Zouave
Zouave is a ranged infantry mercenary available in the Industrial Age through civilization-specific hiring buildings: Tavern for Europeans, Monastery for Asians, Saloon for Americans, Palace for Africans or Lombard for Italians. It has 360 hit points, 40% ranged resistance and moves at 4.5 speed. A Zouave occupies two population, costs 300 Coin and takes 60 seconds to train. Its attacks deal 38 ranged damage, 23 hand damage and 30 siege damage.
Recorded values
- Cost
- 300 Coin
- Available
- Industrial Age · Tavern (Europeans) ; Monastery (Asians) ; Saloon (Americans) ; Palace (Africans) ; Lombard (Italians)
- Training
- 60 sec · 2 population · 30 XP per train
- Durability & mobility
- 360 hit points · 40% ranged resistance · 4.5 speed · 21 line of sight
- Hand attack
- 23 damage · 1.5 attack interval
- Ranged attack
- 38 damage · 17 range · 3.0 attack interval
- Siege attack
- 30 damage · 6 range · 3.0 attack interval
Role, availability & values
Use the Zouave as a durable ranged fighter, keeping it behind a screen so Cavalry and melee units cannot close. Its ranged resistance helps it trade against ordinary fire, but its slow production and Coin cost mean it should be preserved. It can contribute siege damage when safe, though it does not replace dedicated artillery against defended structures.
Training & availability
Industrial Age; Tavern for Europeans, Monastery for Asians, Saloon for Americans, Palace for Africans or Lombard for Italians; 360 hit points; 4.5 speed; 40% ranged resistance; two population; costs 300 Coin; 60-second train time.
Matchup & timing
Hire Zouaves when a late-game army needs a high-health ranged unit and the civilization’s required mercenary building is available. Their 60-second training time requires advance planning, and two population per unit limits how many can be fielded. Keep other unit roles in the army to answer threats that can bypass or counter ranged infantry.
Current statistics
In the current Definitive Edition profile, a Zouave costs 300 coin, takes 60 seconds to train, uses two population, and has 360 hit points with 40% ranged resistance. It moves at speed 4.5 and sees 21 range. Its melee attack deals 23 damage every 1.5 seconds; its ranged attack deals 38 damage every 3 seconds at range 17. The ranged attack has no unit-type multipliers, which is central to understanding its role: a Zouave brings a high, dependable base attack rather than a specialist bonus. The unit also has a 30-damage siege attack at range 6 every 3 seconds. Earlier Definitive Edition patches used different values for cost, hit points, resistance, population, and attacks, so historical match data may not match the current profile.
Role and matchup choices
The Zouave is a high-cost mercenary gunpowder infantry unit designed to function as general-purpose ranged support. Its large health pool and ranged resistance let it remain in a fight longer than ordinary ranged infantry, and its speed allows it to move with a mixed army. Since it lacks heavy-infantry or light-infantry tags and has no attack multipliers, it does not behave like a conventional Musketeer or Skirmisher. It can trade well against infantry and light ranged cavalry through raw statistics, but that does not make it a cost-efficient hard counter to every unit. Heavy cavalry with lance bonuses, artillery, and specialist mercenaries can punish it. Keep it screened from cavalry and use dedicated anti-artillery or anti-cavalry units to cover those threats.
Recruitment and civilization access
The unit is available from the Industrial Age through the rotating mercenary selection at the Tavern for European civilizations, the Monastery for Asian civilizations, the Saloon for American civilizations, and the Palace for African civilizations. Italians can use a Lombard as their mercenary recruitment building. Access depends on the faction and the available mercenary pool, so the Zouave is not guaranteed to appear in every match. The United States can receive it through the Poker Home City Card and through the New York Federal State's New York Zouaves card, which sends ten Zouaves and adds one to each later shipment of that card. Hausa players can recruit Zouaves at a Palace for 300 Influence after choosing the Moroccan alliance. Germans can gain access through the Adler von Lübeck Home City Card when Zouaves are available in their Tavern pool.
Improving and fielding the unit
Zouaves benefit from broad infantry improvements that raise hit points or attack, including Flint Lock, Paper Cartridge, Smokeless Powder, and applicable civilization or native technologies. Their high coin price makes it worthwhile to preserve veterans and combine them with units that cover the matchups they do not specialize in. Use their 17-range gun to contribute damage from behind a screen, then reposition when cavalry closes. Against a fortified position, their siege attack can add pressure, but artillery remains the more efficient building-breaker. Their two-population footprint also matters in a late-game army: durability is valuable, but a force made entirely of expensive mercenaries can limit the number of supporting units and strain coin income.
Definitive Edition scope
The Zouave was added to Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition in update 23511. Its current unit role and recruitment pool should be read in that edition's context; it is not a baseline mercenary entry from the original game or its two original expansions. The United States card, the Hausa alliance route, and patch-adjusted statistics are faction or version-specific access details. Check the active game version when comparing guides, since the unit has received balance changes since introduction.
Improvements, cards, and resource planning
The unit can receive both general infantry improvements and faction-specific bonuses. Flint Lock and the Cree, Navajo, or Tar Kilns technologies improve hit points; Paper Cartridge and Smokeless Powder increase attack, while technologies such as Armatoloi and Yoga provide smaller applicable bonuses. Broad speed and training-time improvements can also make a slow, costly mercenary easier to field with the main army. Some factions have effects that change the price or training time of mercenaries, so compare the final cost in the chosen civilization rather than treating 300 coin as universal after bonuses. Home City Cards and revolt choices can change access: the French card Hire Zouaves provides a direct option, while other shared or faction-specific cards can affect mercenary availability or combat performance. A Zouave is most useful when coin income can sustain replacements and the army already has answers to artillery and heavy cavalry. Avoid spending the entire late-game population on them: at two population apiece, a durable mass can still lack the specialist units needed to screen it, siege defenses, or pursue fast raiders. Keep a reserve of coin for reinforcement waves and maintain formation spacing when enemy artillery is present.
High-health ranged mercenary
The Zouave is an Industrial Age mercenary ranged Infantry unit. It costs 300 Coin, takes 60 seconds to train, uses two population and has 360 hit points with 40% ranged resistance. It moves at speed 4.5 and has sight 21. Its ranged attack deals 38 damage at range 17 every three seconds, while the hand attack deals 23 damage and the Siege attack 30. The profile lists no attack multipliers against other units, so its strength is the reliable ranged damage and durability rather than a specialized counter bonus. Tavern, Monastery, Saloon, Palace and Lombard access varies by civilization and expansion. The high Coin price and slow queue make Zouaves a planned reinforcement; combine them with specialist units if the army needs explicit anti-Cavalry or anti-artillery bonuses.
A durable line still needs support
Zouaves can remain in a firing line under ranged pressure longer than many Infantry, but they are not immune to concentrated fire or melee attacks. Use their range 17 to begin shooting before slower enemies can close, and keep a screen between them and Cavalry. Because they lack target multipliers, choose another unit when a particular counter is required rather than expecting a large Zouave mass to solve every matchup. Two population per unit also means a group consumes room that could otherwise hold artillery or supporting Infantry. Confirm which mercenary building and map pool offer the Zouave before budgeting Coin; if access is unavailable, select another ranged option from the civilization’s roster.
Mercenary cost and combat changes
The Zouave is a costly French-associated Mercenary Infantry choice whose current profile combines high ranged resistance with damage across its attacks. It now costs 300 Coin, has 360 hit points and 40% ranged resistance. The cost was 400 Coin before update 50830 and 350 before update 13.690; its hit points were 320 and resistance 50% before update 13.690. It currently uses two population; before patch 15.30007 it used three. The current hand, ranged and siege attacks deal 23, 38 and 30 damage respectively, compared with 25, 35 and 20 before update 13.690. Current training and kill Experience are 30 each, up from 20. These changes make present-day Zouaves less costly in population than older references suggest, while the Coin price and specialist mercenary role still call for deliberate timing.