Keshik (Age of Empires III)

This article is about the unit in Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties. For the unit in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, see Keshik (Age of Empires II).

Keshik
Unit information
Introduced in	Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties
Type	Cavalry Light cavalry Ranged cavalry Archer
Civilization	Chinese
Age	Commerce Age
Training
Banner army	Ming Army Mongolian Army
Food	115
Training time	33 seconds
Statistics
Hit points	110
Resists	30% vs. Ranged
Speed	7.25
Line of Sight	15
Population	1
XP train bounty	12
XP bounty	12
Melee attack
Damage	8
Multipliers	×3.0 vs. Cavalry ×2.5 vs. Coyote Runner
Rate of Fire	1.5
Ranged attack
Damage	8
Multipliers	×3.0 vs. Cavalry ×2.5 vs. Coyote Runner ×0.5 vs. Villager
Range	12
Rate of Fire	1.5
Siege attack
Damage	5
Range	6
Rate of Fire	3.0

“	Mongolian ranged cavalry. Good against cavalry.	”
—In-game description

The Keshik is a mounted archer in Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties that is unique to the Chinese and trained as a part of the Ming Army and Mongolian Army.

Overview

The Keshik is a ranged cavalry unit, so they are very fast, outrunning hand cavalry and infantry units, and counters cannons and hand cavalry. The Keshik is by far the weakest ranged cavalry unit, but are also the cheapest.

Make sure that Keshiks stay away from Heavy Cavalry attacks, due to their lower hit points. Nevertheless, the Keshik is the second hardest hitting ranged cavalry after Zamburak, thanks to faster fire rate compared to Dragoons, and they take only one population slot, while Dragoons and Cavalry Archers take two.

Upgrades

Age	Upgrade	Cost	Effect
	Disciplined Keshik	100 wood, 50 coin	Upgrades Keshiks to Disciplined (+20% hit points and attack)
	Honored Keshik	300 wood, 300 coin	Upgrades Keshiks to Honored (+30% hit points and attack); requires Disciplined Keshik
	Exalted Keshik	750 wood, 750 coin	Upgrades Keshiks to Exalted (+50% hit points and attack); requires Honored Keshik

Further statistics

As Keshiks are unique to the Chinese, only technologies that they have access to are shown in the following table:

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Cavalry, Shock Infantry
Weak vs.	Heavy infantry, ranged infantry, artillery
Improvements
Hit points	Comanche Horse Breeding (+10%) Cree Tanning (+5%) Navajo Weaving (+5%)
Attack	Carib Kasiri Beer (+10%) Carib Garifuna Drums (+1.0x multiplier vs. villagers) Seminole Bowyer (+25%) Tupi Poison Arrow Frogs (+10%) Yoga (+5%)
Speed	Comanche Mustangs (+10%) Apache Endurance (+5%)
Creation speed	Cheyenne Horse Trading (-12%, Ming Army and Mongolian Army) Quechuan Diet (-18%, Mongolian Army)
Other	Meritocracy (-20% upgrade cost)

Home City Cards

As Keshiks are unique to the Chinese, only their cards and other civilizations' TEAM cards are shown in the following table:

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

Green: TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team Purple: Shipment that can be sent an INFINITE number of times Chinese Card Description Age HC level 15 Keshiks Ships 15 Keshiks 1 9 Keshiks Ships 9 Keshiks 10 8 Keshiks Ships 8 Keshiks 25 Western Reforms All units get +8% hit points and attack 40 Mongolian Scourge Steppe Riders get +1.0x multiplier against villagers and +50% siege attack; Keshiks get +1.0x multiplier against heavy cavalry and Shock Infantry; Iron Flails get +0.5x multiplier against infantry and heavy infantry 25 Beiyang Army Ships 8 Steppe Riders and 8 Keshiks, and upgrades them to Disciplined (if not already); costs 1,000 food 25 Manchu Combat Qiang Pikemen, Changdao Swordsmen, Keshiks, and Meteor Hammers get +15% hit points and attack 25 Banner School Banner army train time -23% 10 Germans Card Description Age HC level TEAM Cavalry Attack Heavy cavalry, light cavalry, and Shock Infantry get +15% attack 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 Cheaper Unit Upgrades Unit upgrades cost -20% 1 Portuguese Card Description Age HC level TEAM Early Dragoons Dragoons, Cavalry Archers, Ruyters, Musket Riders, Rifle Riders, and Yabusame can be trained in the Commerce Age; Zamburak train time -15%; Ming Army and Mongolian Army train time -7% 1 Russians Card Description Age HC level TEAM Cavalry Scouts Cavalry and Shock Infantry get +10% hit points and +4 LOS 1 Spanish Card Description Age HC level TEAM Inquisition All units get +10 LOS 10

Changelog

The Asian Dynasties

• The Keshik has an obstruction radius of 0.79.

Definitive Edition

• The Keshik has an obstruction radius of 0.65.

History

“

The mounted archers of the Mongolian Empire, the largest contiguous empire in human history, were feared for their mastery of the composite bow and their use of unpredictable light cavalry tactics. Using composite bows fashioned from a combination of materials, such as wood and animal bone, and held together with an animal hide adhesive, the keshik horsemen could fire arrows up to a range greater than 1,000 feet. They often carried two bows, one for short-range attacks and the other for distance volleys, and their quivers could contain a variety of different arrows for different purposes, including incendiary arrows, armor-piercing arrows, and whistling arrows to startle enemy units and throw them into a panic. The keshik were renowned for their ability to maneuver and shoot while on horseback, often turning a full 360 degrees to aim and fire on an enemy target. Charging the enemy in a traditional crescent formation, they would attempt to flank and surround the enemy. If this tactic failed, they would quickly pull back, often feigning retreat in an effort to lure their enemy into a trap. More than simple warriors, the keshik were an elite imperial guard created by Genghis Khan himself, a fierce fighting force that began with the 1,000 warriors of his personal guard and grew to an army numbering 10,000 men. During wartime, the keshik were under direct control of the emperor who only rode to war with the keshik at his side. As a royal guard, the keshik’s peacetime activities were mostly administrative. They supervised palace staff, cared for the equine, and maintained careful care of weapons and other supplies.

”

Gallery

An in-game Keshik

The Keshik's history portrait