Coureur des Bois
The Coureur des Bois is the French economic worker and a stronger, more costly counterpart to the standard Settler. France also uses it as the South African villager, connecting a distinctive worker to two different civilization economies.
Recorded values
- Cost
- 120 Food
- Available
- Exploration Age · Town Center
- Training
- 28 sec · 1 population · 12 XP per train
- Durability & mobility
- 180 hit points · 30% ranged resistance · 4.5 speed · 18 line of sight
- Hand attack
- 10 damage · 1.5 attack interval · bonuses: 5.0x vs. Llama, 16
- Ranged attack
- 8 damage · 2-12 range · 3.0 attack interval · bonuses: 2.0x vs. Huntable; 2.0x vs. Pet; 2.0x vs. Artillery; 0.25x vs. Villager
- Siege attack
- 6 damage · 6 range · 3.0 attack interval · bonuses: 3.0x vs. Resource enclosure
- Ability
- Gathers resources; Builds buildings; Claims treasures
Role & counters
Coureurs gather resources, construct buildings and claim eligible Treasures. Their higher durability and cost change the economic trade-off: they are harder to remove than ordinary Settlers, but each one represents more investment and takes time to replace.
When to field it
Keep Coureurs working continuously and use their extra resilience to reduce losses during brief raids, not as a substitute for defense. Compare the next resource need with the cost of continuing worker production.
Training profile and economic efficiency
The Coureur des Bois is the French Villager, also available through selected content such as the South African revolution. It costs 120 Food, takes 28 seconds to train and has a train limit of 80 in the current profile. Compared with a standard Settler, it is more expensive and trains more slowly, but gathers resources faster, builds 20 percent faster and has greater durability. The source summary notes that 80 Coureurs can gather at roughly the rate of 100 ordinary Settlers, leaving more population available for the army. This advantage is most valuable in a long match where workers survive and remain assigned to resources. The lower train limit means replacing losses and planning workforce growth matters; a smaller, efficient economy can still fall behind if its Coureurs are repeatedly killed.
Gathering rates by resource source
Coureurs gather at different rates depending on the source. The recorded profile lists 1.04 Food per second from hunted animals and 2.5 from herded animals, while Mills provide 0.84, Berry Bushes and Cherry Orchards 0.83, and Farms or similar sources about 0.63 before upgrades. For Wood, the listed rates include 0.94 at a Hacienda, 0.62 from trees and Mango Groves, and a lower rate from Fields. For Coin, Mines and certain African structures are listed at 0.74, Estates at 0.63, and Rice Paddies or Haciendas at 0.43. These are source-specific base values and upgrades change them. The best assignment depends on the available map resource, safety and civilization; do not treat one displayed gathering rate as universal for every task.
Survivability and combat limitations
A Coureur has 180 hit points, 30 percent ranged resistance and speed 4.5 in the current profile. Its ranged attack deals 8 damage at range 2–12, with bonuses against Huntable animals, Pets and Artillery but a severe penalty against Villagers. Despite better durability and damage than an ordinary worker, it is not an effective frontline fighter. Ranged resistance can help it continue gathering when an opponent tries to contain resources with Outposts, especially after improvements such as Great Coat, but hand attacks from Hussars or Rodeleros are more threatening because the Coureur lacks hand resistance. It also cannot use a ranged attack when an enemy is too close. Use workers to retreat and regroup rather than trusting the combat profile to win a fight.
Treasure support and cards
Home City cards can improve Coureurs for exploration and help them fight Treasure Guardians. Northwest Passage can strengthen their ability to deal with guardians, and French economic or military cards can improve gathering or resilience. These cards should be selected when the deck uses Coureurs beyond ordinary resource collection. Treasure maps can also provide a Coureur as a reward on specified North American maps, giving other civilizations temporary access to the unit. Such a reward does not make the Coureur part of those civilizations’ standard Town Center production. Check the map and card before planning around the special access.
French technology and worker timing
The French do not have access to the ordinary Medicine card in the source profile, so they cannot reduce Coureur training time with that card alone. A team Medicine card or a map-specific Jesuit Mission with Christian Schools may provide an alternate route. This makes the worker’s 28-second training time a real constraint during a boom. Use the faster gathering rate to grow the resource base, protect the smaller workforce and add Coureurs steadily rather than assuming the French can instantly replace losses. A technology or card investment that improves their economy is strongest when the workers stay alive long enough to repay its cost.
Revolution and special variants
In Definitive Edition, a French revolution to Canada turns Coureurs into Métis Voyageurs aesthetically and raises their ranged attack by 17 according to the source profile. A British or Dutch revolution to South Africa can train up to 30 Coureurs through the Huguenots card. These are specific revolution or card interactions, not baseline access for every French, British or Dutch match. The unit’s standard role remains economic, and the revolutionary version should be evaluated with the new civilization’s worker and military rules. Use the Canada and South Africa entries for full post-revolution effects.
When the Coureur advantage pays back
The Coureur is most effective when the economy can keep it gathering through several Ages. Place workers on safe, high-yield resources, use their building speed when establishing infrastructure and avoid unnecessary combat. If a raid forces them away from a resource, retreat behind defenses and redistribute the workforce rather than fighting with an expensive worker. The population saved by efficient gathering can support more military units, but only if the Coureurs remain alive and the Town Center continues producing replacements. The unit is a long-term economic investment, not a reason to skip scouting or defense.
Compare gathering sources before moving workers
The Coureur gathering table makes source choice important. Hunted Food at 1.04 per second is faster than the 0.84 listed for a Mill, while herded animals provide a much faster 2.5 rate before upgrades. Wood from a tree is listed at 0.62 per second, and a Mine provides 0.74 Coin; Estates are slower at 0.63 and Rice Paddies lower still. These numbers are baseline rates, and civilization cards, technologies, map effects and walking distance change the result. Move Coureurs toward the safest high-rate source that supplies the next purchase. A distant hunt may have a strong rate but expose workers to raids, while a protected Estate can provide steadier late-game Coin.
Build speed and infrastructure
Coureurs construct buildings 20 percent faster than ordinary Settlers. This helps establish a Town Center, military production or economic infrastructure sooner, and can reduce the time that a builder is exposed. Use the faster construction when timing matters, then return the workers to gathering instead of leaving a large group idle at a finished building. Their stronger hit points do not make a forward construction safe without an escort. The French benefit from both efficient gathering and faster building, but their worker limit is lower, so the advantage comes from efficiency per population rather than unlimited worker growth.
Protect the population advantage
The 80-worker limit means each Coureur loss is more consequential than a normal Settler loss in a long economy. Their 30 percent ranged resistance helps against ranged attacks, but the absence of hand resistance leaves them vulnerable to Hussars, Rodeleros and other melee attackers. Outposts and artillery can still threaten a concentrated group. Spread gathering across safe sites, keep a route toward the Town Center and use military units to answer cavalry raids. The military population saved by efficient workers only matters if the workers remain productive.
Resource assignments through the match
Use hunted Food while it remains safe and plentiful, then shift workers toward Farms, Mills or other available sources as the map changes. Wood and Coin assignments should support the next construction and military queue, not remain fixed because of an earlier opening. Coureurs gather from several structures more efficiently than ordinary Settlers, but their rate still depends on source, upgrades and walking time. A group on an Estate or Rice Paddy may be safer than one spread across a contested mine, while a protected hunt can fund an early army faster. Recheck worker distribution after each Age advancement and after a major raid. The French economy benefits from deliberate reassignment because a smaller workforce must cover several resource needs at once.
Use the range resistance correctly
The 30 percent ranged resistance helps Coureurs survive ranged pressure while they continue gathering, but it does not protect them from hand attacks. Pull them away when cavalry or melee infantry enters the resource line. Their ranged attack cannot fire at very close targets, so gatherers should retreat behind friendly units instead of trying to fight at point blank range.
Protect the low train limit
The French have an 80 Coureur limit, so worker losses can be difficult to replace once the cap is reached. Keep production active and avoid risking the entire workforce on a forward resource site. A smaller group of surviving Coureurs can maintain a strong economy while leaving more population for military units.
Reassign workers after pressure
Once the raid passes, return Coureurs to a safe resource source and rebuild the workforce gradually.
Preserve experienced workers
A surviving Coureur keeps gathering upgrades and avoids the 120 Food replacement cost.
Use the best safe source
Move workers when the source rate or threat changes.
French economic unit with higher durability
Coureurs des Bois replace ordinary Settlers for the French and are also used by South Africa in the relevant profile. Each costs 120 Food, takes 28 seconds to train and uses one population, with a recorded limit of 80. A Coureur has 180 hit points, 30% ranged resistance, speed 4.5 and sight 18. These workers gather resources, build structures and claim Treasures, but their higher Food price means Town Center production needs to be balanced against unit production and Age advancement. Their added durability and gathering advantage support a flexible economy; they are still economic units and should leave danger rather than duel a military force. French players begin standard random map games with five, giving the civilization a stronger initial worker base than a plan built from a generic start would assume.
Use the extra strength to keep workers active
The Coureur’s health and ranged resistance can help it survive a raid long enough to retreat, while its movement speed supports rotation between resource sites. Keep workers spread across safe hunts, trees and mines rather than concentrating all of them at the most exposed edge. Their Treasure-claiming ability lets the Explorer and Coureurs share early map rewards, but the military escort should clear Guardians first. Because each Coureur costs more Food than a standard worker, replacing a raided group can delay an Age-up or army batch. Protect them with an Outpost, a nearby army or a safe resource route. The unit’s strength is an economic advantage that compounds while it gathers; leaving it in combat wastes the premium cost and interrupts the resource flow.
Worker balance changes
The Coureur des Bois retains the French worker role, but its gathering economy should be compared with the current profile rather than older guides. It now trains in 28 seconds; before update 13.27885 it took 29 seconds. Its current ranged resistance is 30%, whereas the value was 40% before update 19.18309. The higher historical resistance can make old raid advice overestimate how safely Coureurs can work under fire. They remain a more durable, higher-investment worker than a standard Settler, so preserve their work time and avoid exposing them just because earlier versions could absorb more ranged damage.