| “ | Spend Export here to enter into relations with European powers and gain a powerful bonus. Also use Export to purchase European troops and technologies. | ” |
| —In-game description | ||
The Consulate is an economic and military building in Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties that is available to the Chinese, Indians, and Japanese. It allows an Asian civilization to enter an alliance with one of eight European civilizations (and the Japanese have an alternate option of isolationism) at a time.
Each choice provides passive bonuses, but also access to technologies and units acquired through the spending of export. The Consulate menu also allows for configuration of the player's export gather rates, and options to break and change alliances.
Alliance[]
To ally with a European civilization (or enter isolationism for the Japanese), the player needs to select the option through Open Relations, which costs 100 export (25 export with Diplomatic Intrigue Home City Card) and takes 10 seconds to complete. Once the player forms an alliance/enters isolation, they will receive the ally's associated bonus and have access to the ally's armies/units and shipments/technologies at the Consulate.
The player can end their alliance/isolation by using End Relations/Isolation, which takes 45 seconds to complete. Once the alliance/isolation is ended, the ally's associated bonus and access to their armies/units and shipments/technologies will be removed (armies/units and shipments/technologies hired/sent/researched prior to ending the alliance/isolation will be retained), but the player can choose a new ally through Open Relations.
An Asian player may only have one ally at a time, but multiple Asian players may have the same ally.
Shipments and technologies[]
Consulate shipments and technologies vary depending on the allied civilization, which ranges from economic and military units and improvements.
For European allies, the Brigade shipment will become available once the Imperial Age is reached, which consists of a large number of the allied civilization's best units.
Armies[]
Consulate armies are similar to banner armies, in which they are groups of units trained in a single block. They usually consist of the allied civilization's best units, notably those which can be upgraded to the Royal Guard level (e.g. Redcoat Musketeers) or those that cannot be trained by the ally but can be shipped via certain Church technologies (e.g. St. Petersburg Dragoons).
Instead of being trained as armies, units provided by Japanese Isolation are trained much like regular units.
Unlike their regular counterparts, consulate units start with +10% hit points and attack and are upgraded in every Age up starting from the Fortress Age (Industrial Age for artillery):
+20% hit points and attack.- +30% hit points and attack (+25% hit points and attack for artillery except Great Bombards, Heavy Cannons, and Rockets).
- +50% hit points and attack.
This allows consulate units to provide a much needed bolster for some Asian civilizations, especially those lacking in certain fields or when the game's outcome are not in their favor.
Consulate allies[]
| Consulate allies in Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties | |
|---|---|
| Standard game | |
 Chinese |  British ·  French ·  Germans ·  Russians |
 Indians | British · French ·  Ottomans ·  Portuguese |
 Japanese |  Dutch ·  Isolation · Portuguese ·  Spanish |
| Campaign-exclusive | |
| Act II: China |  Chinese Mercenaries ·  Indian Mercenaries · Japanese Mercenaries |
Campaign-only consulates[]
- Chinese Mercenaries: +5% gathering rate. Unlocks Manchu, Iron Troop, Rattan Shield, and Blind Monk.
- Japanese Mercenaries: -5% military unit cost. Unlocks Yojimbo, Ronin, Ninja, and Sohei Naginata.
- Indian Mercenaries: +50% building hit points. Unlocks Jat Lancer, Dacoit, Chakram, Tiger Claw, and War Elephant.
Further statistics[]
| Hit points |  Flying Buttress (+20%) Byzantine Legacy (+15%)
|
| Line of Sight |  Gas Lighting (+4)
|
| Resource cost |  Tupi Forest Burning (-20% wood) Cree Textile Craftsmanship (-10%)
|
| Build speed | Cree Textile Craftsmanship (-25%)
|
Home City Cards[]
- Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Consulate
| Some cards are highlighted with: | |
| Green | TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team |
| Blue | Shipment that arrives fast (5 seconds) |
All[]
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 TEAM Improved Buildings
|
Buildings get +25% hit points |  |
10 |
Asians[]
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 Improved Buildings
|
Buildings get +40% hit points | |
10 |
 Good Faith Agreements
|
Consulate armies/units' train time -50%; Consulate shipments/technologies cost -40% (-300 export for Brigades) and arrive/research time -50% (except Brigades) (also +1 Villager for the Indians) |  |
1 |
 Intervention
|
The Consulate ally sends a shipment of their units (also +1 Hindu Villager for the Indians) |  |
10 |
 Diplomatic Intrigue
|
Gives 300 export; Open Relations cost -75% (also +1 Hindu Villager for the Indians) |  |
10 |
 Land Reforms
|
Villagers and Rickshaws build buildings 50% faster; buildings grant +100% build bounty (also +1 Hindu Villager for the Indians) | |
10 |
- "Improved Buildings" is not available to the Indians.
- Units shipped by the Intervention card depends on the European civilization the player is allied with:
- British: 9 Redcoats
- Dutch: 9 Blue Guards*
- French: 5 Young Guards
- Germans: 5 Zweihänders
- Japanese Isolation: 10 Konsha Yamabushi
- Ottomans: 4 Rumeliots*
- Portuguese: 11 Ordinance Besteiros
- Russians: 6 Siberian Cossacks
- Spanish: 4 Garrochistas
Chinese[]
| Card | Description | Age |
|---|---|---|
 Tea Export
|
Ships 1 Consulate Rickshaw, 100 export, and gives a trickle of 0.35 export | |
Indians[]
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 Mughal Architecture
|
Buildings cost -20% wood and build time -30%; Wonders' build time -16% instead; +1 Hindu Villager | |
40 |
 Royal Green Jackets
|
Receive 3 Gurkhas with every Consulate shipment/technology; Gurkhas and Mansabdar Gurkha get +1.0 multiplier against heavy infantry; +1 Hindu Villager | |
10 |
 Foreign Trading Companies
|
Gives a trickle of 0.75 export; Consulate Armies cost -15% export but Indian units costs +2.5% (except Villagers, Fishing Boats, and Sacred Cows which costs +5%); +1 Hindu Villager | |
N/A |
Mexicans[]
| Card | Description | Age |
|---|---|---|
 TEAM Mariachi
|
For the next 30 seconds, military buildings work 400% faster and units get +10% speed | |
History[]
| “ | A consulate, also known as an embassy, or a diplomatic mission, is a group of people from one state or organization present in a foreign state to represent their state's interests. A consulate is generally located in a busy tourist city, and takes care of minor diplomatic tasks such as issuing visas and diplomatic papers. The word "consulate" literally means "office of the consul," who is a diplomat appointed to foster trade and take care of expatriates. | ” |
Trivia[]
- Consulate units use Royal Guard/Imperial Guard models regardless of current Age, except artillery, which use basic models.
- Zweihander Doppelsoldners, Tufanci Janissaries, and Siberian Cossacks are the only units that are not a Royal Guard upgrade and cannot be shipped from a Church technology, but they can be regularly trained from the proper military building of their civilization.
- Due to the bug, the population costs of Consulate army proxies do not match up with the sum of the consisted units' total population.
Gallery[]
