Priestess
Priestess is Incas, Maya, Peru special-purpose unit in Age of Empires III, available from the Commerce Age; obtained through Community Plaza (Healers Ceremony), Cathedral (Maya), American Citadel. Its listed ability is Works at the Community Plaza as one and half Villager.
Recorded values
- Cost
- 200 Coin
- Available
- Commerce Age · Community Plaza (Healers Ceremony) ; Cathedral (Maya) ; American Citadel
- Training
- 60 sec · 1 population · 20 XP per train
- Durability & mobility
- 320 hit points · 20% ranged resistance · 4.5 speed · 16 line of sight
- Healing
- range 12
- Hand attack
- 5 base damage · attack interval 1.5
- Ability
- Works at the Community Plaza as one and half Villager
Role, availability & values
Production is available through Community Plaza (Healers Ceremony), Cathedral (Maya), or American Citadel. It has 320 hit points and 20% ranged resistance. It moves at 4.5 speed and uses 1 population. Training costs 200 Coin; it takes 60 seconds to train. Attack profile: Healing: range 12. Hand attack: 5 damage; every 1.5 seconds. Special ability or role: Works at the Community Plaza as one and half Villager.
Matchup & timing
Assign the Priestess to the Community Plaza when its one-and-a-half-Villager contribution helps the ceremony plan; move it with the army when direct healing is more urgent. Its 320 hit points and 20% ranged resistance make it tougher than many support units, but its range-12 healing still requires safe positioning. The Inca, Maya and Peru access routes differ, so check the civilization before planning production.
Healing and Community Plaza contribution
The Priestess is a support unit associated with the Incas, Maya and Peru in Definitive Edition. It can be trained through the Community Plaza’s Healers Ceremony, at a Maya Cathedral or from an American Citadel where that access is available. The unit costs 200 Coin, takes 60 seconds to train and uses one population. Its profile lists 320 hit points, 20% ranged resistance, speed 4.5 and line of sight 16. Priestesses heal at range 12 and can perform a five-damage hand attack, but their value comes primarily from support rather than direct combat. The special Community Plaza interaction lets a Priestess work as one and a half Villagers, so it can contribute more than an ordinary worker to a ceremony when the civilization’s rules allow it. This creates a decision between keeping the unit with the army for healing and assigning it to the Plaza for ceremony output. Healing is most useful when the force can withdraw between engagements and allow injured units to recover; it does not prevent a focused attack from removing the Priestess. Keep it behind the frontline and screen it from cavalry or ranged focus. Since the 200-Coin cost and long training time compete with military production, recruit the unit when its healing or ceremony role will be used rather than treating it as a default army unit. Access and ceremony rules vary by civilization, so distinguish Inca, Maya and Peruvian options. The Priestess belongs to Definitive Edition content; do not apply it to the original game’s standard roster.
Keeping the support unit safe
The Priestess should follow the army at a safe distance instead of joining the front rank. Range 12 healing lets it support nearby units without entering hand combat, and its 320 hit points with 20% ranged resistance provide some protection but not immunity to focus fire. Use healing between engagements and avoid leaving injured units idle in enemy range. If the current civilization needs Community Plaza output, assign the Priestess to the Healers Ceremony where its one-and-a-half-Villager contribution applies; retrieve it when the army needs support. The ceremony and field-healing roles compete for the same unit, so choose based on whether the army or economy needs help most. The Priestess costs 200 Coin and takes a full minute to train, making early recruitment expensive if Coin is also required for an age-up.
Ceremony or field medic
The Priestess has two competing support uses: healing an army from range 12 or contributing to the Community Plaza as one and a half Villager. Decide before the fight which role matters more, because moving the unit back and forth can leave both the ceremony and army short. At 200 Coin and a 60-second train time, protect the investment and keep it behind the units it heals.
Civilization-specific access
Community Plaza production is tied to the relevant civilization’s Healers Ceremony, while the Maya use a Cathedral and Citadel access depends on the mode. These routes are not universal across Incas, Maya and Peru. Check the live building roster before planning a Priestess-based healing composition.
Healing and Community Plaza support
The Priestess is a support unit whose healing range and Community Plaza contribution can serve different needs. Its healing reaches 12 range, allowing it to restore nearby allies while remaining behind the frontline; the unit also works at the Community Plaza as one and a half Villagers. That plaza role can help advance a ceremony, so the Priestess may contribute even when no combat unit is currently injured. Its one-population cost and 320 hit points are useful for a support piece, but its 4.5 speed makes it slower than many cavalry units. Keep the Priestess with the force it is healing and avoid letting it lag behind during a fast retreat.
Civilization-specific access and protection
Access differs by context: the Healers Ceremony can produce Priestesses at a Community Plaza, Maya can train them at the Cathedral, and an American Citadel is another listed route. In the Maya case, confirm the relevant edition or scenario because roster availability is not identical across the wider series. The 200-Coin price and 60-second training time make the Priestess a considered support investment rather than an instant emergency heal. It has only a 5-damage hand attack, so it should not be assigned to fight. Protect it from Cavalry and ranged focus, let it remain close enough to support the main formation, and evaluate whether additional ceremony labor or another military option better fits the current plan.