Siege Ram

"Stronger than Capped Ram. Slow, lumbering siege weapon used to reduce enemy towns to ruins."

- Age of Empires II description

The Siege Ram is a non-ranged siege unit in Age of Empires II that can be trained at the Siege Workshop once the Imperial Age is reached. The wet hides have been replaced by metal roof armor for increased durability and strength. It is stronger than the Capped Ram, slightly faster, has an increased splash damage radius, and can garrison up to six foot units (infantry, archers, or Villagers), but only infantry units improve the speed and attack vs. buildings. Also, Siege Rams perform outstandingly against Trebuchets.

Tactics
Rams do not have any melee armor (in fact melee attackers get an attack bonus of +3), so any unit with a melee attack can destroy a Siege Ram rather quickly. The best ways to destroy them are with Mangonels, Mangudai, cavalry, or infantry. However, due to their high pierce armor and HP, they can withstand most ranged attacks easily. In fact, it's sometimes useful to add a few Siege Rams to an army for the sole purpose of soaking up enemy archer fire to protect the main force.

Siege Rams can cause enormous damage if left ignored. Although they can attack units, the damage they do is negligible. However, they can be used against Trebuchets and other siege units to good effect. The Siege Ram is good against arrow-shooting Towers, buildings and Castles. In The Age of Kings, it is not recommended to use the Siege Ram against Bombard Towers, but this weakness was removed in a The Conquerors patch.

Since The Conquerors, infantry and foot archers can load themselves into Siege Rams, increasing their speed and damage, and giving enemies a nasty surprise should they attempt to destroy it. The presence of units garrisoned inside a Ram is denoted by a flag on top of the Ram (similar to Transport Ships). A Siege Ram may load up to six units. The relationship shared between foot troops and Rams is mutually beneficial. When they are fully loaded, it is granted a speed greater than that of most foot units. Thus, the Ram may be used as a viable form of rapid transportation for the infantry and foot archers, in addition to providing cover from withering archer fire from Castles and Towers while the Ram closes the gap. Siege Rams can knock holes in Walls and then disgorge infantry directly into the enemy base.

In The Forgotten, Villagers can also load themselves into Siege Rams enabling them to perform a distraction through deception by loading single Villagers in Rams making them effective dummies that can drive enemy forces away from the player's intended target, and enabling to perform offensive maneuvers. This new ability also enables to the Villagers to make them a better frontal support builders as they can travel inside Rams along with infantry and foot archers, and once they reach the intended place they can start to build frontal military structures.

Like with buildings, if a Ram is converted, units inside the Ram will not be converted. They will just be forced to leave the converted Ram.

Further Statistics
Civilization Bonuses=
 * Aztecs: Siege Rams are created 15% faster.
 * Celts: Siege Rams attack 20% faster. A Siege Ram can convert Herdables even if enemy units are next to them.
 * Chinese: Technologies that benefit Siege Rams are 20% cheaper.
 * Slavs: Siege Rams are 15% cheaper.
 * -|Team Bonuses=
 * A team containing Celts: Siege Rams are created 20% faster.
 * A team containing Malians: Researching Siege Engineers is 80% faster.
 * A team containing Teutons: Siege Rams are more resistant to conversion.


 * -|The Forgotten Changes=
 * Villagers can be garrisoned in Rams.
 * Celts: Furor Celtica gives +40% HP to Siege Rams (instead of +50% as in The Conquerors).

Trivia

 * With the Mongol unique technology Drill, Rams loaded with infantry may move faster than cavalry. Such speed and damage will allow Mongol players to quickly devastate a defensive fortification far more swiftly than conventional Trebuchet or Bombard Cannon tactics.

History
''The ultimate battering ram was the siege ram. This was a large engine that was heavily protected and designed to hit with a powerful force. Siege rams were often prefabricated weapons that were hauled to the site of the siege and assembled on the spot.''