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This article is about the unit. For the ability, see Explorer (Age of Empires III)#Special abilities.

Skirmisher with a long-ranged attack, but low hitpoints. Gains extra range per upgrade. Good against infantry.
—In-game description

The Sharpshooter is a ranged gunpowder infantry in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition that is unique to the United States and can be trained at the Barracks, Fort and Steamer. It is a Skirmisher with greater range especially as it is upgraded.

The Mexicans can train them through the Industrial Age Texan revolution.

Overview[]

The Sharpshooter is a light infantry unit that fulfills the role of the Skirmisher for the United States. It is effective against heavy infantry and light ranged cavalry, but specially weak against heavy cavalry and artillery.

Sharpshooters have almost the same statistics as Skirmishers (mainly their ranged attack, range, and Line of Sight), but cost more coin, have lower hit points, a reduced food cost, a higher attack multiplier against heavy infantry, a higher hand attack multiplier against light cavalry and ranged shock infantry, and a higher Resistance to ranged damage. Additionally, Sharpshooters can further increase their range once their are upgraded to Veteran and Guard level, or researching Schützenfest, which also increases their Line of Sight.

While they are available starting the Fortress Age, they can be trained in the Commerce Age if the player sends the "Long Rifles" Home City Card, making them a better option over the State Militia to defeat heavy infantry, particularly if the player researches Counter Infantry Rifling to increase their ranged attack multiplier. Combining Sharpshooters with artillery such as Falconets or Heavy Cannons allows them to defeat easily large groups of infantry, but should be protected from hand cavalry such as Hussars.

Unit comparison
Statistics Sharpshooter Skirmisher
Cost 40 food, 75 coin (115 total) 50 food, 65 coin (115 total)
Training time 34 sec 33 sec
Ranged attack 15 per 3 sec 15 per 3 sec
Bonus damage vs. heavy infantry 2.5x (12.5 DPS) 2x (10 DPS)
Bonus damage vs. light ranged cavalry / ranged shock infantry both 1.86x (9.3 DPS) both 1.5x (7.5 DPS)
Hit points 95 120
Ranged resistance 40% 30%
Range 21 20
Movement speed 4 4
Line of Sight 27 24

Upgrades[]

Age Upgrade Cost Effect
Veteran Sharpshooters Automatically Upgrades Sharpshooters to Veteran (+20% hit points and damage, +1 ranged attack range)
Guard Sharpshooters 600 wood
600 coin
Upgrades Sharpshooters to Guard (+30% hit points and damage, +1 ranged attack range)
Imperial Age
Imperial Age
Imperial Sharpshooters 1,500 wood
1,500 coin
Upgrades Sharpshooters to Imperial (+50% hit points and damage); requires Guard Sharpshooters

Further statistics[]

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs. Heavy infantry, light ranged cavalry, ranged shock infantry
Weak vs. Heavy cavalry, hand shock infantry, counter-skirmishers, artillery
Improvements
Hit points Flint Lock (+10%)
Cree Tanning (+5%)
Navajo Weaving (+5%)
Tar Kilns (+5%)
Attack Paper Cartridge (+15%)
Smokeless Powder (+10%)
Armatoloi (+5%)
Yoga (+5%)
Clenched Fist (+25% hand attack)
Somali Jile Daggers (-35% hand attack Rate of Fire)
Counter Infantry Rifling (+1.0 multiplier vs. heavy infantry)
Kalthoff Repeaters (+0.1 multiplier vs. light infantry)
Resistance Somali Oryx Hide Shields (+5% ranged resistance)
Speed Military Drummers (+10%)
Quechuan Mountaineering (+10%)
Akan Fontomfrom (+5%)
Apache Endurance (+5%)
Line of Sight Town Watch (+3)
Schützenfest (+1)
Range Schützenfest (+1)
Cost Mapuche Ad-mapu (-10% coin cost)
Golden Liberty (-5% coin cost)
Train time Standing Army (-25%)
Akan Fontomfrom (-20%)
Quechuan Diet (-15%)
Immigrants (-10%)
New Mexico Immigration (-10%; United States only)
Other 1st Pennsylvania Rifles (delivers 5 Sharpshooters; requires the "Philadelphia Convention" Federal Home City Card; United States only)
Jagiellonian Legacy (delivers 4 Sharpshooters if the Tennessee or Kentucky Federal State was chosen for the United States)
Meritocracy (-20% upgrade cost)

Home City Cards[]

Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Sharpshooter
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)
Shared
Card Description Age
TEAM Senegalese Riflemen Ranged infantry damage +10%; French and Hausa-only ranged infantry damage +15% instead
  • "TEAM Senegalese Riflemen" is available to the French and Hausa.
Chinese
Card Description Age
TEAM Yongle Infrastructure Delivers 1 Mongol Scout; infantry, land villager, healing unit, Envoy, and Disciple speed +5%
  • "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%
French
Card Description Age
TEAM House of Bonaparte Enables Skirmisher, Cassador, Forest Prowler, Wakina Rifle, Sharpshooter, Neftenya, Imperial Army, and Territorial Army to be trained from the Commerce Age; Bersagliere from the Fortress Age; Strelet, Jaeger, Longbowman, Salteador, Otontin Slinger, Gurkha, Yumi Archer, Jungle Bowman, and Desert Archer train time -20%; Leather Cannon train time -40%
Haudenosaunee
Card Description Age
TEAM Scout Infantry Delivers 1 Native Scout; infantry Line of Sight +8
Inca
Card Description Age
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
TEAM Shivaji's Tactics Unit hit points and damage +5%
Japanese
Card Description Age
TEAM Sengoku Unit upgrade cost -20%
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
Guerrilla Tactics Rifle infantry hit points and damage +15%; Salteadores get Big Ability Batton: if not in combat Salteadores will automatically be stealthy with no speed penalty - for a short duration
Plan of Miramare Transforms all Salteadores into Voltigeurs; rifle infantry Line of Sight, charged and ranged attack range +2; costs 750 food, 750 wood
Liberation March Infantry, cavalry, and shock infantry train time -35%, speed +5%
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
14 Sharpshooters Delivers 14 Sharpshooters
Texas Army Enables Imperial upgrades for Volunteers, Regulars, and Sharpshooters to be researched for free, but research time +400%
  • "Colegio de San Nicolás" is available upon selecting the Michoacán Federal State.
  • "National Servant" is available upon selecting the Estado de México Federal State.
  • "14 Sharpshooters" and "Texas Army" is available upon revolting to Texas.
Portuguese
Card Description Age
TEAM Gunpowder Infantry Hitpoints Gunpowder trooper hit points +15%
Spanish
Card Description Age
TEAM Spanish Inquisition Delivers 1 Inquisitor; military and economic unit Line of Sight +10
United States
Card Description Age
1st Michigan Volunteer Sharpshooters Delivers 8 Sharpshooters and 8 Cree Trackers; Cree Tracker Line of Sight +9, gets the Eagle Eye charged ability; grants Cree Warrior Societies and Champion Cree
7 Sharpshooters Delivers 7 Sharpshooters
6 Sharpshooters Delivers 6 Sharpshooters
14 Sharpshooters Delivers 14 Sharpshooters
Long Rifles State Militia and Minuteman Line of Sight and ranged attack range +4; enables Sharpshooters to be trained from the Commerce Age
Continental Rangers Rifle infantry hit points and damage +15%
Patriotism State Militia train time -45%; Regular and Sharpshooter train time -35%; Hussar and Carbine Cavalry train time -25%
Philadelphia Convention Delivers 1 Meeting House Wagon; Meeting House build limit +1; enables Pennsylvania Pound, 1st Pennsylvania Rifles, and Pennsylvania Cavalry in Meeting Houses
Indiana Mobilization Delivers 1 Carbine Cavalry for each shipment sent so far this game, including this one; unit train time, technology research time, Age up time -10%; costs 250 food, 250 wood
Kentucky Hunters Delivers 4 Owlhoots (Renegados); delivers 1 Sharpshooter for each shipment sent so far this game, including this one; costs 500 coin
  • "Philadelphia Convention" is available upon selecting the Pennsylvania Federal State.
  • "Indiana Mobilization" is available upon selecting the Indiana Federal State.
  • "Kentucky Hunters" is available upon selecting the Kentucky Federal State.

Changelog[]

Definitive Edition[]

The African Royals[]

  • With update 50830, Sharpshooters have 28 Line of Sight and 22 range.

Knights of the Mediterranean[]

  • With update 13.9057, Sharpshooters are tagged as Light Infantry.
  • With update 13.27885, Sharpshooters have 27 Line of Sight and 21 range.
  • With update 13.58326, Sharpshooters have a ×3.1 ranged multiplier against light cavalry and ranged shock infantry, ×0.6 vs. cavalry and ×0.5 vs. shock infantry.
  • With update 14.43676, the Sharpshooter image from the Compendium section was updated and shows the proper unit.

Trivia[]

History[]

As firearm technology developed, long rifles enabled a new form of fighting –– one that emphasized individual accuracy over the collective power of a musket volley. The first American sharpshooters were frontiersmen and woodsmen who learned their craft out of necessity, whether through hunting to survive or fighting off enemy raids. This model is exemplified by Hawkeye, a character in several James Fenimore Cooper novels known for his accuracy with a gun at long range. As rifle manufacturing became more standardized, large units of troops could be equipped with specific weapon types, and thus arose specialized units such as the US Sharpshooters.

Gallery[]

Military units in Age of Empires III
Common/shared units
Age of Empires III Explorer · Militiaman · Crossbowman · Pikeman · Musketeer · Halberdier · Skirmisher · Grenadier · Hussar · Dragoon · Cavalry Archer · Falconet · Culverin · Mortar · Heavy Cannon · Caravel · Galleon · Frigate · Monitor
The WarChiefs Warrior · Spy · Petard · Horse Artillery · Canoe · War Canoe · Ironclad
The Asian Dynasties/ Sentry · / Irregular
Definitive Edition*/ General · Captured Mortar · Sloop · Steamer · Battleship
The African Royals Levied Spearman · Levied Bowman · Levied Gunner · Javelin Rider · Battle Canoe · Cannon Boat
Unique units
British Longbowman · Ranger · Rocket
Dutch Ruyter · Fluyt
French Cuirassier
Germans Landwehr · Doppelsoldner · Uhlan · War Wagon
Ottomans Bashibozuk · Muhbir · Janissary · Azap · Nizam Fusilier · Abus Gunner · Humbaraci · Deli · Sipahi · Great Bombard · Galley
Portuguese Ordinance Rifleman · Cassador · Organ Gun
Russians Strelet · Rekrut · Poruchik · Cossack · Oprichnik
Spanish Rodelero · Lancer
Aztecs Aztec War Chief · Eagle Scout · Warrior Priest · Coyote Runner · Otontin Slinger · Puma Spearman · Arrow Knight · Eagle Runner Knight · Jaguar Prowl Knight · Skull Knight · Tlaloc Canoe
Haudenosaunee Haudenosaunee War Chief · Aenna · Tomahawk · Forest Prowler · Kanya Horseman · Musket Rider · Ram · Mantlet · Light Cannon
Lakota Lakota War Chief · Cetan Bowman · Club Warrior · Wakina Rifle · Axe Rider · Bow Rider · Rifle Rider · Tashunke Prowler · Tokala Soldier
Chinese Shaolin Master · Disciple · 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
Indians Brahmin · Rajput · Sepoy · Gurkha · Urumi Swordsman · Sowar · Zamburak · Mahout Lancer · Howdah · Flail Elephant · Siege Elephant
Japanese Sohei Archer · Yumi Archer · Ashigaru Musketeer · Samurai · Naginata Rider · Yabusame · Flaming Arrow · Morutaru · Daimyo · Shogun Tokugawa · Yamabushi · Shinobi · Fune · Atakebune · Tekkousen
Inca Inca War Chief · Chasqui · Jungle Bowman · Plumed Spearman · Chimu Runner · Bolas Warrior · Huaraca · Maceman · Chincha Raft
Swedes Carolean · Hakkapelit · Leather Cannon
United States Minuteman · State Militia · Regular · Sharpshooter · Gunslinger · Cowboy · Owlhoot · Carbine Cavalry · Gatling Gun · Quaker Gun
Ethiopians Ras · Oromo Warrior · Gascenya · Neftenya · Shotel Warrior · Sebastopol Mortar · War Dhow
Hausa Emir · Fulani Archer · Raider · Lifidi Knight · Maigadi · Xebec
Mexicans Padre · Insurgente · Soldado · Salteador · Desperado · Cuatrero · Bandido · Chinaco
Italians Pavisier · Bersagliere · Papal Guard · Schiavone · Papal Zouave · Papal Lancer · Papal Bombard · Leonardo's Tank · Galleass
Maltese Grand Master · Hospitaller · Sentinel · Fire Thrower · Order Galley · Fire Ship
Revolution
Barbary Warrior · Bolivar · Californio · Cetbang Cannon · Corsair Captain · Cruzob Avenger · Cruzob Infantry · Cuerudo · Eclaireur · Filibuster · Gatling Gun · Gaucho · Jagunço · Javanese Spearman · Llanero · Militia Officer · Morochuco · Mounted Granadero · Revolutionary · Revolutionary Sharpshooter · San Martin · Trek Wagon