Sohei Archer
Sohei Archer is Japanese hero in Age of Empires III, available from the Exploration Age; obtained through Town Center. Its listed ability is Claims treasures; Builds Town Centers, Trading Posts, Shrines, and Dojos; Stealth mode (with Intonjutsu Stealth) ; Regeneration.
Recorded values
- Cost
- 175 Coin
- Available
- Exploration Age · Town Center
- Training
- 20 sec
- Durability & mobility
- 250 hit points · 10% ranged resistance · 4.5 speed · 20 line of sight
- Healing
- range 12 · requires Reiki
- Ranged attack
- 8 base damage · range 16 · attack interval 3.0 · bonus damage: 3.0x vs. Treasure guardian; 0.8x vs. Hero; 0.25x vs. Villager
- Siege attack
- 10 base damage · range 6 · attack interval 3.0
- Hand attack
- 4 base damage · attack interval 1.5 · bonus damage: Same as ranged attack
- Sabotage attack
- 1,500 base damage · range 16 · attack interval 3.0 · requires Kayakujutsu
- Ability
- Claims treasures; Builds Town Centers, Trading Posts, Shrines, and Dojos; Stealth mode (with Intonjutsu Stealth) ; Regeneration
Role, availability & values
Production is available through Town Center. 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: 8 damage at range 16; every 3.0 seconds. Siege attack: 10 damage at range 6; every 3.0 seconds. Hand attack: 4 damage; every 1.5 seconds. Sabotage attack: 1 damage,500 at range 16; every 3.0 seconds. Special ability or role: Claims treasures; Builds Town Centers, Trading Posts, Shrines, and Dojos; Stealth mode (with Intonjutsu Stealth) ; 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 Sohei Archer’s healing requires Reiki, so it can begin as a ranged Japanese hero and gain support value after the Monastery upgrade. Its 20 line of sight, building abilities and stealth option help with scouting and map control; avoid exposing its 250 hit points while using those tools. Check which upgrades are active before relying on healing or stealth in a fight.
Availability and standard statistics
The Sohei Archer is a Japanese hero and ranged archer introduced in The Asian Dynasties. In a standard random-map match, Japan starts with two separate Sohei Archers; the Town Center can train up to two, with each costing 175 coin and taking 20 seconds. Each has 250 hit points, 10% ranged resistance, speed 4.5, and line of sight 20. They can explore, claim treasure, see stealth, and build Town Centers, Trading Posts, Shrines, and Dojos. Their ranged attack deals 8 damage at range 16 every 3 seconds, with a 3.0 multiplier against Treasure Guardians, 0.8 against Heroes, and 0.25 against Villagers. In melee they deal 4 damage every 1.5 seconds using the same multipliers. Their siege attack deals 10 damage at range 6 every 3 seconds. These are utility heroes rather than frontline damage dealers: ordinary ranged attacks do little against Villagers and Heroes, but their guardian bonus helps clear treasure sites.
Healing and special abilities
Reiki enables the Sohei Archer to heal friendly units at range 12 for 6 hit points; the technology must be researched before this support role is available. The Stun ability targets a Treasure Guardian from range 16, preventing it from acting for 20 seconds, and has a 60-second cooldown. This gives the hero time to finish a guarded treasure or let nearby units attack safely. Smoke Bomb returns the Sohei Archer to the Home City shipment point after a four-second delay and also recharges in 60 seconds, which can extract a threatened explorer from danger. Divine Strike is a passive ability present from the start: each attack has a 25% chance to instantly kill an enemy unit below 30 hit points. Since the hand attack occurs twice as often as the ranged attack, entering melee against a stunned, weakened target creates more opportunities for Divine Strike, although doing so exposes the hero to retaliation.
Monastery abilities and stealth
Later Monastery research adds further tools. Intonjutsu Stealth grants Stealth mode and a passive 15% chance to evade attacks through Dodge. Kayakujutsu unlocks Sabotage, a powerful long-cooldown attack against buildings and ships only: it deals 1,500 damage from range 16, with a 60-second cooldown. This is most valuable against an isolated structure or ship after the Sohei Archer has approached unseen; it should not be treated as a general unit attack. The Sohei Archer can also use stealth to scout a route or position for Sabotage, but detection and enemy pressure still matter. These upgrades turn a basic explorer into a specialist for scouting, treasure control, healing, and occasional structure damage, while the Town Center production limit remains two.
Age scaling and combat limits
The hero automatically improves with age beginning in the Commerce Age. The listed age steps raise hit points and ordinary damage by 50% in the Commerce Age, 100% in the Fortress Age, 150% in the Industrial Age, and 200% in the Imperial Age; the Sabotage attack is excluded. This scaling helps the pair remain useful for exploring and support later in a match, but does not remove their matchup weaknesses. Cavalry can close quickly, Villagers take reduced damage from their attacks, and specialist mercenaries can overpower them. Keep Sohei Archers behind the main army, use them to finish treasure encounters, and heal valuable troops instead of relying on them to trade with combat units.
Japanese upgrades and Home City cards
The Sohei Archer benefits from upgrades available to its Japanese civilization, including hit-point and archer-attack improvements. Seminole Bowyer increases archer damage, while Carib Garifuna Drums changes its Villager multiplier; Japanese Isolation supplies a smaller attack bonus. The Mountain Warrior Home City Card is especially useful for treasure hunting because it doubles the normal resource or experience reward from eligible treasures; it does not increase percentage-based rewards or rewards that grant units. Stream of Enlightenment is a team-support card: nearby enemy units lose 5 attack, and the effect can stack when both Sohei Archers are close. Because the reduction applies to all enemies in its radius, allied armies nearby benefit from the aura. The card and Monastery improvements make the two heroes more valuable when kept with an army, while smoke bomb preserves an escape option if that position becomes unsafe.
Name and edition differences
Before Definitive Edition, this hero was named Ikko-Ikki. The Asian Dynasties and Definitive Edition unit otherwise serves the same campaign and multiplayer role. When reading older builds, note that the hero's name, available Home City Card list, and technology presentation can differ, but the core identity remains a two-unit Japanese explorer with healing, treasure control, and researched utility abilities.
Treasure-hunting synergy
Mountain Warrior doubles eligible treasure rewards for the Sohei Archer, making early exploration an important part of Japan's opening economy. The bonus applies to ordinary resource or experience rewards, not percentage rewards or treasure outcomes that spawn units.
Japanese archer with Divine Strike and Smoke Bomb
Sohei Archers begin with Divine Strike, which can occasionally kill a weakened enemy instantly, and Smoke Bomb, which immediately returns the unit to its Home City shipment point. These abilities make the archer useful for opportunistic attacks and safe extraction, but both depend on timing. Use Divine Strike against a weakened valuable target, and save Smoke Bomb for a threat that would otherwise trap the unit or for a planned return to safety.
Unlock more abilities through Monastery improvements
Later Monastery improvements can grant Sohei Archers additional abilities and Stealth. Their range and special actions create tactical value beyond ordinary ranged damage, but the unit should not be left alone in a fight. Keep it with Japanese infantry and use stealth or Smoke Bomb to control exposure. Research the relevant upgrades only when Sohei Archers are part of the army; otherwise, resources are better spent on a larger frontline or a key age transition.