Forest Prowler

Forest Prowler
Unit information
Introduced in	Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs
Type	Infantry Ranged infantry Gunpowder unit Rifle Infantry*
Civilization	Haudenosaunee
Age	Fortress Age
Abilities	Stealth mode
Training
Trained at	War Hut
Food	50
Coin	65
Training time	33 seconds
Statistics
Hit points	110
Resists	30% vs. Ranged
Speed	4
Line of Sight	24
Population	1
XP train bounty	12
XP bounty	12
Melee attack
Damage	7
Multipliers	x2.0 vs. Heavy infantry, Light cavalry and Eagle Runner Knights x0.75 vs. Cavalry and Coyote Runners
Rate of Fire	1.5
Ranged attack
Damage	16
Multipliers	Same as melee
Range	20
Rate of Fire	3.0
Siege attack
Damage	15
Range	6
Rate of Fire	3.0

“	Stealthy ranged infantry. Good against infantry and in an ambush.	”
—In-game description

The Forest Prowler is a gunpowder ranged infantry unit in Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs that is unique to the Haudenosaunee and can be trained at the War Hut once the Fortress Age is reached.

Overview

The Forest Prowler has a long range and the stealth ability. It's good against heavy infantry and light cavalry at a range, while it's at a disadvantage in hand-to-hand fighting versus most units.

An excellent unit to use as an ambush warrior by switching to stealth and placed at a strategic point, such as a mountain pass on the map Himalayas-Upper, or Painted Desert. By combining them with Light Cannon they can take on any unit except rushing heavy cavalry such as Hussars, Spahis, and Cuirassiers, thus it is wise to protect these expensive (when compared to Aennas) warriors with a screen of Tomahawks or a flanking force of Musket Riders.

The quality of Forest Prowlers are unparallelled when fighting units such as Doppelsoldners, Samurai, Musketeers, Ashigaru, Landsknechts, to name a few. They are more effective against light cavalry than most other rifle-armed units, and can take down Hussars with relative ease, if not forced into hand combat. Forest Prowlers are at perhaps their most effective in Turtles, as they can be within the protection of walls, using their superior range to slaughter enemy units endeavoring to siege the walls. When walls possess Bastion, the power of this strategy is compounded.

Upgrades

The Forest Prowler starts at the Elite level, giving them +25% hit points and attack.

Age	Upgrade	Cost	Effect
	Champion Forest Prowlers	400 wood, 200 coin	Upgrades Forest Prowlers to Champion (+25% hit points and attack)
	Legendary Forest Prowlers	1,500 wood, 1,500 coin	Upgrades Forest Prowlers to Legendary (+50% hit points and attack); requires Champion Forest Prowlers

Further statistics

As Forest Prowlers are unique to the Haudenosaunee, only technologies that they have access to are shown in the following table:

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Heavy infantry, light cavalry, Eagle Runner Knights
Weak vs.	Heavy cavalry, Coyote Runners, artillery
Improvements
Hit points	Cree Tanning (+5%) Navajo Weaving (+5%)
Attack	Counter Infantry Rifling (+0.75x multiplier vs. heavy infantry) Yoga (+5%) Smokeless Powder (+30% siege attack) Clenched Fist (+30% melee attack)
Range	Lacrosse (+2)
Speed	Quechuan Mountaineering (+20%) Apache Endurance (+5%)
Sight	Lacrosse (+2)
Creation speed	Quechuan Diet (-25%)
Train cost	Mapuche Ad-mapu (-10% coin cost)
Other	Meritocracy (-20% upgrade cost)

Home City Cards

As Forest Prowlers are unique to the Haudenosaunee, 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 Forest Prowler

Green: TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team Dutch Card Description Age HC level TEAM Infantry Hitpoints Infantry get +15% hit points 10 French Card Description Age HC level TEAM Ranged Infantry Attack Ranged infantry get +15% attack 10 TEAM Early Skirmishers Skirmishers, Cassadores, Forest Prowlers, Wakina Rifles, and Black Flag Army can be trained in the Commerce Age; Longbowman, Strelet, Otontin Slinger, Gurkha, and Yumi Archer train time -20% 25 Indians Card Description Age HC level TEAM Shivaji's Tactics All units get +5% hit points and attack 25 Haudenosaunee Card Description Age HC level 6 Forest Prowlers Ships 6 Forest Prowlers 1 9 Forest Prowlers Ships 9 Forest Prowlers 10 8 Forest Prowlers Ships 8 Forest Prowlers 25 Infantry Attack Infantry get +15% attack 10 Infantry Hitpoints Infantry get +15% hit points 10 Infantry Combat Infantry get +15% hit points and attack 25 TEAM Scout Infantry Infantry get +8 LOS 10 Battlefield Construction Tomahawks, Aennas, and Forest Prowlers can build War Huts, Corrals, and Siege Workshops 25 Seneca Support Ships 10 Forest Prowlers and 2 Travois; costs 1,000 coin 1 Japanese Card Description Age HC level TEAM Cheaper Unit Upgrades Unit upgrades cost -20% 1 Portuguese Card Description Age HC level TEAM Gunpowder Infantry Hitpoints Gunpowder infantry get +15% hit points 10 Russians Card Description Age HC level TEAM Dueling School Infantry train time -25%; banner army train time -12% 25 Spanish Card Description Age HC level TEAM Inquisition All units get +10 LOS 10

Changelog

Definitive Edition

• With update 23511, the Forest Prowler is tagged as Rifle Infantry.

Trivia

• Despite being introduced in The WarChiefs, the unit's concept art appears on the original Age of Empires III cover art.

History

“

The classic stereotype of the Iroquois, even today, is the stealthy warrior slinking cat-like through the woods, senses keen, and armed with a loaded musket. Iroquois ambushes could be devastating, as unseen enemies opened fire on European troop columns from bushes and trees. The usual response for a defeated enemy was to retreat to a town or fort, which is when of course the Iroquois would unleash their feared siege techniques. The Iroquois preferred this kind of shadowy warfare. Its effectiveness was proven by the fact that the Americans adopted these techniques in their revolution against the British in 1776. The Americans had been taught how to use the forests by the Iroquois themselves, in their periodic conflicts.

”

Gallery

An in game (Elite) Forest Prowler.

An in game Champion/Legendary Forest Prowler.

Forest Prowler concept art. Notice that it appears on the cover art of the original Age of Empires III.

Another Forest Prowler concept art