Slinger (Age of Empires)

This article is about the unit in Age of Empires. For the similar unit in other games of the series, see Slinger.

Slinger
Unit information
Introduced in	Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome
Type	Slinger
Civilization	All except Assyrians and Hittites
Age	Tool Age
Training
Trained at	Barracks
Food	40
Stone	10
Training time	35 seconds
Statistics
Hit points	25
Pierce attack	2
Attack bonus	+3 vs Defensive structures +3 vs Archers 0 vs. Mounted Archers
Reload time	1.5
Attack delay	0.58
Range	4
Projectile speed	8
Melee armor	0
Pierce armor	3
Armor class	None
Speed	1
Line of Sight	6

“	A skilled warrior slinging stone projectiles, which inflict extra damage on archers, walls and towers.	”
—In-game description in the Definitive Edition

The Slinger is a light ranged unit featured in Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome that can be trained at the Barracks once the Tool Age is reached. It hurls stones at its enemies and can be used to fight and defend a civilization against early archer attacks.

The Slinger is available to all civilizations except the Assyrians and the Hittites.

Gameplay

Slingers have an attack bonus of +3 against archers and also have 3 pierce armor. They have a small increased attack against walls and towers, but it is only +0.6 so not that relevant for the game. Ships, infantry (assuming the Slingers do not run for it), and cavalry can all take them out very easily. They are easily overpowered by Bronze Age units and are often obsolete by that time.

Further statistics

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Archers, towers
Weak vs.	Cavalry, siege units
Upgrades
Attack	Stone Mining (+1) Siegecraft (+1) Alchemy (+1)
Range	Stone Mining (+1) Siegecraft (+1)
Accuracy	Ballistics (hit moving targets)
Armor	Bronze Shield (+0/+1) Iron Shield (+0/+1) Tower Shield (+0/+1)
Cost	Logistics (-0.5 population usage)

Civilization bonuses

• Lac Viet: Slingers are trained 25% faster.
• Macedonians: Slingers are four times more resistant to conversion.

Team bonuses

• Palmyrans: Technologies which benefit Slingers are researched 30% faster.

Changelog

The Rise of Rome

• Slingers are introduced, take 24 seconds to train, have 5 Line of Sight, 5 frame delay, +2 attack against all archers, and +7 vs walls and towers.
• Slingers move at 1.2 tiles/s.
• Slingers have 2 pierce armor.

Definitive Edition

• Slingers have 6 Line of Sight, 29 frame delay, and higher bonus attack (+4) against mounted archers (bonus against foot archers unchanged).
• After update 9, Slingers take 28 seconds to train. With update 38862, they take 35 seconds to train and +3 attack vs walls and towers.

Return of Rome

• Team bonuses added, Palmyrans: Technologies which benefit Slingers are researched 30% faster.
• Slingers lose their attack bonus against mounted archers.
• Slingers move at 1 tiles/s.
• With update 93001, Slingers have +3 attack against all archers and 3 pierce armor.

History

“	Slingers were light troops who threw stones at the enemy, causing casualties and disrupting formations. A barrage of heavy stones could cause wounds and bone fractures. The stone was held in a cloth sling and swung in a vertical loop to build centrifugal force. One end of the sling was released, launching the stone. Slingers were an alternative to archers and javelin men. They threw stones of different weights, depending on the range to the target. Roman art shows slingers throwing rocks the size of grapefruit, probably at short range. Specially shaped stones could be thrown accurately to a respectable distance. The best known slinger of antiquity was David, who slew the Philistine champion Goliath in single combat with a shot to the head. A contingent of Rhodesian slingers were part of the 10,000-man mercenary force whose march home from Persia is described by Xenophon in his book Anabasis.	”
—The Rise of Rome manual

Trivia

• The Slinger is the only unit:
  • in the entire Age of Empires series that costs stone.
  • who has its own unit class.
  • at the Barracks that does not have an upgrade.
    • However, an Elite Slinger was planned with +10 hit points, +1 range and Line of Sight, +2 pierce armor, +1 pierce attack, +3 vs Archers, but no attack vs Defensive structures.

Gallery

Slingers in the Definitive Edition

A group of Slingers in the original game

A render of the Slinger

Relief of Assyrian slingers dating to the reign of Sennacherib, 700–692 BC, from Nineveh, Iraq

Technology tree

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