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The Ballista is an Iron Age artillery unit. It is produced in the Ballista Camp, and is the last unlocked unit of the Iron Age.

Compared to the Stone Thrower of the previous age, it gains +1 attack and +1 defense, along with a very important +1 to range. This allows it to hit most targets across the map on the first turn.

It has an attack bonus on hills and is effective against heavy class units, such as the Legionnaire. However, the low damage means that is is only reliably effective against ranged units and other artillery units.

It is followed by the Catapult of the Early Middle Ages. It should be discontinued afterwards as they will be weak against all higher age units.

Usage[]

The Ballista can be used as fire support by staying behind the army. A full group of Ballistas can be used in combat against melee classes, but vulnerable if the opponent contains fast or light units, such as Mounted Warriors and Soldiers.

Overall, the Ballista is a good unit that can have uses in taking out enemy Archers and Ballistas.

Against Same Age Units[]

Light Unit Soldiers[]

The Ballista is very weak against the Soldier. Soldiers are very resistant to the attacks of Ballistas, and can take minimal damage if sheltered in trees or bushes. The moderately high movement speed of Soldiers allows them to easily get to Ballistas. Ballistas should be defended by Legionnaires or Archers, to prevent Soldiers from reaching friendly Ballistas.

Ranged Unit Archers[]

The Ballista is very effective against the Archer. The Archer has low defense, and is exposed easily by the Ballista, as the Ballista has the upper hand of range. Two hits are often sufficient to kill Archers, but it should be noted that Archers have very high damage and if Archers get a clean shot to the Ballista, it will have a severe impact on the Ballista.

Fast Unit Mounted Warrior[]

The Mounted Warrior is a significant threat to the Ballista. Mounted Warriors can reach Ballistas on the other side of the map in 2 turns, and deal massive damage. Meanwhile, Ballistas are unable to do significant damage to Mounted Warriors. If a player has Ballistas in play, he/she should prioritize to take out any Mounted Warriors early in the match. It should be noted that the AI will almost always target artillery units, so any Mounted Warriors will attack Ballistas if it can do so.

Heavy Unit Legionnaires[]

The Ballista is somewhat effective against the Legionnaire, because of their bonuses, but because of the Legionnaire’s tough defense, the Ballista only does small amounts of damage to them. The biggest advantage Ballistas have over the Legionnaire is their incredible range and the Legionnaires slow movement, meaning the Ballista is able to get in a lot of hits before the Legionnaires do attack back. If Legionnaires aren’t on plains or if Ballistas are on hills, the damage increase will be significantly greater.

Updates[]

  • The attack value was reduced by one (from 5 to 4) in update 1.05.
  • The attack and defense boost against Heavy Units was raised from 2 to 4 in the 1.06 update.

History[]

The Ballista was developed in ancient times by the Ancient Greeks. The Roman army put the ballista into use, where it was a very important and powerful weapon that can launch a bolt over 500 yards away. It was primary used as an anti-personnel weapon, but it was also used as a siege engine against fixed fortifications. It was very accurate, but traded accuracy for range. However, the ballista relied on fair weather to operate, as damp or wet weather can damage the ropes used in the artillery piece.

Gallery[]

Ballista

Ballista in battle with a Military Drummer boost

Other Military Units[]

Military Units
All Ages Heavy Unit Color GuardLight Unit Military DrummerLight Unit RogueFast Unit/Heavy Unit Champion
Bronze Age Light Unit SpearfighterLight Unit ClubmanHeavy Unit WarriorFast Unit Horseman
Ranged Unit SlingerArtillery Unit Stone Thrower
Iron Age Light Unit SoldierHeavy Unit LegionnaireFast Unit Mounted Warrior
Ranged Unit ArcherArtillery Unit Ballista
Early Middle Ages Light Unit MercenaryHeavy Unit Armored InfantryHeavy Unit BarbarianFast Unit Heavy Cavalry
Ranged Unit Mounted ArcherRanged Unit Barbarian SlingerArtillery Unit Catapult
High Middle Ages Light Unit BerserkerHeavy Unit Heavy InfantryFast Unit Knight
Ranged Unit CrossbowmanArtillery Unit Trebuchet
Late Middle Ages Light Unit Great Sword WarriorHeavy Unit Imperial GuardFast Unit Heavy Knight
Ranged Unit Longbow ArcherArtillery Unit Cannon
Colonial Age Light Unit RangerHeavy Unit GrenadierFast Unit Dragoon
Ranged Unit MusketeerArtillery Unit Field Gun
Industrial Age Light Unit Jaeger InfantryLight Unit Brave WarriorHeavy Unit HowitzerFast Unit Lancer
Ranged Unit RiflemanRanged Unit Mounted BraveArtillery Unit Breech Loader
Progressive Era Light Unit ConscriptHeavy Unit TankFast Unit Armored Car
Ranged Unit SniperArtillery Unit Rapid Fire Cannon
Modern Era Light Unit Bazooka TeamHeavy Unit Battle TankFast Unit Mechanized Infantry
Ranged Unit ParatrooperArtillery Unit Mechanized Artillery
Postmodern Era Light Unit CommandoHeavy Unit Universal TankFast Unit IFV
Ranged Unit MG TeamArtillery Unit Rocket Artillery
Contemporary Era Light Unit Strike TeamHeavy Unit Assault TankFast Unit Attack Helicopter
Ranged Unit Anti-Aircraft VehicleArtillery Unit Missile Artillery
Tomorrow Era Light Unit Ultra APHeavy Unit Stealth TankFast Unit Combat Drone
Ranged Unit Anti-Materiel SniperArtillery Unit Microwave Blaster
Future Era Light Unit Exoskeleton SoldierHeavy Unit Hover TankFast Unit Drone Swarm
Ranged Unit Satellite SpotterArtillery Unit Rail Gun
Arctic Future Light Unit Dragon DroneHeavy Unit Battle FortressHeavy Unit Behemoth
Fast Unit Recon RaiderRanged Unit Surrogate SoldierArtillery Unit Plasma Artillery
Oceanic Future Light Unit MantaLight Unit ScimitarHeavy Unit C.R.A.B. MechHeavy Unit Octopod
Fast Unit Hydroelectric EelFast Unit GlidersRanged Unit Sub CruiserRanged Unit Nautilus
Artillery Unit TurturretArtillery Unit Medusa
Virtual Future Light Unit Augmented SamuraiRanged Unit NinjaArtillery Unit Rocket TroopHeavy Unit Ronin BotFast Unit Warrior Monk
Space Age Mars Light Unit Space MarineRanged Unit Tesla WalkerArtillery Unit SniperbotHeavy Unit Steel WardenFast Unit Sentinel
Space Age Asteroid Belt Light Unit Drill RangerRanged Unit Nail StormArtillery Unit B.E.L.T.Heavy Unit ShredderFast Unit Hover Hammer
Space Age Venus Light Unit Observer DroneRanged Unit Ghost BlasterArtillery Unit Power DragonHeavy Unit Steel FistFast Unit Energy Cannon

Legend: Light Units= Light Unit Class Ranged Units= Ranged Unit Class Artillery Units= Artillery Unit Class Heavy Units= Heavy Unit Class Fast Units= Fast Unit Class

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