Manchu

Manchu
Unit information
Introduced in	Age of Empires III
Type	Cavalry Light cavalry Ranged cavalry Archer Mercenary
Age	Fortress Age
Training
Trained at	Tavern (Europeans) Monastery (Asians) Saloon (Americans) Palace (Africans)
Coin	220
Training time	42 seconds
Statistics
Hit points	400
Resists	40% vs. Melee
Speed	7.25
Line of Sight	14
Population	2
XP train bounty	22
XP bounty	22
Melee attack
Damage	14
Multipliers	x2.0 vs. Heavy cavalry, Artillery and Coyote Runner
Rate of Fire	1.5
Ranged attack
Damage	27
Multipliers	x2.5 vs. Heavy cavalry x2.0 vs. Artillery and Coyote Runner x0.5 vs. Villager
Range	12
Rate of Fire	1.5
Siege attack
Damage	11
Range	6
Rate of Fire	3.0

“	Chinese cavalry archer mercenary.	”
—In-game description

The Manchu is a mercenary mounted archer in Age of Empires III. It is a fierce mounted archer from China.

Overview

The Manchu is the mercenary version of the Cavalry Archer. It has a high rate of fire and an impressive amount of hit points. It also has a very high melee armor and base damage. All these factors combined make it an extremely effective counter to cavalry, without having to worry about micro-managing them or kiting. Unlike nearly every other mercenary, it takes the same amount of population space as its base unit; this allows it to be used even in the latest stages of the games without sacrificing military size, should it be available at the Saloon/Monastery.

This unit is of particular interest to the Chinese civilization. As China is unable to mass produce anti-cavalry, and the units it can mass are fairly weak, the Manchu (if available at the Monastery) can be trained to fill this usual hole in their composition, without sacrificing population space or draining limited wood supplies.

Further statistics

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Heavy cavalry, Shock Infantry, artillery
Weak vs.	Heavy infantry, ranged infantry, light cavalry
Improvements
Hit points	Comanche Horse Breeding (+10%) Cree Tanning (+5%) Navajo Weaving (+5%)
Attack	Ranged Cavalry Caracole (+10%) Customized Merc Weapons (+30%, John Black's Mercenaries only) Carib Kasiri Beer (+10%) Carib Garifuna Drums (+1.0x multiplier vs. villagers) Seminole Bowyer (+25%) Tupi Poison Arrow Frogs (+10%) Yoga (+5%)
Range	Ranged Cavalry Caracole (+2)
Sight	Town Watch (+2) Ranged Cavalry Caracole (+2)
Speed	Comanche Mustangs (+10%) Apache Endurance (+5%)
Creation speed	Mass Cavalry (-50%) Cheyenne Horse Trading (-25%) Quechuan Diet (-25%)
Train cost	Mapuche Ad-mapu (-10% coin cost)
Penalties	Coffee Trade (-10% speed, Dutch only)

Home City Cards

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

Green: TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team All Card Description Age HC level Riding School Cavalry train time -40% 10 Hire Manchurian Cavalry Archers Ships 9 Manchu; costs 1,000 coin 10 The Riding School card is not available to Chinese and Japanese. The Hire Manchurian Cavalry Archers card is available to Chinese, Ottomans, and Russians. Chinese Card Description Age HC level Western Reforms All units get +8% hit points and attack 40 Acupuncture Unit train time -20% 10 Hire Mandarin Mercenary Army Ships 10 Manchu and 7 Iron Troopers; costs 2,000 coin 25 TEAM 5 Manchu Ships 5 Manchu; costs 1,000 coin 25 Europeans Card Description Age HC level Cavalry Combat Cavalry get +15% hit points and attack 10 Hire Asian Mercenary Army Ships 7 Manchu and 5 Ronin; costs 2,000 coin 25 The Cavalry Combat card is available to Dutch, Ottomans, and Russians. The Hire Asian Mercenary Army card is available to Ottomans, Portuguese, and Spanish. Germans Card Description Age HC level TEAM Cavalry Attack Heavy cavalry, light cavalry, and Shock Infantry get +15% attack 10 Spanish Riding School Cavalry get +10% speed +4 Uhlans 25 Improved Mercenaries Mercenaries get +20% hit points and attack +3 Uhlans 10 Indians Card Description Age HC level Dravidian Martial Arts All units get +15% melee attack +1 Villager 40 TEAM Shivaji's Tactics All units get +5% hit points and attack 25 Ottomans Card Description Age HC level Irregulars Light cavalry get +2.0x multiplier against villagers 25 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

In-game dialogue

Unlike other units native to China, the Manchu speaks their own Manchu language (Manju Gisun), an endangered language of Tungusic origin native to Manchuria and one of the official languages of the Qing dynasty.

• Select 1 Je? (ᠵᡝ) - Yes?
• Select 2 Qouha belheme jurambi. (ᠴᠣᠣᡥᠠ ᠪᡝᠯᡥᡝᠮᡝ ᠵᡠᡵᠠᠮᠪᡳ) - Troop(s) ready to set out.
• Select 3 Temgetu selgiyen? (ᡨᡝᠮᡤᡝᡨᡠ ᠰᡝᠯᡤᡳᠶᡝᠨ) - Official order(s)?
• Move 1 Je (ᠵᡝ) - Yes
• Move 2 Je (ᠵᡝ) - Yes
• Move 3 Bi uthai genembi (ᠪᡳ ᡠᡨᡥᠠᡳ ᡤᡝᠨᡝᠮᠪᡳ) - I immediately go
• Attack 1 Bire! (ᠪᡳᡵᡝ) - Charge!
• Attack 2 Wa! (ᠸᠠ) - Kill!
• Attack 3 Je! (ᠵᡝ) - Yes!

Trivia

• The Manchu's history portrait mistakenly shows a Cavalry Archer.

History

“	The Manchu people overthrew the Ming dynasty in the middle of the seventeenth century. They established the Ch'ing dynasty and tried to remain separate from the general populace of China. They had been a nomadic people once, riding and fighting from horseback, and tending crops and herds. The Ch'ing dynasty ruled China for about 300 years. Manchurian soldiers and warriors fought with recurve bows, swords, lances, halberds, and even their bare hands. They wore heavy robes that hung to the knee, allowing free movement on foot and horseback.	”
—In-game history section

Gallery

An in-game Manchu

Manchus attacking Settlers

The Manchu's history portrait