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This article is about the unit type in Age of Empires IV. For the unit type in other games, see Siege unit. |
Siege engines or siege units in Age of Empires IV are one of the three combat forces on land, the other ones being infantry and cavalry. Siege engines in Age of Empires IV refer to mechanical units that may be good against buildings or units or both.
Overview[]
Siege engines are typically characterized by slow movement speed, slow attack speed, moderate-to-high hit points, high resource cost, and high population cost compared to the other branches. Additionally, siege engines are unique in that instead of having ranged armor, they have ranged resistance instead. In most cases, this resistance is very high, making them resistant to units that deal ranged damage. Conversely, siege weapons have 0 melee armor, except for the Ribauldequin and Springald. All siege engines can also attack Stone Walls, Stone Wall Gates, and Stone Wall Towers. Most of them deal siege damage, but a few of them deal ranged damage, and their attacks may be ranged or non-ranged. Siege units are slow and lumbering, and have large hit boxes, making them easy to block using units, and making it more difficult for them to travel through narrow paths such as between adjacent buildings or through a chopped path in a forest. Almost all siege engines available in the Imperial Age are gunpowder units.
While there are no specific unit types characterizing them as such, siege engines can be classified as primarily either anti-unit or anti-building. This can be determined based on their bonus damage, through which siege engines deal most of their damage-per-second (DPS). Anti-unit siege is designed to counter and deter large masses of similar units, either through Area of Effect damage or multiple projectiles, in addition to their bonus damage against specific units. These include the Mangonel, Nest of Bees, Springald, and Ribauldequin. Anti-building siege, on the other hand, has single-shot attacks with very high attack bonuses against buildings. Some siege weapons can have somewhat hybrid roles, like Mangonels also dealing moderate bonus damage against buildings and Bombards having an attack bonus against infantry, even if they are more specialized towards one particular role.
Most siege engines are created at the Siege Workshop, which is available in the Castle Age. Others, such as the Battering Ram, can also be built in the field by infantry after researching Siege Engineering and, in fact, the Siege Tower and Tower of the Sultan can only be built in this way. Certain siege engines are only available to particular civilizations from specific landmarks.
Counters[]
The counter to siege engines is not necessarily as obvious as some other unit types. The only units that have attack bonuses against siege are light cavalry, but this doesn't necessarily mean that they are the only counters, especially since it can be relatively easy to protect siege engines with Spearmen, nullifying the threat of cavalry. In general, unprotected siege weapons, even anti-unit siege, are vulnerable to most units. This is because most siege has a minimum range, within which they cannot defend themselves from attacking units. This is especially true of anti-building siege units, which will fall even to ranged units eventually, despite their high ranged resistance.
In general, cavalry are the most effective unit type against all siege, due to either their bonus damage or high base damage, as well as their ability to rapidly close in using their high speed. If the siege is protected by Spearmen, either ranged or melee infantry will be needed to counter them, depending on the siege they are protecting. For example, Men-at-Arms do better against Mangonels, while Archers do better against Springalds. The Ribauldequin is the main exception to these rules, as it is designed to counter all melee units and should exclusively be countered by ranged units instead due to its low range and ranged resistance. Additionally, while not true counters, Bombards and their unique equivalents can also deal high damage to other siege engines due to their relatively high base attack that deals siege damage.
List of siege engines[]
The following list of siege engines compares some common unit statistics, but should not be used as a direct indicator of combat ability, since attack bonuses, abilities, or other special features which can distinguish these units from each other are not included.
Feudal Age[]
| Name | Pop | TT | Cost | SP | HP | RR | AT | RMin | RMax | RF | Civ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Battering Ram
|
1 | 35 | 200 wood | 0.75 | 370 | 95 | 200 | 0 | 0.54 | 5.12 | All except Byzantines
|
 Cheirosiphon
|
1 | 30 | 200 wood, 60 gold | 0.75 | 310 | 95 | 10 (x28) | 0 | 2.5 | 8.5 | Byzantines
|
 Siege Tower
|
1 | 30 | 125 wood | 0.81 | 480 | 95 | All |
Castle Age[]
| Name | Pop | TT | Cost | SP | HP | RR | AT | RMin | RMax | RF | Civ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Tower of the Sultan
|
3 | 140 | 650 wood, 350 gold | 0.5 | 800 | 95 | 600 7 (x4) |
0 | 0.54 8 |
8.12 1.27 |
 Ayyubids
|
 Springald
|
2 | 30 | 150 wood, 100 gold | 0.88 | 85 | 60 | 14 | 0 | 7.5 | 3.125 | All |
 Mangonel
|
3 | 40 | 400 wood, 200 gold | 0.75 | 130 | 85 | 10 (x3) | 3 | 8 | 6.88 | All except Chinese Zhu Xi's Legacy
|
 Nest of Bees*
|
3 | 40 | 300 wood, 300 gold | 0.81 | 120 | 85 | 6 (x7) | 3 | 7.5 | 6.5 | Chinese Zhu Xi's Legacy
|
 Counterweight Trebuchet
|
2 | 30 | 400 wood, 150 gold | 0.63 | 140 | 80 | 40 | 2.75 | 16 | 11.38 | All except Mongols
|
 Traction Trebuchet
|
2 | 30 | 300 wood, 100 gold | 0.88 | 125 | 80 | 40 | 2.75 | 14 | 8.63 | Mongols
|
 Great Bombard (Early)
|
4 | * | * | 0.75 | 210 | 85 | 55 | 3.75 | 11 | 7 |  Ottomans
|
Imperial Age[]
| Name | Pop | TT | Cost | SP | HP | RR | AT | RMin | RMax | RF | Civ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bombard*
|
3 | 45 | 350 wood, 500 gold | 0.75 | 210 | 85 | 55 | 3.75 | 10 | 5.38 | Most |
 Cannon*
|
3 | 45 | 300 wood, 600 gold | 0.88 | 190 | 85 | 60 | 3.75 | 10 | 5.25 |  French Jeanne d'Arc
|
| Great Bombard*
|
4 | 60 | 450 wood, 800 gold | 0.75 | 250 | 85 | 70 | 3.75 | 11 | 7 | Ottomans
|
 Culverin*
|
3 | 45 | 325 wood, 550 gold | 0.63 | 200 | 85 | 40 | 1.25 | 10.5 | 3.63 |  Abbasid Dynasty Ayyubids Holy Roman Empire French+ Jeanne d'Arc+
|
 Ribauldequin*
|
3 | 45 | 350 wood, 500 gold | 0.88 | 215 | 35 | 42 (x12) | 0 | 3.75 | 5.25 |  English French Jeanne d'Arc Japanese+ Ottomans
|
 Huihui Pao✝
|
2 | 63 | * | 0.63 | 260 | 80 | 75 | 2.75 | 18 | 13.63 | Byzantines+ Mongols+
|
- Numbers in brackets of Attack are number of projectiles per volley.
- * Units marked are also classified as Gunpowder.
- + Units marked are available at a different building.
Field construction[]
Certain siege engines can be built in the field by infantry and some only by specific civilizations. The only statistic that differs from creating them out of a Siege Workshop is their build time, which is higher, but can be reduced by building them with more units. Marked in yellow are the siege engines only available through field construction. If the Ayyubids advance to the next age through the Reinforcement branch of the Military Wing at the House of Wisdom, The below siege weapons can also be constructed in the field by cavalry units.
| Siege engine | Build time | Requirement | Civilizations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Siege Tower
|
30 |  Siege Engineering(except Abbasid Dynasty and Ayyubids)
|
All |
| Battering Ram
|
80 | Siege Engineering (except Abbasid Dynasty and Ayyubids)
|
All except Byzantines
|
| Cheirosiphon
|
80 | Byzantines
| |
| Springald
|
50 |  Castle Age
|
Abbasid Dynasty Ayyubids)
|
| Castle Age Improved Siege Engineering
|
Mongols
| ||
| Mangonel
|
80 | Castle Age
|
Abbasid Dynasty Ayyubids)
|
| Castle Age Improved Siege Engineering
|
Mongols
| ||
| Traction Trebuchet
|
80 | Castle Age Improved Siege Engineering
|
Mongols
|
| Tower of the Sultan
|
140 | Castle Age
|
Ayyubids
|
Further statistics[]
All siege engines[]
The following bonuses affect all siege engines
| Technologies | |
|---|---|
 Hit points
|
 Siege Works (+20%); Improved: (+30%, Mongols)
|
 Attack speed
|
 Siege Crews (+25% while garrisoned Ottomans)
|
 Movement speed
|
 Greased Axles (+15%); Improved: (+20% Mongols)
|
| Creation speed |  Military Academy (+33%); Improved: (+53%, Mongols) Efficient Production (+100%, requires Scholar garrisoned in the Siege Workshop,  Delhi Sultanate)
|
| Ability |  Siege Carpentry (Grants Structural Reinforcements ability, Ayyubids)
|
| Civilization bonuses | |
|---|---|
| Hit points
|
Chinese (+15% in  Ming Dynasty) Chinese (+50% from Astronomical Clocktower)
|
| Resource cost |  Knights Templar (-25% wood) Knights Templar (-5% gold with Kingdom of France) Zhu Xi's Legacy (-10% in  Yuan Dynasty)
|
| Creation speed | English (+75% from  The White Tower) Knights Templar (+15% with Kingdom of France)
|
| Other | English (Available at Keeps)
|
Specific siege engines[]
The following bonuses affect specific siege engines
Battering Rams[]
| Technologies | |
|---|---|
 Regeneration
|
 Wandering Town (2 HP/s while in combat,  Rus)
|
| Attack | Wandering Town (+25%, Rus)
|
| Attack speed
|
 Lightweight Beams (+20%); Improved: (+30%, Mongols)
|
| Creation speed | Lightweight Beams (+20%); Improved: (+30%, Mongols)
|
Springalds[]
| Technologies | |
|---|---|
 Range
|
 Banded Arms (+1, Rus)
|
| Damage resistance |  Roller Shutter Triggers (+10% ranged)
|
| Attack speed
|
Roller Shutter Triggers (+25%); Improved: (+35%, Mongols only)
|
Mangonels[]
| Technologies | |
|---|---|
| Range
|
 Adjustable Crossbars (+1)
|
| Additional projectiles | Adjustable Crossbars (+1)
|
| Other | Adjustable Crossbars (+75% splash radius) Siege Crew Training (Setup and teardown speed is instant, Rus)
|
Trebuchets[]
| Technologies | |
|---|---|
| Hit points
|
 Warwolf Trebuchet (+50%,  House of Lancaster)
|
| Attack |  Geometry (+20%) Greek Fire Projectiles (+30%, Byzantines)
|
| Range
|
Warwolf Trebuchet (+2, House of Lancaster)
|
| Additional projectiles |  Counterweight Defenses (+1, Knights Templar)
|
| Other | Greek Fire Projectiles (attacks deal lingering fire damage, Byzantines) Shattering Projectiles (Projectiles have Area of Effect English) Siege Crew Training (setup and teardown speed is instant, Rus)
|
| Civilization bonuses | |
|---|---|
| Additional projectiles | Knights Templar (Fires 2 lower damage projectiles)
|
Nest of Bees[]
| Technologies | |
|---|---|
| Additional projectiles |  Additional Barrels (+3 rockets)
|
| Aura and ability enhancements | |
|---|---|
| Range
|
 Divine Defense (+1 tile, Zhu Xi's Legacy)
|
| Civilization bonuses | |
|---|---|
| Attack | Zhu Xi's Legacy (+20% in Ming Dynasty)
|
Gunpowder siege[]
The following technologies affect all gunpowder siege engines (except Nest of Bees) available to a particular civilization
| Technologies | |
|---|---|
| Attack |  Chemistry (+25% bonus damage) Fine Tuned Guns (+20% and +50 bonus against Infantry, Rus) Cloud of Terror (Attack gains Area of Effect, Zhu Xi's Legacy)
|
| Attack speed
|
 Reload Drills (+25%, Chinese)
|
| Other | Siege Crew Training (Setup and teardown speed is instant, Rus)
|
| Aura and ability enhancements | |
|---|---|
| Range
|
Divine Defense (+1 tile, Zhu Xi's Legacy)
|
| Civilization bonuses | |
|---|---|
| Attack | French and Jeanne d'Arc (+30% from  College of Artillery)
|
| Creation speed | French and Jeanne d'Arc (+50% from College of Artillery)
|
Dialogue lines[]
The ranged siege engines have common dialogue lines.
- Abbasid Dynasty and Ayyubids: /Abbasid Dynasty dialogue lines
- Byzantine: /Byzantine dialogue lines
- Chinese and Zhu Xi's Legacy: /Chinese dialogue lines
- Delhi Sultanate: /Delhi Sultanate dialogue lines
- English and House of Lancaster: /English dialogue lines
- French, Jeanne d'Arc, and Knights Templar: /French dialogue lines
- Holy Roman Empire and Order of the Dragon: /Holy Roman Empire dialogue lines
- Japanese: /Japanese dialogue lines
- Malians: /Malians dialogue lines
- Mongols: /Mongols dialogue lines
- Ottomans: /Ottomans dialogue lines
- Rus: /Rus dialogue lines
Battering Rams/Cheirosiphon and Siege Towers use the same voice lines.
- Main article: Battering Ram (Age of Empires IV)#Dialogue lines
- Main article: Cheirosiphon/Dialogue lines
Trivia[]
- Through the Foreign Engineering Company, the Byzantines are the civilization with access to the largest number of different siege engines, at nine.
Gallery[]
