The Great Bombard is a unique Ottoman artillery piece with a massive attack, big range, and lots of hitpoints. It takes up a lot of population slots -- and with good reason. The Great Bombard can reduce buildings to rubble in just a few volleys. Like the Heavy Cannon, the Bombard can be produced from the Factory or shipped from the Home City.
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Overview[]
The Great Bombard is a slow and heavy unique artillery piece used by the Ottoman Empire, which can only be created by Ottoman factories or sent from the Home City. The Great Bombard has a giant damage output, shredding any infantry it encounters on the way with just two of them. The Great Bombard is also excellent at taking out enemy buildings with this extremely high damage. They also have a relatively high amount of hit points.
However, the Great Bombard does have its own disadvantages. Being the largest (and heaviest) artillery in-game, they are extremely slow when moving and will need protection against surprise rushes against the Bombard. They also have a relatively slow firing rate compared to the Heavy Cannon and Rocket from other civilizations.
Hidden cost[]
Training the Great Bombard at a Factory takes 100 seconds (95 with the Chinese "TEAM Engineering School" card, 90 with "Engineering School" card, and 85 with both). The average resource gather rate of a Factory is 5.5 every second (before the Factory improvements (+20%)). This means that the Great Bombard, while appearing to be free, will have a cost dependent upon how effective the Factory gathers a needed resource. In many cases, this cost can exceed the base value of the unit.
Upgrades Great Bombards to Imperial Bombards (+50% hit points and damage)
Civilization differences[]
The Russians can ship an Imperial Bombard named the Tsar Cannon with the "Tsar Cannon" Home City Card which also reduces the cost of Imperial upgrades for artillery by 10%, and can be sent twice. This ships a total of 2 Tsar Cannons and reduces the cost of Imperial artillery upgrades by 19%.
Consulate unit[]
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Ottoman super-heavy artillery. Moves and fires slowly, but does tremendous damage against infantry or buildings.
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—In-game description
The Consulate Great Bombard is a counterpart of the Great Bombard, which starts with +10% hit points and damage.
Upgrades[]
The Consulate Great Bombard is automatically upgraded in the Imperial Age:
The Barbary States and Indonesia can get Consulate Great Bombards through the "Ottoman Expeditionary Army" Home City Card, which includes 2 Consulate Great Bombards.
"Ottoman Expeditionary Army" is available to the Italians, Maltese, Ottomans, and Portuguese upon revolting to the Barbary States, and Dutch and Portuguese upon revolting to Indonesia.
Consulate unit train time -50%; Consulate technology cost -40% (-300 export for Brigades), research time -50% (except Brigades), +1 Hindu Villager
Foreign Trading Companies
Adds 0.75 to export trickle rate; banner army export cost -15%; Indian unit cost +2.5% (Hindu Villager, Fishing Boat, and Sacred Cow cost +5% instead), +1 Hindu Villager
The Great Bombard is the only unique unit which does not have a Royal Guard upgrade and can be shipped from the Consulate that is not renamed.
History[]
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Great bombards were a set of medieval cannons that were cast of bronze or iron and fired stone projectiles weighing hundreds of pounds. The greatest of these was a cannon called 'Basilica' that pounded the walls of Constantinople. It was over 25 feet long, used hundreds of pounds of powder that, with a projectile weighing in excess of 1,200 pounds, took hours to load. The bombard was so huge that it had to be constructed in two pieces that screwed together to make it, presumably, easier to move. This meant it only took 60 oxen and hundreds of men over 40 days to move the bombard the 120 miles between Adrianople and Constantinople at an achingly slow two miles a day!
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Gallery[]
A Great Bombard in Bombard mode
A Great Bombard in Limber mode
The Dardanelles Gun, which the Great Bombard is based on
An army of Great Bombards is a force to be reckoned with.
In-game Great Bombard in Limber mode in the Definitive Edition (since update 13.27885)
In-game Great Bombard in Bombard mode in the Definitive Edition (since update 13.27885)
In-game Tsar Cannon in Limber mode in the Definitive Edition
In-game Tsar Cannon in Bombard mode in the Definitive Edition
Imperial Bombard
+50% hit points and damage
Professional Gunners (+10%)
Tar Kilns (+5%)
Smokeless Powder (+5%)
Heated Shot (+50% multiplier vs. ships)
Somali Ajuran Engineers (+20% multiplier vs. Frontier fortification)
Trunion (+15%)
Apache Endurance (+5%)
Gunner's Quadrant (+6)
Town Watch (+3)
Mass Production (-25%)
Immigrants (-5%)
Topçu Corps (delivers 3 Great Bombards, -1 population takes; Ottomans only)
2 Great Bombards (delivers 2 Consulate Great Bombards; Indians only)
Jagiellonian Legacy (delivers 2 Great Bombards if The General was chosen for the Ottomans)
Meritocracy (-20% upgrade cost)
TEAM Engineering School
Ottoman Expeditionary Army
TEAM Shivaji's Tactics
Good Faith Agreements
Foreign Trading Companies
TEAM Odzutsu Mortars
TEAM Sengoku
TEAM Knights of the Round Table
TEAM Mariachi
1 Great Bombard
2 Great Bombards
Ottoman Artillery Division
Topçular
Engineering School
Artillery Hitpoints
Tsar Cannon
TEAM Spanish Inquisition
TEAM Artillery Hitpoints
Artillery Attack
