the Pet Grizzly Bear

Some cards are highlighted with:
Green	TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team
Purple	Shipment that can be sent an INFINITE number of times
Red	Shipment that can be sent twice
Blue	Shipment that arrives fast (5 seconds)

Chinese

Card	Description	Age
Western Reforms	Unit hit points and damage +8%

Ethiopians

Card	Description	Age
Ignatian Spirituality	Unit (except herded animals) hit points +5%, regeneration rate +1.0 (even in combat)

Europeans

Card	Description	Age
7 Grizzlies	Delivers 7 Honcho the Pet Grizzly Bears
Wanderlust	Land military and land villager hit points +5%; land villager and construction wagon speed +5% (can be sent 3 times)

• "7 Grizzlies" is available to the British and French upon revolting to Canada.
• "Wanderlust" is available to the British and Dutch upon revolting to South Africa.

Federal Americans

Card	Description	Age
Bear Flag Revolt	Transforms all villagers into Californios; the General gets access to the Inspiring Bear Flag ability, which when used, spawns 6 Honcho the Pet Grizzly Bears; Honcho the Pet Grizzly Bear bonus damage against artillery 0.1x; costs 1,000 food, 1,000 wood, 1,000 coin

• "Bear Flag Revolt" is available to the United States upon selecting the California Federal State, and Mexicans upon revolting to California.

Inca

Card	Description	Age
Road Building	Land military speed +10%

Indians

Card	Description	Age
Dravidian Martial Arts	Unit all melee attack damage +15%; Rajput hand attack damage +20% instead, +1 Hindu Villager
TEAM Shivaji's Tactics	Unit hit points and damage +5%

Maltese

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Knights of the Round Table	Delivers 1 Hospitaller for each Town Center and Command Post present on the map; unit hit points +2%

Mexicans

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Mariachi	For the next 30 seconds, military building training and research work rate +400%, unit speed +10%
Colegio de San Nicolas	Delivers 1 Large Collection of Books (500 XP); unit Line of Sight +4; building (except Wall) Line of Sight +8; reveals enemy units' positions for 20 seconds
National Servant	Unit (except herded animals) hit points +10%; Padre heal work rate +200%	Imperial Age

• "Colegio de San Nicolas" is available upon selecting the Michoacán Federal State.
• "National Servant" is available upon selecting the Estado de México Federal State.

Spanish

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Hand Infantry Attack	Hand infantry damage +15%
Archaic Infantry Hitpoints	Hand infantry and foot archer hit points +15%; Rodelero hit points +20% instead
Archaic Infantry Combat	Hand infantry and foot archer hit points and damage +15%
TEAM Spanish Inquisition	Delivers 1 Inquisitor; military and economic unit Line of Sight +10

Swedes

Card	Description	Age
Hand Infantry/Hand Cavalry Hitpoints	Hand infantry and hand cavalry hit points +15%

Treasure guardian

• Grizzly Bear
• Brown Bear

Grizzly Bear
Information
Introduced in	Age of Empires III
Type	Guardian
Civilization(s)	Mother Nature
Statistics
Hit points	300
Speed	7.0
Line of Sight	9
Kill XP	17
Hand attack
Damage	10 Hand
Rate of Fire	1.5

The Grizzly Bear is a large treasure guardian animal featured in Age of Empires III. It appears in North American maps along with the smaller Black Bear, guarding treasure individually or in groups up to four.

Grizzly Bears are one of the strongest treasure guardians on land, surpassed only by the Polar Bear in the base game, and the Rhinoceros and Elephant Guardian in the expansions.

Brown Bear
Information
Introduced in	Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition - Knights of the Mediterranean
Type	Guardian
Civilization(s)	Mother Nature
Statistics
Hit points	270
Speed	7.0
Line of Sight	9
Kill XP	16
Hand attack
Damage	12 Hand
Rate of Fire	1.5

The Brown Bear is a large treasure guardian animal featured in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition - Knights of the Mediterranean. It appears in European maps.

Changelog

Age of Empires III

• Honcho the Pet Grizzly Bears have a ×3.0 multiplier against treasure guardians.

Definitive Edition

• Honcho the Pet Grizzly Bears have a ×1.2 multiplier against treasure guardians and ×0.5 against heroes.

Trivia

• The Grizzly Bear in the original version of Age of Empires III is smaller and has a darker coat than in Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs and later expansions.
• Originally, the "7 Grizzlies" card available after revolting to Canada featured the Lazerbear, but it was changed to the Grizzly Bear in a later patch.

History

“	Scientific Name: Ursus arctos subsp. horribilis Approx. Size: 500 lb. (female); 900 lb. (male) Diet: Roots, fungi, fish, insects, large and small mammals A subspecies of the largest species of bear, the brown bear, grizzlies get their name from the white tips of their fur that give them a rough, weathered appearance. The hump of muscle, visible in profile, between the grizzly's shoulders is massive, giving incredible strength to their forequarters and allowing them to dig and strike powerfully. Their claws are three to four inches long and not many mammals can withstand the powerful strike of a grizzly bear. They spend the better part of the fall season fattening up for the lean winter months when they become sluggish if not actually hibernating. Grizzlies find or excavate dens for the winter, usually just large enough for themselves, with an entry that will let air circulate. Grizzly bears once ranged throughout North America west of the Mississippi and as far south as Mexico. Today they live in rugged, remote mountains and forest wilderness areas..	”
—In-game compendium section

Gallery

Views of the Brown Bear in Age of Empires II

A Grizzly Bear in Age of Empires III

Grizzly Bear image from the Compendium section in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition