Overview 
Edit
Musketeers are infantry units armed with a smoothbore musket to fight other infantry, and a bayonet to fight cavalry in close-quarter combat. They fire short-ranged attacks at a slower rate compared to archer units such as the Longbowman. Musketeers are vulnerable against massed artillery and light infantry.
Some civilizations feature units similar to the Musketeer. The Ottomans train the Janissary, while the Dutch receive 30 Stadhouder (Guard Musketeers) if the Religious Freedom card is sent. For civilizations in The Asian Dynasties expansion, the Japanese have the Ashigaru Musketeer, with the Indians using the Sepoy. The Chinese do not have an equivalent as the Arquebusier is a type of Skirmisher unit, with the heavy infantry role filled by melee-only Changdao Swordsmen.
Age of Empires III Edit
The British and Portuguese Musketeers can be upgraded to Royal Guard, making them the strongest Musketeer units in the game. British Royal Guard Musketeers are Redcoats while Portuguese Royal Guards are Guerreiro.
The WarChiefs Edit
In The WarChiefs, the Spanish Musketeer becomes the most damaging, population-effective Musketeer-type unit with the Unction effect. Unction costs 1,000 wood and 1,000 coin. The cost of Unction can be reduced even further, down to 500 of each resource if Spain allies with the Russians (TEAM Cheap Priests).
Civilization bonuses Edit
- The British are able to research Redcoats upgrade in the Industrial Age.
- The Portuguese are able to research Guerreiros upgrade in the Industrial Age.
- Russian Musketeers are automatically trained in a block of five units from Blockhouses.
Upgrades Edit
Musketeers can be upgraded to Veteran Musketeer, Guard Musketeer, and Imperial Musketeer depending on the Age reached. They can further be improved with Home City shipments, minor civilization upgrades, unique Church upgrades and Arsenal upgrades (especially when using the "Advanced Arsenal" card).
Arsenal Edit
- Socket Bayonet increases hand attack.
Advanced Arsenal Edit
- Flint Lock increases hit points.
- Paper Cartridge increases attack.
- Military Drummers increases speed.
Normal Upgrades Edit
Veteran Musketeers are slightly better than ordinary Musketeers with higher hit points and better attack. Veteran Musketeers are the lowest rank and the first upgrade of the Musketeer. They are available at the Barracks once Fortress Age is reached.
- Hit points: 180
- Ranged attack: 27
- Siege attack: 24
- Hand attack: 15 (45 vs cavalry)
- Cost: 200 wood and 200 coin
Guard Musketeers are better than Veteran Musketeers in terms of the amount of hit points and the amount of damage it inflicts on a certain unit. The upgrade is available at the Barracks once Industrial Age is reached.
- Hit points: 225
- Ranged attack: 34
- Siege attack: 30
- Hand attack: 19 (57 vs cavalry)
- Cost: 600 wood and 600 coin
The Imperial Musketeer is the final and strongest form of the Musketeer and is the successor of the Guard Musketeer. Imperial Musketeers have the highest amount of hit points and deals the most damage out of all types of Musketeers in the game due to their high rank. The upgrade is available at the Barracks once the Imperial Age is reached.
- Hit points: 300
- Ranged attack: 46
- Siege attack: 40
- Hand attack: 26 (78 vs cavalry)
- Cost: 1,500 wood and 1,500 coin
Royal Guard Musketeers Edit
The British and Portuguese have Royal Guard Musketeers which are stronger than Guard Musketeers. British Royal Guard Musketeers are called Red Coats. Portuguese Royal Guard Musketeers are called Guerreiros. Royal Guard Musketeers are available once the Industrial Age is researched.
- Hit points: 240
- Ranged attack: 36
- Siege attack: 32
- Hand attack: 20 (60 vs cavalry)
- Cost: 1,000 wood and 1,000 coin
The British and Portuguese can also upgrade Royal Guard Musketeers into Imperial Guard Musketeers which are stronger than Imperial Musketeers. British Royal Guard Musketeers are called Imperial Red Coats. Portuguese Royal Guard Musketeers are called Imperial Guerreiros. Imperial Guard Musketeers are available once the Imperial Age is researched.
- Hit points: 315
- Ranged attack: 48
- Siege attack: 42
- Hand attack: 27 (81 vs cavalry)
Outlaw Musketeer Edit
Outlaw Musketeer is a Treasure Guardian. This unit is usually featured in abundant treasures, but considered rare. It is one of the Treasure Guardians which has multiplier effect against a type of unit. In overall, this unit is better than the normal Musketeer and should be considered for taming.
Shipments Edit
This is a list of shipments that benefit Musketeers in any way.
- Note that the Spanish do not have any shipments regarding Musketeers.
| Click for a list of Musketeer-related Home City cards | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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British
|
| Card name | Card description | Age | Level |
| 6 Musketeers | Ships 6 Musketeers | 2 | 0 |
| 8 Musketeers | Ships 8 Musketeers | 3 | 0 |
| 13 Musketeers | Ships 13 Musketeers | 4 | 10 |
| 11 Musketeers | Ships 11 Musketeers | 3 | 10 |
| 16 Musketeers | Ships 16 Musketeers | 4 | 25 |
| Musketeer / Grenadier Damage | Increases attack | 2 | 10 |
| TEAM Musketeer / Grenadier Hitpoints | Increases hit points | 2 | 10 |
| Musketeer / Grenadier Combat | Increases hit points and attack | 3 | 25 |
| Fencing School | Decreases training time | 2 | 10 |
French Edit
| Card name | Card description | Age | Level |
| TEAM Ranged Infantry Attack | Increases attack | 3 | 10 |
| Fencing School | Decreases training time | 2 | 10 |
Portuguese Edit
| Card name | Card description | Age | Level |
| 6 Musketeers | Ships 6 Musketeers | 2 | 0 |
| 8 Musketeers | Ships 8 Musketeers | 3 | 0 |
| 13 Musketeers | Ships 13 Musketeers | 4 | 10 |
| 11 Musketeers | Ships 11 Musketeers | 3 | 10 |
| 16 Musketeers | Ships 16 Musketeers | 4 | 25 |
| TEAM Gunpowder Infantry Hitpoints | Increases hit points | 2 | 10 |
| Gunpowder Infantry Attack | Increases attack | 2 | 10 |
| Gunpowder Infantry Combat | Increases hit points and attack | 3 | 25 |
| Fencing School | Decreases training time | 2 | 10 |
Russians Edit
| Card name | Card description | Age | Level |
| 11 Musketeers | Ships 11 Musketeers | 3 | 10 |
| 17 Musketeers | Ships 17 Musketeers | 4 | 25 |
| Ransack | Increases attack against buildings. | 3 | 25 |
| Fencing School | Decreases training time | 2 | 10 |
| TEAM Dueling School | Decreases training time | 2 | 25 |
Gallery Edit
Trivia Edit
- The Musketeer has 4 visual upgrades in total, the first upgrade is unused in the game.
- The Germans and Dutch originally had the musketeer in the beta version of the game. Their unused game file voices for the Dutch and Germans still exist in the scenario editor and game files.
- The Russians were originally not able to build musketeers in the beta game.
- John Black's Mercenaries, Spanish, and United States are the only civilizations that can create the musketeer but do not have home city upgrade cards for them besides from advanced arsenal.
- British Royal Guard Musketeers is named after the Redcoat soldiers.
- Portuguese Royal Guard Musketeers' name actually means "Warrior" in Portuguese.
- Dutch Musketeers are named after the Dutch Stadhouders.
History Edit
"Musketeers were infantry soldiers who stood in ranks two and three men deep, taking turns firing while other ranks reloaded. Musketeers were drilled and disciplined to stand as close as 80 yards away from an enemy firing at them. Musket balls ranged from about a half inch in diameter to three-quarters of an inch in diameter. Until long guns with rifled barrels that could be fired more than once every two minutes were developed, muskets were the ranged weapon of choice for infantry.
Muskets had a relatively short range and were wildly inaccurate. Musketeers fought a lot like longbowmen, firing volley after volley in the direction of the enemy with no specific target. The barrage of lead was bound to hit something. A competent musketeer could fire three shots in a minute - four times slower than a longbow and twice as fast as an early rifle."
