Plumed Spearman

Plumed Spearman
Unit information
Introduced in	Definitive Edition
Type	Infantry Heavy infantry Melee infantry
Civilization	Incas
Age	Commerce Age
Training
Trained at	War Hut Stronghold
Food	90
Wood	25
Training time	30 seconds
Statistics
Hit points	170
Resists	20% vs. Melee
Speed	5
Line of Sight	12
Population	1
XP train bounty	12
XP bounty	12
Melee attack
Damage	13
Multipliers	x3.0 vs. Cavalry x2.25 vs. Shock infantry
Rate of Fire	1.5
Siege attack
Damage	35
Range	6
Rate of Fire	3.0

“	Heavy Infantry armed with a feathered spear. Good against cavalry and buildings.	”
—In-game description

The Plumed Spearman is a melee heavy infantry in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition that is unique to the Incas and can be trained at the War Hut and Stronghold. It is a strong, cost-effective anti-cavalry melee infantry.

Overview

The Plumed Spearman is a melee heavy infantry which takes the role of Pikeman for the Inca. It is very similar to the Quechua Huaminca and Maya Holcan Spearman in terms of statistics. Although it costs 40 more resources than a Pikeman, It does slightly less damage to cavalry. This offset is, however, minimized because of the extra hitpoints, fair siege attack, and the high food and low wood cost. It is easy to mass Plumed Spearmen, thanks to the Inca's Kancha Houses that supply sufficient food and population to train them in complete and consecutive batches.

They can be used both aggressively and defensively, and they become most effective when combined with an army of Jungle Bowmen and Chimu Runners. Much like most melee heavy infantry, they are fragile versus ranged infantry and artillery.

Upgrades

Age	Upgrade	Cost	Effect
	Elite Plumed Spearmen	200 wood, 100 coin	Upgrades Plumed Spearmen to Elite (+25% hit points and attack)
	Champion Plumed Spearmen	400 wood, 200 coin	Upgrades Plumed Spearmen to Champion (+25% hit points and attack); requires Elite Plumed Spearmen
	Legendary Plumed Spearmen	1,500 wood, 1,500 coin	Upgrades Plumed Spearmen to Legendary (+50% hit points and attack); requires Champion Plumed Spearmen

Further statistics

As the Plumed Spearman is unique to the Incas, only technologies that they have access to are shown in the following table:

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Cavalry, Shock Infantry, buildings
Weak vs.	Skirmishers, archers, artillery
Improvements
Hit points	Cree Tanning (+5%) Maya Cotton Armor (+20%) Navajo Weaving (+5%)
Attack	Carib Kasiri Beer (+10%) Mapuche Tactics (+50% siege attack) Zapotec Cult of the Dead (+20%) Yoga (+5%) Master Lessons (+10%)
Armor	Hualcana (+10% resistance)
Speed	Quechuan Mountaineering (+20%) Apache Endurance (+5%)
Creation speed	Quechuan Diet (-25%)
Other	Inca Scouting Party (ships 5 Plumed Spearmen) Inca Raiding Party (ships 12 Plumed Spearmen) Inca War Party (ships 20 Plumed Spearmen) Meritocracy (-20% upgrade cost)

Home City Cards

As the Plumed Spearman is unique to the Incas, only their cards and other civilizations' TEAM cards are shown in the following tables:

Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Plumed Spearman

Green: TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team Dutch Card Description Age HC level TEAM Infantry Hitpoints Infantry get +15% hit points 10 Haudenosaunee Card Description Age HC level TEAM Scout Infantry Infantry get +8 LOS 10 Incas Card Description Age 8 Plumed Spearmen Ships 8 Plumed Spearmen 5 Plumed Spearmen Ships 5 Plumed Spearmen 15 Plumed Spearmen Ships 15 Plumed Spearmen Melee Infantry Combat The Inca War Chief, Plumed Spearmen, Chimu Runners, and Macemen get +15% hit points and attack Road Building All land military units get +10% speed Couriers Infantry, shock infantry and cavalry train time -45% TEAM Inca Bridges Infantry and civilian units get +5% speed; +1 Chasqui Tupac Rebellion Turns Villagers into Revolutionaries, Plumed Spearmen into Guard Musketeers, Bolas Warriors into Veteran Dragoons, Jungle Bowmen into Guard Skirmishers, Chimu Runners into Veteran Hussars, Huaracas into Guard Grenadiers, and Macemen into Light Cannons; costs 2,000 food, 2,000 wood, 2,000 coin Cañari Support Ships 8 Plumed Spearmen and Plumed Spearmen ROF -20%; costs 500 coin 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 Russians Card Description Age HC level TEAM Dueling School Infantry train time -25%; banner army train time -12% 25 Spanish Card Description Age HC level TEAM Hand Infantry Attack Melee infantry get +15% attack 10 TEAM Inquisition All units get +10 LOS 10 Swedes Card Description Age TEAM Heavy Infantry Hitpoints Heavy infantry get +15% hit points

Changelog

Definitive Edition

• Originally, the Plumed Spearman had 44 siege damage. With update 5208, they had 42 siege damage. With update 13088, they have 35 siege damage.
• Plumed Spearmen cost 100 food, 20 wood.

The African Royals

• With update 47581, Plumed Spearmen cost 90 food, 25 wood.

History

“	The standing army of the Inca was formed primarily by nobles, but the Sapa Inca could raise an army of able-bodied men from the general populace at will. Military discipline was strictly enforced when the troops were on the march and the army, although variously specialized, was extremely well trained. They wore cloth armor that breathed well, allowed for free movement, and dissipated the force of blows. Battles tended to open with a hail of projectile weaponry before the forces closed in melee combat. Inca spears were sharpened lengths of wood, hardened on fire. Their halberd had a bronze-bladed axe opposite a hook and crowned by a stabbing point, allowing their spearmen a variety of available uses and fighting tactics.	”
—In-game history section

Gallery

Plumed Spearman image from the Compendium section