Raid on the Caribbean (co-op)
Raid on the Caribbean (co-op) is a cooperative Historical Battle in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition, set in 1586. Two players share control of British against Spanish. This mode uses a team-specific objective sequence based on Raid on the Caribbean.
Mission background
The required goals are Destroy 5 Spanish colonies in the Caribbean by killing the soldiers defending them. Optional goals include Find English Pirates to join Drake's expedition; Disable the Spanish coastal gun; Capture the moored Spanish Treasure Ship.
Objectives & rules
Split the five Spanish colonies between players, but keep the fleet close enough to support each landing. The required condition is to kill the defending soldiers at all five sites, not merely sail past them. Disable the coastal gun before exposing ships, and capture the Treasure Ship or recruit English Pirates when the team has control of the approach.
Starting force and objective sequence
This cooperative version of Raid on the Caribbean is a Definitive Edition Historical Battle set in 1586 and based on the single-player Raid on the Caribbean scenario. Two players command British forces against Spain. The mission begins in the Commerce Age, ends in the Fortress Age and has a population limit of 200 from the start. Each player begins with 700 Food, 700 Wood and 700 Coin, two Caravels and a Galleon carrying a small land force. Player A’s transport includes Sir Francis Drake, three Longbowmen and five Pikemen; Player B has three Longbowmen and five Pikemen in its Galleon. The required objective is to destroy five Spanish colonies in the Caribbean by killing the soldiers defending them. Optional tasks ask the team to find English Pirates, disable the Spanish coastal gun and capture the moored Spanish Treasure Ship. Coordinate the two starting fleets and land forces so they do not attack separate colonies without enough support. The initial resources allow the partners to develop the force, but the objective is still a series of attacks rather than an open-ended supremacy match. Scout the coastline, identify defenses and use ships to support a controlled landing. Keep Pikemen near vulnerable Longbowmen if cavalry or other close-range threats appear. Optional goals can improve the expedition’s position, but prioritize the five required colonies if the team is taking losses or running out of time. The map and target order are authored for this co-op scenario, so use the scenario objectives rather than assuming the original solo mission’s exact setup. This page describes the cooperative mode; the linked Raid on the Caribbean entry covers its single-player counterpart.
Cooperative coordination
The two players should coordinate which force screens and which force attacks, because the starting fleets and landing parties are split between them. Drake begins with Player A, while both players have Longbowmen and Pikemen aboard their transports. Keep the land units together when approaching defended colonies; the Pikemen can protect the Longbowmen if close threats reach the landing zone. Use the Caravels to scout and cover the approach, but do not leave the Galleons isolated near Spanish defenses. Once a colony is located, eliminate its defending soldiers to satisfy the objective before moving to the next target. The optional Pirates can add support, while disabling the coastal gun and capturing the Treasure Ship can reduce danger or provide a tactical reward. Take these in an order that fits the team’s position and health rather than splitting the partners across the map. With 700 of each resource per player and a 200 population limit, the co-op mode gives room to build a substantial force, but the scenario still limits the final age to Fortress Age. Coordinate shipments and production so both partners can reinforce the same push. If one player is rebuilding, the other should scout and hold rather than starting a separate assault. The five-colony objective determines mission completion; optional tasks should be pursued only when they do not leave the primary attack short of units.
Split the colony targets and protect the fleet
The co-op objective is to clear five Spanish Caribbean colonies by defeating their defending soldiers. Optional tasks include recruiting English pirates, disabling the coastal gun and capturing the moored Spanish Treasure Ship. Assign separate colony targets only when each player has enough force to defeat the garrison; otherwise, clear the sites together and preserve units. Disable the coastal gun before moving ships into its range, and use the fleet to cover the Treasure Ship capture. Keep a reserve near the transport route so land forces do not become stranded after the naval engagement. The mission follows Drake’s expedition in 1585–1586; the co-op version changes how players can distribute the work, but the five-colony requirement remains the central goal. Do not spend the whole force destroying optional buildings while a colony remains defended.