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This article is about the unit in Age of Empires II: The Conquerors. For the unit in Age of Empires III, see Petard (Age of Empires III). |
| “ | Demolition siege unit armed with explosives. Self-destructs when used. | ” |
| —Age of Empires II description | ||
The Petard is a siege unit in Age of Empires II: The Conquerors that can be trained at the Castle. Petards are faster than most siege units and explode upon impact with their target, capable of dealing a devastating amount of damage against walls, structures, and siege weapons.
Tactics[]
A Petard and Flaming Camel being used to blow up an enemy wall in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition.
A group of Petards taking down a Castle
Petards are most effective at quickly taking down buildings, and sometimes enemy siege. Although Petards do deal blast damage as their primary means of attack suggests (that is they explode), they do so in a very small area - the same area that a Cataphract with Logistica or War Elephant does. Ranged units are a danger to them, as they can easily kill Petards without receiving damage.
A good use for Petards is neutralizing key enemy buildings or siege units near the player's Castles in the Castle Age. They are also an excellent choice for quickly breaching walls, taking only two to destroy a piece of Stone Wall. However, they are not cost-effective against buildings, especially when compared to other siege units. They are sometimes used in the Sudden Death game mode to quickly take out the starting Town Center, or Regicide to destroy the garrison location of the King to expose him to units that can kill him.
When used (especially against Castles), it is important to line them in staggered formation. That way, they take less damage from the volleys of arrows since every volley only damages one Petard.
Required number to destroy certain buildings[]
The following table shows the number of Petards required to destroy the listed buildings. For cells with both numbers in and outside parentheses, the numbers outside the parentheses are against buildings with no upgrades, and those inside parentheses are calculated with fully upgraded (i.e. Masonry, Architecture, and Hoardings is researched) buildings. For the other cells, the number of Petards is same irrespective of the building's upgrades.
| Building | Without Siege Engineers | With Siege Engineers |
|---|---|---|
 Town Center
|
5 (6) | 4 (5) |
 Stone Wall
|
1 (2) | 1 |
 Gate
|
2 | 1 (2) |
 Fortified Wall
|
3 | 2 |
| Fortified Gate
|
3 | 3 |
 Watch Tower
|
2 (3) | 2 |
 Guard Tower
|
3 (4) | 3 |
 Keep
|
5 (6) | 4 |
 Bombard Tower
|
5 (6) | 4 |
 Castle
|
8 (12) | 6 (9) |
 Wonder
|
10 (12) | 7 (9) |
Further statistics[]
| Unit strengths and weaknesses | |
|---|---|
| Strong vs. | Buildings, siege weapons, non-ranged units |
| Weak vs. | Ranged units |
| Upgrades | |
| Attack |  Siege Engineers (+40% attack against buildings)
|
| Conversion defense |  Devotion (+1 min, +1 max) Faith (+4 min, +4 max) Heresy (die upon getting converted) First Crusade (+4 min, +4 max, Sicilians only)
|
| Creation speed |  Conscription (+33%) Kasbah (+25%, Berbers and allies only)
|
| Cost | Kshatriyas (-25% food, Gurjaras only)
|
Civilization bonuses[]
Aztecs: Petards are created 11% faster.- Burmese: Researching Devotion and Faith is 50% cheaper.
- Chinese: Technologies that benefit Petards are 15% cheaper.
- Celts: Petards can convert herdable animals even if enemy units are next to them.
- Georgians: Petards receive -20% damage (-40% instead of -25%) when fighting from higher elevation.
- Incas: Petards cost -20%/-25% food in the Castle/Imperial Age.
- Portuguese: Petards cost -20% gold.
- Spanish: Researching technologies that benefit Petards provides 20 gold each.
- Vietnamese: Conscription is free.
Team bonuses[]
- Lithuanians: Researching Heresy, Devotion, and Faith is 20% faster.
- Malians: Researching Siege Engineers is 80% faster.
- Portuguese: Upgrades that benefit Petards are researched 25% faster.
- Teutons: Petards are more resistant to conversion.
Changelog[]
The Conquerors[]
The Forgotten[]
The African Kingdoms[]
- Portuguese: Petards cost -15% gold.
Definitive Edition[]
- Aztecs: With update 37650, Petards are created 11% faster.
- Portuguese: With update 39284, Petards cost -20% gold. With update 42848, all technologies are researched 30% faster.
Lords of the West[]
- Sicilians: First Crusade introduced. With update 47820, First Crusade makes Petards more resistant to conversion.
Dynasties of India[]
- Portuguese: With update 73855, their new team bonus means all technologies are researched 25% faster, replacing their earlier civilization bonus of 30%.
- Incas: With update 81058, Petards cost -25%/-30% food in the Castle/Imperial Age.
The Mountain Royals[]
- With update 99311, Siege Engineers increases Petard bonus damage against the Castle and Wall armor classes.
- Incas: With update 99311, Petards cost -20%/-25% food in the Castle/Imperial Age.
Heroes[]
There is one hero in the game with the appearance of a Petard:
History[]
| “ | The primary use of gunpowder during the Middle Ages was as a propellant in firearms and cannon, but it eventually found use as an explosive also. Explosive charges, called petards, could be used to damage or blow down castle gates and other obstructions. The word petard comes from a French word for breaking wind. In very dangerous situations, an armored man would carry the petard to the point of attack and light the fuse. If the fuse malfunctioned or the charge went off prematurely for any reason, the bombardier was "hoisted by his own petard," which explains a phrase still used today when a plan or operation backfires. | ” |
Trivia[]
- Petards and Saboteurs do not use attacking voice clips.
- The Petard is the only military unit without any armor class. Hence it does not take bonus damage.
- When a Petard is used to blow up a structure or unit, it does not count in the player stats as a unit lost.
- The Petard is usually anachronistic: while suicide attacks are not utterly unheard of in medieval history, the use of gunpowder in suicide attacks postdates most of the timeframe covered by the game.
- The anachronism is made more egregious in scenarios that occur before the advent of gunpowder, where Petards are routinely left available. Another gunpowder unit that often exists in such scenarios is the Cannon Galleon, due to being the only naval siege unit.
Gallery[]
Video overview[]
