Musketeer

"Heavy ranged infantry. Armed with a bayonet to beat cavalry."

—In-game description

The Musketeer is a ranged heavy gunpowder infantry in Age of Empires III that can be trained at Barracks, Fort, and Galleon. It is armed with a smoothbore musket to fight other infantry at range and a bayonet to fight cavalry in melee combat.

Musketeers are available to European civilizations except Dutch, Germans, Ottomans (who have Janissaries instead), and Knights of St. John (Act I: Blood campaign).

Overview Edit

Musketeers are vulnerable against artillery and massed light infantry. They are especially effective against cavalry due to a damage multiplier.

Musketeers are actually stronger in melee combat due to the attack speed of melee attacks, also with thanks to their high hit points and good melee resistance. This is particularly improved with Socket Bayonet. However, this is not always practical as Musketeers are slow, and the opponent may simply decide to make their units run away.

Musketeers' range attack is relatively strong, and due to the firearm animation it is possible to hit and run. However, it is short ranged compared to other ranged infantry and fires at the default rate of 3.0s, which is slower compared to certain archer units such as the Longbowman. While they are more expensive than archaic units, Musketeers are simple to mass produce due to their low coin cost and cheaper than more specialised units such as Skirmishers or the Halberdier.

In The WarChiefs, Spanish Musketeers become the most damaging, thanks to the Unction effect.

Upgrades Edit

Age	Upgrade	Cost	Effect	Civ.
	Veteran Musketeers	200 wood, 200 coin	Upgrades Musketeers to Veteran (+20% hit points and attack)	British French Portuguese Russians Spanish
	Guard Musketeers	600 wood, 600 coin	Upgrades Musketeers to Guard (+30% hit points and attack); requires Veteran Musketeers	French Russians Spanish
	Redcoats	1,000 wood, 1,000 coin	Upgrades Musketeers to Redcoat Musketeers (Guard Musketeers with +10% hit points and attack); requires Veteran Musketeers	British
	Guerreiros		Upgrades Musketeers to Guerreiro Musketeers (Guard Musketeers with +10% hit points and attack); requires Veteran Musketeers	Portuguese
	Imperial Musketeers	1,500 wood, 1,500 coin	Upgrades Musketeers to Imperial (+50% hit points and attack); requires Guard Musketeers	French Russians Spanish
	Imperial Redcoats		Upgrades Redcoat Musketeers to Imperial Redcoats (+50% hit points and attack); requires Redcoats	British
	Imperial Guerreiros		Upgrades Guerreiro Musketeers to Imperial Guerreiros (+50% hit points and attack); requires Guerreiros	Portuguese

Civilization differences Edit

• As seen above, British and Portuguese can upgrade Musketeers to Royal Guard and Imperial Guard levels.
• While the Dutch cannot train Musketeers, they can ship 30 Guard Musketeers through Stadhouders.
• The Russians train Musketeers in groups of five at the Blockhouse for 75% of the price but with 20% less hit points and attack.
• John Black's Mercenaries can only upgrade Musketeers up to the Guard level.
• United States can upgrade their Musketeers to the Royal Guard and Imperial Guard levels (Redcoats)
• Asian civilizations can get Musketeers by allying with British, Dutch, and Portuguese at the Consulate, which provides armies and technologies that includes Musketeers (named Redcoat for the British, Stadhouder for the Dutch, Guerreiro for the Portuguese) listed below. These Musketeers start with +10% hit points and attack than their regular counterpart, and are automatically upgraded in every Age starting from the Fortress Age (see here for the exact values).
  • British (Chinese and Indians): British Expeditionary Company (6 Musketeers) and British Expeditionary Force (8 Musketeers)
  • Dutch (Japanese, requires a level 40 Home City): Dutch Expeditionary Company (6 Musketeers), Dutch Expeditionary Force (6 Musketeers), and Dutch Brigade (28 Musketeers)
  • Portuguese (Indians and Japanese): Portuguese Expeditionary Army (13 Musketeers)

Further statistics Edit

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Cavalry, infantry
Weak vs.	Skirmishers, archers, artillery
Improvements
Hit points	Flint Lock (+10%) Thin Red Line (+20%, British only) Corselet (+25%, Spanish only) Grand Encampment (+25%, United States only) Cree Tanning (+5%) Navajo Weaving (+5%)
Attack	Socket Bayonet (+20% melee attack) Paper Cartridge (+15%) Iroquois Lacrosse (+10%, vanilla Age of Empires III only) Yoga (+5%) Smokeless Powder (+30% siege attack) Clenched Fist (+30% melee attack)
Speed	Military Drummers (+10%) Incan Road-building (+20%) Apache Endurance (+5%)
Sight	Town Watch (+2)
Creation speed	Standing Army (-25%) Incan Chasquis Messengers (-25%)
Train cost	Mapuche Ad-mapu (-10% coin cost)
Other	Stadhouders (ships 30 Guard Musketeers, Dutch only) Westernization (grants Veteran upgrade, Russians only) Petrine Reforms (grants Guard upgrade, Russians only) Meritocracy (-20% upgrade cost)
Penalties	Thin Red Line (-25% speed, British only) Coffee Trade (-10% speed, Dutch only) Corselet (-15% speed, Spanish only) Grand Encampment (-25% speed, United States only)

Home City Cards Edit

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

Green: TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team Purple: Shipment that can be sent an INFINITE number of times British Edit Card Description Age HC level Musketeer/Grenadier Damage Musketeers and Grenadiers get +15% attack 10 TEAM Musketeers/Grenadier Hitpoints Musketeers, Grenadiers, Sepoys, and Ashigaru Musketeers get +15% hit points 10 Musketeer/Grenadier Combat Musketeers and Grenadiers get +15% hit points and attack 25 Dutch Edit Card Description Age HC level TEAM Infantry Hitpoints Infantry gets +15% hit points 10 Europeans Edit Card Description Age HC level 6 Musketeers Ships 6 Musketeers 1 8 Musketeers Ships 8 Musketeers 1 14 Musketeers Ships 14 Musketeers 10 9 Musketeers Ships 9 Musketeers 10 16 Musketeers Ships 16 Musketeers 25 Fencing School Infantry train time -40% 10 The 6 Musketeers, 8 Musketeers, 14 Musketeers, and 19 Musketeers cards are available to British and Portuguese. The 16 Musketeers card is available to British, Portuguese, and Russians (at a level 1 Home City). French Edit Card Description Age HC level TEAM Ranged Infantry Attack Ranged infantry gets +15% attack 10 Indians Edit Card Description Age HC level TEAM Shivaji's Tactics All units get +5% hit points and attack 25 Iroquois Edit Card Description Age HC level TEAM Scout Infantry Infantry gets +8 LOS 10 Japanese Edit Card Description Age HC level TEAM Cheaper Unit Upgrades Unit upgrades cost -20% 1 Portuguese Edit Card Description Age HC level 10 Musketeers Ships 10 Musketeers 10 TEAM Gunpowder Infantry Hitpoints Gunpowder infantry gets +15% hit points 10 Gunpowder Infantry Attack Musketeers and Cassadores get +15% attack 10 Gunpowder Infantry Combat Musketeers and Cassadores get +15% hit points and attack 25 Russians Edit Card Description Age HC level Ransack Infantry gets +50% siege attack 25 11 Musketeers Ships 11 Musketeers 1 TEAM Dueling School Infantry train time -25%; banner army train time -12% 25 National Redoubt Musketeers can build Forts and Fort build limit +1 40 Spanish Edit Card Description Age HC level TEAM Inquisition All units get +10 LOS 10

Outlaw Musketeer Edit

The Outlaw Musketeer is a treasure guardian variant of the Musketeer which only appears in the campaign. It is one of the few Treasure Guardians with a damage multiplier against specific unit types. Overall, the Outlaw Musketeer is better than the normal Musketeers.

Trivia Edit

• The Musketeer has 4 visual upgrades in total, although the first one is unused in-game.
• The Musketeer's unit portrait resembles the Veteran Musketeer model.
• The Germans and Dutch could train Musketeers normally in the Barracks in the beta; German Musketeers' unused voice files still exist in the Scenario Editor and game files. The Dutch can still send Musketeers through the Stadhouders upgrade at the Church.
• The Russians couldn't train Musketeers in the beta.
• John Black's Mercenaries, Spanish, and United States are the only civilizations with Musketeers that lacks Home City Cards which improves them (except Advanced Arsenal).
• British Royal Guard and Consulate Musketeers are named after the Redcoat soldiers.
• Portuguese Royal Guard and Consulate Musketeers' name, Guerreiro, means "Warrior" in Portuguese.

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."

Gallery Edit

See alsoEdit

• Janissary – Ottoman equivalent
• Ashigaru Musketeer – Japanese equivalent
• Sepoy – Indian equivalent
• Boneguard Musketeer – Circle of Ossus equivalent

Military units in Age of Empires III
Age of Empires III
General	Explorer · Pikeman · Musketeer · Crossbowman · Skirmisher · Minuteman · Halberdier · Grenadier · Hussar · Dragoon · Cavalry Archer · Falconet · Culverin · Mortar · Heavy Cannon · Caravel · Galleon · Frigate · Monitor · Horse Artillery* · Petard* · Spy*
British	Longbowman · Rocket
Dutch	Ruyter · Fluyt
French	Cuirassier
Germans	Doppelsoldner · Uhlan · War Wagon
Ottomans	Janissary · Abus Gun · Great Bombard · Galley · Spahi
Portuguese	Cassador · Organ Gun
Russians	Strelet · Cossack · Oprichnik
Spanish	Rodelero · Lancer
The WarChiefs
Aztecs	Aztec War Chief · Warrior · Coyote Runner · Macehualtin · Puma Spearman · Arrow Knight · Eagle Runner Knight · Jaguar Prowl Knight · Warrior Priest · Skull Knight · Canoe · War Canoe · Tlaloc Canoe
Iroquois	Iroquois War Chief · Warrior · Aenna · Tomahawk · Forest Prowler · Kanya Horseman · Musket Rider · Ram · Mantlet · Light Cannon · Canoe · War Canoe
Sioux	Sioux War Chief · Warrior · Cetan Bow · War Club · Wakina Rifle · Axe Rider · Bow Rider · Rifle Rider · Tashunke Prowler · Dog Soldier · Canoe · War Canoe
Revolution	Colonial Militia · Gatling Gun · Ironclad
The Asian Dynasties
Chinese	Shaolin Master · Disciple · Sentry · Irregular · Chu Ko Nu · Qiang Pikeman · Changdao Swordsman · Arquebusier · Steppe Rider · Keshik · Iron Flail · Meteor Hammer · Flamethrower · Hand Mortar · Flying Crow · Fire Junk · War Junk · Fuchuan · Monitor
Indians	Brahmin · Sentry · Irregular · Rajput · Sepoy · Gurkha · Urumi · Sowar · Zamburak · Mahout Lancer · Howdah · Flail Elephant · Siege Elephant · Caravel · Galleon · Frigate · Monitor
Japanese	Ikko-Ikki · Sentry · Irregular · Samurai · Ashigaru Musketeer · Yumi Archer · Naginata Rider · Yabusame · Flaming Arrow · Morutaru · Daimyo · Shogun Tokugawa · Yamabushi · Shinobi · Fune · Atakabune · Tekkousen · Monitor
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