The Jaeger is best used to counter heavy infantry; they benefit from the counter-infantry tech from the Arsenal making them very strong against any heavy infantry. As all skirmishers, they are countered by hand cavalry and artillery so they should be guarded well, ideally by ranged cavalry such as Dragoons.
The Jaeger shipment that some civilizations get in the Fortress Age is a good way of repelling large numbers of heavy infantry units. Due to their low cost and population use, a civilization should replace their normal Skirmishers with them as they have much better stats. However, the French and Germans have stronger Skirmishers, so when dealing with an army of cavalry, Jaegers should be used to support while other units fight the cavalry.
All European civilizations can pick The Mercenary Contractor for aging up to the Imperial Age, and he will improve mercenaries (including the Jaeger) by increasing their hit points and attack by 50%. The Mercenary Contractor also enables the British to train Jaegers at the Tavern and Swedes to train them at Barracks if used for aging up to the Fortress Age.
In Act II: Ice of the original Age of Empires III, John Black employs Jaegers as part of his mercenary force. In some campaign scenarios, the player starts the game with Jaegers at their disposal, or can have them shipped later from their Home City, provided they did not remove the card which ships Jaegers from their deck.
The Jaeger is one of the units that is featured in the very first stages of the Act I: Fire campaign as part of the Hessian forces under Colonel Kuechler. This time, they appear as part of the enemy forces.
Infantry and shock infantry train time -40% (also +2 Uhlans for the Germans; +1 Villager for the Indians)
Outlaw Combat
Outlaws and mercenaries get +15% hit points and attack (also upgrades Filibusters to Veteran for Baja California; costs 750 coin for Baja California, Hungary, and Revolutionary Mexicans)
"Liberation March" is available to the Mexicans and Spanish.
"Fencing School" is available to the Europeans (except the French, Maltese, Ottomans, and Spanish) and Indians.
Native warriors, mercenaries, and outlaws cost -15%; "TEAM 4 Zenata Rider", "Recruit Xebec", "Recruit Xebecs", and "15 Berber Allies" cost no coin
N/A
Savolax Jaegers
Ships 6 Jaegers; upgrades Jaegers to Savolax Jaegers, which cost 80 wood, 80 coin, have +5% hit points and Stealth mode; Jaegers can be trained at Barracks, Forts, and Galleons; costs 400 wood
Mercenaries get +15% hit points and attack; +3 Uhlans
10
Mercenary Camps
Upgrades Tavern into Mercenary Camp which get cost -50%, build time -25%, build bounty and hit points -50%, auto gather coin -60%, build limit +3, and offer a fixed assortment of German mercenaries: Landsknechts, Jaegers, Giant Grenadiers, Black Riders, Pandours; +3 Uhlans
Daimyo and Shogun Tokugawa get +10% speed, +20 Line of Sight and train units 15% faster; land military units' train time -20%; Banner army train time -10%
Mercenaries get +20% hit points and attack; Jaegers and Landsknechts can be trained at Barracks and Galleons; Black Riders can be trained at Stables and Galleons
Contract Hessian Jaegers
Ships 10 Jaegers; Jaegers available at military buildings; costs 1,000 coin
Ships 13 random mercenaries; up to 3 random mercenaries available at Saloon; costs 3,500 coin
Indiana Mobilization
Ships 1 Carbine Cavalry for each shipment sent so far this game including this one; unit train time (except Heavy Cannons), technology research time, and age-up time -10%; costs 250 food, 250 wood
Hamilton's Own
Ships 4 Napoleon Guns and 2 Li'l Bombards; mercenaries get +25% hit points and attack; costs 2,500 coin
"Indiana Mobilization" is available upon selecting the Indiana Federal State.
"Hamilton's Own" is available upon selecting the New York Federal State.
Marauding Jaeger[]
The Marauding Jaeger is a Treasure guardian variant of the Jaeger. It uses slightly modified stats from the base unit.
Jaegers cost 200 coin, give 20 XP when trained or killed, have a ×2.0 ranged multiplier against light cavalry and ranged shock infantry, and ×0.75 against cavalry and hand shock infantry.
With update 13.58326, the Jaeger has a ×2.5 ranged multiplier against light cavalry and ranged shock infantry, ×0.6 vs. cavalry and ×0.5 vs. shock infantry.
With update 14.43676, Marauding Jaeger speed was changed from 5.0 to 7.0, and kill bounty from 20 to 18.
In-game dialogue[]
The Jaeger, similar to the units of the Germans, speaks modern Standard German with a standard theater pronunciation ("Bühnendeutsch"), although this does not represent the form of German spoken in the Age of Empires III timeframe.
Select 1Ja? - Yes?
Select 2Bereit - Ready
Select 3Auftrag? - Order?
Move 1Jawohl - Yes
Move 2Verstanden - Understood
Move 3Wird erledigt - It will be done
Attack 1Angriff! - Attack!
Attack 2In den Kampf! - Into the fight!
Attack 3Jawohl! - Yes!
History[]
“
Many nations in the late eighteenth century had one version or another of lightly armed huntsmen turned soldiers. They were highly mobile and good marksmen. Companies of these jaegers (German for hunters) were sold into mercenary service by their rulers to accompany British troops during the American Revolution, and they participated in every major engagement. Some were actual hunters, while others were debtors or criminals. The bulk of these jaegers were from Hesse-Cassel in Germany, and the whole group of them came to be known as Hessians. George Washington crossed the Delaware River on Christmas Eve in 1776 to make a surprise attack on the British at Trenton. His attack captured hundreds of Hessian soldiers and was a turning point for the flagging morale of Washington's troops and the American Revolution in general.
Jaegers carried rifles and a hunting sword called a hirschfaenger used for dressing elk. They wore green coats, wool pants, and three-cornered hats (or sometimes tall, pointed Grenadier miters). When mounted, Hessian jaegers carried carbines and sabres.
”
Trivia[]
The word Jaeger means "hunter" in German. It is usually spelled Jäger, but the alternative spelling is used when no umlaut is available. When tasking a villager to hunt while playing with Germans, they will say Jäger (male) or Jägerin (female).
The Jaeger unit is based on the Hessian mercenaries employed by the British during the American Revolutionary War.
The Jaeger in Age of Empires III is wearing a fatigue cap.
Gallery[]
An in-game Jaeger
Hessian mercenary reenactor similar to the Jaeger
The Jaeger's history portrait
Jaeger model
In-game Jaeger in the Definitive Edition
In-game Jaeger after researching Savolax Jaegers since update 14.43676
Age of Empires III[]
Liberation March
Fencing School
Outlaw Combat
Feudal Armies
Loyal Warriors
Hire Hessian Jaeger Division
Western Reforms
Acupuncture
TEAM Infantry Hitpoints
Dutch States Army
TEAM Coffee Consumption
Temenyas
Ignatian Spirituality
Hire Hessian Jaegers
Hire Holy Roman Army
Savolax Jaegers
Jaeger Combat
Albion Mercenary Legion
Wanderlust
TEAM Senegalese Riflemen
TEAM House of Bonaparte
Royal Fencing School
TEAM Soldier Trade
Improved Mercenaries
Mercenary Camps
TEAM Scout Infantry
Conservative Tactics
Sahelian Kingdoms
Road Building
TEAM Inca Bridges
Dravidian Martial Arts
TEAM Shivaji's Tactics
Zamindars
Infantry Hitpoints
Schiavoni Swords
German Company
Onin War
Bakufu
Moccasins
TEAM Knights of the Round Table
Squires
Guerrilla Tactics
Plan of Miramare
TEAM Mariachi
Colegio de San Nicolás
National Servant
Hire Hessian Jaegers
Bastimento
Pok Ta Pok
Matrakci School
TEAM Gunpowder Infantry Hitpoints
Ransack
Dueling School
Peninsular Guerrillas
TEAM Spanish Inquisition
German Mercenary Contracts
Contract Hessian Jaegers
Continental Rangers
Poker
Indiana Mobilization
Hamilton's Own
