| “ | Siege Gunpowder Unit with ranged blast attack, but cannot attack at close range. Can attack ground. | ” |
| —In-game description | ||
The Rocket Cart is a gunpowder siege weapon introduced in update 141935 of the Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. It can be trained at the Siege Workshop starting in the Castle Age, and replaces and functions as the Mangonel for the civilizations which have it. It shoots several primary projectiles like the Dromon (and unlike the Chu Ko Nu) in the targeted area, dealing Area of Effect damage. It can be upgraded to the Heavy Rocket Cart in the Imperial Age.
It is a regional unit available to the Chinese, Jurchens, Khitans, and Koreans.
Tactics[]
The Rocket Cart serves a similar role to the Mangonel, being well suited for fighting groups of units at a range and also being moderately anti-building. Compared to the Mangonel, Rocket Carts deal notably better damage against groups of armored units, due to their attacks bypassing armor. However, this same reliance on many weaker attacks also makes the Rocket Cart less effective against buildings with Masonry, since Masonry effectively negates bonus damage against buildings once per projectile and the armor-ignoring effect does not work on buildings. As such, comparing the damage output of the unit is very much dependent on unit armor, with the entire calculation becoming more complicated due to the Rocket Cart reloading faster.
Damage output aside, the Rocket has an overall more expensive upgrade cost (but more wood-reliant than food-reliant), -5 hit points, +15% creation speed, -0.5 tiles (-16.6%) minimum range, and the gunpowder armor class compared to the Mangonel. The gunpowder armor class makes Condottieri and Winged Hussars major threats to watch out for.
Unlike the Heavy Rocket Cart in the Imperial Age, the only notable civilization-specific difference for Castle Age Rocket Carts is for the Jurchens, who have earlier access to Siege Engineers and improved Line of Sight. This +1 range in the Castle Age is potentially significant in that it allows the Rocket Cart to out-range all generic archers with Bodkin Arrow and siege units in the Castle Age. Only the Khmer-allied Scorpions, Briton foot archers, and Aztec and Briton Skirmishers can match the range.
Comparison with the Mangonel[]
 Mangonel
|
 Rocket Cart
| |
|---|---|---|
| Train cost | 160 wood, 135 gold | 130 wood, 155 gold |
| Train time | 46 | 40 |
| Hit points | 50 | 45 |
| Attacks | Melee: 40 + 1x5 vs heavy siege: +40 vs buildings: +35 vs siege: +12 vs Monks: -1 |
Melee: 5 vs heavy siege: +5 vs buildings: +12 vs siege: +2 vs Castle, walls: +7 |
| Reload time | 6 | 5.73 (x8) |
| Minimum range | 3 | 2.5 |
| Projectile speed | 3.5 | 3.75 |
| Other | Attacks ignore armor Has gunpowder armor class | |
| Upgrade cost | 800 food, 500 gold | 800 wood, 750 gold |
Further statistics[]
| Strengths and weaknesses | |
|---|---|
| Strong vs. | Tight groups of units |
| Weak vs. | Units at close range |
| Technologies | |
|---|---|
| Attack |  Siege Engineers (+20% vs buildings) Rocketry (+25%, Chinese only)
|
 Range
|
Siege Engineers (+1) Shinkichon (+1, Koreans only)
|
| Additional projectiles | Shinkichon (+6, Koreans only)
|
 Attack speed
|
Shinkichon (side effect: +0.2 reload time)
|
| Ability | Thunderclap Bombs (projectiles detonate some time after landing, Rocket Carts detonate when destroyed, Jurchens only)
|
| Civilization bonuses | |
|---|---|
| Damage resistance |  Jurchens (-50% friendly fire damage)
|
| Upgrading | Jurchens (-75% wood cost, +100% faster)
|
| Team bonuses | |
|---|---|
| Line of Sight | Jurchens (+2)
|
Trivia[]
- As a gunpowder unit, the Rocket Cart does not benefit from the effects of Chemistry, despite using explosive projectiles.
- The Rocket Cart is based on the historical "Nest of Bees" (Chinese: 一窝蜂 / 一窩蜂; Yīwōfēng), a type of early Chinese multiple rocket launcher. Its name refers to the clustered volley of fire arrows used to overwhelm enemy formations.
Gallery[]
