Grenzer
Grenzer is the Revolutionary unit created when Villagers become Hungary during an Industrial Age revolution. It replaces workers with a ranged combatant and treasure scout, so the player trades continued ordinary worker production for immediate military presence.
Recorded values
- Availability
- Villagers convert to Grenzers through the Hungary Industrial Age revolution
- Combat conversion
- Villager role becomes a ranged military unit
- Durability
- 10% fewer hit points than the replaced Villager profile
- Scouting & treasure
- +4 Line of Sight · +4 ranged attack range · 3× damage vs. Treasure Guardians · can claim Treasures
- Settler Wagon
- Each provides an additional Grenzer shipment
- Forward construction
- Military Frontier enables Outpost or Blockhouse construction
Revolutionary infantry
The Hungarian conversion gives Grenzers +4 Line of Sight and ranged attack range, a 3× damage multiplier against Treasure Guardians, and the ability to collect Treasures. Their hit points are 10% lower than the replaced Villager profile. Each Settler Wagon also provides an additional Grenzer shipment. The unit is not a standard Barracks infantry choice: its availability and later Outpost or Blockhouse construction options depend on the Hungary revolution and the parent civilization.
Range & treasure utility
Use Grenzers to expand vision, clear remaining guarded Treasures and add ranged pressure after the revolution. Their reduced durability means they should not stand in front of cavalry or heavy infantry. If the army needs forward production, the Military Frontier shipment can let them build Outposts or Blockhouses; protect the group while it constructs rather than sending it alone into enemy territory.
What the conversion changes on the map
The change from Villager to Grenzer is a permanent economic trade for the Hungary revolution: the converted population becomes military and scouting capacity instead of continuing ordinary gathering. The +4 Line of Sight and attack-range increase make Grenzers useful for seeing an approach before the rest of the army commits, while their 3× damage against Treasure Guardians improves their ability to clear guarded Treasures. They can collect Treasures themselves, an unusual utility for a Revolutionary combat unit. A Settler Wagon also provides an additional Grenzer shipment, giving civilizations with that unit another way to add bodies to the converted force.
Positioning and support
Keep Grenzers behind a durable screen. Their ranged role lets them contribute without taking the first contact, but the 10% reduction in hit points compared with the replaced Villager profile makes careless exposure costly. Use their extra vision to reveal cavalry routes, check whether a Treasure is worth contesting, and guide the army toward a safe approach. They can add pressure against units and help clear a guarded site, but they do not restore the gathering economy lost in the revolution. A force built around Grenzers therefore needs a separate plan for ongoing resources and replacement troops. With Military Frontier, they can extend an Outpost network for Germans, Maltese or Ottomans, or build Blockhouses for Russians; construct alongside friendly troops so the utility does not turn into an isolated loss.
Read the unit as a converted worker
Grenzers come from the Hungary Revolution rather than an ordinary Barracks queue. The conversion immediately trades the normal Villager economy for a ranged unit with extra vision, extra range and a strong Treasure Guardian modifier. The recorded profile gives no universal raw attack or hit-point number because the result is relative to the replaced Villager; keep the 10% lower-hit-point comparison instead of assuming a fixed value across parent civilizations. The extra Grenzer associated with each Settler Wagon and the Military Frontier construction option are also specific to the Hungary route.
The Hungary Revolution changes the economy as well as the unit
In Definitive Edition, Hungary is an Industrial Age revolution available to the Germans, Maltese, Ottomans and Russians. The conversion turns the existing Villager workforce into Grenzers and disables ordinary Settler production; the revolution also removes Settler Wagon and Fishing Boat training. The population ceiling becomes 200, or 210 for the Russian path. These rules make each Grenzer part of an irreversible army-and-economy decision, not a unit that can be added without cost while the old economy continues unchanged. Before choosing Hungary, arrange any gathering or fishing income the post-revolution plan depends on, and ensure the army can defend the remaining resource buildings.
Use the extra range to make safer decisions
The Grenzer’s added Line of Sight and ranged attack range are most valuable when they inform the next move. Send a small group ahead of the main force to reveal a route, check whether a guarded Treasure is still available, or watch an exposed resource site. Their Treasure Guardian bonus and ability to claim Treasures can recover value from the map, but pursuing a reward is worthwhile only if the group can clear its guards without losing units needed for defense. Keep Grenzers behind durable troops in a normal engagement; use their reach to contribute damage while the front line absorbs contact.
Plan a replacement source of resources and reinforcements
Because the revolution removes ordinary worker production, the player must know how Food and Coin will continue after the existing Villagers convert. Protect the income sources and any production or shipment path the selected civilization retains under Hungary. Military Frontier can give Grenzers a forward-building role, but builders are temporarily unavailable to fight and an isolated Outpost or Blockhouse can be destroyed. Choose between scouting, combat and construction deliberately: Grenzers provide several kinds of value, yet one group cannot safely perform all of them at once.