“ | Privateer. Mercenary warship. | ” |
—In-game description |
The Privateer is a mercenary war ship in Age of Empires III. It is one of the strongest naval units and, in the base game, the strongest ship available in the Commerce Age. It can be shipped from the Home City through cards and politicians, and is also trainable on African maps if a Trading Post is built on an African Kingdom.
Overview[]
Privateers only lose to the Frigate in a one on one fight. With the release of the The WarChiefs, the Spanish Galleon bests the privateer as the strongest early age ship, putting the privateer in second place, but only in terms of durability in a one to one fight. A single Galleon cannot defeat two privateers simultaneously unless it attacks while the ships are distracted (for instance by treasure guardians), and the cost of a galleon exceeds the shipping cost of two privateers by 300 wood. The acquisition of a second galleon would require the 1 Galleon Home City Card in conjunction with the original damage and hit point booster card. For those reasons the privateers are usually the best option for naval shipments in the Commerce Age, unless specifically using a strategy involving Caravel, Fune, Galley and War Junk fishing or the Galleon and Fluyt ability to train troops without the need of a barracks or the ability to resist building fire.
The only limiting factor to using Privateers are the number that can be shipped. They have no build limit, and as such the Dutch can use them endlessly beginning in the Industrial Age as long as any enemy does not use Blockade. For this reason they are exceptional at bolstering any naval force that has access to them.
The Gentleman Pirate politician, available as an aging option to the Fortress Age for the Germans, Swedes, French, Italians and Russians, provides 2 Barbary Corsairs and 1 Privateer. The Italians can get two Privateers with the Advanced Politicians Home City Card.
Special ability[]
- Broadside Attack: Fires a volley of cannon shots at an enemy from a range of 30, with each shot doing 30×3 siege damage in an Area of Effect of 1 with a ×2.0 multiplier against ships. 60 seconds cooldown.
Intrepid Privateer[]
“ | Privateer. Mercenary warship. | ” |
—In-game description |
In some water maps, the player begins with an Intrepid Privateer as a starting unit. It has more hit points and speed than the Privateer, but has a relatively low attack. It has temporal damage penalties (×0.5 vs. Ship, Building, Hero) in the Exploration Age.
Further statistics[]
Unit strengths and weaknesses | |
---|---|
Strong vs. | Ships, infantry and buildings close to shore |
Weak vs. | Artillery especially Culverins, defensive structures |
Improvements | |
Hit points | Armor Plating (+50%) Heavy Riverboats (+25%; Africans only) Rawhide Covers (+20%; Haudenosaunee only) Byzantine Legacy (+15%) Cipactli Worship (+10%; Aztecs only) Tar Kilns (+10%) Gadaa System (+5%; Ethiopians only) |
Attack | Carronade (+25%) Flaming Arrows (+25%; Lakota only) River Skirmishes (+25%; Africans only) Cipactli Worship (+10%; Aztecs only) Gadaa System (+5%; Ethiopians only) Percussion Lock (+50% Broadside Attack damage) Somali Ajuran Engineers (+20% multiplier vs. Frontier fortification) |
Line of Sight | Town Watch (+3) |
Train time | Immigrants (-10%) New Mexico Immigration (-10%; United States only) Strangers' Quarters (-10%; Africans only) |
Cost | Mapuche Ad-mapu (-10% coin cost) Golden Liberty (-5% coin cost) |
Other | Meritocracy (-20% upgrade cost) Öresund Customs (generates 0.25 coin/sec.) Wallenstein's Contracts (mercenary shipments cost no coin; Germans only) |
Home City Cards[]
- Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Privateer
Some cards are highlighted with: | |
Green | TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team |
Purple | Shipment that can be sent an INFINITE number of times |
Blue | Shipment that arrives fast (5 seconds) |
All[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
Advanced Dock | Docks get +100% attack and heal ships 85% faster; warships' train time -33% (also +1 Villager for the Indians) | 10 | |
Improved Warships | Warships get +25% hit points and attack (also +2 Uhlans for the Germans; +1 Hindu Villager for the Indians) | 10 | |
TEAM Improved Warships | Warships get +10% hit points and attack | 10 | |
Naval Gunners | Warships get +20% attack | 25 | |
Offshore Support | Warships get +15% attack, +2 Line of Sight and range (also +2 Uhlans for the Germans) | 40 | |
European Cannons | Warships get +15% attack, +2 Line of Sight and range (also +1 Hindu Villager for the Indians) | 25 | |
Admiralty | Dock warship technologies cost and research time -60% (also +2 Uhlans for the Germans; +1 Hindu Villager for the Indians) | 1 |
- "Advanced Dock" is not available to Africans.
- "Improved Warships" is not available to the Chinese, Lakota, and United States.
- "TEAM Improved Warships" is available to the Chinese and Maltese.
- "Naval Gunners" is available to the British, French, Italians, Maltese, Russians, Swedes, and United States.
- "Offshore Support" is available to the Aztecs, Germans, Inca, Maltese, and Ottomans.
- "European Cannons" is not available to Europeans and Native Americans.
- "Admiralty" is not available to Africans and Native Americans.
Africans[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
Advanced Port | Ports get +100% attack and heal ships 100% faster; warships' train time -33% | |
Feudal Armies | All units' train time -15%; hero respawn time -15% |
British[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
Recruit Privateer Armada | Ships 5 Privateers; costs 850 coin | 25 |
Chinese[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
Western Reforms | All units get +8% hit points and attack | 40 | |
Acupuncture | All units' (except Monks) train time -20%; Heavy Cannons', Flying Crows', and Summer Palace Banner Armies' spawn time -5% | 10 |
Europeans[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
Mercenary Loyalty | Mercenary and native warrior shipments cost -10% to -25% (also +3 Uhlans for the Germans) | 10 | |
Recruit Privateers | Ships 2 Privateers; costs 500 coin | 1 | |
Recruit Privateer Fleet | Ships 4 Privateers; costs 1,000 coin | 10 | |
TEAM Carribian Privateers | Ships 2 Privateers; costs 500 coin | 25 | |
Recruit Privateer Flotilla | Ships 3 Privateers; costs 500 coin | 40 | |
Egyptian Fleet + 1 Privateer | Ships 1 Frigate and 1 Monitor; +1 Privateer | N/A | |
Lantakas | Artillery, buildings, and ships get +15% attack | N/A |
- "Recruit Privateer Fleet" is available to the British, Dutch, French, Portuguese, and Ottomans.
- "TEAM Carribian Privateers" and "Recruit Privateer Flotilla" are available to the Dutch and Swedes.
- "Egyptian Fleet + 1 Privateer" is available to the British and Ottomans upon revolting to Egypt.
- "Lantakas" is available to the Dutch and Portuguese upon revolting to Indonesia.
French[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
3 Privateers | Ships 3 Privateers | |
Letter of Marque | Pirates get +12 Line of Sight, can use Volley Mode, and gather enemy crates; Privateers generate 0.5 coin/sec.; Pirates and Privateers get +3.0 multiplier against treasure guardians and can collect treasures with doubled resource and xp yield |
- "3 Privateers" and "Letter of Marque" are available upon revolting to Haiti.
Haudenosaunee[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
Wampum | Training units and constructing buildings grants +35% XP |
Indians[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
TEAM Shivaji's Tactics | All units get +5% hit points and attack | 25 | |
Bombay Marine | Ships' train time -30% and train bounty +30%; +1 Hindu Villager | 1 |
Japanese[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
TEAM Sengoku | Unit upgrades cost -20% | 1 |
Lakota[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
Winter Counts | Training units grants +40% XP and constructing buildings grants +20% XP |
Maltese[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
TEAM Knights of the Round Table | Ships 1 Hospitaller for each Town Center owned by the player; all units get +2% hit points | |
Speronaras | Ships get +10% speed; Order Galleys and Fishing Boats get +30% speed instead |
Mexicans[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
TEAM Mariachi | For the next 30 seconds, military buildings work 400% faster and units get +10% speed | |
Colegio de San Nicolás | Ships 500 XP; units get +4 and buildings (except Walls) get +8 Line of Sight; sees what enemies can see for 20 seconds | |
Recruit Privateers | Ships 4 Privateers; costs 500 coin | |
National Servant | All units get +10% hit points; Padre healing 200% faster | |
Tehuantepec Route | Sells all Sloops, Steamers, Frigates, Ironclads, and Privateers, returning the resources spent to train them | |
Recruit Privateers | Ships 2 Privateers; costs 500 coin |
- "Colegio de San Nicolás" is available upon selecting the Michoacán Federal State.
- "Recruit Privateers" is available upon selecting the Sinaloa Federal State.
- "National Servant" is available upon selecting the Estado de México Federal State.
- "Tehuantepec Route" is available upon revolting to Central America.
- "Recruit Privateers" is available upon revolting to Baja California.
Native Americans[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
Water Ceremony | Water Ceremony available at the Community Plaza | 1 | |
Recruit Buccaneers | Ships 3 Privateers; costs 500 coin | 10 | |
Recruit Buccaneer Fleet | Ships 4 Privateers; costs 500 coin | 25 |
- "Water Ceremony" is not available to the Lakota.
- "Recruit Buccaneers" and "Recruit Buccaneer Fleet" are not available to the Inca.
Portuguese[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
Navigation School | Warships' cost and train time -20% | 25 |
Russians[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
TEAM Cold Water Port | Warships cost -15% | 10 |
Spanish[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
TEAM Spanish Inquisition | Ships 1 Inquisitor; all units get +10 Line of Sight | 10 | |
Armada | Warships get +20% hit points and +2 Line of Sight; Caravels can now train infantry units; Frigates can now train cavalry and artillery units; Monitors can now train Mortars; Battleships can now train infantry, cavalry and artillery units | 10 |
United States[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
Indiana Mobilization | Ships 1 Carbine Cavalry for each shipment sent so far this game including this one; unit train time (except Heavy Cannons), technology research time, and age-up time -10%; costs 250 food, 250 wood | |
Connecticut Shipwrights | Ship train time -50%; building build time -35%; artillery train time -15%, Heavy Cannon train time -10% instead |
- "Indiana Mobilization" is available upon selecting the Indiana Federal State.
- "Connecticut Shipwrights" is available upon selecting the Connecticut Federal State.
Changelog[]
Definitive Edition[]
- With update 13088, the Barbary States' Privateers can train Falconets, Culverins, and all units trainable via the Galleon.
In-game dialogue[]
The Privateer speaks Kabyle language. For the "Select" lines dialogue files of the Barbary Corsair are used, while the "Move" lines are just Barbary Corsair's "Move" lines with water sound effect added.
- Select 1 Ajuoh
- Select 2 Wejdah - Ready
- Select 3 Achu tevghid or Achu tevRid
- Move 1 Eih (ⵉⵀ) - Yes
- Move 2 Asili
- Move 3 Akrivmen
Privateers that are trained by Haiti speak English, using unused by the British "Privateer" dialogue files, which they share with the Xebec.
- Select 1 Yes? [pronounced more like "yis"]
- Select 2 Ready
- Select 3 Commandement? [commandiment] - What is it? / Your command?
- Move 1 Yes [pronounced more like "yis"]
- Move 2 I(c) woll [ï/ee/ish woll] - I will
- Move 3 I(c) meane so [ee/ish mehne soh] - I mean so
Trivia[]
- Some of the random names that a Privateer can have are Lazerbear and Learicorn, referring to the cheat units of the game. Another random name that the Privateer can have is Flying Purple Hippo.
- The Sloop unit released with the United States civilization in the Definitive Edition is based on the Privateer model, but uses different textures.
History[]
“ | Nations sometimes recruited privateers to supplement their navy. Privateers were privately owned ships that had government sanction - issued as a letter of marque - to attack enemy's ships, both military and civilian. Without the permission granted by the letter of marque, these attacks were considered acts of piracy. It was difficult to control privateers once they were at sea, and often they would act outside the scope of their agreements. These abuses led to the abandonment of privateers in the middle of the nineteenth century. Captain William Kidd was a famous privateer turned pirate. He was initially commissioned to hunt down Blackbeard, but he eventually went astray and became a pirate himself. Kidd was hanged in London in 1699. | ” |