"Weak light artillery. En masse, good against other artillery."
—In-game description
The Hand Mortar is an artillery in Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties that is unique to the Chinese and can be trained at the Castle once the Fortress Age is reached or as part of the Mongolian Army. It is a weak but very cheap artillery that only takes up one population.
Overview 
Edit
The Hand Mortar has a high ranged resistance and it complements it with a bonus against artillery. They also out-range most artillery, with exception of the Mortar, Morutaru, and the Culverin (which has equal range), and most other units. It is a relatively weak artillery unit and deals a base damage of 5 points per shot, but has large multipliers against buildings, ships and artillery.
The Hand Mortar is ineffective against all forms of infantry and cavalry, and should not be left exposed. However, it is difficult to destroy by shelling, and with its low cost, it is an effective "meat shield" to protect the Chinese army, which is usually massed in large numbers, from enemy artillery fire. Due to its mediocre range compared to other mortars, it should be positioned outside a city's fortifications and attached to a Territorial or Old Han Army.
The Hand Mortar is best used in massed numbers against buildings, ships or other artillery. When positioned at the flanks, the Hand Mortar should be guarded by infantry or cavalry.
Upgrades Edit
| Age | Improvement | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
 |  | 250 food, 250 wood | Upgrades Hand Mortars to Honored (+25% hit points and attack) |
 |  | 1,000 wood, 1,000 coin | Upgrades Hand Mortars to Exalted (+50% hit points and attack); requires Honored Hand Mortar |
Further statistics Edit
| Unit strengths and weaknesses | |
|---|---|
| Strong vs. | Buildings, ships, artillery (when massed) |
| Weak vs. | Infantry especially Arrow Knights, cavalry, Culverins |
| Improvements | |
| Hit points |  Professional Gunners (+10%)
|
| Attack |  Heated Shot (+1.5x multiplier vs. ships)
|
| Sight |  Town Watch (+2) Gunner's Quadrant (+6)
|
| Speed |  Trunion (+15%) Apache Endurance (+5%)
|
| Creation speed |  Incan Chasquis Messengers (-10% individually, -18% Mongolian Army)
|
| Other |  Meritocracy (-20% upgrade cost)
|
| Penalties |  Coffee Trade (-10% speed, Dutch only)
|
Home City Cards Edit
As the Hand Mortar can only be trained and shipped by the Chinese, only other civilizations' cards that affects them are listed here.
| Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Hand Mortar | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Green: TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team Chinese
|
| Card | Description | Age | Home City level |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Ships 22 Arquebusiers and 8 Hand Mortars; costs 1,500 food |  | 40 |
 | All units get +8% hit points and attack | | 40 |
 | Ships 7 Hand Mortars |  | 1 |
 | Ships 11 Hand Mortars | | 25 |
 | Ships 4 Hand Mortars | | 25 |
 | Artillery gets +15% hit points; Flamethrowers get +20% hit points |  | 10 |
 | Artillery gets +15% attack; Flamethrowers get +20% attack | | 10 |
 | Artillery gets +15% hit points and attack; Flamethrowers get +20% hit points and attack | | 25 |
 | Unit train time -20% | | 10 |
 | Banner army train time -23% | | 10 |
 | Abus Gun, Grenadier, Falconet/Organ Gun, Culverin, Mortar, Horse Artillery, Petard, Ram, Mantlet, Light Cannon, Flamethrower, Hand Mortar, Siege Elephant, Flaming Arrow, and Morutaru train time -30%; Heavy Cannon, Rocket, Great Bombard, and Flying Crow train time -5%; Black Flag Army and Mongolian Army train time -15% | | 25 |
Dutch Edit
| Card | Description | Age | Home City level |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Mortars, Hand Mortars, and Morutaru get +20% attack | | 1 |
Europeans Edit
| Card | Description | Age | Home City level |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Artillery, Abus Guns, and Grenadiers get +15% hit points | | 10 |
- The TEAM Artillery Hitpoints card is available to Ottomans and Portuguese (at the Fortress Age).
Indians Edit
| Card | Description | Age | Home City level |
|---|---|---|---|
 | All units get +5% hit points and attack | | 25 |
Japanese Edit
| Card | Description | Age | Home City level |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Unit upgrades cost -20% | | 1 |
Ottomans Edit
| Card | Description | Age | Home City level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artillery, Abus Guns, and Grenadiers get +15% attack | | 25 |
Spanish Edit
| Card | Description | Age | Home City level |
|---|---|---|---|
 | All units get +10 LOS |  | 10 |
Trivia Edit
- The Hand Mortar is the cheapest artillery unit in Age of Empires III and the only one that doesn't cost coin and costs food.
- Despite the model featuring two men carrying the weapon, the Hand Mortar only uses a single population slot.
History Edit
"The earliest use of exploding bombs dates back to 1044, when bombs were encased in paper and generally used to create a distraction, or to startle soldiers and cavalry horses. The first Chinese hand mortar used specifically for firing iron-cased bombs was found in 1413. During the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the hand-thrown bomb became more common in battle, and eventually the Chinese began to use it as mortar ammunition, replacing spherical stones as the projectile of choice.
The hand mortar was highly mobile and its fuse could be shortened and lengthened in accordance with the kind of bomb it was firing. Because of the diversity of bombs developed by Chinese and Korean armies, a hand mortar could cause a wide variety of effects, making it a very adaptable, and very dangerous, siege weapon."
Gallery Edit
