Treasure

This article is about the extra items in Age of Empires III. For the scenario in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition, see Treasures.

Treasures are extra items that any player can find and collect on maps in Age of Empires III.

Overview

Treasures are usually guarded by one or more treasure guardians which are wild animals or outlaws. The player must kill the guardians before an Explorer, Settler, or Ship can collect the treasure.

Note: Alain Magnan, the only mounted explorer in Age of Empires III, is unable to collect treasures, while the mounted Explorers in the expansions can.

Treasures may be a resource (such as food, coin, wood, and experience), a unit (such as a Pet, Settler, or Healer), or upgrade (such as more hit points for the Explorer, or army).

Each expansion adds a larger variety of treasure sites, along with more Treasure guardians, and more diversified treasure rewards. Notably, in The Asian Dynasties, there are treasures on the bodies of water. Unlike the treasures on land, the action of collecting these water treasures can be done by any type of naval unit (even by those that cannot fish), and action itself has no animation frames, that's to say, it is completed immediately once the unit "touches" the unguarded treasure.

A peculiar set of treasures all belonging to an individual known as "El Pollo Guapo" (Spanish for The Handsome Chicken) can be found across various maps, most of which bequeath benefits to cavalry units and Explorers.

Strategy and tricks

The following hunting tricks require a map with plentiful treasures, and a degree of luck. Along with the shipment or treasure benefits it can result in killing off enemy Explorers, Envoys, Native Scouts, War Dogs, or other pets before they can accomplish much scouting or hunting themselves.

• The Aztec War Chief's experience aura, ability to recruit human guardians.
• The Lakota War Chief's speed aura, ability to recruit human guardians.
• The Haudenosaunee War Chief's hit point aura, ability to recruit human guardians.
• The Shaolin Master's critical hit chance, chance to convert defeated enemies into Disciples, starting Disciple, and the 5 Disciples card. Irregulars can back up the melee units.
• The dual Sohei Archers' ability to stun guardians, chance to instantly kill enemies below 30 hit points, and Mountain Warrior, TEAM 2 Monitor Lizards, or 3 Monitor Lizards (Kermond the Pet Monitor Lizard) card(s). Irregulars can augment the force, and allow numerous divine strikes for the Sohei Archer while in melee (faster attack speed, more chances).
• The dual Brahmin's ability to heal units, inflict trample damage, stun enemies around them, and send the 2 Pet Tigers (Axehilt the Tame Tiger) card. Irregulars can support the force more safely due to the melee distraction provided by the monks, the area of effect stun, and ability of the monks to heal the Irregulars to 11 hit points prior to engaging (though they will begin losing them again until 1 hp is left, and cannot be healed again until combat has ceased).
• The Spanish civilization bonus of faster shipments, Explorer, War Dog, calling out a Minuteman army to provide support while the Explorer takes damage from guardians, unmonitored/AI early game scouts and gatherers, and still sending an economic card instead of support shipment.

Changelog

The Asian Dynasties

• A list of the guardians protecting a treasure was added to the world tooltip that appears when hovering the cursor over that treasure.

Trivia

• One of the treasures references the "Armor of Arkantos".
• Some treasures mention the "Lost City of Cibola", "Empress Zoe" and the "Eye of Ornlu". Cibola is one of the names associated with one of the Seven Cities of Gold, Empress Zoe was an empress of the Byzantine Empire and "Eye of Ornlu" references Ornlu the Wolf.
• Treasures referring to Sasquatch can be found on the Northwest Territory map.
• El Pollo Guapo is Spanish for "The Handsome Chicken".
• One treasure, the "Silver Cradle of Jadwiga", references Jadwiga from Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Dawn of the Dukes.

History

“

The New World was full of hazards for even the most prepared colonists. Some settlers arrived with shockingly little in the way of supplies. Carving a niche out of the rugged wilderness was only the beginning. They faced harsh weather, bold predators, starvation, and disease. Native Americans ranged from helpful to hostile, depending on how much and what kind of contact they had already had with other European settlers. Many colonies were simply abandoned, like Popham colony in Maine; its settlers returned to England after only a year. Some, like Roanoke, vanished completely, and no one knows what happened.

”

Gallery

An Explorer gathering Treasure

A Settler surrounded by Black Bears

The Treasure icon

A Native warrior guarded by a Wolf