Minuteman
The Minuteman is an emergency ranged defender called from eligible United States buildings in Definitive Edition. It lets the United States respond rapidly to a threat before ordinary production can arrive.
Recorded values
- Cost
- 75 Coin
- Available
- Town Center; Outpost; Fort
- Training
- 1 population
- Durability & mobility
- 200 hit points · 20% hand resistance · 4.0 speed · 15 line of sight
- Ranged attack
- 26 base damage · range 12 · attack interval 3.0 · bonus damage: 2.0x vs. Siege unit; 0.25x vs. Villager
- Siege attack
- 5 base damage · range 6 · attack interval 3.0
- Hand attack
- 13 base damage · attack interval 1.5 · bonus damage: Same as ranged attack
Role & counters
Minutemen can be called from Town Centers, Outposts and Forts under the applicable Levy or Conscription rules. After appearing they lose health over time, so the temporary force is strongest when it reaches a nearby fight promptly.
When to field it
Call Minutemen to stop an immediate raid or hold a building until reinforcements arrive. Avoid spending the ability when there is no nearby threat, since their health drain limits how long they can remain useful.
Emergency United States defense
Minutemen are an emergency ranged defense option for the United States in Definitive Edition. They can be called from a Town Center, Outpost or Fort under the applicable Levy or Conscription rules, providing a fast response when ordinary production is too far away. The recorded profile costs 75 Coin, uses one population and has 200 hit points, 20% hand resistance, speed 4 and line of sight 15. Their defining drawback is that they lose health over time after appearing, so the call is strongest when the attack is close enough for them to reach immediately. Use them to stop a raid, protect a building or buy time for regular reinforcements; do not call them when there is no imminent threat or they may expire before contributing. Keep the unit near the structure that summoned it and use ranged fire behind a sturdier line. The emergency ability does not replace a normal Barracks queue, and its availability depends on the United States rules and cards. In a prolonged fight, regular units are more reliable because Minutemen cannot remain indefinitely. Time the call so their temporary health pool overlaps with the opponent’s attack, and plan what force will take over afterward. They belong to the United States civilization in Definitive Edition and should not be treated as the militia system from another Age of Empires title.
Calling the emergency force
The United States can call Minutemen from Town Centers, Outposts or Forts under the applicable Levy or Conscription rules. They cost 75 Coin and one population in the recorded profile, have 200 hit points and 20% hand resistance, and move at speed 4. Their health drains over time after they appear, which is the price of having a rapid response outside the normal production queue. Use the call when an enemy raid is already approaching a building or workers; Minutemen can buy time for regular reinforcements to arrive. They are inefficient when summoned too early and forced to wait, because the temporary health pool disappears before combat. Keep them near their source structure, focus on the immediate threat and withdraw if the enemy retreats beyond useful range. The ability does not replace a Barracks or a planned army, and should not be spent just to add units to a safe base. Check the current United States cards and rules for Levy or Conscription access. Their emergency role and health drain distinguish them from permanent militia units in other games.
Levy and Conscription conditions
Levy or Conscription rules determine when the United States can summon Minutemen. Check the building and card conditions, then call them only when the threat is nearby. Their temporary health means that waiting at the Town Center wastes much of the defensive value.
Emergency response limits
Minutemen are most effective near the building that called them. Their health loss over time limits how long they can pursue a retreating army, so use them to hold the immediate area and wait for regular troops.
Short duration
The Minuteman’s health drain means it cannot remain on patrol after the crisis passes. Use it to hold workers or a building during the attack, then transition to regular units that can remain in the field.
Protect the threatened location
Call Minutemen only when an enemy is close enough to be intercepted before health drains. Use them to delay the raid and protect Villagers until the permanent army arrives.
Call-in defender with a limited field life
The United States Minuteman is a one-population emergency defender called from a Town Center, Outpost or Fort under Levy or Conscription. The call costs 75 Coin; the unit has 200 hit points, 20% hand resistance, speed four and sight 15. Its ranged attack deals 26 damage at range 12 every three seconds and deals double damage to Siege units, while its hand attack deals 13 damage. Once summoned, it loses 2% of its maximum hit points each second. From the Commerce Age onward, the drain stops at 50% health; before then it continues until only one hit point remains. Use Minutemen to intercept a nearby raid, save a building or protect a production line while regular troops arrive. The cooldown is shared across buildings, so several Town Centers do not create independent calls.
Spend the call where the target is close
Minutemen work best when the enemy is already near the structure that raises them. Their speed of four means a distant force may leave before they arrive, and the health drain continues while they travel. Their Siege bonus helps against enemy artillery or other Siege units, but their reduced damage against Villagers makes them inefficient at worker raids. Keep them in range of the immediate threat and retreat toward regular reinforcements after the defense succeeds. Avoid calling them simply to increase the army count: their temporary health and shared cooldown mean the ability should answer a specific attack window. Texas access through its applicable revolutionary profile is separate from the normal United States roster.