Leather Cannon

Leather Cannon
Unit information
Introduced in	Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition
Type	Artillery Gunpowder unit
Civilization	Swedes
Age	Commerce Age
Training
Trained at	Artillery Foundry Fort*
Food	300
Wood	100
Statistics
Hit points	170
Resists	50% vs. Ranged
Speed	3
Population	3
XP train bounty	40
XP bounty	40
Siege attack
Damage	40
Multipliers	×3.0 vs. Infantry
Range	21
Area of Effect	2
Rate of Fire	3.0

“	Light, affordable artillery than can fire and reposition quickly. Good against infantry.	”
—In-game description

The Leather Cannon is an artillery in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition that is unique to the Swedes and can be trained at the Artillery Foundry and Fort. It is an artillery that fires faster but does less damage and has less range than other artillery units.

Overview

Leather Cannon has the title of being an artillery unit that is available from the Commerce Age, like the Chinese Flying Crow. It is more effective against infantry than buildings. In addition to its performance and also its early access, It is also the most expensive unit in the Commerce Age.

One of the most noticeable features of Leather Cannons is that they do not have a separate Limber Mode and Bombard Mode, unlike most artillery units. They can fire instantly and move quickly. This is a huge advantage to Leather Cannons and makes them easier to use in combat. Due to their Gunpowder unit tag, Arsenal upgrades such as Paper Cartridge and Flint Lock affect them, making them even stronger, along with the usual artillery upgrades such as Professional Gunners. These upgrades can be researched in the Commerce Age instead of Fortress Age because Advanced Arsenal is already available to the Swedes as a feature. They also have the quickest rate of fire for an artillery.

They are very fragile against any cavalry unit and due to their lesser range, they can lose to Heavy Infantry like Musketeers that charge closely and hence must be protected with other units all the time. They can be also countered by Abus Guns, Huaracas, and most Artillery units such as Falconets and Culverins.

Upgrades

Age	Upgrade	Cost	Effect
	Infantry Guns	250 food, 250 wood	Upgrades Leather Cannons to Infantry Guns (+25% hit points and attack, +1 range, +0.5 speed)
	Imperial Infantry Guns	1,500 wood, 1,500 coin	Upgrades Infantry Guns to Imperial (+50% hit points and attack, +1 range, +0.5 speed); requires Infantry Guns

Changelog

Definitive Edition

• With update 13088, Leather Cannons can be trained from Forts.

Trivia

• The Leather Cannon and the Flying Crow are the only artillery units that are available in the Commerce Age.
• Leather Cannons do not have a Fortress Age upgrade; however, It is possible to get Infantry Guns upgrade (Industrial Age) in the Fortress Age by sending the Light Gun Carriages card.
• The Leather Cannon and the Napoleon Gun are the only artillery units that are tagged as gunpowder unit.

History

“	The leather cannon was an experimental weapon, first used in northern Europe in the 1620s. The aim was to construct a light and cheap weapon that would bridge the gap between the hand-held musket and the heavy stationary cannon. The first attempts to use them in combat were made by Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, during the Polish–Swedish War, but were largely unsuccessful. A relatively thin copper tube was reinforced by heavy cords and finally clad in leather. While the weapon was light enough to be mobile and was cheaper in construction, the basic design proved to be flawed. The reinforcing materials acted as an insulator, and did not allow heat to dissipate fast enough. After only a few shots the gun would be too hot to use. However, it did demonstrate the usefulness of mobile fire support. While short-lived, the leather cannon was copied by numerous nations of Europe, most notably Scotland.	”
—In-game history section