Carbine Cavalry
Carbine Cavalry is United States, USR (revolutionary) ranged cavalry in Age of Empires III, available from the Fortress Age; obtained through Stable, Fort, Steamer.
Recorded values
- Available
- Fortress Age · Stable; Fort; Steamer
- Training
- 37 sec · 2 population · 16 XP per train
- Durability & mobility
- 180 hit points · 10% ranged resistance · 7.25 speed · 16 line of sight
- Hand attack
- 12 damage · 1.5 attack interval · bonuses: 3.0x vs. Heavy cavalry; 2.25x vs. Hand shock trooper; 2.0x vs. Artillery
- Ranged attack
- 19 damage · 12 range · 2.5 attack interval · bonuses: 3.0x vs. Heavy cavalry; 2.25x vs. Hand shock trooper; 2.0x vs. Artillery; 0.5x vs. Villager
- Siege attack
- 9.25 damage · 6 range · 3.0 attack interval
Role, availability & values
Production is available through Stable, Fort, or Steamer. It has 180 hit points and 10% ranged resistance. It moves at 7.25 speed and uses 2 population. Training costs 80 Food and 80 Coin; it takes 37 seconds to train. Attack profile: Hand attack deals 12 damage. Ranged attack deals 19 damage. Siege attack deals 9.25 damage. Hand attack bonuses: 3.0× against Heavy cavalry, 2.25× against Hand shock trooper, and 2.0× against Artillery. Ranged attack bonuses: 3.0× against Heavy cavalry, 2.25× against Hand shock trooper, 2.0× against Artillery, and 0.5× against Villager.
Matchup & timing
Carbine Cavalry is a Fortress Age ranged-cavalry option for the United States and its recorded revolutionary roster. It costs 80 Food and 80 Coin, uses two population and takes 37 seconds to train from a Stable, Fort or Steamer. Its hand and ranged attacks both carry listed bonuses against Heavy Cavalry, Hand shock troops and Artillery, while the ranged attack has only a 0.5× modifier against Villagers. Keep it at firing distance to damage those military targets, and let a screen prevent melee units from exploiting its 180 hit points and 10% ranged resistance. Do not send it to raid workers expecting the same efficiency as it has against its named counter classes.
The United States answer to heavy cavalry
Carbine Cavalry replaces the Dragoon for the United States in Definitive Edition. It is normally available in the Fortress Age from a Stable, Fort or Steamer, costs 80 Food and 80 Coin, takes 37 seconds to train and uses two population. A unit has 180 hit points, 10% ranged resistance, speed 7.25 and line of sight 16. Its carbine attack deals 19 damage at range 12 every 2.5 seconds, with a 3.0 multiplier against Heavy Cavalry, 2.25 against hand Shock Troops and 2.0 against Artillery. It deals half damage to Villagers. In hand combat its 12 damage attack fires every 1.5 seconds and has the same listed bonuses against Heavy Cavalry, hand Shock Troops and Artillery. A 9.25 siege attack at range 6 is not its main contribution. The carbine’s quick successive shots produce a different rhythm from the Dragoon’s slower, heavier pistol fire. Its faster firing rate and high multipliers make it a dedicated mounted counter to heavy cavalry and a way to threaten exposed artillery. Its relatively low hit points and 10% ranged resistance make it fragile if caught by Heavy Infantry or light infantry, which are listed counters. Keep it moving on the flank, fire into the intended target, and withdraw before melee units pin it down. It is not a durable cavalry frontline and should not trade shots with a protected infantry mass simply because it can attack at range. The Veteran upgrade is automatic in the Fortress Age and adds 20% hit points and damage plus one ranged attack range. Guard Carbine Cavalry costs 600 Wood and 600 Coin for +30% hit points and damage; Imperial costs 1,500 of each for +50% and requires Guard. A revolutionary United States can use Lee’s Continental Light Dragoons shipment to deliver Carbine Cavalry and convert existing Dragoons, Ruyters or Hakkapelits according to the shipment rules. That access is tied to the Home City card, not universal Stable production for every civilization. The Dutch revolution has its own additional Veteran upgrade, and the Italian Carabinieri card creates a related but distinct route with outlaw and mercenary bonuses. Do not conflate those civilization-specific effects with the standard United States unit. A two-population cost means Carbine Cavalry compete with other mobile units and use population quickly when massed. The 80/80 resource mix is more balanced than an all-Coin cavalry force, but the United States still needs Food and Coin to replace losses. Keep the Stable producing only while the enemy composition justifies it. Against Heavy Cavalry, the bonus damage makes a group efficient; against infantry, pause production and add a unit that handles that matchup. Escort the Carbine Cavalry with units that can absorb the attacks it cannot, then use its speed to intercept siege or protect the flanks. Patch history matters when reading older comparisons: training time, line of sight, hand damage, XP values, ranged damage and attack interval changed in Definitive Edition updates. The current profile uses 37 seconds, LOS 16, 12 hand damage, 19 ranged damage at range 12 and a 2.5-second interval. The range was reduced from earlier 14-range values, while other patches changed damage. Base the decision on the current tooltip and the role of its target rather than carrying an outdated Dragoon comparison into a current match.
Managing the two-shot firing rhythm
The Carbine Cavalry’s repeater fires two shots in quick succession, but the page’s listed attack interval is the complete 2.5-second cycle for its 19-damage ranged attack. Consider the whole cycle when comparing its damage with a Dragoon rather than treating each bullet as a separate full attack. The bonus damage makes the unit efficient against Heavy Cavalry, artillery and hand Shock Troops; the 0.5 Villager multiplier confirms that raiding workers is not its best use. Use its 7.25 speed to intercept a cavalry push, then keep a route open so it can withdraw from infantry. If the opponent has no heavy cavalry or siege exposed, do not keep spending 80 Food and 80 Coin on a unit whose specialized targets are absent. Add it when scouting confirms the matchup, and reinforce it with a unit that can take the infantry fight.
Upgrades and civilization-specific variants
The United States Carbine Cavalry replaces the Dragoon and becomes available in the Fortress Age. Its automatic Veteran upgrade adds hit points and damage; Guard Carbine Cavalry costs 600 Wood and 600 Coin, and Imperial Carbine Cavalry costs 1,500 Wood and 1,500 Coin after the Guard upgrade. These later improvements raise the unit's staying power and damage but require a substantial investment. Other civilization routes are not identical: the Italians can obtain Veteran Carbine Cavalry through the Carabinieri card, which also converts eligible Dragoons and adds a bonus against Outlaws and Mercenaries. Japan's Meiji Restoration creates Meiji Dragoons with a separate penalty. Check the matching civilization entry before applying the United States profile to those variants.
Fight at range and preserve the screen
Use Carbine Cavalry to pressure Heavy Cavalry, Hand Shock Infantry, and Artillery from a distance, then retreat behind the heavy Cavalry that protects it. Its repeating carbine fires in a two-shot sequence, so give the unit room to complete its firing cycle instead of ordering repeated short moves that interrupt attacks. The bonus profile makes it a specialized counter; it is not a replacement for every Dragoon role. Its 180 hit points and 10% ranged resistance are modest for a front-line unit, and its listed ranged attack deals only half damage to Villagers. Avoid prolonged fights against units outside its bonus classes, and bring a different unit to raid an exposed economy.
Veteran upgrade and Carabinieri access
Carbine Cavalry is a ranged Cavalry unit with a Veteran upgrade that adds 20% hit points and damage and currently adds one range; before patch 15.59076 the range increase was two. Italians can ship ten Veteran Carbine Cavalry through the Carabinieri card, compared with twelve before update 13.58326. The card also converts Dragoons to Carbine Cavalry and gives the converted units a 1.5× bonus against Outlaws and Mercenaries; Italian Carabinieri receive the same Guard and Imperial upgrades as the Italian Dragoon. The unit currently trains in 37 seconds, has line of sight 16 and awards 16 Experience for training and kills. Before update 50830 those values were 35 seconds, 15 line of sight and 18 Experience. Current hand damage is 12, compared with 11, while ranged damage is 19 rather than 18.5 before update 15.30007. Its ranged interval is now 2.5 seconds; older values were 2.25 or 2.5 across prior patches.