Cossacks 3: Guardians of the Highlands

Cossacks 3: Guardians of the Highlands is the third official DLC expansion for GSC Game World’s massive 2016 real-time strategy remake.

Released in April 2017, this expansion took the franchise into entirely uncharted territory. While previous expansions like Days of Brilliance and Rise to Glory focused on reintroducing classic nations from the original 2001 game, Guardians of the Highlands was highly anticipated because it introduced a brand-new, entirely original faction to the Cossacks universe: Scotland.

The New Nation: Scotland

The addition of Scotland radically altered how the game was played, as they were designed with highly asymmetrical strategies in mind that broke the standard European mold.

Instead of relying on heavy cavalry or sprawling, perfectly disciplined musket lines, Scotland is a terrifyingly aggressive infantry powerhouse.

• The Gaelic Infantry: The Scottish army relies heavily on the Highlanders and the Covenanters. What they lack in elite, heavily armored cavalry and top-tier artillery, they make up for with sheer, unyielding infantry charges. Their warriors (famously marching into battle in kilts) are designed to relentlessly break enemy positions through sheer brute force and high melee damage.
• Unique Architecture and Audio: To ensure Scotland felt completely distinct from the English or the French, GSC Game World designed an entirely new architectural style for their buildings and recorded a brand-new, traditional Scottish soundtrack to accompany their devastating Highland charges.

The AI Assistant: A Mechanical Game-Changer

While Scotland was the headline feature, the most universally praised addition in this DLC was actually a brand-new gameplay mechanic: The AI Assistant.

Managing the massive, continuous economy of Cossacks 3 can be an incredibly stressful, micromanagement-heavy nightmare. The AI Assistant acts as an optional “co-pilot” for your macro-economy. When activated, the Assistant will:

• Automatically detect idle peasants and immediately route them to gathering specific resources that you are lacking.
• Take over the menial tasks of priority building construction based on your current resource pool.
• Free up your APM (Actions Per Minute) so you can focus entirely on commanding your massive 32,000-unit armies and executing tactical flanking maneuvers rather than babysitting woodcutters.

The Scottish Campaign

The expansion also delivered a brand-new, highly captivating single-player narrative. The Scottish Campaign tasks players with leading the sons of Alba through the bloodiest struggles of the 17th and 18th centuries.

The campaign strips away standard skirmish rules to focus on historical accuracy, guiding players through legendary, desperate clashes ranging from the brutal Battle of Marston Moor during the English Civil War all the way to the famous and tragic Jacobite Uprising.

Development and Legacy

Released in April 2017, Guardians of the Highlands was exactly the kind of ambitious DLC the community was begging for.

By introducing a faction that had never existed in the 2001 original, GSC Game World proved they were willing to expand the franchise’s lore rather than just acting as a nostalgia-fueled remake studio. Furthermore, the introduction of the AI Assistant was seen as a massive quality-of-life improvement that made the notoriously punishing RTS significantly more accessible to newcomers without alienating the hardcore veterans who wanted to focus purely on combat.

Key Features:

• A Brand-New Nation — Command Scotland, making their absolute first appearance in the Cossacks franchise history.
• Highland Infantry — Overwhelm your opponents with nine unique Scottish units, utilizing ferocious Highlanders and Covenanters to shatter enemy lines.
• The AI Assistant — Eliminate tedious micromanagement by utilizing a revolutionary AI helper that automatically directs your peasants and manages your economy.
• The Scottish Campaign — Rewrite history across a gripping, narrative-driven campaign covering the English Civil War and the Jacobite Uprisings.
• New Traditional Soundtrack — March your armies into massive, 32,000-unit battles accompanied by an original, soaring Scottish musical score.

Release Platforms:

• Microsoft Windows (PC) — April 12, 2017
• Linux — June 2017
• (Currently available on Steam and GOG.com as a standalone DLC purchase or bundled within the Cossacks 3 Complete Experience).