“ | Skirmisher with low hitpoints, but a strong attack. Good against infantry. | ” |
—In-game description |
The Volunteer is a ranged gunpowder infantry in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition that can only be obtained if the player revolts with the United States after the Volunteers shipment card has been sent. Once the Volunteers card arrives, each Fort spawns 4 Volunteers for free, and then each new Fort created will spawn 4 Volunteers as well. The unit cannot be trained; however, it is displayed on its stats that it costs 40 food and 75 coin.
This unit is exclusive to the United States, a revolutionary nation; only the French, British, Dutch and Swedes can obtain them.
Contents
Overview[edit | edit source]
Like the Skirmisher, the Volunteer has a long-ranged attack that is suited to kiting the enemy from afar. They are strong at countering and defeating heavy infantry and ranged cavalry, but highly vulnerable to melee cavalry and artillery due to their relatively low hit points and a weak melee attack. Since these units spawns freely after their shipment card has been sent, and they require Forts for that, it is hard to mass, unlike the Skirmisher. However, since the United States has the Infinite Fort shipment card (like all revolutions), it is viable to have a sizeable army of Volunteers if the player manages to have at least 5 Forts or more, and since the United States also lets the player spawn a Gatling Gun with each Fort, it is advisable to keep pairing them with Gatling Guns.
Typically, they are used to create a strong mass ranged platform to support the rest of the army. Their long range ensures they can put all their damage to bear as fast as possible and makes them easy to control while kiting. They are effective against enemy Skirmishers and other ranged infantry, but their counter-damage wards off cheaper heavy infantry attacks in melee, as well as harassment from fast ranged cavalry. When in position near enemy Settlers, their range also makes them effective at harassing them while not committing too much to a bad position should a fight occur. When fighting heavy infantry, it is advisable to take an Armory towards the time of the Industrial Age, in order to unlock Counter Infantry Rifling for an effective extra 33% attack against those units. Volunteers are capable of sieging buildings, but this is a risky strategy due to the poor positioning required to do so, along with slow speed and low siege damage. It may be better to use them defensively in support of Falconets, Gatling Guns, or Halberdiers instead.
Comparisons[edit | edit source]
Compared to the Skirmisher, Volunteers have +20 hitpoints, slighlty better movement speed, better resistance against ranged attacks, and much better attack overall. However, as they cannot be trained normally, it is in many situations better to just train regular Skirmishers (except in the case of the British, who lack Skirmishers).
Civilization differences[edit | edit source]
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Further statistics[edit | edit source]
Unit strengths and weaknesses | |
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Strong vs. | Heavy infantry, light cavalry, Eagle Runner Knights |
Weak vs. | Heavy cavalry, Coyote Runners, artillery |
Improvements | |
Hit points | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Attack | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Speed | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Sight | ![]() |
Creation speed | ![]() ![]() |
Train cost | ![]() |
Other | ![]() |
Penalties | ![]() ![]() |
Home City Cards[edit | edit source]
Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Volunteer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Green: TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team Dutch[edit | edit source]
French[edit | edit source]
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