Sentinel
The Sentinel is the Maltese Commerce Age replacement for the Musketeer in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition — Knights of the Mediterranean. It is a defensive gunpowder infantry unit that gains extra hit points and damage near allied buildings and can construct Outposts.
Recorded values
- Available
- Commerce Age · Hospital; Fort; Galleon; Outpost (with the "De Redin Towers" card) ; American Citadel
- Training
- 30 sec · 2 population · 10 XP per train
- Durability & mobility
- 155 hit points · 20% hand resistance · 4.25 speed · 14 line of sight
- Ranged attack
- 23 base damage · range 13 · attack interval 3.0
- Siege attack
- 18 base damage · range 6 · attack interval 3.0
- Hand attack
- 18 base damage · attack interval 1.5 · bonus damage: 2.5x vs. Cavalry; 1.9x vs. Shock troops
- Battle Bluster (charged)
- 18.4 base damage · range 14 · attack interval 3.0 · area of effect 1 · bonus damage: 0.25x vs. Artillery · recharge 30 · requires Flintlock Rockets card
- Siege attack (rocket)
- 15 base damage · range 14 · attack interval 3.0 · area of effect 1 · requires Flintlock Rockets card
Role & counters
Sentinels cost 60 Food and 40 Coin, take 30 seconds to train and use two population. They have 155 hit points, move at 4.25 speed and fire for 23 damage at range 13. Their hand attack is stronger against Cavalry and Shock troops. Buildings strengthen nearby Sentinels; the Fort Construction card also lets them construct Forts.
Training & availability
Unique to the Maltese from the Commerce Age. Train at a Hospital, Fort, Galleon or American Citadel; the De Redin Towers Home City Card also enables Outpost training.
When to field it
Use Sentinels to defend a position around allied buildings, where their aura raises both hit points and damage. They are slower and cost more population than ordinary Musketeers, so avoid using them as a cheap massed screen. Keep them away from Light Infantry and Artillery, and use the Fort Construction card only when forward fortification supports the larger army plan.
Building aura and defensive placement
A Sentinel receives a 7.5% hit-point and damage bonus while within 34 range of an allied building; the effect doubles near buildings with attacks, including Town Centers and Forts. After researching Crusader Knights, enemy buildings can also provide the aura. Sentinels regenerate 0.25% of their hit points per second after remaining idle for 3.5 seconds. These features reward holding ground near infrastructure, but they do not make the unit safe from Artillery or Light Infantry. Establish the defensive line around a useful building instead of chasing a mobile army across open terrain.
Outpost and Fort construction
Sentinels can build Outposts as part of their unit role. Sending the Fort Construction Home City Card also enables Fort building, although Sentinels construct Forts at one-third normal speed. Advancing to the Industrial and Imperial Ages increases that construction speed. Eight Sentinels take about 57 seconds to build a Fort in Commerce or Fortress, 29 seconds in Industrial, and 19 seconds in Imperial. Treat this as a forward-defense option that costs time and requires protecting the builders; it does not turn every Sentinel into a replacement for a normal Fort Wagon.
Upgrade path and combat matchups
Veteran Sentinels cost 200 Wood and 200 Coin for +20% hit points and damage. Guard Sentinels cost 600 of each resource for a further +30% and require Veteran; Imperial Sentinels cost 1,500 of each for +50% and require Guard. The unit is strong against Cavalry, Shock Infantry and Heavy Infantry, but vulnerable to Light Infantry, counter-skirmishers and Artillery. Its two-population cost and defensive aura make positioning and upgrade timing important: build the line around a site worth holding, then spend on ranks if the game will continue long enough to use them.