“ | Ranged cavalry that are effective against cavalry, heavy infantry, and artillery. | ” |
—In-game description |
The Rifle Rider is a gunpowder cavalry in Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs that is unique to the Lakota and can be trained at the Corral once the Fortress Age is reached.
Overview[]
The Rifle Rider is one of the most significant units available to the Lakota. These units are the Lakota version of a Dragoon, but unlike Dragoons, they are good against heavy infantry. They are more expensive, move slower and deal less damage than a dragoon, but their 1.5 ROF means they shoot twice as fast. This means they can easily kill large numbers of heavy infantry units in a short period of time.
Though they are very well rounded, they fare poorly against light cavalry. This is because unlike most cavalry, they are classified as both light and heavy, against whom light cavalry has a multiplier. Massed light infantry can also pose a threat, because of the Rifle Riders' light cavalry tag.
It is a good idea to combine a group of Rifle Riders with several Axe Riders and Wakina Rifles; Rifle Riders are one of the most powerful units in the game. However, Dragoon-like units will make short work of them due to multipliers.
Upgrades[]
The Rifle Rider starts at the Elite level, giving them +25% hit points and attack.
If made available at the Commerce Age with the "TEAM House of Aviz" Home City Card, Rifle Riders will be automatically upgraded to Elite when the player reaches the Fortress Age.
Age | Upgrade | Cost | Effect |
---|---|---|---|
Champion Rifle Riders | 400 wood 200 coin |
Upgrades Rifle Riders to Champion (+25% hit points and attack) | |
Legendary Rifle Riders | 1,500 wood 1,500 coin |
Upgrades Rifle Riders to Legendary (+50% hit points and attack); requires Champion Rifle Riders |
Further statistics[]
As Rifle Riders are unique to the Lakota, only technologies that they have access to are shown in the following table:
Unit strengths and weaknesses | |
---|---|
Strong vs. | Heavy cavalry, hand shock infantry, heavy infantry, artillery |
Weak vs. | Light cavalry, ranged shock infantry, light infantry |
Improvements | |
Hit points | Comanche Horse Breeding (+10%) Cree Tanning (+5%) Navajo Weaving (+5%) Tar Kilns (+5%) |
Attack | Gun Trade (+15%) Ranged Cavalry Caracole (+10%) Smokeless Powder (+10%) Yoga (+5%) Wind Horses (-10% Rate of Fire) Battle Anger (+2.0 multiplier vs. Artillery) Horsemanship (+1.0 multiplier vs. Walls) |
Resistance | Sudanese Quilted Armor (+10% hand resistance) Bonepipe Armor (+10% siege resistance) |
Range | Ranged Cavalry Caracole (+2) |
Line of Sight | Ranged Cavalry Caracole (+2) |
Speed | Apache Endurance (+5%) Comanche Mustangs (+5%) Wind Horses (+0.5) |
Train time | Cheyenne Horse Trading (-40%) Horsemanship (-33%) Quechuan Diet (-15%) Shaman Drums (-10%) |
Cost | Mapuche Ad-mapu (-10% coin cost) Golden Liberty (-5% coin cost) |
Other | Meritocracy (-20% upgrade cost) |
Home City Cards[]
As Rifle Riders are unique to the Lakota, only their cards and other civilizations' TEAM cards are shown in the following tables:
- Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Rifle Rider
Some cards are highlighted with: | |
Green | TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team |
Blue | Shipment that arrives fast (5 seconds) |
Germans[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
TEAM Cavalry Attack | Heavy cavalry, light cavalry, and shock infantry get +10% attack; Germans-only heavy cavalry, light cavalry, and shock infantry get +15% attack instead |
- "TEAM Cavalry Attack" does not stack with the Italian "TEAM Cavalry Attack" card.
Indians[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
TEAM Shivaji's Tactics | All units get +5% hit points and attack |
Italians[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
TEAM Cavalry Attack | Heavy cavalry, light cavalry, and shock infantry get +10% attack; Italians-only heavy cavalry, light cavalry, and shock infantry get +15% attack instead |
- "TEAM Cavalry Attack" does not stack with the German "TEAM Cavalry Attack" card.
Japanese[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
TEAM Sengoku | Unit upgrades cost -20% |
Lakota[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
Akichita | All Lakota warriors get +20% hit points, but get reduced multipliers against Villagers; Tashunke Prowlers get -0.75×; Cetan Bowmen, Club Warriors, Wakina Rifles, Axe Riders, and Tokala Soldiers get -0.33×; Bow Riders and Rifle Riders get -0.25× | |
Leman Trade Muskets | Turns all Axe Riders into Rifle Riders | |
Cavalry Damage | Cavalry get +15% attack | |
Cavalry Combat | Cavalry get +15% hit points and attack | |
4 Rifle Riders | Ships 4 Rifle Riders | |
6 Rifle Riders | Ships 6 Rifle Riders | |
5 Rifle Riders | Ships 5 Rifle Riders | |
7 Rifle Riders | Ships 7 Rifle Riders | |
TEAM Mustangs | Cavalry and shock infantry cost -10% | |
Winter Counts | Training units grants +40% XP and constructing buildings grants +20% XP | |
Burnt Thigh Support | Ships 7 Rifle Riders and 2 Healers; costs 1,000 coin | |
Yankton Support | Ships 6 Rifle Riders; Rifle Riders get +20% attack; costs 1,000 coin |
Maltese[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
TEAM Knights of the Round Table | Ships 1 Hospitaller for each Town Center owned by the player; all units get +2% hit points |
Mexicans[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
TEAM Mariachi | For the next 30 seconds, military buildings work 400% faster and units get +10% speed |
Portuguese[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
TEAM House of Aviz | Dragoons, Ruyters, Cavalry Archers, Rifle Riders, Musket Riders, Yabusame, and Carbine Cavalry can be trained in the Commerce Age; Zamburak, Eagle Runner Knight, Bolas Warrior, Black Rider, and Ming Army train time -15%; Mongolian Army train time -7% |
Russians[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
TEAM Kamchatka Expeditions | Cavalry and shock infantry get +10% hit points and +4 Line of Sight |
Spanish[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
TEAM Spanish Inquisition | Ships 1 Inquisitor; all units get +10 Line of Sight |
French[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
TEAM Hand Cavalry Attack | Heavy cavalry and Coyote Runners get +15% attack | 10 |
Germans[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
TEAM Cavalry Attack | Heavy cavalry, light cavalry, and shock infantry get +15% attack | 10 |
Indians[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
TEAM Shivaji's Tactics | All units get +5% hit points and attack | 25 |
Japanese[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
TEAM Sengoku | Unit upgrades cost -20% | 1 |
Portuguese[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
TEAM Early Dragoons | Dragoons, Ruyters, Cavalry Archers, Rifle Riders, Musket Riders, and Yabusame can be trained in the Colonial Age; Zamburak train time -15%; Ming Army and Mongolian Army train time -7% | 1 |
Russians[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
TEAM Cavalry Scouts | Cavalry and shock infantry get +10% hit points and +4 Line of Sight | 1 |
Sioux[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
Evening Star | Turns all Axe Riders into Rifle Riders | 25 | |
Cavalry Damage | Cavalry get +15% attack | 10 | |
Cavalry Hitpoints | Cavalry get +15% hit points | 10 | |
Cavalry Combat | Cavalry get +15% hit points and attack | 25 | |
4 Rifle Riders | Ships 4 Rifle Riders | 1 | |
6 Rifle Riders | Ships 6 Rifle Riders | 10 | |
5 Rifle Riders | Ships 5 Rifle Riders | 10 | |
7 Rifle Riders | Ships 7 Rifle Riders | 25 | |
Mustangs | Cavalry cost -10% | 10 | |
Riding School | Cavalry train time -40% | 10 | |
Burnt Thigh Support | Ships 7 Rifle Riders and 2 Healers; costs 1,000 coin | 10 | |
Yankton Support | Ships 6 Rifle Riders; Rifle Riders get +20% attack; costs 1,000 coin | 10 |
Spanish[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
TEAM Inquisition | All units get +10 Line of Sight | 10 |
Changelog[]
The WarChiefs[]
Definitive Edition[]
History[]
“ | The ultimate development of the famous Lakota art of war were their amazingly skilled horsemen armed with repeating rifles. There is an old stereotype that the American Indians were reactionary culturally, unable to adapt to modern ways. The Lakota rifle riders demonstrate the falseness of this idea – during their heyday, they were the most advanced warriors on Earth. In Europe at this time, cavalry were still fighting with sabers and lances. Even in America, the U.S. cavalry used single-shot rifles, significantly inferior to the Lakota carbines. | ” |