Hand Cannoneer

Overview

A late-game ranged infantry unit with strong attacks against foot soldiers.

Availability and investment

Hand Cannoneer becomes available in Imperial Age. Its listed production context is Archery Range. The listed cost is 45 Food, 50 Gold and the training time is 34 seconds. This tells you when it can first join an army and which resources must be reserved alongside Villager production, upgrades, and other military lines.

Combat profile

The available combat values are included here so the numbers can be read as a profile rather than an isolated list. Hit points and armor describe how long the unit can remain exposed; attack and any bonus damage describe what it threatens; range, reload, accuracy, and movement describe how reliably it can engage or disengage. A value shown for a whole upgrade line applies to the listed stages as recorded, so compare the stage names instead of treating the line as one base unit.

• Ranged attack: 17
• Hit points: 40
• Melee armor: 1
• Pierce armor: 0
• Ranged attack: 17
• Range: 7
• Line of sight: 9
• Reload time: 3.45 seconds
• Movement speed: 0.96
• Accuracy: 75%

Field use

Preserve space between this unit and melee attackers so it can keep firing. Pair it with a screen, focus fire on reachable targets, and avoid letting a faster force surround it.

Armor classes and counters

Armor-class bonuses are separate from base attack and the target’s melee or pierce armor. The class list below shows the unit’s documented combat categories and bonus-damage relationships; use it to judge matchups instead of relying on the unit label alone.

• Armor class: Archer
• Armor class: Gunpowder unit
• Armor class: Condottiero
• Hand Cannoneer deals +10 bonus damage to units in the Infantry class
• Hand Cannoneer deals +1 bonus damage to units in the Spearman class
• Hand Cannoneer deals +2 bonus damage to units in the Ram class

Related unit plan: Hand Cannoneer infantry-punish volley

Hand Cannoneer: Hand Cannoneers deliver heavy shots against infantry but fire slowly and become less reliable at long range. Their strongest use is a protected firing position where large or nearby targets cannot evade repeated volleys Place them behind a frontline and let infantry or cavalry screen the approach. Focus on infantry as it commits, and reposition when the opponent backs away beyond effective firing distance. Use a separate siege answer for long-range threats rather than asking the Hand Cannoneers to duel from afar Cavalry, Skirmishers, and long-range siege can punish the gunpowder line. Keep it away from Onager fire and do not leave it unsupported against a fast flank