The Comanchero is a mounted outlaw with a pistol. At 120 coin and 7 population (5 with the "Dance Hall" or "Atonement" Home City Card), it is the most expensive outlaw unit. Compared to standard Dragoons, which share the similar multipliers, Comancheros are slightly more durable, but have less firepower. Like other outlaws, Comancheros are most useful in the Colonial Age and depreciate in value as the game progresses, as upgraded standard light cavalry (and proper mercenaries) will outclass them.
The Lakota are the only civilization to have the option of shipping them from the Home City. However, Comancheros are not useful for raiding due to their reductive multiplier; therefore, a regular shipment of 4 Axe Riders will likely have a greater effect on the game, or even coin shipments to train Bow Riders, which have no such penalty against villagers.
Mexico have Vaqueros that replace Settlers, which are identical to Gauchos, but their ranged attack fires a burst of four shots similar to Organ Guns, and with -45 hit points, -10% ranged resistance, +1.09 speed, +3 range, 2.0x multiplier vs. cavalry, 0.5x multiplier vs. villagers, and +7 siege attack.
Vaqueros can be upgraded to Charros with the namesake Home City Card, which have 3.0x multiplier vs. infantry and +2 melee range.
Peru and the United States have Morochucos and Cowboys, respectively, which are identical to Vaqueros but without the other stat changes.
The Outlaw Rider is the treasure guardian version of the Comanchero, usually found in large or resourceful treasures. The Outlaw Rider has much higher hit points but more vulnerable to cavalry and artillery. However, they are better at dealing with villagers, so they are recommended to be used in raiding.
Spanish and Portuguese can get 10 Outlaw Riders along with Outlaw Pistoleros through revolution by selecting Hidalgo. If one has a War Chief, one should not use it on him for fighting other treasure guardians, but use him as ranged cavalry.
The term "outlaw" is derived from a Scandinavian designation for the worst sort of criminal imaginable - one who lived outside the protections of the law and should be killed on sight. The gun-slinging, horse-riding, bandana-wearing outlaw of the American frontier is a common image. One such outlaw, Jesse James, used his knowledge of guerilla tactics in warfare to execute a series of bank robberies. He and his brothers lived a life of crime for decades, before James was killed by one of his own gang members when his bounty grew too high to resist.
The Comanchero and the Outlaw Rider appears to use a muzzle-loading pistol as one can see the hand movement at the muzzle of the gun after a shot not like the other outlaws units (despite the weapon in their portrait and in-game model resembling a revolver rather than a muzzle-loading pistol).
The hand attack of the Comanchero unexpectedly shows the siege damage symbol instead of the usual hand attack symbol to denote the damage inflicted using melee attacks.
Argentinian, Mexican, Peruvian, and American Comancheros' names reflect the fact that cowboys in the Old West are the equivalent of gauchos in Argentina, vaqueros and charros in Mexico, and morochucos in Peru; horsemen who tends to cattle.
The name “comanchero” refers to those non-Indians, especially the Spanish, who traded with the Comanches of New Mexico. During the late 1800s in the U.S. Southwest, comancheros inhabited a shadowy world of commerce between dealers of guns, ammunition, and other forbidden commodities with the local Native Americans. Even though the Sioux, Apache, and other Native Americans were quite often provided firearms by the U.S. military, a significant black market emerged that the comancheros were more than happy to exploit.
Horsemanship (+10%, Sioux only)
Comanche Horse Breeding (+10%)
Cree Tanning (+5%)
Navajo Weaving (+5%)
Wild West (+35%, Europeans only)
Compunction (+35%, Asians only)
Ranged Cavalry Caracole (+10%)
Bonepipe Armor (+1.0x multiplier vs. artillery, Sioux only)
Smokeless Powder (+30% siege attack)
Town Watch (+2)
Comanche Mustangs (+10%)
Apache Endurance (+5%)
Mass Cavalry (-50%)
Cheyenne Horse Trading (-25%)
Incan Chasquis Messengers (-25%)
Mapuche Ad-mapu (-10% coin cost)
Coffee Trade (-10% speed, Dutch only)
