Sacred Band Infantry

This article is about the unit in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition - Knights of the Mediterranean. For the unit in Chronicles: Alexander the Great, see Sacred Band.

Sacred Band Infantry
Information
Introduced in	Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition - Knights of the Mediterranean
Type	Infantry Heavy infantry Ranged infantry Gunpowder trooper Musket infantry Native warrior
Age	Fortress Age
Internal name	deSacredBand
Training
Trained at	Trading Post or Tambo on a House of Phanar palace
Cost	70 Food 50 Coin 1 Population
Train time	35 seconds
Statistics
Hit points	135
Resistance	20% Hand
Speed	4.75
Line of Sight	16
Ability	Gains +0.84% hit points for every Sacred Band Infantry in an Area of Effect of 32, up to +32 hit points
Train XP	12
Kill XP	12
Ranged attack
Damage	16 Ranged
Range	14
Rate of Fire	2.0
Siege attack
Damage	21 Siege
Range	6
Rate of Fire	3.0
Hand attack
Damage	13 Hand
Rate of Fire	1.5
Bonus damage	3.0x vs. Cavalry 2.25x vs. Shock infantry

“	Revolutionary Greek musketeer that is stronger in groups. Good against cavalry.	”
—In-game description

The Sacred Band Infantry is a ranged infantry native warrior in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition - Knights of the Mediterranean that can only be obtained through the Greek Revolution ability after building a Trading Post or Tambo on a House of Phanar palace.

In-game information

“

The Sacred Band Infantry is a ranged heavy infantry. It is available in the Commerce Age at the Trading Post to anyone who has allied with the Houses of Phanar by building a Trading Post on one of their palaces. The unit can only be accessed through the Trading Post's ability "Greek Revolution" that spawns more Sacred Band Infantry the longer you wait. Compared to a Musketeer, it has less hit points and attack but higher range and reload speed. In larger groups the Sacred Band Infantry also becomes stronger.

”

Overview

The Sacred Band Infantry is a ranged heavy infantry similar to the Musketeer. It is effective against cavalry in melee combat, but vulnerable against light infantry and artillery.

They are similar to Black Brunswickers, sharing their hit points, speed, Rate of Fire, attack, and range, but use one population space and do not benefit from the Combat Promotion (they do not increase their hit points and damage for each defeated enemy military unit). Sacred Band Infantry can perform hit-and-run tactics more easily due to their higher speed, range, and faster Rate of Fire; these stats can be increased with Home City Cards or upgrades that benefit Musketeer-type units.

However, Sacred Band Infantry are not trainable, as they can only be obtained through the Greek Revolution Royal House Ability, which increases the amount of Sacred Band Infantry that can be spawned the longer the player waits before using it, which makes them very situational late-game units.

Like State Militia, Sacred Band Infantry receive a hit point bonus for every Sacred Band Infantry in an Area of Effect of 32, up to +32 hit points. In the practical sense, Sacred Band Infantry gain 1 hit point per other Sacred Band Infantry nearby.

Upgrades

The Sacred Band Infantry is automatically upgraded in the Fortress Age and Industrial Age. Unlike other units, however, its name is not changed to reflect this.

• +20% hit points and damage
• +40% hit points and damage

Age	Upgrade	Cost	Effect
Imperial Age	Legendary Native Warriors Exalted Natives	1,500 food 1,500 wood	Upgrades Sacred Band Infantry (+50% hit points and damage)

• The Legendary Native Warriors technology is available in the Capitol for European civilizations and the Mexicans, the State Capitol for the United States, and the Town Center for Asian (as Exalted Natives) and Native American civilizations.
• For African civilizations, native warriors are upgraded automatically and for free.

Further statistics

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Cavalry, shock infantry
Weak vs.	Light infantry, counter-skirmishers, artillery
Improvements
Hit points	Corselet (+25%; Spanish only) Second Guarantee (+15%; Mexicans only) Flint Lock (+10%) Cree Tanning (+5%) Gadaa System (+5%; Ethiopians only) Navajo Weaving (+5%) Tar Kilns (+5%)
Attack	Paper Cartridge (+15%) Second Guarantee (+15%; Mexicans only) Smokeless Powder (+10%) Armatoloi (+5%) Gadaa System (+5%; Ethiopians only) Yoga (+5%) Clenched Fist (+25% hand attack) Socket Bayonet (+20% hand attack)
Resistance	Somali Oryx Hide Shields (+5% ranged resistance) Hualcana (+5%; Inca only)
Speed	Cherokee War Dance (+20%) Tilly's Discipline (+20%; Germans only) Military Drummers (+10%) Quechuan Mountaineering (+10%) Akan Fontomfrom (+5%) Apache Endurance (+5%)
Line of Sight	Town Watch (+3)
Other	Yoruba Herbalism (regenerates hit points when close to a tree or Berry Bush) Meritocracy (-20% upgrade cost)
Penalties	Corselet (-15% speed; Spanish only)

Home City Cards

Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Sacred Band Infantry

Some cards are highlighted with:
Green	TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team
Red	Shipment that can be sent twice
Blue	Shipment that arrives fast (5 seconds)

Shared

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Senegalese Riflemen	Ranged infantry damage +10%; French and Hausa-only ranged infantry damage +15% instead
Native Warrior Combat	Native warrior hit points and damage +15%
Liberation March	Infantry, cavalry, and shock infantry train time -35%, speed +5%

• "TEAM Senegalese Riflemen" is available to the French and Hausa.
• "Native Warrior Combat" is available to the French, Haudenosaunee, and Inca, and also Mexicans upon revolting to the Maya, and British upon revolting to Haiti.
• "Liberation March" is available to the Mexicans and Spanish.

Asians

Card	Description	Age
Native Warrior Hitpoints	Native warrior hit points +30%, speed +10%
Native Warrior Attack	Native warrior train time -25%, damage +30%

• "Native Warrior Hitpoints" is not available to the Japanese.
• "Native Warrior Attack" is not available to the Indians.

British

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Grenadier Guards	Musket infantry and grenade trooper hit points +15%

Chinese

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Yongle Infrastructure	Delivers 1 Mongol Scout; infantry, land villager, healing unit, Envoy, and Disciple speed +5%
Western Reforms	Unit hit points and damage +8%

• "TEAM Yongle Infrastructure" does not stack with the Inca "TEAM Inca Bridges" card.

Dutch

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Infantry Hitpoints	Infantry hit points +10%; Dutch-only infantry hit points +15% instead

Ethiopians

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Coffee Consumption	Ranged infantry speed +5%
Temenyas	Gunpowder trooper damage +5%; enables Neftenya to be trained from the Commerce Age
Ignatian Spirituality	Unit (except herded animals) hit points +5%, regeneration rate +1.0 (even in combat)

Europeans

Card	Description	Age
Sevites	Maroon, native warrior, and villager hit points regeneratation rate 0.25%; Yoruba Eso Riders lose 0.35% hit points per second instead, Militiamen lose 1.9% hit points per second, and for both stops at 25% hit points
Louverture Liberation	Delivers 6 Citizens; enables Citizens to be trained at Town Centers for 70 coin; enables Fishing Boats to be trained at Docks; native warrior train limit +20%, speed +5%
Wanderlust	Land military and land villager hit points +5%; land villager and construction wagon speed +5% (can be sent 3 times)

• "Sevites" and "Louverture Liberation" are available to the British and French upon revolting to Haiti.
• "Wanderlust" is available to the British and Dutch upon revolting to South Africa.

French

Card	Description	Age
Wilderness Warfare	Coureur des Bois, Cree Coureur des Bois, native warrior, Skirmisher, and Settler hit points +20%
TEAM French Auxiliaries Combat	Native warrior hit points and damage +10%
Cult of the Supreme Being	Unit train bounty +10%, kill bounty -10%; Sansculotte gather work rate for crates +50%, Berry Bush and Cherry Orchard +25%, tree, Mango Grove, mine +20%, huntable animals, herded animals, Mill, Farm, and Estate +15%

• "Cult of the Supreme Being" is available upon revolting to Revolutionary France.

Haudenosaunee

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Scout Infantry	Delivers 1 Native Scout; infantry Line of Sight +8
Conservative Tactics	Infantry hit points and damage +10%

Hausa

Card	Description	Age
Sahelian Kingdoms	Native warrior hit points and damage +15%; mercenary and outlaw hit points and damage +10%

Inca

Card	Description	Age
Road Building	Land military speed +10%
TEAM Inca Bridges	Delivers 1 Chasqui; infantry, land villager, healing unit, and Envoy speed +5%

• "TEAM Inca Bridges" does not stack with the Chinese "TEAM Yongle Infrastructure" card.

Indians

Card	Description	Age
Dravidian Martial Arts	Unit all melee attack damage +15%; Rajput hand attack damage +20% instead, +1 Hindu Villager
TEAM Shivaji's Tactics	Unit hit points and damage +5%

Italians

Card	Description	Age
Infantry Hitpoints	Infantry hit points +15%
Schiavoni Swords	Infantry, cavalry, and shock infantry all melee attack damage +15%

Japanese

Card	Description	Age
Onin War	Infantry siege attack damage +33%
TEAM Sengoku	Unit upgrade cost -20%

Lakota

Card	Description	Age
Moccasins	Infantry speed +10%

Maltese

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Knights of the Round Table	Delivers 1 Hospitaller for each Town Center and Command Post present on the map; unit hit points +2%

Mexicans

Card	Description	Age
Plan of Tuxtepec	Transforms all Salteadores into Soldados; musket infantry Line of Sight, ranged and mortar attack range +1; costs 500 food, 500 wood
TEAM Mariachi	For the next 30 seconds, military building training and research work rate +400%, unit speed +10%
Colegio de San Nicolas	Delivers 1 Large Collection of Books (500 XP); unit Line of Sight +4; building (except Wall) Line of Sight +8; reveals enemy units' positions for 20 seconds
Bustamante	Field Hospital cost free, but does not grant build and kill bounty; enables the General to build Field Hospitals; enables Soldado to be trained at Field Hospitals; musket infantry hit points +10%
National Servant	Unit (except herded animals) hit points +10%; Padre heal work rate +200%	Imperial Age
Pok Ta Pok	Infantry train time -10%, speed +10%

• "Colegio de San Nicolas" is available upon selecting the Michoacán Federal State.
• "Bustamante" is available upon selecting the San Luis Potosí Federal State.
• "National Servant" is available upon selecting the Estado de México Federal State.
• "Pok Ta Pok" is available upon revolting to the Maya.

Portuguese

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Gunpowder Infantry Hitpoints	Gunpowder trooper hit points +15%

Russians

Card	Description	Age
Ransack	Infantry siege attack damage +50%

Spanish

Card	Description	Age
Peninsular Guerrillas	Ranged infantry damage +20%, musket infantry damage +10% instead; Skirmishers now see the Line of Sight of enemies they attacked for 3 seconds
TEAM Spanish Inquisition	Delivers 1 Inquisitor; military and economic unit Line of Sight +10

Swedes

Card	Description	Age
TEAM House of Bernadotte	Heavy infantry hit points +15%

United States

Card	Description	Age
United States Army	The General, Minuteman, and heavy infantry hit points and damage +15%

In-game dialogue

The Sacred Band Infantry speaks Greek, using the Evzone's dialogue files.

Trivia

• The Sacred Band Infantry portrait is a modified Black Brunswicker portrait.

History

“

The Houses of Phanar held considerable influence in the Ottoman Empire and the Balkans from the 16th century through the 19th century. At the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence (1821-29) Phanariot general Alexander Ypsilantis formed the first military volunteer unit of the conflict, the Sacred Band. Their dark uniforms were directly inspired by those of the Black Brunswickers, a German volunteer force that successfully fought against Napoleon's occupation. The unit's name was a reference to the Sacred Band of Thebes that was considered an elite force in Ancient Greece. Although the unit did not survive the war of independence its initiative to pick up arms inspired other Greeks to do the same.

”

Gallery

In-game Sacred Band Infantry