The Siege Ballista is an Imperial Age siege weapon in Chronicles: Alexander the Great that can be trained at the Siege Workshop once Flaming Arrows is researched. It is only available to the Macedonians, but is not a unique unit. It is the equivalent of the Bombard Cannon in Age of Empires II.
Tactics[]
The Siege Ballista is very powerful and very versatile. It outranges all generic ranged buildings, and while it is not the best anti-building siege in terms of raw damage, it still has the firepower to be effective in said role. Siege Ballistae are a powerful counter to siege units like Scorpions and Mangonels, and can be effectively used against most units, provided they are far enough away to avoid any damage. They are also a great counter to Palintonons, but should be moving while dealing with them in order not to be hit. Like Mangonels, Siege Ballistae have friendly splash damage and must be used with caution.
Their biggest downside is that they are incredibly expensive: 225 wood, 225 gold. Additionally, they are very slow and have lackluster durability, so they will quickly falter if attacked. They are also hard to mass, due to not only a high cost, but also a training time of 56 seconds. Fortunately, even in low numbers, they can be effective support for an army against buildings and siege.
Comparison to the Palintonon[]
The Siege Ballista and Palintonon are the longest ranged and are among the most expensive siege weapons in the game. The Siege Ballista is more maneuverable than the Palintonon, as it does not require the packing and unpacking that the Palintonon does. However, Palintonons are slightly cheaper, costing -25 wood, -25 gold than Siege Ballistae and are available to every civilization, unlike Siege Ballistae, which are only available to some civilizations and require Flaming Arrows. Palintonons are also more resilient, especially to ranged attackers, and can be used to destroy trees.
Comparing their attacks, Siege Ballistae are more accurate and deal splash damage against units, but have shorter range and can damage friendly units. They deal significantly less damage to their targets than Palintonons, but fire faster and with much faster projectiles.
Overall, Siege Ballistae are superior to Palintonons in terms of versatility as they are effective against both buildings and units, but the Palintonon's greater range and attack are unrivaled when it comes to taking down enemy buildings, especially during the early Imperial Age, before Flaming Arrows is researched.
Comparison table[]
 Onager
|
 Siege Ballista
|
 / Palintonon
| |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research cost | 800 food, 500 gold 75 seconds |
300 food, 200 gold 100 seconds |
none |
| Hit points | 60 | 80 | 150 |
| Armor | 0/7 | 2/5 | 2/8 or 1/150 |
| Blast Radius | 1.25 | 0.5 | 0 |
| Range | 8 | 12 | 16 |
| Main Role | Anti-foot unit Clearing forests |
Anti-siege Anti-building |
Anti-building |
Further statistics[]
| Strengths and weaknesses | |
|---|---|
| Strong vs. | Buildings, units in dense formations, siege weapons |
| Weak vs. | Melee units at close range, and fast melee units like most cavalry |
| Technologies | |
|---|---|
| Attack |  Siege Engineers (+20% vs. buildings)
|
 Range
|
Siege Engineers (+1)
|
| Conversion resistance |  Exorcism (+4 min, +4 max) Hemlock (die upon getting converted)
|
| Civilization bonuses | |
|---|---|
| Attack |  Macedonians (+30% vs. buildings)
|
| Armor | Macedonians (0/+1)
|
| Damage resistance | Macedonians (-8% (+15% instead of +25%) when on lower elevation)
|
| Aura enhancements | |
|---|---|
 Regeneration
|
 Fortified Outpost (+30 HP/min, requires  Ends of the World, Macedonians only)
|
 Movement speed
|
Fortified Outpost (+20%, Macedonians and allies only)
|
| Team bonuses | |
|---|---|
| Conversion resistance |  Teutons (+3 min, +1 max)
|
| Line of Sight |  Jurchens (+2)
|
| Creation speed |  Celts (+20%) Turks (+25%)
|
| Other |  Malians (Flaming Arrows is researched 80% faster) Portuguese (Flaming Arrows is researched 25% faster)
|
Trivia[]
- The Siege Ballista is loosely based on the lithobolos, an ancient artillery engine that is also known as "stone thrower." It has an appearance similar to a ballista, but fires large rocks instead of bolts.
- The invention of the lithobolos is credited to the engineers Polydias, Charias, and Diades of Pella, serving under Philip. The Macedonians used them extensively under Alexander, alongside other Greek innovations in siege equipment viz. oxybeles and helepoleis.
- The appearance of the Siege Ballista is inspired by Roman scorpion ballistae.[1]
Gallery[]
