Bombard Cannon

The Bombard Cannon is a powerful Siege Unit in Age of Empires II. They will automatically become available in the Siege Workshop after researching Chemistry being a gunpowder unit. However, they are available only to the Berbers, Byzantines, Ethiopians, Franks, Goths, Indians, Italians, Koreans, Malians, Persians, Portuguese, Saracens, Spanish, Teutons, and Turks.

Overview
Before a Bombard Cannon (or any other Gunpowder Units for that matter) can be created, the player 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 several civilizations. Each unit costs 225 Gold and 225 Wood, except for the Italians, who have a 15% discount on them.

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 and can be used to destroy trees.

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.

Civilizations bonuses

 * Turks Bombard Cannons have 25% more HP, gunpowder technologies cost -50%, Chemistry is free.
 * Spanish Bombard Cannons fires 15% faster.
 * Italians Bombard Cannons are 15% cheaper.
 * Portuguese: Bombard Cannons costs 15% less gold.

Team bonuses

 * A team containing Celts: Produce Bombard Cannons 20% faster.
 * A team containing Teutons: Bombard Cannons are more resistant to conversion.
 * A team Containing Turks: Bombard Cannons are created 20% faster.

The Conquerors Changes

 * The Bombard Cannon's hitpoints are increased from 50 to 80.
 * The Bombard Cannon receives bonus anti-siege weapon damage and increases it's anti-building bonus damage.
 * The Bombard Cannon's projectile is faster, so lands shots easier and quicker.

Heroes
There are two hero units in form of a Bombard Cannon that can only be found in the Scenario Editor and the Joan of Arc campaign, each with better stats. As with all heroes, they can slowly regenerate hit points over time and each have their own unique icon apart from the traditional icon used for ordinary Bombard Cannons. All upgrades that benefit Bombard Cannons and siege equipment also applies to these units. However, civilization bonuses and unique technologies that would otherwise benefit ordinary artillery units have no effect whatsoever.


 * Jean de Lorrain
 * Jean Bureau

History
''Gunpowder reached Europe from China by the thirteenth century and primitive cannons appeared first in the fourteenth century. Bombard cannons were large, ponderous, and dangerous to fire because the guns tended to break and because gunpowder was of uneven quality. They were used mainly in sieges where the time was available to set them up and fire them at a fixed target. By the fifteenth century, bombard cannons firing stone or iron shot were making castles obsolete. Cannons could bring down vertical stone walls quickly by firing shot at high velocity directly into the lower wall sections. Giant bombard cannons manned by European mercenaries were instrumental in the Turkish attack that finally captured Constantinople in 1453.''

Trivia

 * Despite the fact that the Chinese were the first civilization to invent the cannon, the civilization does not have access to the unit. This is most likely for gameplay balance purposes as their unique unit, unique technology, and their access to various long range siege weapons and technologies allows the Chinese to excel at long range sieging.