Palintonon

Palintonon
Unit information
Introduced in	Chronicles
Type	Siege unit
Civilization	All
Age	Imperial Age
Training
Trained at	Fort
Wood	200
Gold	200
Training time	50 seconds
Statistics
Hit points	150
Pierce attack	200
Attack bonus	+250 vs Building
Reload time	10
Attack delay	0.88
Range	16
Minimum range	4
Accuracy	80% against buildings 15% against units
Projectile speed	3.5
Melee armor	2 (packed) 1 (unpacked)
Pierce armor	8 (packed) 150 (unpacked)
Armor class	Siege weapon Ram (unpacked)
Speed	0.8
Line of Sight	19
Ability	Cannot be converted from distance Can attack ground Can destroy trees
Notes
Cannot attack when packed. Cannot move when unpacked. Takes 11.1 seconds to pack and unpack.

“	Powerful anti-building siege weapon with long range. Must be packed to move, unpacked to attack. Cannot attack enemies at close range. Can attack ground and destroy trees.	”
—Chronicles description

The Palintonon is an Imperial Age siege weapon in Chronicles that can be trained at the Fort. It is a powerful long-range siege weapon that excels at taking out buildings.

It is the equivalent of the Trebuchet in Age of Empires II.

Further statistics

Strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Buildings, archer units
Weak vs.	Melee units, rams, Onagers

Technologies
Attack	Siege Engineers (+20% against buildings) Flaming Arrows (+1)
Range	Siege Engineers (+1)
Conversion resistance	Exorcism (+4 min, +4 max) Hemlock (die upon getting converted)
Creation speed	Conscription (+33%)

Aura enhancements
Regeneration	Polemarch (+20 HP/min, requires Ephorate, Spartans only)
Attack	Strategos (+1, Athenians only)
Armor	Spearman (0/+1, requires Sparabaras, Achaemenids only)
Attack speed	Defensive Town Center (+15%, Achaemenids only) Polemarch (+15%, Spartans only)
Movement speed	Polemarch (+15%, requires Morai, Spartans only)
Creation speed	Military Town Center (+50%, Achaemenids only)

Team bonuses
Conversion resistance	Teutons (+3 min, +1 max)

Trivia

• A palintonon or palintone was a type of torsion engine which propelled a stone along a flat track, much like a ballista. It was a type of lithobolos (Greek: λιθοβόλος), or "stone thrower", and was used extensively in siege warfare by cultures such as the Hellenistic Greeks, Romans, and Indians.
• Its appearance in the Battle for Greece campaign is anachronistic, as it was first used by Alexander the Great at the Siege of Halicarnassus in 334 BC.
• The Palintonon also appears as a generic siege unit in Age of Empires Online.

Gallery

Views of the unpacked Palintonon

Views of the packed Palintonon

Palintonon and Trebuchet

A half-talent Roman Ballista shooting rocks propelled by cordage under tension