“ | Warrior armed with a deadly spear. Good against cavalry and buildings. | ” |
—In-game description |
The Puma Spearman is a melee heavy infantry in Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs that is unique to the Aztecs and can be trained at the War Hut once the Commerce Age is reached.
Overview[]
Armed with a spear, the Puma Spearman is effective against cavalry and buildings. It is the Aztec version of the European Pikeman, stronger in combat (50% more attack, 10% more hand resistance and faster movement speed) but slightly more expensive and costing food and coin rather than food and wood.
The "Temple of Xochipilli Support" Home City Card (increases speed to 6) makes them even more dangerous, because it allows them to better defend Otontin Slingers from flanking cavalry or Villagers from raiding.
Upgrades[]
Age | Upgrade | Cost | Effect |
---|---|---|---|
Elite Puma Spearmen | 200 wood 100 coin |
Upgrades Puma Spearmen to Elite (+25% hit points and attack) | |
Champion Puma Spearmen | 400 wood 200 coin |
Upgrades Puma Spearmen to Champion (+25% hit points and attack); requires Elite Puma Spearmen | |
Legendary Puma Spearmen | 1,500 wood 1,500 coin |
Upgrades Puma Spearmen to Legendary (+50% hit points and attack); requires Champion Puma Spearmen |
Further statistics[]
As Puma Spearmen are unique to the Aztecs, 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. | Light infantry, counter-skirmishers, artillery |
Improvements | |
Hit points | Maya Cotton Armor (+20%) Cree Tanning (+5%) Navajo Weaving (+5%) Tar Kilns (+5%) |
Attack | Zapotec Cult of the Dead (+20%) Carib Kasiri Beer (+10%) Master Lessons (+10%) Yoga (+5%) Mapuche Tactics (+50% siege attack) |
Resistance | Somali Oryx Hide Shields (+5% ranged resistance) |
Speed | Quechuan Mountaineering (+10%) Akan Fontomfrom (+5%) Apache Endurance (+5%) |
Train time | Akan Fontomfrom (-20%) Quechuan Diet (-15%) Immigrants (-10%) |
Cost | Somali Oryx Hide Shields (-10%) Mapuche Ad-mapu (-10% coin cost) Golden Liberty (-5% coin cost) |
Other | Barometz (ships 1 Puma Spearman for every 2 minutes of the game time up to 30 minutes) Meritocracy (-20% upgrade cost) |
Home City Cards[]
As Puma Spearmen are unique to the Aztecs, 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 Puma Spearman
Some cards are highlighted with: | |
Green | TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team |
Blue | Shipment that arrives fast (5 seconds) |
Aztecs[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
9 Puma Spearmen | Ships 9 Puma Spearmen | |
6 Puma Spearmen | Ships 6 Puma Spearmen | |
War Hut Training | Coyote Runner, Otontin Slinger, and Puma Spearman train time -35% | |
Ruthlessness | Coyote Runners, Otontin Slingers, and Puma Spearmen get +0.5 attack multiplier against villagers | |
Fencing School | Infantry and shock infantry train time -40% | |
Chichimeca Rebellion | Turns all Puma Spearmen into Jaguar Prowl Knights, Coyote Runners into Eagle Runner Knights, and Otontin Slingers into Arrow Knights; villagers now turn into Warriors upon death; costs 1,000 food, 1,000 wood, 1,000 coin | |
Temple of Xochipilli Support | Ships 8 Puma Spearmen; Puma Spearmen get +20% speed; costs 500 coin | |
Religious Unity | Zapotec and Maya Allies, Renegade Spanish, Recruit Buccaneers, and (Great) Temple Support shipments cost -25% to -50% |
- "Religious Unity" reduces "Temple of Xochipilli Support" cost by 50%.
Chinese[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
TEAM Yongle Infrastructure | Ships 1 Mongol Scout; infantry, land villagers, healing units, Envoys, and Disciples get +5% speed |
- "TEAM Yongle Infrastructure" does not stack with the Inca "TEAM Inca Bridges" card.
Dutch[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
TEAM Infantry Hitpoints | Infantry get +10% hit points; Dutch-only infantry get +15% hit points instead |
Haudenosaunee[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
TEAM Scout Infantry | Ships 1 Native Scout; infantry get +8 Line of Sight |
Inca[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
TEAM Inca Bridges | Ships 1 Chasqui; infantry, land villagers, healing units, and Envoys get +5% speed |
- "TEAM Inca Bridges" does not stack with the Chinese "TEAM Yongle Infrastructure" card.
Indians[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
TEAM Shivaji's Tactics | All units get +5% hit points and attack |
Japanese[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
TEAM Sengoku | Unit upgrades cost -20% |
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 |
Mexicans[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
TEAM Mariachi | For the next 30 seconds, military buildings work 400% faster and units get +10% speed |
Spanish[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
TEAM Hidalgos | Pikeman, Crossbowman, Aenna, Cetan Bow, Longbowman, Otontin Slinger, Yumi Archer, and Pavisier train time -40%; Old Han Army train time -30%; Jungle Bowman, Plumed Spearman, Fulani Archer, Desert Archer, Puma Spearman, Insurgente, Standard Army, and Ming Army train time -15% | |
TEAM Hand Infantry Attack | Hand infantry get +15% attack | |
TEAM Spanish Inquisition | Ships 1 Inquisitor; all units get +10 Line of Sight |
Swedes[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
TEAM House of Bernadotte | Heavy infantry get +15% hit points |
Aztecs[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
8 Puma Spearmen | Ships 8 Puma Spearmen | 1 | |
6 Puma Spearmen | Ships 6 Puma Spearmen | 10 | |
War Hut Training | Coyote Runner, Otontin Slinger, and Puma Spearman train time -40% | 10 | |
Ruthlessness | Coyote Runners, Otontin Slingers, and Puma Spearmen get +0.5 attack multiplier against villagers | 40 | |
Fencing School | Infantry train time -40% | 10 | |
Temple of Xochipilli Support | Ships 12 Puma Spearmen; Puma Spearmen get +20% speed; costs 1,000 coin | 10 | |
Religious Unity | Zapotec and Maya Allies, Renegade Spanish, Recruit Buccaneers, and (Great) Temple Support shipments cost -25% to -50% | 40 |
- "Religious Unity" reduces "Temple of Xochipilli Support" cost by 50%.
Dutch[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
TEAM Infantry Hitpoints | Infantry get +15% hit points | 10 |
Indians[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
TEAM Shivaji's Tactics | All units get +5% hit points and attack | 25 |
Iroquois[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
TEAM Scout Infantry | Infantry get +8 Line of Sight | 10 |
Japanese[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
TEAM Cheaper Unit Upgrades | Unit upgrades cost -20% | 1 |
Russians[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
Dueling School | Infantry (except Skull Knights), Old Han Army, and Territorial Army train time -25%; Black Flag Army, Standard Army, Ming Army, and Imperial Army train time -12% | 25 |
Spanish[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
TEAM Hand Infantry Attack | Hand infantry get +15% attack | 10 | |
TEAM Inquisition | All units get +10 Line of Sight | 10 |
Changelog[]
The WarChiefs[]
- The Puma Spearman is classified as a siege unit.
- Puma Spearmen have a +3.0x multiplier against shock infantry.
- Puma Spearmen have 48 siege damage.
- Puma Spearmen cost 50 food, 50 coin, give 10 XP trained or killed, and have 135 hit points.
Definitive Edition[]
- The Puma Spearman is no longer classified as a siege unit.
- Puma Spearmen now have a +3.5x multiplier against light infantry (now shock infantry).
- With update 20322, Puma Spearmen have 42 siege damage.
The African Royals[]
- With update 43871, Puma Spearmen cost 45 food, 45 coin, give 9 XP trained or killed, have 125 hit points, and 41 siege damage.
Knights of the Mediterranean[]
- Although it is not listed in the patch notes, with update 13.58326, Puma Spearmen are tagged as Pikeman and archaic infantry.
- Although not listed in the patch notes, with update 14.43676, the Legendary Puma Spearmen upgrade received a new model.
History[]
“ | In Aztec society, membership in the calpulli established each individual's religious and secular schooling, as well as how they would be trained in warfare. The men of a calpulli served together in battle and on the numerous public works projects. Their soldiers wielded weapons of wood and stone, and they often sought prisoners to be sacrificed in religious ceremonies. To the Aztecs, the puma was a respected predator and held religious significance within their pantheon of gods. The Spanish recorded that Montezuma kept a puma-like creature called the cuitlamiztli (or wolf-cat) in his private zoo. Mexican legends refer to the existence of the onza, a long-legged and extremely aggressive cat native to the region. |
” |
—In-game compendium |
Trivia[]
- The shape of the Puma Spearman's spear differs from European and Asian designs.
- The unit's spear is mostly based on the tepoztopilli, a long pole-arm made in sizes from 3 to 7 feet in length, with a wedge-shaped wooden head edged with sharp obsidian blades, in a similar way to the macuahuitl used by the Jaguar Prowl Knight. The last original tepoztopilli was destroyed in a fire in 1884 in the Royal Armoury of Madrid where it was housed. The only depictions left of the weapon are found in Aztec codices.
- The Champion/Legendary Puma Spearman carries a Pāmitl, a type of war banner that officers or prestigious warriors carried on the back, in a similar manner to the Japanese uma-jirushi (the same type of war banner carried by the Naginata Rider).
- The one carried by the Puma Spearman was called Quaxolotl. It was umbrella-like in shape and was produced in yellow, blue and green. The top was ornamented with the head of a dog called Xolotl whose ears had been ripped off according to a legend.[1]
- The History sections states the record of the cuitlamiztli and the onza, both referred as cougar-like felines from nowadays Mexico. It is likely that both terms actually refer to the jaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouarundi), a wild cat native from America closely related to the cougar, but about twice as large as a domestic cat.[2]