Padre
Padre is Mexicans hero in Age of Empires III, available from the Commerce Age; obtained through Cathedral. Its listed ability is Claims treasures; Builds Trading Posts and the Cathedral; Regeneration.
Recorded values
- Cost
- 175 Coin
- Available
- Commerce Age · Cathedral
- Training
- 20 sec
- Durability & mobility
- 250 hit points · 10% ranged resistance · 4.5 speed · 18 line of sight
- Healing
- range 12
- Ranged attack
- 10 base damage · range 16 · attack interval 3.0 · bonus damage: 3.0x vs. Treasure guardian; 0.5x vs. Hero; 0.25x vs. Villager
- Siege attack
- 10 base damage · range 6 · attack interval 3.0
- Hand attack
- 5 base damage · attack interval 1.5 · bonus damage: Same as ranged attack
- 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 Trading Posts and the Cathedral; Regeneration
Role, availability & values
Production is available through Cathedral. It has 250 hit points and 10% ranged resistance. It moves at 4.5 speed. Training costs 175 Coin; it takes 20 seconds to train. Attack profile: Healing: range 12. Ranged attack: 10 damage at range 16; every 3.0 seconds. Siege attack: 10 damage at range 6; every 3.0 seconds. Hand attack: 5 damage; every 1.5 seconds. Saber strike (charged): 8 damage; every 2.0 seconds; area of effect 3. Special ability or role: Claims treasures; Builds Trading Posts and the Cathedral; Regeneration. 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
The Mexican Padre becomes more valuable when Liturgy lets him heal every nearby unit at once; before that, position him for the standard healing action and keep injured troops close. His ranged attack is specialized against Treasure Guardians, while its reduced Villager multiplier makes it poor for raids. Protect the Cathedral-trained unit and align the 30-second Liturgy research with a group recovery window.
Healing and Mexican support
The Padre heals at range 12, claims Treasures, builds Trading Posts and can construct the Cathedral. Its 175-Coin cost and 250 hit points make protection essential. Keep it behind the army and use regeneration or nearby revival after it collapses.
Mexican healing support
The Padre is available from the Cathedral in the Commerce Age for 175 Coin. Its 12-range healing is most useful behind a line that can protect it. It can claim Treasures, build Trading Posts and recover from collapse; use the hero’s 10-damage ranged attack only as support.
Cathedral and healing
The Padre is trained from the Cathedral in the Commerce Age. Use healing at range 12 to recover units between fights, and protect the 250-hit-point hero while it claims a Treasure or builds a Trading Post.
Mexico’s Cathedral hero
Padres are Mexican support heroes available from the Cathedral in the Commerce Age. They cost 175 Coin, train in 20 seconds and have 250 hit points, 10% ranged resistance and speed 4.5. Healing at range 12 supports an army between fights, while building Trading Posts and the Cathedral gives the hero economic utility. Keep it protected because a collapsed Padre must regenerate to 100 health near a friendly unit or building before revival. Use its Saber strike against nearby groups only when the risk is acceptable, and keep the ranged attack secondary to healing and exploration.
Healing between engagements
Keep the Padre behind the army and use its range-12 healing after a battle. It can build Trading Posts and the Cathedral, but construction temporarily removes it from the healing line.
Healing, construction and collapse
The Padre combines healing and exploration utility for Mexico. It is trained at the Cathedral in the Commerce Age for 175 Coin, takes 20 seconds, and has 250 hit points, 10% ranged resistance and speed 4.5. Its healing reaches 12 range, making it useful behind a protected frontline and between engagements; it can also claim Treasures and build Trading Posts or the Cathedral. These tasks compete with support: while the Padre is away building or exposed to guardians, it is not safely healing the main force. Its ranged and melee attacks are secondary and should not encourage it to trade fire. If reduced to zero hit points, the Padre collapses rather than being permanently lost; after recovering to 100 hit points, a friendly unit or building nearby can revive it. Retreat it early enough for that recovery to matter. The Saber Strike is a charged area attack, so use it only when the hero can approach without being trapped. Protecting the Padre preserves a healing source and its ability to establish map infrastructure, but it is not a substitute for a combat unit screening it.
Preserve the hero between engagements
The Padre’s support is most valuable when it survives repeated battles. Let it heal from a protected position, move it with the army rather than leaving it behind, and interrupt a Treasure or construction task if an enemy force is approaching. The collapse-and-revival rule allows recovery, but only if the hero can reach the required health near friendly support. Do not treat that as permission to expose it: losing healing access during a push can cost more than the time saved by an unsafe build.
A support hero, not a frontline fighter
The Padre’s modest attacks are not a substitute for Mexico’s combat units. Preserve it for healing, treasure collection and construction; use the Saber Strike only when an enemy group is already controlled by your frontline and the Padre has a safe retreat.
Mexican Explorer and healing hero
The Padre is Mexico’s unique healer and functions as a second Explorer after the civilization reaches the Commerce Age. Like an Explorer, he can build Trading Posts, claim Treasures and regenerate health, with regeneration improving as the player ages up. The Padre has more hit points than a standard Explorer profile and can support the army while extending map control. Use him to secure a route or Treasure, but keep units nearby when the opponent is active.
Cathedral and recovery keep the hero useful
The Padre can build the Mexican Cathedral, which supports his recovery and civilization-specific upgrades. If he is incapacitated, a friendly unit can revive him under the applicable hero rules, so losing a fight does not necessarily remove him permanently. His healing and construction are most useful when he remains close to the army and protected. Keep him distinct from ordinary Priests and campaign-only versions of the Mexican religious hero.