"Light infantry with low hitpoints, but a long-ranged attack. Good against infantry."—In-game description
The Wakina Rifle is a gunpowder ranged infantry in Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs that is unique to the Sioux and can be trained at the War Hut once the Fortress Age is reached.
Overview 
Edit
The Wakina Rifle is a Skirmisher with relatively few hit points and a poor melee attack. However, it has a powerful ranged attack, albeit at slightly shorter range than other skirmishers, but still has 24 Line of Sight. They maintain the regular multipliers against heavy infantry and light cavalry, making it a critical part of a Sioux army. Wakina Rifles are especially vulnerable to cavalry and artillery due to their very low hit points.
Despite the unfavourable comparison to European Skirmishers, Wakinas are more able to hit and run very effectively. With the Warchief aura and/or the Wind Runner shipment they become much more mobile than most other infantry, further increasing their potential to avoid taking damage.
Wakina Rifles should be combined with the Sioux's powerful cavalry units to get the most out of them. For example, they supplement the more expensive Rifle Riders against heavy infantry and allow them to focus on taking out heavy cavalry and artillery instead. Axe Riders or Dog Soldiers can take down enemy skirmishers (as well as artillery). Wakina Rifles can then focus down any ranged cavalry and provide long-range support.
Wakina Rifles also have the advantage of being cheaper than most other ranged infantry (notably, 40 coin compared to the 65 for a European skirmisher), which is useful due to the high expense of cavalry units. Wakina Rifles can be massed in large numbers using shipments (especially in the Industrial Age), allowing a player to field a huge number of them quite quickly. Unlike the other units from the War Hut, War Club and the Cetan Bow, the Wakina Rifle costs food and coin.
Upgrades Edit
The Wakina Rifle is automatically upgraded to Elite (+25% hit points and attack) at the Fortress Age.
| Age | Upgrade | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
 |  Champion Wakina Rifles
| 400 wood, 200 coin | Upgrades Wakina Rifles to Champion (+25% hit points and attack) |
 |  Legendary Wakina Rifles
| 1,500 wood, 1,500 coin | Upgrades Wakina Rifles to Legendary (+50% hit points and attack); requires Champion Wakina Rifles |
Campaign appearances Edit
The Wakina Rifle appears in Act I: Fire as Seneca and Mohawk soldiers. They later appear in Act II: Shadow as Sioux soldiers, especially in the first part of the scenario Turning Point, where they keep harassing Holme's Settlers.
Further statistics Edit
As Wakina Rifles are unique to the Sioux, only technologies that they have access to are shown in the following table:
| Unit strengths and weaknesses | |
|---|---|
| Strong vs. | Heavy infantry, light cavalry, Eagle Runner Knights |
| Weak vs. | Heavy cavalry, Coyote Runners, artillery |
| Improvements | |
| Hit points |  Cree Tanning (+5%) Navajo Weaving (+5%)
|
| Attack |  Gun Trade (+25%) Counter Infantry Rifling (+0.75x multiplier vs. heavy infantry) Yoga (+5%) Smokeless Powder (+30% siege attack) Clenched Fist (+30% melee attack)
|
| Speed |  Incan Road-building (+20%) Apache Endurance (+5%)
|
| Creation speed |  War Drums (-25%) Incan Chasquis Messengers (-25%)
|
| Train cost |  Mapuche Ad-mapu (-10% coin cost)
|
| Other |  Meritocracy (-20% upgrade cost)
|
Home City Cards Edit
As Wakina Rifles are unique to the Sioux, only their cards and other civilizations' TEAM cards are shown in the following tables:
| Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Wakina Rifle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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|
Green: TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team Dutch
|
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 TEAM Infantry Hitpoints
| Infantry gets +15% hit points |  | 10 |
French Edit
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 TEAM Ranged Infantry Attack
| Ranged infantry gets +15% attack |  | 10 |
 TEAM Early Skirmishers
| 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 |
Indians Edit
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 TEAM Shivaji's Tactics
| All units get +5% hit points and attack | | 25 |
Iroquois Edit
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 TEAM Scout Infantry
| Infantry gets +8 LOS | | 10 |
Japanese Edit
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 TEAM Cheaper Unit Upgrades
| Unit upgrades cost -20% | | 1 |
Portuguese Edit
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 TEAM Gunpowder Infantry Hitpoints
| Gunpowder infantry get +15% hit points | | 10 |
Russians Edit
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 TEAM Dueling School
| Infantry train time -25%; banner army train time -12% | | 25 |
Sioux Edit
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 Uprising
| Ships 7 Cetan Bows, 7 War Clubs, and 7 Wakina Rifles | | 40 |
 9 Wakina Rifles
| Ships 9 Wakina Rifles | | 1 |
 16 Wakina Rifles
| Ships 16 Wakina Rifles | | 10 |
 18 Wakina Rifles
| Ships 18 Wakina Rifles | | 25 |
 Wind Runner
| Infantry gets +10% speed | | 10 |
 Aggressive Policy
| Cetan Bows, War Clubs, and Wakina Rifles can build Teepees, War Huts, and Corrals | | 25 |
 Hunkpapa Support
| Ships 16 Wakina Rifles and 2 War Hut Travois; costs 1,000 coin | | 10 |
 Two Kettle Support
| Ships 14 Wakina Rifles and Wakina Rifles get +20% hit points; costs 1,000 coin | | 25 |
Spanish Edit
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 TEAM Inquisition
| All units get +10 LOS | | 10 |
History Edit
"Sometimes the Sioux had to fight on foot. It is not always possible to run someone down with your horse. On these occasions, they fought tenaciously and well. In general, the Sioux were known for their keen accuracy with their rifles."
Gallery Edit
In other languages Edit
Spanish: Rifle Wakina
