I created a spreadsheet that can compare any unit class to any other unit class. For those of you who have used my Quick Reference Guide and realized it is the best out there due to the wealth of informative facts and unit statistics for every unit including veteran, guard, and imperial, you will hail this my next masterpiece. Not to say there may not be some typos, but it is as far as I know, bug free. Like the Quick Reference Guide, you will need some basic knowledge of Excel but I created a very complete Instructions set (first worksheet) to guide you through. The instructions also list all of my assumptions (how area of effect is calculated, mercenary costs from the saloon opposed to shipment, how all units use their colonial base stats to compare apples to apples, etc.) so please read before making a stupid reply.
I mathematically compare units by taking into account the cost (in villager seconds using stationary food source such as berries which can be changed to hunts but not suggested since hunts run out and they move greatly slowing the actual resources gathered), population, damage, hit points (and effective hit points after the armor %), speed, range, setup animation, and even ROF. Basically, I created a formula to calculate a qualitative number called “Effectiveness.” This is calculated by:
Notice the positive attributes that improve the unit if a higher value are in the numerator. The negative attributes that make the unit worse if a higher value are located in the denominator. That way, the higher the effectiveness value, the better the unit and this can easily be sorted in Excel. Also, if comparing against a unit that deals damage that the armor protects against, effective hit points are compared. You will need to understand what type of unit does what type of damage and sort on a different column. What I have experienced in game is also true on this spreadsheet. Of course it is controversial since some strongly held beliefs will be proven or disproved. I compared the damage output over a 9 second interval. This way, all of the units will have an even number of shots. For example Crossbows and Macehualtin do not have a setup animation and can fire 6 shots in 9 seconds. Aenna, Cetan Bow, and Longbowman do have a setup animation and will only get off 5 shots in the same time frame. Abus Gun, Forest Prowler, Skirmisher, Strelet, & Wanaka Rifle will get 4 shots while the Cassadore will only fire 3 times. Artillery, with widely varying ROF, will have fractions to calculate damage output since getting all of them in a reasonable time frame to compare is not possible. I realize that high range and faster units like the Cassadore will not stand around and fire, they will hit and run. There is no way to calculate this but is addressed in the high damage output and range in the formula. However, if you’ve ever played a Capitan++, a great micro ability can kill off even better units. You will have to assume that this is against equally skilled opponents. The results here assume the light infantry has an armor of 30% for calculation of the mighty Abus Gun since they deal siege damage. I had to be able to multiply their damage output to make them more effective since they bypass all infantry armor. Since some units (like cassadors have 60% or natives with 10%) have different armors, the abus gun will be slightly skewed but it does get you into the ball park and is the only unit that does this so it is an exception, not the rule. Outlaw Rifleman Outlaw Rifleman The Veteran Cassadore does not have a base colonial stat. It is upgraded to Guard from veteran status so naturally, it is higher on the list. Also, the Jaeger is a mercenary and the same applies. Notice here that the Forrest Prowler is the best light infantry in the presence of the War Chief with the exception of the Longbow with yeoman (requires a card). Without the War Chief, the Iroquois War chief is less than the Dutch Skirmisher due to cost effectiveness (Dutch gather gold very fast) and a little better than all other skirmishers. Notice with the Sioux WC present, the speed bonus allows hit and run (or quick escape in the case of the cetan bow) and move up the list a little. Outlaw Rifleman Outlaw Rifleman Now longbowmen (with yeoman) are doing best at the units they are not supposed to counter. Also the Iroquois Forest Prowler is once again high on the list. Outlaw Rifleman Without the Iroquois WC, Forest Prowlers are now mediocre versus heavy cavalry. Of course, this does not take into account path finding issues with cavalry but all light infantry will benefit from this “bug” as well. Longbowmen still perform the best versus units they are not supposed to perform well against. Outlaw Rifleman Spy Spy Pirate (Saloon) Pirate (Saloon) Watching the war club on this list proves that the Sioux have very weak Colonial siege even with the speed increase allowing slightly faster maneuverability on the battle field. Uhlan The Uhlan does badly but has the most upgrade cards available. The Cossacks do very well on paper due to their low cost and low population, but with path-finding issues, they may not perform so well. Massed heavy cavalry with low hit points is not so effective. Kanya are also weak no matter how you look at them. This is why the Iroquois have such powerful infantry. Outlaw Pistol Outlaw Pistol Outlaw Pistol The tomahawk, even with the Iroquois WC hit point bonus performs worse than the musketeer (villager second cost + lower damage) unless in melee versus cavalry with the WC present. The reason I like to bring this up is I always see the Iroquois being complained about. Well, it is not their military. Their military is mediocre at best (with the exception of the powerful Forest Prowler), it is their wide assortment of shipments. A level 1 Iroquois is a weak civilization. A level 40 Iroquois with Agerian ways, great house, tons of infantry and artillery upgrades, is definitely one of the strongest civilizations. I say this in the hopes that the Iroquois get nerfs to their shipments, not to their military. Nerfing the military will not help, it is the synergistic effects of the fire pit and great shipments that makes them powerful. Ram Ram Another interesting point here is the complete and utter uselessness of the Saloon outlaw mercenaries. They are cheap, but their slow ROF, setup animation that prevents hit and run, and huge population cost, makes them cost ineffective. For approximately each 2 units, an additional house is required (add another 100 wood to the cost for every 2 units)! They are completely worthless waste of space towards the end game when 200 population is reached. Since the German Mercenary Loyalty card does not benefit them, they cannot even be played late game (the wild west research technology of 35% does not even come close to a comparable Guard Unit that can hit and run). Dance Halls is a joke considering population only drops by 2 and requires a shipment. I am aware of Palestine Settlement card that makes German houses 30 population each but play a mirror match with a German pike / crossbow early attack against outlaw defense. You simply cannot make them fast enough from 1 saloon with their huge training time. A lot needs to be done to these broken units. I suggest dropping population by 1 or 2 (and a further 2 with Dance Halls) and getting rid of the set-up animation so they can hit and run. This would make Rifleman slightly more cost effective than strelets against light infantry but they cannot be easily massed. Even if the population stays, removing the set-up animation will make these guys playable in early game. There is no hope for them late game with such a high population and weak stats (compared to other late game units). If they are not meant to be used, why even include them in the game. The spreadsheet allows many other methods of comparison (versus heroes, buildings, etc.) but if I listed them all, the post would be huge. If any one has any special requests I can make them, otherwise, download the spreadsheet, read the instructions, and start comparing!
Everything in italic below is a Fortress, Revolution, or Industrial unit with no colonial statistics (upgrades from veteran). Just take this into account on the list, of course Fortress only units will be more effective.
Strelet
Macehualtin
Navajo Rifleman
Tupi Blackwood Bowman
Carib Blow gunner
Cetan Bow
Seminole Bowman
Cherokee Rifleman
Klamath Rifleman
Crossbowman
Cree Tracker
Wanaka Rifle
Skirmisher
Skirmisher (Dutch)
Abus Gun
Aenna
Longbowman
Huron Mantlet
Forest Prowler
Longbowman (Yeoman)
Incan Bolas Warrior
Strelet
Macehualtin
Navajo Rifleman
Tupi Blackwood Bowman
Carib Blow gunner
Cetan Bow
Seminole Bowman
Cherokee Rifleman
Klamath Rifleman
Crossbowman
Aenna
Cree Tracker
Wanaka Rifle
Skirmisher
Forest Prowler
Skirmisher (Dutch)
Abus Gun
Longbowman
Huron Mantlet
Longbowman (Yeoman)
Incan Bolas Warrior
Outlaw Rifleman
Strelet
Macehualtin
Navajo Rifleman
Tupi Blackwood Bowman
Carib Blow gunner
Seminole Bowman
Cherokee Rifleman
Klamath Rifleman
Crossbowman
Cree Tracker
Cetan Bow
Skirmisher
Skirmisher (Dutch)
Abus Gun
Aenna
Longbowman
Wanaka Rifle
Huron Mantlet
Forest Prowler
Longbowman (Yeoman)
Incan Bolas Warrior
Huron Mantlet
Crossbowman
Macehualtin
Strelet
Aenna
Longbowman
Cetan Bow
Longbowman (Yeoman)
Navajo Rifleman
Abus Gun
Seminole Bowman
Wanaka Rifle
Tupi Blackwood Bowman
Skirmisher
Forest Prowler
Carib Blow gunner
Skirmisher (Dutch)
Cherokee Rifleman
Klamath Rifleman
Cree Tracker
Incan Bolas Warrior
Notice how well the Longbowman does against the unit it is supposed to counter. The Incan Bolas Warrior is high on the list due to its excellent area of effect of 3. The damage output is amazing and it is a very underestimated unit. If you except a HI rush and you have Incas on the map, that is a very cost effective counter. The abus gun is effective, but its high cost and high population bring it to a lower rating (it performs nicly versus other light infantry since it bypasses the armor).
Strelet
Abus Gun
Macehualtin
Cetan Bow
Navajo Rifleman
Seminole Bowman
Wanaka Rifle
Tupi Blackwood Bowman
Skirmisher
Carib Blow gunner
Huron Mantlet
Crossbowman
Skirmisher (Dutch)
Aenna
Cherokee Rifleman
Klamath Rifleman
Longbowman
Forest Prowler
Cree Tracker
Longbowman (Yeoman)
Incan Bolas Warrior
Strelet
Abus Gun
Macehualtin
Cetan Bow
Aenna
Navajo Rifleman
Seminole Bowman
Wanaka Rifle
Tupi Blackwood Bowman
Skirmisher
Forest Prowler
Carib Blow gunner
Huron Mantlet
Crossbowman
Skirmisher (Dutch)
Cherokee Rifleman
Klamath Rifleman
Longbowman
Cree Tracker
Longbowman (Yeoman)
Incan Bolas Warrior
Strelet
Incan Bolas Warrior
Macehualtin
Cetan Bow
Navajo Rifleman
Seminole Bowman
Wanaka Rifle
Tupi Blackwood Bowman
Skirmisher
Carib Blow gunner
Huron Mantlet
Crossbowman
Skirmisher (Dutch)
Aenna
Cherokee Rifleman
Klamath Rifleman
Longbowman
Forest Prowler
Cree Tracker
Abus Gun
Longbowman (Yeoman)
Once again, Forrest Prowlers and longbowmen (especially yeoman) are high on the list. I think it is safe to say, the British and Iroquois have a very powerful light infantry. The Abus guns perform so well since they bypass the Artillery’s high armor.
Pirate (Saloon)
Skull Knight
Mapuche Clubman
Nootka Clubman
Maya Holcan Spearman
Zapotec Lightning Warrior
Incan Huaminca
Pikeman
Halberdier (Russian)
War Club
Doppelsoldner
Halberdier
Jaguar Prowl Knight
Halberdier (Dutch)
Rodelero
Puma Spearman
Nootka War chief
Pirate (Saloon)
Skull Knight
Mapuche Clubman
Nootka Clubman
Maya Holcan Spearman
Zapotec Lightning Warrior
War Club
Incan Huaminca
Pikeman
Halberdier (Russian)
Doppelsoldner
Halberdier
Jaguar Prowl Knight
Halberdier (Dutch)
Rodelero
Puma Spearman
Nootka War chief
Spy
Rodelero
Barbary Corsair
Doppelsoldner
Skull Knight
War Club
Ninja
Ronin
Halberdier (Russian)
Incan Huaminca
Pikeman
Halberdier
Landsknecht
Mapuche Clubman
Jaguar Prowl Knight
Maya Holcan Spearman
Nootka Clubman
Swiss Pikeman
Halberdier (Dutch)
Zapotec Lightning Warrior
Puma Spearman
Nootka War chief
Spy
Rodelero
Barbary Corsair
Doppelsoldner
Skull Knight
Ninja
Ronin
Halberdier (Russian)
War Club
Incan Huaminca
Pikeman
Halberdier
Landsknecht
Mapuche Clubman
Jaguar Prowl Knight
Maya Holcan Spearman
Nootka Clubman
Swiss Pikeman
Halberdier (Dutch)
Zapotec Lightning Warrior
Puma Spearman
Nootka War chief
Cheyenne Rider
Kanya
Coyote Runner
Hussar
Uhlan
Axe Rider
Dog Solider
Cossack
Cheyenne Rider
Kanya
Coyote Runner
Hussar
Uhlan
Axe Rider
Dog Solider
Cossack
Cheyenne Rider
Kanya
Coyote Runner
Hussar
Uhlan
Axe Rider
Dog Solider
Cossack
Uhlan
Kanya
Cheyenne Rider
Dog Solider
Coyote Runner
Hussar
Axe Rider
Cossack
Kanya
Cheyenne Rider
Dog Solider
Coyote Runner
Hussar
Axe Rider
Cossack
Spahi are hands down the best heavy cavalry in the game. The reason no one cries over powered is because they are available only via shipment which limits their numbers.
Notice how well the Tashunke Prowler does when massed and how weak they are by themselves (very powerful with HC shipments!). The Veteran Cuirassier also does not include the Thoroughbreds HC Shipment, this is available in the spreadsheet but not included in this post for space considerations. With this included, it performs high on all of the comparison lists as expected.
Tomahawk
Musketeer (Russian)
Musketeer
Janissary
Outlaw Pistol
Musketeer (Russian)
Tomahawk
Musketeer
Janissary
Musketeer (Russian)
Janissary
Tomahawk
Musketeer
Musketeer (Russian)
Janissary
Musketeer
Tomahawk
Petard (Fortress)
Ram
Culverin
Mantlet
Elite Arrow Knight
Grenadier
Organ Gun
Li'l Bombard
Falconet
Petard (Fortress)
Ram
Li'l Bombard
Grenadier
Falconet
Organ Gun
Mantlet
Elite Arrow Knight
Culverin
Culverin
Organ Gun
Li'l Bombard
Falconet
Grenadier
Mantlet
Elite Arrow Knight
Petard (Fortress)
Petard (Fortress)
Petard (Industrial)
Mortar
Culverin
Light Cannon
Grenadier
Mantlet
Organ Gun
Elite Arrow Knight
Gattling Gun
Horse Artillery
Falconet
Li'l Bombard
Heavy Cannon
Great Bombard
Once again, I would like to point out the Iroquois units. The Light Cannon performs mediocre in everything. You have to think of this unit as a culverin that also can damage buildings and slightly damage infantry. Although a culverin will eat the Light Cannon for lunch and ask for seconds. The light cannon is low on the anti-artillery list due to it's high cost (villager seconds), high population, and slow ROF. If well microed to take advantage of its range, it is a strong anti-artillery unit. However, this spreadsheet is not comparing micro abilities.
Lead, Follow, or Get the Hell out of the way!................CYCLOHEXANE'S FREE GUIDES:
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AOE3 TWC TAD UNIT COMPARISON SPREADSHEET: Unit Comparison Spreadsheet
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