Native Scout
Native Scout is a light scouting warrior associated with Native American civilizations and selected allies. It provides vision and can reveal stealth units in versions and modes where that ability is present. Its small population footprint and limited force cap make it better suited to information gathering than sustained combat. Access and exact behavior vary with the civilization, alliance or card that supplies it.
Recorded values
- Cost
- 90 Wood
- Available
- Exploration Age · Town Center (French, Maya, and Native Americans) ; War Chief (Native Americans) ; Native Embassy (French, Maya, and Native Americans)
- Training
- 20 sec · 0 population · 9 XP per train
- Durability & mobility
- 120 hit points · 10% ranged resistance · 5.5 speed · 22 line of sight
- Siege attack
- 5 damage · 6 range · 3.0 attack interval
- Ability
- Stealth mode*
Role & counters
Use Native Scouts to reveal paths, locate enemy armies and support a Warchief’s exploration. If stealth detection is available in the active version, move the scout where its sight can uncover hidden units without leaving it isolated. Avoid combat against full military units; its scouting function is more valuable than trading away the unit for little damage.
Training & availability
Light scouting warrior; associated with Native American civilizations and selected allies; stealth detection and availability vary by version and access method.
When to field it
Field it when map information or stealth detection can change a decision, especially around a contested route or settlement. Check the current roster for its access and abilities because some civilizations or cards alter the unit. Keep it moving and protected rather than assigning it to hold a frontline.
Scouting profile and stealth
The Native Scout is an Exploration Age Native warrior that normally costs 90 Wood, takes 20 seconds to train, uses no population and has a limit of five. It has 120 hit points, 10 percent ranged resistance, speed 5.5 and sight 22. Its hand and siege attacks each deal only five damage, so its main value is map information rather than combat. Since The WarChiefs, the unit can enter Stealth mode and can see enemy stealth units. Stealth is not invisibility: enemy Explorers, Town Centers, Forts and specialized detectors can reveal it, and moving while concealed is slower. Place the Scout on a map edge, near a contested route or beside a likely resource expansion to provide warning of enemy movement. Its sight is excellent for the cost, but its low health makes a forward position dangerous if discovered. Use it to inspect an opponent’s production, then move it to a safe location rather than leaving it under the Town Center detection radius.
Treasure access, cards and civilization availability
Native Scouts are often rescued from Treasures on American maps, including Great Plains, Great Lakes, New England, California, Mexico, Yucatán, Yukon and others. This makes them a map-dependent free scouting asset rather than a standard opening unit for every civilization. Native American civilizations introduced in The WarChiefs can train them at Town Centers and Native Embassies, and the French and Maya have separate access. The British can receive one by choosing The Mohawk Statesman while aging to the Fortress Age. Native Scouts can also come from treasures or Home City cards. The Advanced Scouts card increases the number available to Native American civilizations and Maya up to a limit of 25 and restores their ability to snare targets in Definitive Edition; without it, their weak attack does not snare. French players start with one Native Scout alongside their Explorer and can train more at the Town Center or Native Embassy. On revolution to Revolutionary France, they are replaced by Eclaireurs. Inca are an exception and do not use the standard Native Scout access.
Upgrades and later-age usefulness
Native Scouts receive automatic hit point improvements in Definitive Edition: 25 percent in the Fortress Age and 50 percent in the Industrial Age. Legendary Native Warriors or Exalted Natives can add 50 percent hit points and damage for 1,500 Food and 1,500 Wood in the Imperial Age, through the civilization-specific Capitol, State Capitol or Town Center. The Scout has few dedicated attack upgrades, so its combat value generally falls behind as armies improve. Lakota can combine the Wind Runner Home City card and the War Chief aura to raise its speed to about 6.66, close to cavalry movement. Native warrior bonuses can also affect it. Even with upgrades, use the unit for vision and warning rather than frontline combat; its low attack and limited health are not suited to fighting ordinary armies. If the Scout survives, its map information can remain useful through later Ages, but keep it outside enemy detection and artillery range.
Place scouts where information arrives early
A Native Scout is most valuable when it reveals a movement route before the enemy reaches the economy. Put it near a likely raiding path, a Trade Route or the edge of the opponent base, then retreat when a detection unit approaches. It can be rescued from treasure guardians and has no population cost, but the 90 Wood training cost is still significant if produced at a Town Center or Native Embassy. A Native Scout cannot replace a Hero for treasure hunting or a military unit for defense. Its sight 22 and speed 5.5 support a quick pass over unexplored terrain, while 120 hit points allow it to survive some incidental damage. Keep it out of combat and use Stealth only to observe locations that are not covered by Town Centers, Forts or enemy Explorers. If Advanced Scouts is available, the increased limit and snare effect can improve its military utility, but otherwise the Scout should remain a low-damage information unit.
Map-based rescue and settlement caps
On maps with Native Scout treasures, the unit may arrive as a rescued guardian rather than through production. This makes early map exploration especially valuable for Native American civilizations and other factions that can use the free population slot. A saved Scout can be stationed near a route even after its initial exploration. Training limits differ by update and card: the current standard cap is five, while Advanced Scouts raises the Native American or Maya limit to 25. The card also restores snaring, which the unit otherwise lacks in Definitive Edition. Prior to the card, its five-damage attack is too weak to hold enemies in place or protect workers. Because the unit has little direct combat value, avoid filling the increased cap automatically; produce or retain only the Scouts needed for vision and alert coverage.
Civilization-specific support
French access is unusually broad: the civilization starts with a Native Scout and can train more at Town Centers and Native Embassies. British players may gain one through The Mohawk Statesman age-up. Native American civilizations can train the unit at the Town Center or Native Embassy; the Lakota have a speed synergy with Wind Runner and the War Chief aura. Mexico can access Advanced Scouts after revolting to the Maya. Inca are excluded from the standard Native Scout route. A French revolution to Revolutionary France replaces Native Scouts with Eclaireurs, so the original unit should not be expected after that conversion. These differences affect training buildings, starting numbers and upgrades, but not the Scout’s baseline role as fast stealth-capable vision.
Stealth counters and detection discipline
A Native Scout can watch an enemy through Stealth, but enemy Explorers and major buildings can reveal it. Avoid crossing directly through a Town Center or Fort sight zone and keep the Scout moving toward cover when a detector approaches. A Stealth unit is slowed while concealed, so use its normal speed to reposition between observations. The Scout can detect other stealth units, making it useful on maps where an opponent may use hidden raiders. It remains fragile, and being revealed near a military group can lead to immediate loss. Use sight 22 to collect information and send it away before the opponent reacts.
Avoid overvaluing the attack
The Scout’s hand attack is five damage with a large multiplier only against Mercenaries in later Definitive Edition updates; it has little value against ordinary units. Its five siege damage is likewise negligible. Use it to spot a Mercenary or reveal stealth, but let a dedicated army handle the fight. The unit is population-free, but the Wood and production time still have an opportunity cost.
Treasure rescues make early exploration worthwhile
Native Scouts appear in guardian encounters on many American maps, and rescuing one can add vision without spending population. The Scout can help reveal additional treasures and resource locations, but it should not be used to tank repeated guardian attacks. Use the Explorer or another durable unit to handle guardians and bring the Scout into the safe area after the encounter. Its high sight can then monitor the route between the Town Center and distant resources.
Use Advanced Scouts for a combat-support version
Advanced Scouts increases the unit limit for Native American civilizations and Maya to 25 and enables snaring in Definitive Edition. This changes the Scout from a pure observer into light support that can slow a target for the main army. It still has only 120 base hit points and five base damage, so do not use it as a substitute for cavalry or heavy Infantry. A small group can help catch a retreating unit, while a larger group consumes resources and time that could produce stronger units.
Do not sacrifice the Scout for damage
Its role is vision; withdraw when revealed.
Use line of sight to protect distant workers
A Scout stationed near a mine, hunt or trade route can warn of an approaching raid before the workers are reached. Its 22 sight is the main value of the unit, and one surviving Scout can provide repeated information without population cost. Keep a retreat path to friendly buildings and avoid placing it where a Fort or Explorer can reveal stealth. If the Scout is discovered, pull it back instead of fighting; its five-damage attack cannot protect the observation post. A Native Scout found in a Treasure can be moved to another map edge after the first scouting pass, extending vision across the match.
Retreat when detected
Its low attack and health make retreat the correct response.
Retain vision across the map
A surviving Scout continues to warn of raids without using army population.
Use the Scout as an observer
Place it at the edge of a likely enemy route.
Move after scouting
Reposition the unit to protect another route.
Watch the detection range
Avoid town defenses and Explorer patrols when stealthed.
Keep the Scout alive
A surviving unit gives repeatable warning without population cost.
Stealth scouting
Use concealment only where enemy detection is absent.
A safe observer
Withdraw before the scout is surrounded.
Vision first, combat second
The Native Scout is a fast, zero-population unit with speed 5.5 and line of sight 22, so its primary contribution is revealing routes, settlements and approaching forces without taking army population. Access depends on civilization: Native American civilizations other than the Inca, French, and Maya have the listed routes through the Town Center, War Chief or Native Embassy as applicable. It costs 90 Wood and trains in 20 seconds where produced. The normal limit is five; Advanced Scouts can raise the limit to 25 for the stated Native American and Maya cases. Its attack is weak against ordinary Villagers and its special bonus against Mercenaries is not a reason to use it as frontline Infantry. Put Scouts on safe sight lines, monitor whether enemy detection can reveal stealth and withdraw when discovered. Several living Scouts can preserve vision across separate approaches, which is often more valuable than losing them in a fight that the main army could take without their help.
Vision, stealth detection and field limits
Native Scouts are light scouting warriors available through selected Town Centers, Warchiefs or Native Embassies, depending on the civilization. Their 5.5 speed and 22 line of sight make them useful for revealing routes and tracking an opponent without committing a full army. Some versions or access methods give them Stealth mode or detection, so verify the ability shown in the current unit profile rather than assuming every Scout reveals hidden units. They have 120 hit points and a small population footprint, but limited attack values; their main value is information. Keep them moving near a contested settlement or approach and withdraw before a military group can surround them.
Scouting that informs the next decision
A Native Scout can help a Warchief explore, check whether a route is safe and identify the enemy’s unit mix before committing resources. Use the sight range to find exposed production or workers, then bring the main force only when the information suggests a useful engagement. Do not park the Scout in front of a base or trade it for a small amount of damage. The available roster, force limit and stealth rules can vary by civilization, alliance and version. If the Scout is supplied by an Embassy, protect the post that keeps access available. A scouting unit succeeds when it returns with useful information, not when it stays in combat until destroyed.
Experience and Villager matchup changes
The Native Scout currently awards 9 Experience when trained and 9 when killed; before Definitive Edition it awarded 0 for training and 14 for a kill. Its damage multiplier against Villagers is now 0.25×, compared with 1.0× before Definitive Edition and 0.1× before update 13088. These changes are useful when reading old treasure-guardian or Native Embassy references: the scout’s current Experience behavior and Villager matchup are not the same as the early profile.