This article is about the unit in Age of Empires. For the unit in Age of Mythology, see Ballista (Age of Mythology). |
Template:AoEUnits The Ballista (plural Ballistae) is a siege unit in Age of Empires. It has a strong attack and fires twice as fast as the Stone Thrower and its upgrades, but is very fragile and should be supplemented with non-siege weapons when sent into battle. Despite being siege units, Ballista does not deal bonus damage against buildings. This unit is the predeccesor of the Scorpion of Age of Empires II .
The Ballista, like other siege weapons, is built at the Siege Workshop. This ranged weapon can be upgraded into the Helepolis during the Iron Age.
While less powerful than the Stone Thrower, it is more effective against units, having a faster moving shot and a faster firing rate as well, which make them a good counter to infantry and Priests.
Upgrades
Iron Age
- Alchemy increases attack by one point (changed to +2 in The Rise of Rome)
- Ballistics increases accuracy.
- Engineering increases range by 2 points.
Template:Siege Workshop TechTree (Age of Empires)
Civilizations
The Ballista is an uncommon unit, and it is only available to some civilizations:
Available | Unavailable |
---|---|
Civilization bonuses
- Hittites: Ballistae have +50% hit points.
- Macedonians: Ballistae cost 50% less and they are four times harder to convert.
Trivia
- Due to the fast fire rate at a long range, the unit may still fire a bolt or two within a fraction of a second even after the enemy unit is eliminated.
- Typing ICBM allows the player to upgrade the Ballista's range by 90 points, bumping the total up to 100 range points.
- Although the firing range will be improved, the line of sight still remains the same. As such, it cannot attack enemy units unless the area is explored. Even if the area is fully explored, the Ballista cannot attack moving targets unless the line of sight between itself and the target is revealed. However, it may attack already discovered enemy buildings through the fog of war without the need of additional line of sight.
- Typing this code before finishing researching Engineering will grant the player an additional 2 range points. This will affect both the firing range and the line of sight.
Gallery
Units in Age of Empires | |
---|---|
Civilian | Villager · Trade Cart |
Other | Priest · Slinger · Artifact |
Civilian ship | Fishing Boat · Fishing Ship Trade Boat · Merchant Ship |
Infantry | Clubman · Axeman Short Swordsman · Broad Swordsman · Long Swordsmen · Legionary Hoplite · Phalangite · Centurion |
Archer | Bowman Improved Bowman · Composite Bowman Chariot Archer Horse Archer · Heavy Horse Archer Elephant Archer |
Cavalry | Scout Chariot · Scythe Chariot Cavalry · Heavy Cavalry · Cataphract War Elephant · Armored Elephant Camel Rider |
Siege | Stone Thrower · Catapult · Heavy Catapult Ballista · Helepolis |
War Ship | Scout Ship · War Galley · Trireme Catapult Trireme · Juggernaut Fire Galley Light Transport · Heavy Transport |
Scenario Editor-only units | |
Chieftain · Donkey · Explorer · General · High Priest · Horse · Mercenary (removed) · Penguin · Pharaoh · Raft · War Chest |