Bombard Cannon

The Bombard Cannon is a powerful Siege Unit in Age of Empires II. They appear after the Gunpowder research and are avaliable only to Byzantines, Franks, Goths, Koreans, Persians, Saracens, Spanish, Teutons, and Turks.

Overview
Before a Bombard Cannon (or any other Gunpowder Units for that matter) can be created, one must advance to the Imperial Age and research Chemistry from the University. After these two prerequisites have been fulfilled, the Bombard Cannon becomes available to a few civilizations. It is built from the Siege Workshop for 225 Gold and 225 Wood.

Usage
The Bombard Cannon is very powerful. It out-ranges all ranged buildings including Castles and Bombard Towers. It also does not need to unpack in order to attack, giving it a mobility advantage over the Trebuchet. Groups of Bombard Cannons can effectively destroy a town in a matter of minutes, provided that they are adequately protected. Bombard Cannons are weak against most units, particularly Knights. Like most other ranged siege units, bombard cannons have friendly splash damage and must be used with caution.

Comparison with Trebuchet
The Bombard Cannon, Cannon Galleon and Trebuchet are the longest ranged and most expensive siege weapons in the game. The Bombard Cannon is more maneuverable than the Trebuchet, as it does not require the tedious packing and unpacking that are characteristic of trebuchets. However, trebuchets are cheaper (costing 25 less Gold and Wood than Bombard Cannons) and are available for every civilization, unlike Bombard Cannons, which are only available to some civilizations. Trebuchets are also more resilient, especially to ranged attackers.

Comparing their attacks, Bombard Cannons are more accurate and deal splash damage against units, but have shorter range and can damage friendly units. They deal less damage to their targets than trebuchets but fire faster. Overall, bombard cannons are superior to trebuchets in terms of versatility as they are effective against both buildings and units, but the trebuchet's greater range and durability make it better for attacking fortified bases.