General (Age of Empires III)

This article is about the unit in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition. For other uses, see General.

General
Unit information
Introduced in	Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition
Type	Hero Infantry Ranged infantry Gunpowder infantry
Civilization(s)	United States Mexicans United States (revolutionary)
Statistics
Hit points	500
Resistance	10% Ranged
Speed	4.5
Line of Sight	18
Ability	Claims Treasures Builds Forts and Trading Posts Reveals stealth enemies
Special ability	See Special abilities
XP kill bounty	45
Hand attack
Damage	6 Hand
Bonus damage	×3.0 vs. Treasure guardian ×0.25 vs. Villager
Rate of Fire	1.5
Ranged attack
Damage	12 Ranged
Bonus damage	Same as melee
Range	16
Rate of Fire	3.0
Siege attack
Damage	15 Siege
Range	6
Rate of Fire	3.0
Notes
The General will collapse instead of dying when his hit points reaches 0 and can be revived by having a friendly unit or building around him once he regenerates at least 100 hit points, or paying a ransom of 100 coin at the Town Center, in which case the General will appear there with full hit points

“	The hero of your civilization. Explores, fights, builds Forts and Trading Posts. Cannot die. If he falls unconscious, he can be rescued.	”
—In-game description

The General is a hero in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition exclusive to the United States and Mexicans. He explores uncharted areas of the map and has some special abilities to help himself and his civilization. In standard random map games, those two civilizations start with a General.

Overview

The General can build Trading Posts like every other Hero/Explorer unit, but instead of the ability to build Town Centers, he has the ability to build Forts. He builds a Trading Post faster than regular Settlers, nearing that of a Coureur des Bois or a Settler Wagon. The General can explore and fight longer if he has a few units accompanying him. He can regenerate health, which increases as the player Ages up.

Unlike other units who simply die when their hit points reach 0, the General will collapse. While the General is in this state, the player can either pay 100 coin as ransom to whoever dealt the final blow (including Mother Nature) or help him back up on his feet with an allied unit or building (this also includes projectiles fired from friendly units); in order to rescue the General, he must have at least 100 hit points.

Special abilities

• Sharpshooter Attack: The General fires a single shot that does 750 ranged damage to the target Treasure guardian from a range of 16. 60 seconds cooldown.
• Inspiring Flag (available from the Commerce Age): The General plants an Inspiring Flag at the target location which increases the attack of allied units by 10% and makes them build buildings 50% faster, and makes military buildings around it train units 25% faster. The Inspiring Flag has an AOE and LOS of 14 which increases by 10 in every Age. The Inspiring Flag will be destroyed when an enemy is in a radius of 12 to it, cannot be placed in a radius of 65 to a Town Center and a radius of 3 to a building or other Inspiring Flags, and only one may be present at a time. 160 seconds cooldown.
  • Inspiring Bear Flag (replaces Inspiring Flag when the "Bear Flag Revolt" Home City Card is sent): The United States/Californian General plants an Inspiring Bear Flag at the target location which spawns 6 Honcho the Pet Grizzly Bears around it but are otherwise identical to Inspiring Flags in all but name and appearance.
• Carbine Attack (automatically activated when attacking with a cooldown of 45 seconds, available from the Industrial Age): The United States General fires a single shot from his carbine rifle which does 60 damage (180 against Treasure guardian, 15 against villager) from a range of 20.
• Saber Strike (automatically activated when attacking with a cooldown of 45 seconds, available from the Industrial Age): The Mexican General lands a powerful blow from his saber which does 8 damage (32 against Treasure guardian, 2 against Villager) with an AOE of 3.
• Hot Air Balloon (requires the "Hot Air Balloon" Home City Card for the Mexicans and the "Missouri River Expeditions" Home City Card for the United States): The General spawns a Hot Air Balloon that remains for 20 seconds. 240 seconds cooldown.
• Health Regeneration: Regenerates hitpoints when idle (0.25% per second after 3.5 seconds idle).

Upgrades

The General is automatically upgraded on each Age starting from the Commerce Age.

• +25% hit points and attack
• +30% hit points and attack
• +40% hit points and attack
• +50% hit points

The attack increase also applies to the General's special abilities.

Further statistics

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Treasure guardians
Weak vs.	Villagers, cavalry, MercType2
Improvements
Hit points	Aztec Initiation (+100%; Mexicans only) Sikh Gurus (+50%) Flint Lock (+10%) Cree Tanning (+5%) Navajo Weaving (+5%) Tar Kilns (+5%) Cadets (+1,000) Brigadier General (+1,000)
Attack	Aztec Initiation (+100%; Mexicans only) Brigadier General (+100%) Paper Cartridge (+10%) Smokeless Powder (+10% attack) Yoga (+5%) Clenched Fist (+25% hand attack)
Resistance	Somali Oryx Hide Shields (+5% ranged resistance)
Line of Sight	Town Watch (+3)
Speed	Military Drummers (+10%) Quechuan Mountaineering (+10%) Akan Fontomfrom (+5%) Apache Endurance (+5%)
Other	Brigadier General (+100% Ability damage) Refreshing Beverages (Carbine Attack/Saber Strike cooldown -30%) Carib Ambush Party (train Carib Ambushers) Loyal Nootka War Chief (train Nootka War Chief) Tupi Animal Lore (train Buttercup the Pet Cougars)

Home City Cards

Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the General

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
TEAM Senegalese Riflemen	Ranged infantry get +10% attack; French and Hausa-only ranged infantry get +15% attack instead

• "TEAM Senegalese Riflemen" is available to the French and Hausa.

British

Card	Description	Age
Captain	Heroes get +50% hit points and attack; the Explorer can use Swashbuckler Attack; also ships an Explorer Dog

Chinese

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Yongle Infrastructure	Ships 1 Mongol Scout; infantry, land villagers, healing units, Envoys, and Disciples get +5% speed

• "TEAM Yongle Infrastructure" does not stack with the Inca "TEAM Inca Bridges" card.

Dutch

Card	Description	Age
Stadhouder	Heroes get +50% hit points and attack; Town Centers cost -50% wood; also ships an Explorer Dog
TEAM Infantry Hitpoints	Infantry get +10% hit points; Dutch-only infantry get +15% hit points instead

Ethiopians

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Coffee Consumption	Ranged infantry get +5% speed

Europeans

Card	Description	Age
Land of Washington	Allows the General to plant the Inspiring Flag anywhere; Inspiring Flag improves the working rate of military buildings by 50% in a radius of 14
Hero of the Two Worlds	The Explorer can act like an Inspiring Flag; allows the General to receive Home City shipments
Continental Army	Turns all Revolutionaries into Regulars; Regulars, Revolutionary Sharpshooters, Carbine Cavalry, Revolutionaries, Militiamen, and Prussian Uhlans get +15% hit points and attack; General and Legion Grenadiers get +10% hit points and attack; costs 500 coin

• "Land of Washington", "Hero of the Two Worlds", and "Continental Army" are available to the British, Dutch, French, Italians, and Swedes upon revolting to the United States.

Federal Americans

Card	Description	Age
Bear Flag Revolt	Settlers become Californios; the General gains access to the Inspiring Bear Flag ability; 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 into California.

French

Card	Description	Age
Voyageur	Heroes get +50% hit points and attack; the Explorer can use Heal; also ships an Explorer Dog

Haudenosaunee

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Scout Infantry	Ships 1 Native Scout; infantry get +8 Line of Sight

Inca

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Inca Bridges	Ships 1 Chasqui; infantry, land villagers, healing units, and Envoys get +5% speed

• "TEAM Inca Bridges" does not stack with the Chinese "TEAM Yongle Infrastructure" card.

Indians

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Shivaji's Tactics	All units get +5% hit points and attack

Italians

Card	Description	Age
Machiavellianism	Heroes get +50% hit points and attack; the Explorer gets +25% speed and now picks up treasures nearly instantly; also ships an Explorer Dog
Schiavoni Swords	Infantry and cavalry get +15% hand attack

Maltese

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Knights of the Round Table	Ships 1 Hospitaller for each Town Center owned by the player; all units get +2% hit points

Mexicans

Card	Description	Age
Comandante	Heroes get +50% hit points and attack; the General and Padre's Saber Strike ability is immediately available
Hot Air Balloons	The General can summon Hot Air Balloons
Man of Destiny	The General can receive Home City shipments, train Soldados, and act like an Inspired Flag (does not stack with one)
TEAM Mariachi	For the next 30 seconds, military buildings work 400% faster and units get +10% speed
Presidios	The General can build Outposts; Fort build limit +1; Walls cost -20%; Outposts cost -30%; Forts cost -40%; Wall, Outpost, and Fort build time -20%
Liberation March	Infantry, cavalry and shock infantry get +5% speed and -35% train time
Niños Héroes	A Militiaman is spawned when the General and Padre falls
Colegio de San Nicolás	Ships 500 XP; units get +4 and buildings (except Walls) get +8 Line of Sight; sees what enemies can see for 20 seconds
Bustamante	The General can build Field Hospitals for free; Musket infantry get +10% hit points; Field Hospitals can train Soldados
Independence Hero	Ships 1 additional General
National Servant	All units get +10% hit points; Padre healing 200% faster
Cult of the Talking Cross	Heroes get +1,500 hit points and +100% attack; costs 1,000 food

• "Colegio de San Nicolás" is available upon selecting the Michoacán Federal State.
• "Bustamante" is available upon selecting the San Luis Potosí Federal State.
• "Independence Hero" is available upon selecting the Guerrero Federal State.
• "National Servant" is available upon selecting the Estado de México Federal State.
• "Cult of the Talking Cross" is available upon revolting to the Maya.

Portuguese

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Gunpowder Infantry Hitpoints	Gunpowder infantry get +15% hit points

Spanish

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Fencing Instructor	Heroes get +20% hit points and attack (except Shaolin Masters' Roundhouse Kick attack and Sohei Archers' Sabotage attack)
TEAM Spanish Inquisition	Ships 1 Inquisitor; all units get +10 Line of Sight

Swedes

Card	Description	Age
Duelist	Heroes get +50% hit points and attack; the Explorer can use the Heavy Strike ability; also ships an Explorer Dog

United States

Card	Description	Age
Sheriff	Heroes get +50% hit points and attack; the General get +2.0 attack multiplier against treasure guardians and outlaws, and Carbine Attack is immediately available
Missouri River Expeditions	Ships 1 Covered Wagon; Town Center build limit +1; The General can summon the Hot Air Balloon
United States Army	The General, Minutemen, and heavy infantry get +15% hit points and attack
Moultrie's Militia	Ships 12 State Militia and allows them to construct Barracks, Stables, and Outposts; The General's Inspiring Flag now boosts the damage of nearby State Militia by an additional 7%

• "Moultrie's Militia" is available upon selecting the South Carolina Federal State.

Random names

Click for a list of random names for the United States General

• Henry Knox
• Ulysses S. Grant
• Joseph Hooker
• William Sherman
• George Custer
• Philip Sheridan
• Richard B. Paddock
• Julius A. Penn
• Charles Lee
• Artemas Ward
• William Moultrie
• Louis Duportail
• Samuel Holden Parsons
• William Smallwood
• Baron Von Steuben
• John Cadwalader
• Alexander McDougall
• Johann de Kalb
• Marquis de Lafayette
• Benjamin Lincoln
• William Alexander
• Nathanael Greene
• John Sullivan
• Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau
• Anthony Wayne
• Benedict Arnold
• Thaddeus Kościuszko
• Daniel Morgan
• Alexander Hamilton
• Winfield Scott
• Jacob Jennings Brown
• William Henry Harrison
• Francis Marion
• Israel Putnam
• Horatio Gates
• William Eaton
• Zachary Taylor
• Stephen W. Kearny

Click for a list of random names for the Mexican General

The Mexican General uses names that are combined from the first and last names of historical Mexican generals.

• Antonio López de Santa Anna
• Nicolás Bravo
• Anastasio Bustamante
• Melchor Múzquiz
• José Joaquín de Herrera
• Ignacio López Rayón
• Jean Arago
• Felipe Santiago Xicoténcatl
• José Antonio el Amo Torres
• Mariano Escobedo
• José Arteaga Magallanes
• Hermenegildo Galeana
• Francisco Javier Mina
• Miguel Barragán
• Agustín de Iturbide
• Mariano Arista
• Carlos Salazar Ruiz
• Juan Pablo de Anaya
• Leonardo Bravo
• José Moctezuma
• Victor Rosales
• Jose Ignacio Gutierrez

Changelog

Definitive Edition

• Originally, the General gave 100 XP when killed, the ransom cost was 150 coin and the Inspiring Flag had a cooldown of 180 seconds. With update 26865, the General gives 45 XP when killed, the ransom cost is 100 coin and the Inspiring Flag has a cooldown of 160 seconds.

Knights of the Mediterranean

• With update 13.12327, the "Astronaut" and "Calaca" skins for the United States and Mexican General, respectively, get their own portraits.

In-game dialogue

United States

The General speaks American English, but with some unique military-type lines.

• Select 1 Yes?
• Select 2 Orders?
• Select 3 At attention.
• Move 1 Make ready.
• Move 2 Advance.
• Move 3 Forward march!
• Attack 1 Attack!
• Attack 2 To battle!
• Attack 3 For America!
• Disabled I'm wounded! Fetch a medic!
• Ransomed Thank you for paying my ransom!
• Revived It'll take more than that to keep me down!

Mexicans

The General speaks Mexican Spanish, but with some unique military-type lines.

• Select 1 Mande, presidente - Order, president
• Select 2 ¿Órdenes? - Orders?
• Select 3 ¡Atención! - Attention!
• Move 1 A la batalla - To battle
• Move 2 Marcha, ya - March, now
• Move 3 Avancen - Advance
• Attack 1 ¡Ataca! - Attack!
• Attack 2 ¡Por la patria! - For the motherland
• Disabled (screams)
• Ransomed Gracias por pagar mi rescate - Thank you for paying ransom for me
• Revived Se necesitará más que eso para mantenerme abajo - It will take more than that to keep me down

History

“

Whether as revolutionaries, expansionists, or reunifiers, effective military figures hold a distinct status in American patriotic lore. The United States' military was originally composed largely of local militias and men on the frontiers regularly enlisted. Able commanders achieved widespread acclaim and often political power later on; American presidents such as George Washington, Andrew Jackson, and Ulysses S. Grant all had decorated military backgrounds. These backgrounds also brought a touch of modesty that was rare among leadership figures in other nations: Washington, for example, retired from the Presidency after two terms, stressing that the station should be neither autocratic nor a life appointment.

”

Trivia

• The United States General is modeled after General Washington from the The WarChiefs campaign, but is also armed with a pistol (for standard attacks) and a carbine rifle (for special attacks) in addition to his officer's saber. In addition, his hand attack animation is changed to that of the traditional Explorer's hand attack.
• The Mexican General is modeled after Ignacio Allende, one of the leaders (along with Miguel Hidalgo) of the Mexican War of Independence in its first stage, and who eventually succeeded him in leadership of the rebellion.

Gallery

United States General image from the Compendium section

In-game United States General

In-game Mexican General

Mexican Revolutionary General and Revolutionary Padre (Baja California, California and Texas)

Cruzob General and Cruzob Padre (Maya)

Baja California/California/Texas revolution portrait

Maya revolution portrait

United States Astronaut portrait

Mexican Calaca portrait

See also

• Explorer – fulfills the same role for European civilizations
• War Chief – fulfills the same role for Native American civilizations
• Monk – fulfills the same role for Asian civilizations
• Ras – fulfills the same role for the Ethiopians
• Emir – fulfills the same role for the Hausa