Klamath Rifleman
Klamath Rifleman is ranged infantry in Age of Empires III, available from the Commerce Age; obtained through Trading Post or Tambo on a Klamath settlement, Native Embassy. Its listed ability is Gathers from Berry Bushes, herdable animals and trees*; Claims treasures*.
Recorded values
- Available
- Commerce Age · Trading Post or Tambo on a Klamath settlement; Native Embassy
- Training
- 35 sec · 13 XP per train
- Durability & mobility
- 160 hit points · 30% ranged resistance · 4.25 speed · 18 line of sight
- Hand attack
- 6 damage · 1.5 attack interval · bonuses: 2.5x vs. Treasure guardian; 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
- Ranged attack
- 10 damage · 2-16 range · 3.0 attack interval · bonuses: 2.5x vs. Treasure guardian; 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
- 8 damage · 6 range · 3.0 attack interval
- Ability
- Gathers from Berry Bushes, herdable animals and trees*; Claims treasures*
Role, availability & values
Production is available through Trading Post or Tambo on a Klamath settlement or Native Embassy. It has 160 hit points and 30% ranged resistance. It moves at 4.25 speed. Training costs 100 Food and 30 Wood; it takes 35 seconds to train. Attack profile: Hand attack deals 6 damage. Ranged attack deals 10 damage. Siege attack deals 8 damage. Hand attack bonuses: 2.5× against Treasure guardian, 2.0× against Light ranged cavalry, 2.0× against Ranged shock trooper, 2.0× against Heavy infantry, 0.75× against Cavalry, and 0.75× against Shock troops*. Ranged attack bonuses: 2.5× against Treasure guardian, 2.5× against Light ranged cavalry, 2.5× against Ranged shock trooper, 2.0× against Heavy infantry, 0.6× against Cavalry, and 0.6× against Shock troops*. Special ability or role: Gathers from Berry Bushes, herdable animals and trees*; Claims treasures*.
Matchup & timing
Hand attack is especially effective against Treasure guardian (2.5×), Light ranged cavalry (2×), Ranged shock trooper (2×), Heavy infantry (2×). Ranged attack is especially effective against Treasure guardian (2.5×), Light ranged cavalry (2.5×), Ranged shock trooper (2.5×), Heavy infantry (2×). Its reduced multipliers against Cavalry (0.75×), Shock troops (0.75×), Cavalry (0.6×), Shock troops (0.6×) make it less suitable for those targets. Use ranged fire to focus Treasure guardian, Light ranged cavalry, Ranged shock trooper, and Heavy infantry before they can close; hold the melee attack for Treasure guardian, Light ranged cavalry, Ranged shock trooper, and Heavy infantry when they enter contact. Keep a frontline between this unit and threats that can reach it safely.
A ranged warrior with an economic ability
The Klamath Rifleman is a Commerce Age Native warrior trained at a Trading Post or Tambo on a Klamath settlement, or through a Native Embassy where available. It costs 100 Food and 30 Wood, trains in 35 seconds and is limited to ten per settlement. It has 160 hit points, 30 percent ranged resistance, speed 4.25 and sight 18. Its rifle deals 10 damage at a variable range of two to 16 every three seconds, with twice damage against Heavy Infantry, Light Ranged Cavalry and Ranged Shock troops, and 2.5 times against Treasure guardians. It deals reduced damage against Cavalry and Shock troops. The unit also has an unusual ability: it can gather from several natural resources and claim Treasures, while lacking the Villager tag. This lets it contribute between fights without functioning as a full Settler.
Resource gathering rates and limits
Since update 13.18214, Klamath Riflemen can gather from crates at one resource per second, or 60 per minute. They gather from herdable animals at 0.8 Food per second, or 48 per minute. Berry Bushes, Cherry Orchards, Trees and Mango Groves provide 0.268 Food or 0.2 Wood per second, around 16.08 Food or 12 Wood per minute. They cannot mine Coin or hunt wild animals. The gathering rates are low compared with Settlers, so moving a Rifleman into the economy is most useful between battles or when few military targets are available. Their lack of a Villager tag also means Villager-only cards, bonuses and targeting rules do not necessarily apply. Use the ability to recover part of the unit’s cost or gather safely near the army, not as a replacement for a proper economic base.
Treasure collection and scouting utility
Klamath Riflemen can claim Treasures, a role that became available with update 13.18214. Their 18 sight helps locate nearby objects, and the unit can collect a Treasure while still remaining part of the army. The attack deals 2.5 times damage against Treasure guardians in both ranged and hand modes, so the Rifleman is unusually well suited to clearing guarded rewards. It has a 10-damage rifle attack at range up to 16, a six-damage hand attack and eight siege damage. This makes it a useful support unit for early map control when Treasures remain, though it is slower to produce than a normal villager and has a settlement cap. Avoid sending it alone into a defended area simply because it can collect treasures.
Military role and unit counters
The Klamath Rifleman is a ranged Infantry unit with bonuses against Heavy Infantry, Light Ranged Cavalry and Ranged Shock troops. It can fill a Skirmisher-like role for civilizations without a regular Skirmisher, including Aztecs, British or Russians, but it costs Food and Wood through a native site and has a 16-range limit. Its base attack is lower than a standard Skirmisher’s, and the unit’s economic abilities make it less focused on combat. Cavalry and Shock troops are unfavorable targets, and Light Infantry or Artillery can threaten the rifle line. Keep Klamaths behind a frontline and use their range to focus the intended classes. Their 30 percent ranged resistance offers some protection against ranged opponents, but does not overcome the reduced attack multipliers against Cavalry.
Klamath Strategy and upgrade path
Klamath Strategy and the Elite upgrade can raise the Rifleman’s combat value enough to compete with other Skirmisher-style units, especially for civilizations with strong Native warrior cards. Native Warrior Societies improves the unit to Elite with 25 percent hit points and damage; Champion Klamath requires that upgrade and adds another rank, while Legendary Native Warriors or Exalted Natives provides a late-game 50 percent improvement where available. These investments should be compared with the unit’s limited cap of ten per settlement and 35-second train time. A civilization that needs continuous anti-Infantry production may prefer its standard Barracks unit, while a faction without a Skirmisher can gain both a combat option and a limited economic helper from Klamath access.
Changes from older versions
The Klamath Rifleman has been reworked substantially. Before update 13.18214 it cost 60 Food and 60 Wood, trained in 30 seconds, had a 15-unit limit, 230 hit points, 10 percent ranged resistance, speed four, 13 ranged damage and 12 siege damage. The current version costs 100 Food and 30 Wood, trains in 35 seconds, has a ten-unit limit, 160 hit points, 30 percent ranged resistance, speed 4.25, 10 ranged damage and eight siege damage. The same update added natural resource gathering and Treasure collection. Later patches further adjusted health and ranged resistance. Older descriptions that call it a conventional Skirmisher do not reflect its current villager-adjacent utility role.
Using the unit between engagements
The Klamath Rifleman can gather from safe natural sources while the main army moves or heals. Herded animals provide 0.8 Food per second, while berries and trees provide 0.268 Food or 0.2 Wood per second; crates yield one resource per second. These rates are far below dedicated Settler gathering, so use the ability to recover some value from a unit already in the field. Do not send the Rifleman to mines or wild hunts, which it cannot gather. Its lack of the Villager tag means it is not a full economic unit and may not receive ordinary Settler bonuses.
Treasure and guardian interaction
The 2.5 multiplier against Treasure guardians lets Klamath Riflemen clear guarded Treasures more effectively than their base 10-damage rifle would suggest. Their 18 sight helps reveal a guardian or reward, and the unit can claim the Treasure after the fight. This makes them valuable for map control as well as ranged combat, especially in the early game. Keep a few near active Treasure sites rather than sending the entire group away from the army. The ten-per-settlement limit still restricts how many can be trained, and the unit’s low base attack means it relies on its class multipliers.
A flexible but limited economy tool
Klamath Riflemen can be useful between battles because they gather from trees, berries, herdables and crates, but their rates are modest and they cannot gather Coin or hunt wild animals. Use them to recover some value while holding a safe position or moving with the army. Their lack of a Villager tag means they remain military units for many effects and cannot substitute for Settlers in a full economy. Avoid leaving a ten-unit settlement force idle as gatherers if enemy pressure is likely to arrive.
When it replaces a Skirmisher
For civilizations without a regular Skirmisher, Klamath Riflemen can provide an early answer to Heavy Infantry and ranged Cavalry while also gathering in downtime. Klamath Strategy and the Elite rank improve their ability to match standard anti-Infantry units later. Their 10-damage rifle and 16 range are weaker than a conventional Skirmisher profile, however, and the ten-unit cap per site makes them difficult to mass. Use them as a limited native line and supplement them with other units rather than expecting the hybrid ability to solve every economy or combat need.
How the missing Villager tag affects play
Klamath Riflemen can gather natural resources but do not have the Villager tag. They should therefore be treated as military units with a side economy ability, not as Settlers that can benefit from every Villager card or be targeted by every Villager-specific effect. Their gathering is an efficient way to use downtime, but keeping them safe and near resources is still necessary. Their 160 hit points and rifle can help defend a gathering position, yet the unit’s low base damage and ten-unit cap make it a poor replacement for a real economic workforce.
Choosing between combat and gathering
The Klamath’s hybrid role creates a tradeoff: a Rifleman assigned to a tree or berry patch is not firing at the enemy, while one in the army is not gathering. Use the ability in safe periods, then return the unit to the formation when a fight is likely. A few Klamaths can recover a small amount of Food or Wood while scouting and protecting a Treasure route. Do not leave the entire native force idle in the economy; it remains limited and can be needed as a Skirmisher-like counter.
A villager-skirmisher hybrid
The Klamath Rifleman combines ranged combat with a Villager-like economic role in its applicable profiles. It can gather and still contribute ranged fire, which gives a Trading Post alliance more flexibility than a purely military unit. Its battlefield use is strongest early or for civilizations that lack a regular Skirmisher; later upgrades and the opponent’s army determine whether it remains a good investment. Keep the riflemen near a protected resource or military screen, because exposing a worker-capable unit to cavalry can cost both economy and army presence.
Technology and civilization context
Klamath upgrades and cards affect the rifleman’s combat and economic value, and the unit can perform differently depending on the civilization that recruits or receives it. Do not assume it matches a European Skirmisher in every age: its hybrid role, access and upgrade path are distinct. It can help control infantry while workers gather, but specialized artillery or cavalry can force it out of position. Check the alliance and upgrade conditions on the selected map before building a strategy around a Klamath Trading Post.
Settlement cap and economic abilities
Klamath Rifleman is a Native rifle unit with an unusual economic side: its current abilities allow it to gather from Berry Bushes, herdable animals and trees, and to claim Treasures. Those abilities were added in update 13.18214. A Klamath settlement currently permits up to 10 Riflemen; the cap was 13 before the Definitive Edition and 15 before update 13.18214. The current unit costs 100 Food and 30 Wood, takes 35 seconds to train and has 160 hit points with 30% ranged resistance. Earlier profiles include a 60 Food/60 Wood cost, 230 hit points and 10% ranged resistance before update 13.18214; before update 19.18308 it had 135 hit points. Its current ranged attack deals 10 damage and has a 2.5× bonus against Treasure guardians, Light Ranged Cavalry and Ranged Shock Troops. The gathering and treasure abilities make settlement access valuable for more than military production, but the cap limits how far the army can scale.