Napoleon gun is probably one of the dumbest unit in the game

Age of Empires III: DE III - Discussion
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This mercenary unit acts like its a small and portable gun that can move without horse carriage, but in real life it’s a fully-fledged 12-pounder gun that can also fire as an obusier (howitzer). In comparison, 12-pounder guns were the heaviest gun used on the battlefield during the napoleonic wars (40 years before this unit start being deployed in France and in other countries).

I understand the need to have a powerful leather gun as a mercenary unit, but this unit is just so wrong on many levels…

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It does look like they were going more for something like this:

Or this:
M1841 mountain howitzer - Wikipedia.
I’m sure people can find better examples, though.

Gameplay-wise I really like it. I like having artillery options that fill different roles on both the heavier and lighter end.

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Should have been called Geschwindstück which were the cannons actually designed for quick fire and deployment. With the downside that they were prohibitively expensive to make.

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eu uso muito em tratado com a índia o que ruim e o custo populacional

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I use it as USA because gats lose the falc war, and because people are always expecting gats.

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They could have gone with the Grasshopper cannon:

Light, rugged cannon used as an infantry gun - could easily be the Merc version. Or just call it Bronze 3 Pounder.

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It’s far from the dumbest unit. For that, “Dismounted Infantry” easily takes the cake.

I think it’s meant to be a little ambiguous as to what it’s referring to. Somewhat of a reference to the original Napoleon’s proficiency with artillery, and somewhat of a reference to the later large guns inspired by Napoleon III.

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The in-game Napoleon Gun was added with the USA DLC and I’m pretty sure it’s supposed to be the same “12-pounder Napoleon” used extensively in the American Civil War. It’s connection with New Hampshire in the shipment “French Canadians” is indeed supposed to be vague but the M1857 12-pounder Napoleon (which was named by the Americans after Napoleon III who helped design it) looks just like the Napoleon Gun in-game with that distinctive shiny barrel:

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