General
General is Federal Americans, USR (revolutionary) hero in Age of Empires III. Its listed ability is Claims treasures; Builds Forts and Trading Posts.
Recorded values
- Durability & mobility
- 500 hit points · 10% ranged resistance · 4.5 speed · 18 line of sight
- Ranged attack
- 12 base damage · range 16 · attack interval 3.0 · bonus damage: 3.0x vs. Treasure guardian; 0.25x vs. Villager
- Siege attack
- 15 base damage · range 6 · attack interval 3.0
- Hand attack
- 6 base damage · attack interval 1.5 · bonus damage: Same as ranged attack
- Sharpshooter attack
- 750 base damage · range 16 · attack interval 3.0
- Carbine attack (charged)
- 60 base damage · range 20 · attack interval 3.0 · bonus damage: 3.0x vs. Treasure guardian; 0.25x vs. Villager · recharge 45 · requires Industrial Age or; Sheriff card
- Saber strike (charged)
- 8 base damage · attack interval 2.0 · area of effect 3 · bonus damage: 4.0x vs. Treasure guardian; 0.25x vs. Villager · recharge 20 · requires Industrial Age or; Comandante card
- Ability
- Claims treasures; Builds Forts and Trading Posts
Role, availability & values
It has 500 hit points and 10% ranged resistance. It moves at 4.5 speed. Attack profile: Ranged attack: 12 damage at range 16; every 3.0 seconds. Siege attack: 15 damage at range 6; every 3.0 seconds. Hand attack: 6 damage; every 1.5 seconds. Sharpshooter attack: 750 damage at range 16; every 3.0 seconds. Carbine attack (charged): 60 damage at range 20; every 3.0 seconds. Saber strike (charged): 8 damage; every 2.0 seconds; area of effect 3. Special ability or role: Claims treasures; Builds Forts and Trading Posts. If reduced to zero hit points, it collapses rather than dying; after regenerating 100 hit points, a friendly unit or building nearby can revive it.
Matchup & timing
Use the hero to reveal the map, defeat manageable Treasure guardians and claim nearby Treasures; avoid trading the hero’s health for a reward guarded by a force it cannot beat. A Trading Post ability turns the hero into an early map-control tool; scout the route first and build where the site can be defended. If it collapses, keep a friendly unit or building nearby and protect the recovery period until it reaches 100 hit points. This hero can also be recovered by paying 100 Coin at the Town Center, according to its scenario rules.
Starting hero and base attributes
The General replaces the Explorer for the United States and Mexicans in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition and begins standard random-map games in the Exploration Age. He has 500 hit points, 10% ranged resistance, speed 4.5 and line of sight 18. His normal ranged attack deals 12 damage at range 16 every three seconds, with a 3.0 multiplier against Treasure Guardians and only 0.25 against Villagers. His hand attack is six damage and his siege attack is 15. He can see Stealth, claim treasures, and build Trading Posts and Forts. His ranged damage is intended for guardians and exploration encounters; the Villager penalty makes him a poor raider. Keep him with a few supporting units so he can explore and fight without being isolated.
Collapsed state, rescue and ransom
Unlike ordinary units, the General collapses when his hit points reach zero rather than dying permanently. He can recover if friendly units or buildings are nearby once he regenerates at least 100 hit points, or the player can ransom him at the Town Center. The current ransom is 100 Coin; it was 150 before update 26865. A ransom returns him at the Town Center with full hit points, while a rescue depends on keeping allies close enough and allowing the recovery condition to be met. His health regeneration works while idle after 3.5 seconds and restores 0.25% per second. Do not leave him down in an enemy-controlled area: the enemy may prevent a rescue, and the ransom option still costs time and Coin. Keep nearby troops in reserve if his health is low.
Forts, Trading Posts and team support
The General can construct both Trading Posts and Forts. His Trading Post construction is faster than ordinary Settlers, approaching the pace of a Coureur des Bois or Settler Wagon. The Fort-building ability replaces the Explorer’s Town Center construction option; it is a strategic choice that can secure a forward position or protect an expansion. The General’s support role expands with Inspiring Flag, available from the Commerce Age. Planting a flag gives nearby allied units 10% more attack, makes buildings construct 50% faster and makes military buildings train units 25% faster. The flag’s area and line of sight begin at 14 and increase by 10 with each Age. It is destroyed if an enemy enters radius 12, cannot be placed within 65 of a Town Center or within three of another building or flag, and only one can exist at a time. The cooldown is 160 seconds in the current profile.
Treasure combat and Sharpshooter
The Sharpshooter attack deals 750 damage to a Treasure Guardian at range 16 and has a 60-second cooldown. It is restricted to guardians, making it a powerful way to defeat a difficult treasure defender but not a general combat shot. Use it to help secure a treasure and then let the General return to scouting or construction. His normal attack also has a guardian multiplier, while the special shot should be saved for a guardian that would otherwise cost health or supporting units. The General can claim treasures like an Explorer, but treasure guardians still threaten him; his 500 hit points and regeneration do not justify attacking every guardian without checking the surrounding force.
United States and Mexican abilities
The two civilizations share the General but have different Industrial Age combat abilities. The United States General gains Carbine Attack, a charged 60-damage shot at range 20 that recharges every 45 seconds; the Sheriff card can unlock it earlier. The Mexican General gains Saber Strike, an eight-damage attack in radius three that recharges every 20 seconds; Comandante can unlock it earlier. Both attacks have a 3.0 multiplier against Treasure Guardians and 0.25 against Villagers. The United States also has the Bear Flag Revolt card, which changes Inspiring Flag into an Inspiring Bear Flag and spawns six Honcho the Pet Grizzly Bears around it; the flag’s support effects otherwise remain the same. Do not combine the American Carbine profile with the Mexican Saber profile when recording stats.
Age progression and revolutions
The General automatically grows stronger as the civilization ages. Beginning in the Commerce Age, the listed increases are +25% hit points and damage in Commerce, +30% in Fortress, +40% in Industrial, and +50% hit points in Imperial. Damage growth also applies to his special abilities. These age bonuses are separate from cards such as Brigadier General or Cadets, which can add large amounts of health or attack under their conditions. British, Dutch, French, Italian and Swedish civilizations gain the General when they revolt to the United States. In a revolution, treat him as a powerful hero and builder who benefits from the same map control and rescue rules, while checking the revolution’s own deck and available cards.
Hot Air Balloon and other card options
A Hot Air Balloon can be summoned by the General after the Mexicans send the Hot Air Balloon card or the United States sends Missouri River Expeditions. It remains for 20 seconds and has a 240-second cooldown. This is temporary vision, not a permanent scout or combat unit. The General also interacts with cards that unlock recruitment of certain allied native units, such as Carib Ambushers, Nootka War Chief or Buttercup the Pet Cougar. These options vary by civilization and card access; they do not belong to the General’s base attack profile. Use short-duration vision before committing to a Fort placement or exposing an army to a hidden approach.
Practical use through a match
At the start, use the General to explore and secure safe treasures while supporting him with units if guardians are dangerous. Place early Trading Posts where the map and army can protect them. Once Inspiring Flag is available, plant it near a planned fight or a group of military buildings, respecting its placement restrictions and cooldown. Use Fort construction when a forward defensive position or map-control point is worth the investment. As the game advances, keep the General alive to benefit from automatic age upgrades and the civilization-specific charged attack. If he collapses, decide quickly between a friendly rescue and ransom; abandoning him can deny the team a key builder, flag and exploration unit.
Protecting the General in a battle
The General’s hero status makes him valuable, but it does not make him immune to being disabled. His 500 hit points and 10% ranged resistance can be depleted by focused fire, and cavalry or MercType2 units are listed as threats. Keep him behind the army when a major fight begins and use his ranged attack on Treasure Guardians or safe targets. If he falls, do not send additional units into an unwinnable position just to trigger a rescue; compare the ransom cost with the risk to nearby troops and the time needed for regeneration. A recovered General can resume flag placement and fort construction, so his survival has economic as well as combat value.
Flag placement and cooldown trade-offs
The Inspiring Flag is a fixed support point rather than an aura that follows the army. Its 160-second cooldown means that placing it too early can leave it unavailable for the decisive fight. Set it near military buildings when a faster production cycle matters, or near a planned battle when the attack bonus matters. Because the enemy destroys the flag by entering radius 12, protect it with units and buildings. Respect the 65-unit Town Center exclusion and three-unit spacing rules when choosing a location. In later Ages its area grows by ten per Age, so a placement useful in the Commerce Age may be unnecessarily close to danger in a later battle.
Explorer hero with Fort construction
The General is a hero who can explore, fight and build Trading Posts, like other Explorer units. Instead of building a Town Center, he can construct a Fort, giving the army a powerful defensive and production foothold. He builds Trading Posts faster than ordinary Settlers in the documented profile, approaching the pace of a Coureur des Bois or Settler Wagon. Escort him while exploring so he can remain on the map and use those construction abilities safely.
Regeneration and hero recovery
The General regenerates health, and the regeneration improves as the player advances through Ages. Like other heroes, reaching zero hit points does not necessarily remove him permanently; he can become incapacitated and be rescued under the applicable rules. Preserve him when his Fort or Trading Post utility matters, and avoid sending him alone into a force that can repeatedly knock him down. His combat presence supports an army but does not replace trained units that can protect a construction site.
Inspiring Flag and civilization abilities
From the Commerce Age, the General can plant an Inspiring Flag at a chosen location. The flag increases nearby allied units’ attack by 10%, speeds building construction by 50% and raises nearby military-building training speed by 25%. Its radius and line of sight begin at 14 and expand by ten with each Age. Only one flag can be active; it cannot be placed within 65 range of a Town Center or within three range of a building or another flag, and an enemy entering a 12-range radius destroys it. Its cooldown is 160 seconds in the current profile. Place it where troops and production buildings can benefit together, and keep the area guarded.
United States and Mexican charged attacks
The General’s later combat abilities differ by civilization. From the Industrial Age, the United States General automatically uses a charged Carbine Attack: 60 damage at range 20, with a 45-second recharge and a 3× bonus against Treasure guardians. The Mexican General instead gains Saber Strike, a charged area attack with radius three and a 20-second recharge; its guardian multiplier is 4×. Both attacks deal only a quarter damage to Villagers. These abilities are automatic parts of the attack cycle rather than ordinary attacks that can be repeated freely, so use the General’s other troops to handle sustained combat and keep the hero focused on exploration, support and high-value guardian targets.