Shock infantry

Light infantry refers to two different types of units depending on whether referring to Age of Empires III or the expansions The WarChiefs and The Asian Dynasties.

Age of Empires III

In Age of Empires III, all ranged infantry units that counter heavy infantry and light cavalry with their ranged attacks are considered light infantry. There is no unit in Age of Empires III that has a direct attack bonus against light infantry, but they are still easily countered by artillery and melee cavalry (heavy), and some heavy infantry in melee mode. That is because light infantry units share a similar set of statistic values such as low hit points, low hand attack and ranged resistance, which makes them vulnerable to melee and siege units. The exception being the Cherokee Rifleman. Examples of light infantry units in Age of Empires III are:

• Skirmisher
• Strelet
• Cassador
• Longbowman
• Crossbowman
• Abus Gun
• Jaeger
• Cherokee Rifleman
• Tupi Blackwood Archer
• Seminole Sharktooth Bowman
• Carib Blowgunner
• Inca Bolas Warrior

The WarChiefs

In the first expansion, the definition of light infantry changes drastically. In The WarChiefs, Light Infantry constitutes a small set of foot units that emulate cavalry (which Aztecs do not have, for historical reasons) thanks to their high speed and ranged resistance. Therefore, light infantry are countered by heavy infantry and are good against artillery.

The units formerly tagged as light infantry are no longer considered as such and do not possess the tag anymore, being tagged as just Infantry and Ranged Infantry; they're differentiated from the Musketeer-type of units by the Heavy Infantry tag they do not have.

The only light infantry units in the first expansion are:

• Coyote Runner
• Eagle Runner Knight

Coyote Runners are a substitute unit type for hand cavalry, so they are also countered by ranged cavalry. Eagle Runner Knights are a substitute unit type for ranged cavalry, so they are also countered by Skirmisher-type and Archer-type units.

The Asian Dynasties

The second expansion continues to use the light infantry definition from The WarChiefs, and adds three new melee units.

The complete list of light infantry units in The Asian Dynasties is:

• Coyote Runner
• Eagle Runner Knight
• Tiger Claw (unique among the Light Infantry units, Tiger Claws have the Infantry tag)
• Rattan Shield
• Disciple (tagged as a Coyote Runner by the game, and therefore vulnerable to ranged cavalry).

Definitive Edition

Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition continues to use the definition of light infantry from The Warchiefs and The Asian Dynasties, but renamed them to shock infantry, to end the confusion that some players made between Skirmisher-type and Archer-type units, and units like the Coyote Runner. It also added three new shock infantry units, the Chasqui, the Chimu Runner, and the Shotel Warrior, all tagged as Coyote Runners.

With update 13088, the CoyoteMan tag was altered to display as "Hand Shock Infantry" in the UI and was retroactively applied to the Tiger Claw and the Rattan Shield, while the Tiger Claw had its Infantry tag removed.

The complete list of shock infantry units in the Definitive Edition is:

• Coyote Runner (Hand Shock Infantry)
• Eagle Runner Knight
• Tiger Claw (Hand Shock Infantry)
• Rattan Shield (Hand Shock Infantry)
• Disciple (Hand Shock Infantry)
• Chasqui (Hand Shock Infantry)
• Chimu Runner (Hand Shock Infantry)
• Shotel Warrior (Hand Shock Infantry)

The Eagle Runner Knight is the only Shock Infantry unit in the game that is not also Hand Shock Infantry.

Leftover Units

Additionally, because of an apparent oversight from the developers, in The WarChiefs, The Asian Dynasties, and the Definitive Edition, some units keep both the Infantry and Light Infantry tags from Age of Empires III, making them vulnerable to both counter-infantry and counter-cavalry units.

• Cherokee Archer
• Aztec Eagle Warrior
• Native Boy

This oversight is probably due to them appearing only in the campaign (and in treasures for the Aztec Eagle Warrior).