Spearman
Spearman is Commerce Age Heavy Infantry in the Ethiopian and Somali military rosters in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition. Its role is to intercept Cavalry and Shock troops before they reach ranged units or structures.
Recorded values
- Available
- Commerce Age
- Training
- 27 sec · 1 population · 8 XP per train
- Durability & mobility
- 100 hit points · 10% hand resistance · 5.5 speed · 12 line of sight
- Hand attack
- 10 damage · 1.5 attack interval · bonuses: 5.0x vs. Cavalry; 3.5x vs. Shock troops
- Siege attack
- 32 damage · 6 range · 3.0 attack interval
Role, availability & values
It costs 40 Food and 40 Wood, takes 27 seconds to train, uses one population and yields 8 XP. A Spearman has 100 hit points, 10% hand resistance, 5.5 speed and 12 line of sight. Its 10-damage hand attack gains a 5× bonus against Cavalry and 3.5× against Shock troops. Its 32-damage siege attack reaches 6 and fires every 3 seconds. The multipliers reward contact, but the unit must survive its approach.
Matchup & timing
Keep Spearmen close to ranged infantry, artillery or a vulnerable building, then order them onto cavalry as it commits. Their low cost supports a defensive screen, but sending them alone across open ground lets ranged fire remove them before they reach a target. The siege attack can assist a push after defenders are cleared, but it is not a substitute for artillery. Train them in response to the opposing composition rather than treating the counter bonus as universal.
Cover the approach
Spearmen deliver their strongest anti-cavalry damage in hand combat, so they need a safe path into contact. Let faster allies or ranged fire shape that path, then use them to guard the space the opponent must cross. Their 5.5 speed suits holding formation but not chasing a retreating army. If the opponent stops fielding Cavalry and Shock troops, reassess their share and shift resources toward units that answer the new threat.