This article is about the building in Age of Empires. For the building in Age of Mythology, see Ballista Tower (Age of Mythology). |
“ | The ultimate tower. Upgrade of the Guard Tower. The Ballista Tower has more attack strength than the Guard Tower. | ” |
—In-game description in the Definitive Edition |
The Ballista Tower is the upgrade of Guard Tower, that is researched from the Granary once Ballistics is researched.
Since Return of Rome, like all towers, Ballista Towers can also be used to shelter up to five Villagers when the base is under attack. These garrisoned Villagers do not increase its combat power. No other unit can be garrisoned in towers.
Civilizations[]
Available | Unavailable |
---|---|
- x indicates that the civilization can fully upgrade their Ballista Towers, i.e. gets Architecture, Alchemy, Craftsmanship, and Ballistics.
- + indicates that the civilization has at least one civilization bonus that benefits the combat strength of their Ballista Towers.
Gameplay[]
Unlike its preceding towers, the Ballista Tower fires missiles similar to that of the Ballista, Helepolis, and Trireme and has a considerably lower rate of fire. However, it has a much higher attack and deals more damage per minute. The upgrade also allows the tower to deal +2 damage to enemy buildings compared to the Guard Tower. Like all towers, Ballista Towers are more resistant against stone throwing siege weapons unlike other buildings, having 18 additional armor against them (meaning they will do 10 bonus damage instead of 28).
The Ballista Tower upgrade is very expensive and takes a while to research, but pays off as it increases the DPS of all the player's towers substantially. However, the tower can still be easily destroyed by siege weapons such as the Catapult or the Helepolis which out-range it and can attack it without retaliation.
To build, they cost 150 stone, like all their predecessors.
Further statistics[]
Unit strengths and weaknesses | |
---|---|
Strong vs. | Infantry, archers, ships |
Weak vs. | Siege units |
Upgrades | |
Construction time | Architecture (-33%) |
Hit points | Architecture (+20%) |
Attack | Alchemy (+1) |
Range | Woodworking (+1) Artisanship (+1) Craftsmanship (+1) |
Accuracy | Ballistics (hit moving targets) |
Line of Sight | City Watch (+3) |
Civilization bonuses[]
- Babylonians: Ballista Towers have +60% hit points.
- Choson: Ballista Towers have +2 range.
- Macedonians: Ballista Towers are four times more resistant to conversion.
Team bonuses[]
- Babylonians: Ballista Towers are built 10% faster.
- Choson: Ballista Towers have +2 Line of Sight.
- Hittites: Ballista Towers provide +4 population room.
- Palmyrans: Technologies which benefit Ballista Towers are researched 30% faster.
Changelog[]
Age of Empires[]
- Ballista Towers have 20 attack, 7 range.
- Ballista Towers have construction time 80 seconds, 200 hit points, 4 pierce armor, 3.0 Rate of Fire, and 4.5 projectile speed.
Definitive Edition[]
- Ballista Towers have construction time 72 seconds, 5 pierce armor, 3.1 Rate of Fire, and 4.9 projectile speed.
- With update 38862, Ballista Towers have 240 hit points.
Return of Rome[]
- Ballista Towers have 18 attack, 8 range, and can garrison up to five Villagers.
- Team bonuses added:
- Babylonians: Ballista Towers are built 10% faster.
- Choson: With update 93001, Ballista Towers have +2 Line of Sight.
- Hittites: Ballista Towers provide +4 population room.
- Palmyrans: Technologies which benefit Ballista Towers are researched 30% faster.
- With update 99311, Ballista Tower build time decreased from 72 seconds to 65 seconds.
History[]
“ | The tower discovered on the wall at the ancient site of Jericho served several purposes. It extended the visual range of lookouts that would be watching for the approach of raiders and other visitors. An early warning might have been the difference between a successful defense and the fall of the town. The tower was a superior firing position for archery. Bowmen shooting down had an advantage in range and penetration power of arrows versus enemies shooting up. Enemies hiding at the bottom of the wall may have remained visible to archers in the tower. The tower itself was an independent bastion that could serve as a defensive position of last resort if the wall was carried. The Ballista Tower was the ultimate defensive fortification of the ancient era. It could withstand a major attack and was equipped and designed to take a heavy toll on attackers. | ” |
—Age of Empires manual |
Gallery[]
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|
Buildings in Age of Empires | |
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Civilian buildings | |
General | House · Temple · Government Center · Wonder |
Economic | Town Center · Dock · Storage Pit · Granary · Market · Farm |
Unconstructable | Aqueduct · Army Tent · Barricade · Chain · Colosseum · Granary · Great Pyramid · Hut · Monument · Pyramid · Ruins · Trade Workshop · Yurt |
Military buildings | |
Production | Barracks · Archery Range · Stable · Siege Workshop · Academy |
Tower | Watch Tower · Sentry Tower · Guard Tower · Ballista Tower |
Wall | Small Wall · Medium Wall · Fortified Wall · Small Gate · Medium Gate · Fortified Gate |
Unconstructable | Mirror Tower · Zenobia's Tower |