Coureur des Bois

This article is about the French version. For the Cree version, see Cree Coureur des Bois.

Coureur des Bois
Unit information
Introduced in	Age of Empires III
Type	Villager
Civilization	French
Age	Exploration Age
Abilities	Gather resources Build buildings Claim Treasures
Training
Trained at	Town Center
Food	120
Training time	29 seconds
Training limit	80
Statistics
Hit points	180
Resists	40% vs Ranged
Speed	4.5
Line of Sight	18
Population	1
XP train bounty	12
XP bounty	12
Melee attack
Damage	10
Range	2
Rate of Fire	1.5
Ranged attack
Damage	8
Multipliers	×4.0 vs. Huntable ×2.0 vs. Pet ×2.0 vs. Artillery ×0.25 vs. Villager
Range	12
Rate of Fire	3.0
Siege attack
Damage	6
Range	6
Rate of Fire	3.0

“	Expensive but powerful villager who gathers fast.	”
—In-game description

The Coureur des Bois (plural Coureurs des Bois) is an economic unit in Age of Empires III replacing the Settler that is unique to the French. It is stronger and gathers resources faster, but is more expensive and has a lower train limit.

In standard random map games, French players starts with six Coureurs des Bois.

Overview

Coureurs des Bois cost 20% more food (120 instead of 100), train 16% slower than Settlers (29 seconds instead of 25), and has 19 less train limit (80 instead of 99), but gather resources 25% faster; 80 Coureurs gather at the speed of 100 Settlers, leaving more population for military units.

Although they possess higher hit points and a greater attack than ordinary villagers, Coureurs des Bois do not make effective fighters. Their fighting skills can be improved by Home City Cards that can make them effective in exploring the map and fighting off treasure guardians. They have ranged resistance (instead of melee resistance), which make early Ranged Infantry rushes less effective (unless using Carib Garifuna Drums), but increases the danger of melee attacks from Hussars and Rodeleros. However, due to the negative modifiers versus Villagers on early attack buildings (e.g. Outposts) and their high ranged resistance, they can continue gathering resources even if the enemy tries to lock down their resources with outposts (especially if the Great Coat improvement is purchased).

Like Settlers, Coureurs cannot use ranged attacks if the enemy is too close to them. Because they lack any melee resistance and multipliers on their melee attacks this can make gathering treasures guarded by melee units very inefficient.

The French lack the Medicine card, which means they cannot lower the training time of the Coureurs by themselves. They require an ally with the TEAM Medicine card, or a map featuring a Jesuit Mission (with Christian Schools).

In the Definitive Edition, revolting to Canada as French increases the ranged attack of Coureurs by 13 and aestetically turns them into Métis Voyageurs. Revolting to South Africa also allows the player to train up to 30 Coureurs by sending the "Huguenots" card.

Further statistics

As Coureurs des Bois are unique to the French, only technologies that they have access to are shown in the following table:

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Pets, villagers, weak infantry and cavalry (when massed), Treasure Guardians (with the Northwest Passage Home City Card)
Weak vs.	Everything, especially Oprichniks and artillery
Improvements
Gathering speed	Code Napoleon (+10%) Klamath Work Ethos (+5%) Fasting (+10%) Punjabi New Year (+10% from Mills, Farms, Plantations and Rice Paddies) For food: Hunting Dogs (+10% from huntable animals) Steel Traps (+20% from huntable animals) Seed Drill (+15% from Mills, Farms and Rice Paddies) Artificial Fertilizer (+30% from Mills, Farms and Rice Paddies) Large Scale Agriculture (+50% from Mills, Farms and Rice Paddies) Maya Calendar (+10%) Zapotec Food of the Gods (+10%) Vegetarianism (+40% from Berry Bushes) For wood: Gang Saw (+10%) Log Flume (+20%) Circular Saw (+30%) Deforestation (+50%) Wood Clearing (+20%) For coin: Placer Mines (+10% from mines) Amalgamation (+20% from mines) Bookkeeping (+10% from Plantations and Rice Paddies) Homesteading (+20% from Plantations and Rice Paddies) Refineries (+30% from Plantations and Rice Paddies) Excessive Taxation (+50%) Incan Metalworking (+20% from mines) Navajo Craftsmanship (+20%)
Hit points	Great Coat (+35%) Nootka Bark Clothing (+50%) Apache Cactus Use (+15%)
Attack	Blunderbuss (+3)
Range	Blunderbuss (+4)
Sight	Blunderbuss (+4) Town Watch (+2)
Speed	Apache Cactus Use (+15%)
Creation speed	Christian Schools (-15%)
Other	Sharia (+10% train limit)
Penalties	Fasting (-40% hit points)

Home City Cards

As Coureurs des Bois are unique to the French, only their cards and other civilizations' TEAM cards are shown in the following tables:

Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Coureur des Bois

Green: TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team All Card Description Age HC level TEAM Food Silos Settlers, Coureurs des Bois, Settler Wagons, and Villagers gather from Mills, Farms, and Rice Paddies (food) 10% faster 1 TEAM Furrier Settlers, Coureurs des Bois, Settler Wagons, and Villagers gather from huntable animals 10% faster and gather from Berry Bushes and Cherry Orchards 15% faster 1 TEAM Medicine Villager train time -15% 25 The TEAM Food Silos card is available to Germans and Iroquois. The TEAM Furrier card is available to Iroquois and Russians. The TEAM Medicine card is available to Aztecs, Indians, and Iroquois. Aztecs Card Description Age HC level TEAM Exotic Hardwoods Settlers, Coureurs des Bois, Settler Wagons, and Villagers gather wood 15% faster 25 TEAM Silversmith Settlers, Coureurs des Bois, Settler Wagons, and Villagers gather from mines 10% faster 1 British Card Description Age HC level TEAM Rum Distillery Settlers, Coureurs des Bois, Settler Wagons, and Villagers gather from Plantations and Rice Paddies (coin) 15% faster 1 Dutch Card Description Age HC level TEAM Spice Trade Settlers, Coureurs des Bois, Settler Wagons, and Villagers gather from huntable animals 10% faster and gather from Berry Bushes and Cherry Orchards 15% faster 10 Europeans Card Description Age HC level TEAM Ironmonger Settlers, Coureurs des Bois, Settler Wagons, and Villagers gather from mines 10% faster 1 The TEAM Ironmonger card is available to Ottomans and Spanish. French Card Description Age HC level 2 Coureurs Ships 2 Coureurs des Bois 1 4 Coureurs Ships 4 Coureurs des Bois 1 3 Coureurs Ships 3 Coureurs des Bois 10 10 Coureurs Ships 10 Coureurs des Bois 40 Northwest Passage Coureurs des Bois get +20% speed and +3.0x multiplier against treasure guardians 1 Wilderness Warfare Coureurs des Bois, Skirmishers, and native warriors get +20% hit points 25 Pioneers Villagers get +65% hit points 1 Stonemasons Coureurs des Bois and wagons build buildings 65% faster 10 TEAM Sawmills Settlers, Coureurs des Bois, Settler Wagons, and Villagers gather wood 10% faster 10 Exotic Hardwoods Coureurs des Bois gather wood 20% faster 25 Silversmith Coureurs des Bois gather from mines 20% faster 10 Royal Mint Coureurs des Bois gather coin 25% faster 25 Food Silos Coureurs des Bois gather from Mills, Farms, and Rice Paddies (food) 15% faster 1 Sustainable Agriculture Coureurs des Bois gather from Mills, Farms, and Rice Paddies (food) 15% faster 10 Refrigeration Coureurs des Bois gather food 20% faster 25 Furrier Coureurs des Bois gather from huntable animals 15% faster and gather from Berry Bushes and Cherry Orchards 20% faster 1 Spice Trade Coureurs des Bois gather from huntable animals, Berry Bushes, and Cherry Orchards 20% faster 10 Economic Theory Coureurs des Bois, Fishing Boats, and Caravels gather 10% faster 40 Rum Distillery Coureurs des Bois gather from Plantations and Rice Paddies (coin) 20% faster 1 Cigar Roller Coureurs des Bois gather from Plantations and Rice Paddies (coin) 20% faster 1 Textile Mill Coureurs des Bois gather from Plantations and Rice Paddies (coin) 25% faster 10 Indians Card Description Age HC level TEAM Shivaji's Tactics All units get +5% hit points and attack 25 Japanese Card Description Age HC level TEAM Pioneers Villagers get +35% hit points 1 TEAM Chonindo Settlers, Coureurs des Bois, Settler Wagons, Villagers, Fishing Boats, Caravels/Galleys/War Junks/Fune, Canoes, War Canoes, Tlaloc Canoes, and Marathan Catamarans gather 8% faster 40 Spanish Card Description Age HC level TEAM Inquisition All units get +10 LOS 10

Trivia

• Historically, the King of France had a monopoly on the fur trade until the Hudson Bay Company claimed land in Canada. The official fur traders were called Voyageurs, while Coureurs des Bois were not commissioned by the King of France, and therefore were illegal.
• Canadian Coureurs' name is a reference to the Métis people, descended from both the Native Americans and European settlers.
• South Africa being able to have Coureurs through the "Huguenots" Home City Card is a reference to the presence of Huguenots in South Africa.

History

“

Coureur des Bois is French for "runner in the woods," the name given to a group of French fur traders. They came from all walks of French and colonial French life to hunt and trap animals for their pelts in North America. One of the first native-born Canadian explorers was Louis Joliet, who at a young age determined that he would become a Coureur des Bois. He and a handful of other Coureurs des Bois paddled down the Mississippi river in canoes, determining that it would empty into the Gulf of Mexico, but feared to travel as far as the mouth into the hands of the Spanish. They noted rivers to the west as they went, hoping that one would flow into the seas of China or Japan. He became well-established in the fur trade and had several land holdings that he traveled between. It was on a trip to one of these that he died in 1700.

”

Gallery

A group of Coureurs des Bois in-game

In-game stats of a Coureur des Bois in the Exploration Age

In-game stats of a fully upgraded Coureur des Bois

Add a photo to this gallery