Sent me what card you sayl
Glorious Revolution (Age 2)
(you can find this card in the cathedral in the home city deck)
This card will unlock three new technologies in the church; Thin Red Line, The Black Watch, and Rogerâs Rangers.
Thin Red Line
If you research the Thin Red Line technology before researching the guard upgrade for the British Musketeer, then you should get the graphic youâre looking for. This tech is free and gives your musketeers 20% extra hit points, but does give a -10% speed penalty too.
The other two techs give you access to Highlanders (tartaned Scottish super musketeers) and Rangers (British riflemen aka Green Jackets) respectively. If youâve not come across this card before youâre really going to love it.
Itâs a new addition after the August Update.
I believe that the way Redcoat skins are obtained is unnecessarily complicated and not very intuitive. A better alternative would be to categorize the Redcoats as a âunique unit,â allowing the âRoyal Guard unitâ category to be transferred to the British Grenadier (providing a reason for this unit to have its own skin).
Additionally, the âRoyal Guard unitâ category could be transferred from the Musketeer to the French; letâs be honest, itâs quite redundant for their unique unit (the Cuirassier) to also have the âRoyal Guard unitâ category. This opens up the possibility for the French Musketeer to have its own skin (in blue) and finally feature the âeagle emblemâ on its shako.
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I think this is an acceptable idea as long as the the stats of these units remain pretty much the same.
This could present an issue as Royal Guard units are meant to be above average units and if the French got musketeers with an extra 10% attack and hit points (the same stats as the Portoguess), this would be very over powered in my opinion. Especially with the battle promotion they are already granted with.
To achieve this, I think the French Musketeer (and Halberdiers) should get a re-skin after the French Royal Army home city card is sent.
French Veteran Musketeer
French Veteran Halberdier
Then after the Guard upgrade you get the pretty Napoleonic soldier aesthetic.
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I must admit that I love the idea, and if it were up to me, the Musketeers of each civilization should have their unique skin. However, it must be acknowledged that this could complicate gameplay, and I consider it unnecessary to have to meet a series of requirements to access unique skins (that are more historically accurate).
This could be an opportunity to modify the British Musketeer, now transformed into the âRedcoat,â it could be a unit with different base statistics or have some special abilities like the Caroleans. In addition to having its unique portrait, it would also have the âThin Red Lineâ ability (+HP -Speed) by default.
Itâs a technical issue that could surely be fixed, although personally, I consider that the French Musketeers were one of the most competent units in the Napoleonic Wars, so it wouldnât be historically incorrect for them to be one of the most powerful units in the game (although, of course, they can always be nerfed).
I also want to suggest a card for the French similar to the âMilyutin Reformsâ for the Russians (available in Age IV) that converts all French Musketeers into Zouaves.
French Zouaves in Mexico
French zouaves in Crimea
To do this, the existing Zouave unit in the game could be repurposed, but the pants would have to be changed to the famous red pants (Le pantalon rouge câest la France!)
Although I feel like Iâve gone off on a bit of a tangent, I believe that the current way of obtaining historical skins for the Redcoats is unnecessarily complicated. It would be more coherent and great to categorize the Redcoats as âunique units.â I also find it impossible not to discuss the Redcoatsâ skins in AoE 3 without mentioning the Musketeers of La Grande ArmĂ©e because the British were one of the main rivals of Napoleonâs France (and Napoleon is a vital element in AoE 3 due to his influence on the gameâs timeframe).
As a final reflection, if we take a critical look, the timeframe of AoE 3 could have been divided into at least three different games:
- An RTS covering the 16th-17th centuries.
- An RTS covering the Napoleonic Wars.
- An RTS covering the period from 1830 to 1870 (US Civil War, Indian Rebellion of 1857, Franco-Mexican War, the âWild West,â Crimean War, etc).
This timeframe is complex, and probably the only common elements across the centuries in which AoE 3 is set are muskets, cavalry, and muzzle loading cannons. So, I donât have high expectations that the game will be entirely historically accurate, as gameplay is a significant constraint. On a personal note, I sometimes play AoE 3 matches with the maximum age set to age III because I like the aesthetics of soldiers with tricorn hats (although I recognize that these matches tend to last longer than conventional ones).
3 Likes
You mean like this?
Already done:
Zouave red when blue and new zouave for USA - Mods - Age of Empires
2 Likes
Those red pants, exactly.
That skin looks great.
As a personal observation, although it would be historically accurate for the French musketeer to wear the famous red pants as their Imperial upgrade, I would prefer the final skin for the French musketeer to be that of a Napoleonic fusilier due to their influence in the AoE 3 timeframe. However, the Pantalon rouge has a historically interesting context that should not be ignored. So, if there were a card that transformed the French musketeers into Zouaves, it would be a satisfying mechanic to fulfill the historical context (since the Zouaves appeared after the Napoleonic Wars).
French military uniform from 1837 to 1870
With the case of the Redcoats it is different because the British musketeer has always been characterized by wearing the color red in their coats (unlike nations like France that used to change the color of their uniform throughout their history during the timeframe in which develops AoE 3)
Redcoat at the Battle of Naseby (1645)
Redcoat in the US War of Independence (1775)
Napoleonic Wars (1810)
Crimean War (1853)
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I like the idea of a Highlander being present in the barracks.
Taking advantage of the theme of the Redcoats and how the British army was made up; I consider that some concepts can be taken from other historical games such as Assasin Creed.
In Assassinâs Creed 3 the Grenadier was a unit that used a musket, with a lot of physical strength, a lot of resistance, superior to regular musketeers and that occasionally throw grenades.
This unit is very similar to the Mexican âSoldadoâ, so I think it could be coherent that the Black Watch is the same type of unit as the âSoldadoâ: musketeer/grenadier
(In parentheses, remind you that the origin of the name Black Watch is uncertain, but that name has its origins in the early 18th century with roots in the Jacobite rising of 1715).
But hey, itâs a personal opinion and I know that many are used to the Highlander unit being musketeers with better statistics, also mentioning that only some of the Highland Brigade soldiers used grenades.
I just want to leave this idea in case one day another rework of British civilization is considered.
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At the righ moment I saw the BlackWatch Highlanders in PUP images, I thought Assassinâs Creed Grenadier.
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Those skins are great, I think the axes are a creative freedom but the Jacobite shields and swords are excellent.
Perhaps the idea of the Highlander (or âBlack Watch,â as they were unofficially known at the time) being an exclusive unit for the British should be considered.
Many of the cards for the British provide bonuses simultaneously for both Musketeers and Grenadiers. If hypothetically the Highlander/Black Watch were to take on the role of Musketeer/Grenadier (similar to the Mexican âSoldadoâ), it could simplify the cards used for these units. Furthermore, it could be an interesting nerf since the Highlanders, like the âSoldado,â would only use their grenades against buildings (itâs explicitly stated that the British would no longer have access to Grenadiers, although I believe the British have several anti-infantry units like the Archer, Ranger, and good Musketeers).
I understand that this could bring controversies, such as the redundancy of giving the British both a good Musketeer (Redcoat) and a good Musketeer/Grenadier hybrid (Black Watch). However, I wanted to share my idea because I believe the Black Watch had significant and continuous involvement in various important military events during the AoE 3 timeframe.
I consider that for the AoE 3 timeframe the 42nd Regiment of Foot should be taken as a reference (they had the unofficial name of âBlack Watchâ, it was not until 1881 when they were officially assigned that name).
BASE
VETERAN
GUARD
IMPERIAL
For those interested, I leave you this link and this video, it will be explained that the Black Watch had an important participation even in the 2 world wars.
PS: As a personal anecdote, I remember that the first time I saw the Black Watch was in this movie, I saw it when I was a child and what I thought was: you have to be very brave to go into battle wearing a Kilt 
EDIT:
Just to make sure Iâm not being âoff topicâ, the âBlack Watchâ are also considered âRedcoatsâ, right?
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