Cree Tracker
Cree Tracker is ranged infantry in Age of Empires III, available from the Commerce Age; obtained through Trading Post or Tambo on a Cree settlement, Native Embassy. Its listed ability is Eagle Eye (Charged).
Recorded values
- Available
- Commerce Age · Trading Post or Tambo on a Cree settlement; Native Embassy
- Training
- 20 sec · 12 XP per train
- Durability & mobility
- 260 hit points · 10% ranged resistance · 4.5 speed · 18 line of sight
- Ranged attack
- 13 base damage · range 2-16 · attack interval 3.0 · bonus damage: 2.5x vs. Light ranged cavalry; 2.5x vs. Ranged shock trooper; 2.0x vs. Heavy infantry; 0.6x vs. Cavalry; 0.6x vs. Shock troops
- Siege attack
- 12 base damage · range 6 · attack interval 3.0
- Hand attack
- 9 base damage · attack interval 1.5 · bonus damage: 2.0x vs. Light ranged cavalry; 2.0x vs. Ranged shock trooper; 2.0x vs. Heavy infantry; 0.75x vs. Cavalry; 0.75x vs. Shock troops
- Eagle Eye (charged)
- 13 base damage · range 2-25 · attack interval 3.0 · area of effect 2 · bonus damage: Same as ranged attack · recharge 30 · requires 1st Michigan Volunteer Sharpshooters card
Role, availability & values
Production is available through Trading Post or Tambo on a Cree settlement or Native Embassy. It has 260 hit points and 10% ranged resistance. It moves at 4.5 speed. Training costs 40 Food and 80 Wood; it takes 20 seconds to train. Attack profile: Ranged attack: 13 damage at range 2-16; every 3.0 seconds. Siege attack: 12 damage at range 6; every 3.0 seconds. Hand attack: 9 damage; every 1.5 seconds. Eagle Eye (charged): 13 damage at range 2-25; every 3.0 seconds; area of effect 2. Special ability or role: Eagle Eye (Charged).
Matchup & timing
Use the Cree Tracker as a durable ranged specialist: its 260 hit points let it stay with the army, while the range-16 attack focuses Light ranged cavalry, Ranged shock troops and Heavy Infantry. Check Eagle Eye’s requirements before relying on that ability. It still takes reduced damage against Cavalry and Shock troops, so keep it behind a screen.
Rifle attack, durability and population efficiency
Cree Trackers are Commerce Age native ranged Infantry trained at a Trading Post or Tambo on a Cree settlement. They cost 40 Food and 80 Wood, train in 20 seconds in the current data, and have a settlement limit of 13. Their 260 hit points are unusually high for a rifle or skirmisher-style unit, while ranged resistance is only 10 percent. The standard ranged attack deals 13 damage at range 2 to 16 every three seconds. It gains 2.5 times damage against Light Ranged Cavalry and Ranged Shock units, 2 times against Heavy Infantry, and reduced damage against Cavalry and Shock troops. The hand attack deals 9 damage every 1.5 seconds and has similar class preferences. Siege attack is 12 at range 6. Native Cree Trackers take no population space, an important advantage in a late-game army near the population cap. Their 260 hit points help them survive individual volleys, but low base damage and a three-second firing interval mean they do not automatically defeat equal-cost, faster-firing troops. Use them as durable ranged support and focus on classes they counter instead of assuming their health makes them a front-line tank. The Cree settlement cap still applies even though population is free.
Eagle Eye and United States card upgrades
The United States can send the Imperial Age 1st Michigan Volunteer Sharpshooters Home City card. It upgrades Cree Trackers to Elite and Champion levels, adds nine Line of Sight and grants Eagle Eye, a charged ranged attack that deals 13 damage over an area of effect of two at a maximum range of 25. The charged attack shares the normal ranged class multipliers and recharges every 30 seconds. This ability changes how a United States player can use the unit: the extended reach can punish clustered targets or threaten an exposed unit before the ordinary rifle line can fire, but its recharge makes it a periodic shot rather than a continuous attack. The card is a late-game investment, so it should be weighed against other Imperial shipments and the time needed to build a Cree alliance. Canada has a Native American Allies card that enables Cree Trackers at Native Embassies and upgrades them to Elite. Haudenosaunee and Lakota can instead obtain Cree Trackers through dedicated Home City cards, including repeat access in the Imperial Age. Those shipments avoid dependence on a Cree settlement for that particular group and can exceed the usual local training limit; they are still finite shipment choices and should not be confused with local repeatable production.
Upgrade path and battlefield counters
Cree Trackers can advance through Cree Warrior Societies to Elite, then Champion Cree, and finally Legendary Native Warriors or the corresponding Exalted Natives technology where available. Definitive Edition costs and effects differ from earlier releases: the current Champion upgrade grants 35 percent hit points and damage, while the original game used 40 percent. Legendary upgrades add 50 percent. Native technology access depends on civilization: European and Mexican players use the Capitol, the United States uses the State Capitol, Asian and Native American civilizations use the Town Center for Exalted Natives, and African native warriors can be upgraded automatically for free. Their main counters remain Heavy Cavalry, Hand Shock troops, Counter-Skirmishers and artillery. Ranged Cavalry is a favorable target because of the 2.5 times multiplier, while Heavy Infantry receives a 2 times multiplier. Keep the Trackers behind a screen, use their long sight to support the army and avoid hand combat. Their range and high hit points are most useful when a protected firing line can repeatedly attack the units the Cree rifle is designed to counter.
Range, sight and the Eagle Eye firing window
The normal Cree Tracker has range up to 16 and line of sight 18 in the current profile, enough to support a forward line and reveal approaching threats. Its low-end range of two means it can still fire after enemies close, but the unit is easier to protect when it can maintain distance. The United States 1st Michigan Volunteer Sharpshooters card adds nine sight and a charged Eagle Eye shot with maximum range 25 and an area effect of two. The ability recharges every 30 seconds, so coordinate the shot with a visible cluster or an important target. Because the attack shares the unit multipliers, it can be particularly punishing to Light Ranged Cavalry, Ranged Shock units or Heavy Infantry. Use the extended sight to reveal a target for the army, but do not send the Tracker alone to the front: long vision does not protect it from cavalry, counter-skirmishers or artillery. The current speed is 4.5; older versions listed 4.0, while a pre-update sight value was 20 and earlier maximum range was 18. Read those historical values as patch context, not as simultaneous current statistics.
Native settlement and Home City routes
A Cree settlement allows repeatable local training, with a limit of 13 Trackers. Haudenosaunee, Lakota and United States Home City cards create a separate shipment route that does not depend on the map containing a Cree village. The Haudenosaunee 9 Cree Allies and Lakota 22 Cree Allies cards can be sent again in the Imperial Age for a total of 62 units according to the source entry. A TEAM 10 Cree Allies card can provide allies with a smaller group; the original release listed it for Germans. These card deliveries can exceed the local training cap and should be tracked separately from the 13 unit settlement limit. Canada uses Native American Allies to unlock training at Native Embassies and grants Elite level. The United States card has the distinct Imperial upgrade, sight and Eagle Eye effects. Choosing a card for a shipment therefore changes more than the number of units: it can determine access, rank and ability. Compare the shipment with local settlement access and other army needs before selecting it.
Improve the rifle line and cover its weaknesses
Cree Trackers perform best as a durable supporting rifle line rather than as a universal answer. Their 2 times multiplier against Heavy Infantry and 2.5 times against Light Ranged Cavalry and Ranged Shock units give them clear targets. Their weaker performance against Cavalry and Shock troops means the army needs a separate screen, and Counter-Skirmishers and artillery can punish a clustered group. Upgrade paths add hit points and damage, but do not change this basic matchup structure. Cree Warrior Societies raises native warriors to Elite; Champion Cree is a later technology, and Legendary Native Warriors supplies the final listed rank. The Definitive Edition Champion bonus is 35 percent, whereas the original value was 40 percent. A player should check the active version before using old costs or damage calculations. Keep the Trackers near units that can intercept cavalry, use their sight to support target selection, and focus fire on the intended class. If enemy units can reach melee, retreat and let the screen re-form instead of relying on hit points alone.
Unit count, upgrades and attack improvements
Cree Warrior Societies is the Commerce Age upgrade listed at 100 Wood and 75 Coin in Definitive Edition, compared with 200 of each resource before that edition. It raises Trackers to Elite with 25 percent more hit points and damage. Champion Cree costs 400 Wood and 300 Coin and adds 35 percent in the current data; the original game used 40 percent. Legendary Native Warriors or Exalted Natives costs 1,500 Food and 1,500 Wood and grants the Legendary rank with 50 percent more hit points and damage. The appropriate research building depends on the civilization, so verify whether it uses the Capitol, State Capitol, Town Center, Sejm or automatic African upgrade rule. Additional attack bonuses can come from Paper Cartridge, Smokeless Powder, Haudenosaunee Lacrosse, Yoga and other civilization technologies. Flint Lock or Cree Tanning and other native improvements can add durability. These listed interactions describe the wider unit system; a particular player may not have access to every technology. Invest when enough Trackers remain alive to benefit from the upgrade and when their counter targets are still present.
Settlement access versus shipped mercenaries
The locally trained native Cree Tracker and the Cree Tracker mercenary have different access rules. A Cree settlement supports local Trading Post or Tambo training and imposes a 13 unit limit. Haudenosaunee, Lakota and United States players can also receive mercenary Trackers by Home City shipment regardless of the map, and those shipments do not share the settlement training limit. The mercenary group is not selected with local Trackers and does not create an unlimited production queue. Haudenosaunee and Lakota cards ship nine or 22 units respectively, with an Imperial Age repeat that can bring the listed combined delivery to 62. The United States Michigan card ships eight, upgrades them and grants Eagle Eye. Allies can also send a TEAM 10 Cree Allies card where available. These shipment sizes, civ-specific card effects and the standard 13 local limit should be kept distinct when comparing an army count. Mercenary Coin costs and shipment opportunities also compete with other Home City choices.
Positioning for slow firing ranged units
The Tracker fires every three seconds, slower than many foot archers and native ranged units. Its high hit points and free population offset that limitation only when it survives long enough to fire repeatedly. Use a protected line, focus the targets covered by its multipliers and withdraw when Heavy Cavalry or artillery approaches. Sight 18 can reveal movement before the army engages, and the United States card adds exceptional reach, but scouts and allies should provide vision when the Tracker would otherwise be exposed. If an opponent uses Counter-Skirmishers, split or reposition rather than bunching every Tracker into one area attack. Against artillery, exploit terrain and mobility from the rest of the army; the Tracker itself is not an artillery counter. Its strongest contribution is durable, population-free ranged damage against Heavy Infantry and ranged Cavalry.
Rifle volleys and the Eagle Eye charge
The Tracker’s 13-damage rifle fires every three seconds from range 2–16. Before resistance and upgrades, the ranged multipliers produce 32.5 damage against Light Ranged Cavalry or Ranged Shock Troops, 26 against Heavy Infantry and 7.8 against Cavalry or Shock Troops. Eagle Eye keeps that same base damage and target profile but extends the shot to range 2–25 and adds an area radius of two; its 30-second recharge makes it a timed ability rather than a permanent range increase. The 1st Michigan Volunteer Sharpshooters card is required for the charged attack. Use it when a priority target enters the longer firing window or when multiple enemies are tightly grouped, then return to ordinary range discipline while it recharges. The Cree Tracker’s 18 line of sight helps spot approaches, but its 10% ranged resistance and slow three-second firing cycle still make a screen important. Calculated values are before target resistance and upgrades.
Durable ranged unit with unusual health
Cree Trackers have 260 hit points in the documented profile, considerably more than many archer or Skirmisher-type units. Their ranged resistance and base damage are lower, so the extra health should be read as staying power rather than superior damage output. Use them to maintain a ranged presence through longer fights while another unit supplies the main counter bonuses.
Choose targets and support the firing line
Cree Trackers still need protection from Heavy Cavalry and artillery. Keep them behind a front line, focus units suited to their attack profile and avoid expecting them to outperform specialized Skirmishers against Heavy Infantry. Their access is tied to Cree or Native settlement options, so check map availability and upgrades. The high hit points help them survive, but do not remove their counter relationships.
Native rifle profile and current range
Cree Tracker is a Native rifle Infantry unit with a 16-range attack and movement speed 4.5. Before update 50830, the ranged attack reached 18, speed was 4.0 and line of sight was 20 rather than the current 18. The current unit has 260 hit points; the earlier profile had 300. Its ranged damage is now 13, up from 10 before update 50830, and its hand attack deals 9 rather than 4. Current ranged modifiers are 2.5× against Light Ranged Cavalry and Ranged Shock Troops, 2.0× against Heavy Infantry, and 0.6× against Cavalry and Shock Troops. The anti-ranged bonuses were 2.0× before update 13.58326. It can punish its intended Infantry targets at range, but its lower current line of sight and Cavalry modifiers make scouting and a protective screen useful.