Strelets are the Russian meat-shield and anti-infantry unit. They are weak, but cheap infantry, making them useful for rushing opponents in the Commerce Age, however, the Strelets are weaker than other infantry units (they are the weakest and cheapest infantry). The player can get the original cost if Strelets are trained from Forts or Galleons. Strelets are cost-effective, and even more after using cards that upgrade them.
Strelets maintain effectiveness through all ages in the game when properly upgraded with the "Boyars" and "Strelet Combat" Home City Cards. They can be further upgraded at the Arsenal with Counter Infantry Rifling, and even further with the use of Advanced Arsenal. They combine well with Cavalry Archers, which are effective against both cavalry and artillery, essentially covering one another's weaknesses. Massing Strelets is easy, with both large shipments and batch training, and can be used to grind down an enemy's economy by sheer cost effectiveness.
Strelets are useful to outnumber enemies and take down heavy infantry. Strelets are also easy to mass, since each queue will train a group of 10 Strelets. It is advised to add the cards that upgrade the Strelets in the player's deck, though they still remain weak when compared to other light infantry. But once they are properly upgraded with all the cards, arsenal upgrades, and barracks upgrades, the player will end up with a very cost-effective anti-infantry unit (Skirmisher). Strelets are very good in team games, as civilizations that can boost Strelets (TEAM cards) will make them even more powerful. Strelets costs 53% less resources than Musketeers, which means a Musketeer essentially equals to two Strelets. Strelets, when buffed, deal 23 damage and have 3x multipliers to heavy infantry. Strelets are a good choice against nations that rely on gunpowder heavy infantry, but they are extremely susceptible to cavalry or artillery-based strategies/civilizations.
Even though historically Streltsy got meager payments from the cash-strapped Russian government, and therefore must farm and trade to supplement their income, Streltsy were not at all ubiquitous and on many occasions, proved themselves to be very efficient fighters, quite unlike their in-game depiction as weak, cheap, and easily massable rookies.
Strelets (technically "streltsy" in Russian, because "strelets" is singular) were a Russian light infantry formed in the mid-sixteenth century by Tsar Ivan IV, and were Russia's first permanent standing infantry. They received a salary, a plot of land, and allotments of food and drink. This pay was rather meager, and strelets often found it necessary to supplement their income. An elite group of mounted strelets were the tsar's bodyguard and passed service to the tsar to their sons. The only way a man could become a member of this elite body was by birth.
The word strelet is derived from the Russian word for arrow, strela, and while it once referred to archers, over time it came to refer to the Russian ranged infantry in general. Strelets carried heavy, unwieldy firearms, sabers, and two-handed axes. These axes had a sharp point that could be shoved into the ground to provide a rest for cumbersome strelet muskets.
Veteran Strelets
Guard Strelets
Imperial Strelets
Flint Lock (+10%)
Cree Tanning (+5%)
Navajo Weaving (+5%)
Counter Infantry Rifling (+1x multiplier vs. heavy infantry)
Paper Cartridge (+15%)
Iroquois Lacrosse (+10%, vanilla Age of Empires III only)
Yoga (+5%)
Smokeless Powder (+30% siege attack)
Clenched Fist (+30% melee attack)
Military Drummers (+10%)
Incan Road-building (+20%)
Apache Endurance (+5%)
Town Watch (+2)
Standing Army (-25%)
Incan Chasquis Messengers (-25%)
Westernization (grants Veteran upgrade)
Petrine Reforms (grants Guard upgrade)
Meritocracy (-20% upgrade cost)
