Age of Empires III Definitive Edition How to Counter and Identify Units

Explanations & Rules of thumb about the tag-based counter system, covering exceptions and exotic units.

Preambule

Work in Progress:

Opmerking: Most important aspects should be covered already, however it should be stated that:

Not Covered yet / To do:

• Resistances in various Stances
• Charged Attacks / Variing speed Attacks
• “Exotic” Units in detail (Own section)
• Most noteable “non-exotic” Units in detail (Own section)
• Outlaw Units (will be implemented in existing sections)
• Revolutionary Units (will be implemented in existing sections)

If you have any questions, suggesties, critics or found any mistakes, especially forgotten exceptions not mentioned above, please make liberal use of the comment section!

Invoering

I think its quite easy being said that one of AoE III greatest features and biggest bane is its continously growing variety of more or less unique units. (~200 I think)

Especially with the last update of October making anti-intuitive units easier accessable – this guide is proposed to aid new as experienced players to easier get along zonder knowing every single unit.

Assuming you are not able to completely out-micro, out-number, or out-tech your enemy, which will be the vast majority of the time, you will have to bother about what type of unit is best against what other type.

In AoE III units are defined by tags and so are most of their strenghs and weaknesses.
Labels are important, since most Units deal extra damage naar specific tagged eenheden.
Crossbowmen en Skrimishers deal extra damage (1.25 naar 3 keer) naar Heavy Infantry en (2.0 keer) Lichte cavalerie Bijvoorbeeld.

From all unit tags zoals:

Infantry, Light Infantry, Heavy Infantry, Ranged infantry, Musket Infantry, Archaic Infantry, Cavalerie, Zware cavalerie, Siege Units, Artilery, Native Units, Mercinaries,… – I could continue this further but I think you agree that there are many of them.

Not all Labels are equally important. In werkelijkheid, you actually don’t ultimately have to bother too much with them, since there are some simple rules to easly see (by klicking on the Unit) what it is strong and what it is weak against.

Voorbeeld (1)
In the tool tipp below you can see primary stats like
Gezondheid, Schade, Attackspeed, Movementspeed;

But also:

Resistance: Blue Bracket
Schade & Damage Types: Red Brackets
Range: Yellow Bracket
Vermenigvuldigers: Rosa Brackets

This Musketeer for example got: Melee Resistance, Ranged Attack met no multipliers,
Siege Attack (Only usable vs buildings) met no multipliers en Melee Attack met [3x VS Cavalry] en [2.25 VS Shock-Infantry] multipliers.

Trouwens: You don’t need to know the symbols – simple mouse-over will tell you the meaning.

While being self tagged as:

(You can get this window by mouse-over the portrait of the previous tooltip screen)

Here we can see it is:
–Infantry
–Ranged Infantry
–Heavy Infantry

What does it mean?

• With its Melee-Resistance Het should perform well against all units that deal Melee-Damage.
• Zijn Ranged Attack got no multipliers – so that is neither especially good or bad.
• Zijn Melee-Attack however got 2 different multipliers: 3x Cavalry – meaning it will deal
  3 times the damage to every unit tagged as Cavalerie en 2.25 keer the damage against as Shock Infantry tagged units.

So this is a unit that should do well against Cavalerie en Shock Infantry in Melee – since it takes less Melee Damage and deals more to this type of units.
While on range it is more allround.

Opmerking: Shock Infantry looks like Infantry but is technically not tagged as such, which fulfills the role of (mostly) Zware cavalerie – and is usually also treated alike by other units -> Artillerie deals less damage naar Cavalerie & Shock Infantry and so on. Shock Infantry is typical for Native American factions but in particular for the Aztec as they lack any type of classic Cavalerie

Rules for easier identification of Tags & Unit-Types

Sommige Basic-Rules

• If it got a afstandsaanval – it is its primary attack.
• If it got a afstandsaanval it deals ranged damage with its afstandsaanval.
• If it got melee attack it deals melee damage with its melee attack

Sommige other Rules

• If it got a piky end (speers, bajonets, zwaarden…) – It is Heavy Infantry of Zware cavalerie
• Als het shoots arrows – het is Light Infantry of Lichte cavalerie
• If it got a musket and is mounted – Zijn Lichte cavalerie

Opmerking: The Rules above are not reverse applicable (there is some Heavy Infantry zonder piky ends) and can only be applied for units in their standard stance, Longbowmen for example use swords if forced or set to melee stance but are still Light Infantry

Furthermore regarding Infantry:

• If it is alleen fighting in Mêlee het is Heavy Infantry of Shock Infantry and countered by Heavy Ranged Infantry but not only.
• If it got Melee Resistance het is Heavy Infantry
• If it got Ranged Resistance het is Light Infantry

For exceptions see the “Systematics of Units” section below.

Basic Counter-System: Steen, Paper, Scissors

In AoE III we got a fairly complex counter-system, consisting of many different types of units countering other units, what makes it sometimes possibly counter even mixed armies with a single type of unit.

However there are some rules applicable most of the time:

Rough Counter-Rules:

• Infantry doden Cavalerie (neglecting light infantry like Bowmen & light Cavalry)
• Cavalerie doden Artillerie
• Artillerie doden Infantry (neglecting some exotic units)

A little bit less rough Counter-Rules:

• Light Infantry doden Lichte cavalerie & Heavy Infantry
• Heavy Infantry doden Zware cavalerie & Heavy Infantry
• Lichte cavalerie doden Zware cavalerie & Artillerie
• Zware cavalerie doden Light Infantry & Artillerie
• Artillerie doden Light Infanrty & Heavy Infantry

Systematics of Units

Infantry

• Exceptions(1) Urumi (Alleen Infantry neither Licht- or Heavy)
• Heavy Infantry
  • Aanval: Ranged and/or Melee
    • Exceptions(1): Inquistor(Siege Damage on quasi Melee Attack)
  • Amor: Only Melee
    • Exceptions(5): Carolean(Bereikt), Pauselijke Garde(Bereikt), Nizam-Fuslier(Siege), Yamabushi(Bereikt), Desert Warrior(Switching)
      Opmerking: De Carolean starts like a normal musketeer with Melee Amor and switches it only once and irrevesible to Bereikt after the age IV homecity card: “Svea Lifeguard” is sent.
• Light Infantry
  • Aanval: Only Ranged
    • Exceptions(2): Sudanese Dervish(Melee on range), Dhaomey Amazon(Melee on range)
  • Amor: Only Ranged
    • Exceptions(4): Arrow-Knight(Siege), Huraca(Siege), Darood(Siege), Pavisier(Switching)
• Shock Infantry
  • Aanval: Only Melee
    Exceptions(1): Eagle-Runner Knight
  • Amor: Only Ranged
    • Exceptions (0): none

Opmerking: Despite being here listed under “Infantry”, the tag Shock Infantry is mutually exclusive met Infantry and in general far more similiar naar Cavalerie

Cavalerie

• Zware cavalerie
  • Aanval: Only Melee
    • Exceptions(1): Yojimbo
  • Amor: Only Ranged
    • Exceptions (2): Sennar Horseman, Lifidi-Knight
• Lichte cavalerie

• • Aanval: Only Ranged
    • Exceptions (1): Berber Camel Rider
  • Amor: Majority Ranged
    • Exceptions (7): Cavalry Archer, War Wagon, Bow Rider, Black Rider, Manchu, Berber Camel Rider, Comanche Horse Archer

So in total out of ~200 units there are only ~24 “weird” combinations of Labels, Resistances en Attack Types