| This article is about the unit in Age of Empires III. For the similar unit in Age of Empires II, see Skirmisher (Age of Empires II). |
"Skirmisher with low hitpoints, but a long-ranged attack. Good against infantry."
—In-game description
The Skirmisher is a ranged gunpowder infantry in Age of Empires III that can be trained at Barracks, Fort, and Galleon/Fluyt once the Fortress Age is reached.
Skirmishers are available to European civilizations except British, Knights of St. John (Act I: Blood campaign), Ottomans, Portuguese (who have Cassadores instead), and Russians (who have Streltsy instead).
Overview 
Edit
Skirmishers are strong at countering and defeating heavy infantry and light cavalry with their long-ranged attack, but highly vulnerable to cavalry and artillery due to their low hit points.
Spanish Unction-boosted Skirmishers will inflict 54.675 damage before multipliers with all attack upgrades that do not require an ally, or minor native upgrade.
Strategy Edit
On maps featuring the Cherokee or Klamath, it is possible for civilizations lacking Skirmisher-type units to gain them in the Colonial Age. The Cherokee Rifleman and Klamath Rifleman are comparable to Fortress Age skirmishers but with much higher hitpoints. Cherokee Riflemen get a +20% speed upgrade (applies to native warriors), Klamath Riflemen have +25% damage (applies only to their rifles).
Upgrades Edit
The Skirmisher is automatically upgraded to Veteran (+20% hit points and attack) at the Fortress Age.
| Age | Improvement | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
 |  | 600 wood, 600 coin | Upgrades Skirmishers to Guard (+30% hit points and attack) |
 |  | 1,500 wood, 1,500 coin | Upgrades Skirmishers to Imperial (+50% hit points and attack); requires Guard Skirmisher |
French Edit
| Age | Improvement | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| | 1,000 wood, 1,000 coin | Upgrades Skirmishers to Voltigeurs (Guard Skirmishers with +10% hit points and attack) |
| | 1,500 wood, 1,500 coin | Upgrades Voltigeurs to Imperial (+50% hit points and attack); requires Voltigeurs |
Germans Edit
| Age | Improvement | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| | 1,000 wood, 1,000 coin | Upgrades Skirmishers to Needle Gunners (Guard Skirmishers with +10% hit points and attack) |
| | 1,500 wood, 1,500 coin | Upgrades Needle Gunners to Imperial Needlers (+50% hit points and attack); requires Prussian Needle Gun |
Civilization differences Edit
- As seen above, French and Germans can upgrade Skirmishers to Royal Guard and Imperial Guard levels.
- While the British cannot train Skirmishers, they can ship 26 Guard Skirmishers through Roger's Rangers.
- Dutch Skirmishers can be trained in the Colonial Age.
- Chinese and Indians can get Skirmishers by allying with British and Germans at the Consulate, which provides armies and shipments that includes Skirmishers (named Roger's Ranger for the British, Prussian Needle Gun for the Germans) listed below. These Skirmishers start with +10% hit points and attack than their regular counterpart, and are automatically upgraded in every Age starting from the Fortress Age (see here for the exact values).
- British (Chinese and Indians): British Brigade (16 Skirmishers)
- Germans (Chinese, requires a level 40 Home City): German Expeditionary Force (6 Skirmishers), German Expeditionary Army (11 Skirmishers), and German Brigade (15 Skirmishers)
Further statistics Edit
As the Skirmisher can only be trained by Dutch, French, Germans, and Spanish, only improvements available to them (including the campaign-only John Black's Mercenaries and United States, the British who can ship a limited number of Skirmishers, and native improvements) are listed here.
Home City Cards Edit
As the Skirmisher is exclusive to Dutch, French, Germans, and Spanish, only other civilizations' TEAM cards that affects them are listed here.
Since the British can ship a limited number of Skirmishers but cannot train them otherwise, British cards that affects Skirmishers are included as well.
| Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Skirmisher | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Green: TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team Dutch
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| Card | Description | Age | Home City level |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Pikemen, Skirmishers, and Halberdiers get +15% attack |  | 10 |
 | Infantry gets +15% hit points | | 10 |
 | Pikemen, Skirmishers, and Halberdiers get +15% hit points and attack |  | 25 |
Europeans Edit
| Card | Description | Age | Home City level |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Ships 7 Skirmishers (also +3 Uhlans for the Germans) | | 1 |
 | Ships 9 Skirmishers (also +4 Uhlans for the Germans) |  | 1 |
 | Ships 8 Skirmishers (also +3 Uhlans for the Germans) | | 10 |
 | Ships 12 Skirmishers (also +4 Uhlans for the Germans) | | 10 |
 | Ships 14 Skirmishers (also +4 Uhlans for the Germans) | | 25 |
 | Infantry train time -40% | | 10 |
- The 7 Skirmishers, 9 Skirmishers, and 8 Skirmishers cards are not available to the Spanish.
- The 12 Skirmishers card is not available to Dutch and Spanish.
- The 14 Skirmishers card is not available to Germans and Spanish.
French Edit
| Card | Description | Age | Home City level |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Crossbowmen and Skirmishers get +15% hit points | | 10 |
 | Ranged infantry gets +15% attack | | 10 |
 | Skirmishers, Cassadores, Forest Prowlers, Wakina Rifles, and Black Flag Army can be trained in the Colonial Age; Longbowman, Strelet, Macehualtin, Gurkha, and Yumi Archer train time -20% | | 25 |
Germans Edit
| Card | Description | Age | Home City level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crossbowmen and Skirmishers get +15% hit points +4 Uhlans | | 1 |
Indians Edit
| Card | Description | Age | Home City level |
|---|---|---|---|
 | All units get +5% hit points and attack | | 25 |
Iroquois Edit
| Card | Description | Age | Home City level |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Infantry gets +8 LOS | | 10 |
Japanese Edit
| Card | Description | Age | Home City level |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Unit upgrades cost -20% | | 1 |
Portuguese Edit
| Card | Description | Age | Home City level |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Gunpowder infantry gets +15% hit points | | 10 |
Russians Edit
| Card | Description | Age | Home City level |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Infantry train time -25%; banner army train time -12% | | 25 |
Spanish Edit
| Card | Description | Age | Home City level |
|---|---|---|---|
 | All units get +10 LOS |  | 10 |
Trivia Edit
- French Royal Guard Skirmishers are named after the Voltigeurs.
- German Royal Guard and Consulate Skirmishers are named after the Dreyse needle gun they use.
History Edit
"Skirmishers were lightly armed and armored riflemen who used their speed to move quickly about the battlefield and perform a number of military roles. They defended flanks, helped artillerymen with cannon, dragged wounded soldiers off of the battlefield, and performed hit-and-run attacks on advancing enemy armies. Napoleonic-era skirmishers were effective against rigid ranks of musketeers because the fire of musketeers was less effective on the loose, informal skirmisher lines.
Many skirmishers in the nineteenth century were armed with rifles; the range and accuracy of these weapons made skirmishers dangerous enemies. Early rifles could only be fired once every minute or two, though later breechloading and repeating models could fire much more rapidly. One model fired so fast, a commander ordered his men to focus their fire on a single enemy skirmisher so that they could recover his rifle to examine it."
Gallery Edit
See alsoEdit
- Cassador – Portuguese counterpart
- Forest Prowler – Iroquois counterpart
- Wakina Rifle – Sioux counterpart
- Arquebusier – Chinese counterpart
- Gurkha – Indian counterpart
