Petard (Age of Empires II)

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).

Petard
Unit information
Introduced in	The Conquerors
Type	Siege unit Suicide unit
Civilization	All civilizations
Age	Castle Age
Training
Trained at	Castle
Food	65
Gold	20
Training time	25 seconds
Statistics
Hit points	50
Attack	25 melee
Attack bonuses	+900 vs Wall and gate +500 vs Building +100 vs Castle +60 vs Siege weapon
Blast radius	0.5
Melee armor	0
Pierce armor	2
Armor classes	None
Speed	0.8
Line of Sight	4

“	Demolition infantry unit armed with explosives. Devastating vs. buildings, ineffective vs. other units. 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 against buildings, other siege units, and, to a limited extent, Wonders. Although Petards do in fact 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, especially Cavalry Archers.

A good use for Petards is neutralizing enemy key buildings or key siege units near the player's Castles. 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 in large numbers since they can only be used once. Petards are also a decent (albeit expensive) counter to siege units en masse.

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.

They are comparable to the Saboteur that is only available in campaigns, but the Petard is significantly weaker. It is much slower, has a much smaller blast area and deals much less damage to enemy units. There is also a 'Petard of the Seas': the Demolition Ship, which is more expensive, but has much greater attack against units, much larger blast radius, and is significantly faster. In fact, the Demolition Ship is the fastest unit in the game.

Required number to destroy certain buildings

The following table shows the number of Petards required to destroy the listed buildings. The numbers are calculated with fully upgraded (i.e. Masonry, Architecture, and Hoardings is researched) buildings.

Building	Without Siege Engineers	With Siege Engineers
Town Center	5 (6)	4 (5)
Stone Wall / Gate	2	2
Fortified Wall / Gate	3	2 / 3
Watch Tower	2 (3)	2
Guard Tower	3 (4)	3
Keep	5 (6)	4
Castle	8 (12)	7 (9)
Wonder	10 (12)	7 (9)

Further statistics

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Buildings, siege weapons, non-ranged units
Weak vs.	Archers, Scorpions, Cavalry Archers, Mangudai, Magyar Huszars, Castles, towers
Upgrades
Attack	Siege Engineers (+40% attack against buildings)
Conversion defense	Faith  Heresy
Creation speed	Conscription (+33%)

Civilization bonuses

• Aztecs: Petards are created 11,1% faster.
• Burmese: Researching Faith is 50% cheaper.
• Chinese: Technologies that benefit Petards are 20% cheaper.
• Celts: Petards can convert herdables even if enemy units are next to them.
• Portuguese: Petards cost 20% less gold.
• Vietnamese: Conscription is free.

Team bonuses

• A team containing Berbers: With Kasbah researched, Petards are created 25% faster, and Conscription is researched 25% faster.
• A team containing Malians: Researching Siege Engineers is 80% faster.
• A team containing Teutons: Petards are more resistant to conversion.
• A team containing Lithuanians: Researching Heresy and Faith is 20% faster.

Changelog

The Conquerors

• Petards cost 80F/20G.

The Forgotten

• Petards now cost 65F/20G.

Trivia

• Petards and Saboteurs do not use attacking voice clips.

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.

”

Gallery

A group of Petards

Petards can quickly destroy Stone Walls to give friendly units access into enemy territory.

A render of the Petard model

Add a photo to this gallery

Video overview