This article is about the unit in Age of Empires IV. For the unit in other games of the series, see Flamethrower. |
The Cheirosiphon is a ranged siege engine in Age of Empires IV: The Sultans Ascend, and can be trained at the Siege Workshop or created in the field by infantry after researching Siege Engineering. It serves as a replacement for the Battering Ram for the Byzantines.
It can also spawn from the Palatine School.
Ability[]
While it can come across as a weaker Battering Ram at first glance, the Greek Fire damage mechanism of the Cheirosiphon causes it to behave somewhat differently in a manner that is not reflected in their statistics. In addition to the 280 damage dealt per Cheirosiphon over 8.5 seconds, the lingering Greek Fire deals an additional ~170 damage over that time period to buildings and units within the blaze. However, this does not stack with the number of Cheirosiphons attacking a building. So, for example, a single Cheirosiphon will deal 450 damage to a building over 8.5 seconds, but two Cheirosiphons will only deal 730 damage, not 900. As the number of Cheirosiphons increases further, the damage scales less and less, to the point where more than three siphons will deal less damage than the same number of Battering Rams.
Unit comparison[]
Battering Ram | Cheirosiphon | |
---|---|---|
Cost | 200 wood | 200 wood, 60 gold |
Training time | 35 s | 30 s |
Hit points | 370 | 310 |
Attack | 200 | 280 |
Bonus vs walls | 200 | 140 |
Ranged resistance | 95 | 95 |
Range | 0.54 tiles | 2.5 tiles |
Other | Units caught in the fire take damage |
Tactics[]
Generally, the Cheirosiphon has the same primary role as the Battering Ram, explained in the Tactics section on that page. The primary advantage of the Cheirosiphon over the Battering Ram is its range. Because of this range, Cheirosiphons can avoid some of the pathing issues that Battering Rams can encounter when trying to engage their target due to their large hitbox and clunky movement. Additionally, when combined with the lingering Greek Fire damage as explained above, a single Cheirosiphon will do approximately 25% more damage than a regular Battering Ram. The main downside to this is the whopping 50% overall greater cost, making it significantly less cost-effective. And while it may be tempting to spread out Cheirosiphons across a base to better leverage their Greek Fire damage, they also have 60 fewer hit points than Battering Rams, allowing them to more easily be picked off in lower numbers, despite their ability to damage attacking units. This lower health can be compensated by garrisoning them with Varangian Guards, allowing them to gain a maximum of 16 melee armor and significantly improving their durability. Unfortunately, this is not possible until the Castle Age, making it unhelpful for Feudal Age ram pushes. Overall, their range and area damage give them more flexibility, but their lower health and higher cost mean they need to be more carefully managed and protected.
Further statistics[]
Technologies | |
---|---|
Hit points | Siege Works (+20%) |
Armor | Siege Works (+10 ranged) |
Attack speed | Lightweight Beams (+20%) |
Movement speed | Greased Axles (+15%) |
Creation speed | Lightweight Beams (+100%, field construction only) Military Academy (+33%, building training only) |
Aura and ability enhancements | |
---|---|
Armor | Garrisoned Varangian Guards (+1 melee and ranged armor per Varangian Guard) |
Movement speed | Naval Deployment (+50% speed for 12 seconds after unloading from a Transport Ship) |
Creation speed | Conscriptio Influence (+20% per Cistern water level) |
Dialogue lines[]
- Main article: /Dialogue lines
Changelog[]
- With patch 9.2.628, hit points were changed from 350 to 280, and cost from 250 wood, 100 gold to 200 wood, 100 gold. With update 10.0.576, hit points were increased to 310 and gold cost reduced to 60.
- With update 10.0.576, Cheirosiphons were given a +5 bonus damage vs walls (+140 per burst)
- Originally, Cheirosiphons had 30 ranged armor. With update 10.0.576, they have 50 ranged armor. With update 12.0.1974, the ranged armor was replaced with 95% ranged resistance.
Trivia[]
- Cheirosiphon literally means 'hand tube' in Greek. It was a portable method for projecting Greek Fire.