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HomeHome / Total War: Rome II / Antony's Rivals (Imperator Augustus) / Units / Light Artillery Quinquereme - Roman Ballista (Ship)
Light Artillery Quinquereme - Roman Ballista (Ship) Antony's Rivals (Imperator Augustus)Antony's Rivals (Imperator Augustus) Artillery Ship

Light Artillery Quinquereme - Roman Ballista (Ship)

Ballista bolts or stones are a powerful tool for destroying an enemy's will to resist.

Ballistae can shoot with deadly accuracy over surprising distances.

The 'five', called a quinquereme in Latin and a penteres in Greek, was a ship first used by the Syracusans against the Carthaginians sometime around 398BC. Like other polyremes, a term meaning many-oared, the chances were that it did not have five banks of oars but that the word 'oar' was used to mean 'rower'. In such a case, the arrangement of rowers would be two-two-one going up from the waterline. It makes sense to keep as much weight as possible low in the vessel to help its stability; a high centre of gravity makes any ship liable to capsize if struck from the side. The quinquereme, then, would be a formidable vessel both in terms of appearance and combat value. With a large fighting contingent aboard and plenty of deck space, this heavy vessel could cope with most enemies and threats.

(Roman Ballista (Ship))
At close targets, a ballista could be aimed effectively but accuracy came at a cost in range; it could fire around 500 metres. The machine used two torsion springs with levers inserted into twisted ropes made from animal sinew, giving incredible power for its size. Firing either solid shot or bolts, it was equally effective against infantry or cavalry, but could also be deployed to destroy light fortifications during sieges. Originally developed by the Greeks around 400BC, and based on the oversized Oxybeles composite bow, ballistae were widely used by many cultures of the period, including the Romans. Later Roman versions included adjustable caps that enabled crews to quickly alter the tension of each sinew bundle to provide balance and therefore improve accuracy.

Light Artillery Quinquereme - Roman Ballista (Ship) Light Artillery Quinquereme - Roman Ballista (Ship) Light Artillery Quinquereme - Roman Ballista (Ship) Light Artillery Quinquereme - Roman Ballista (Ship) Light Artillery Quinquereme - Roman Ballista (Ship)
Light Artillery Quinquereme - Roman Ballista (Ship)

Unit Name

Light Artillery Quinquereme - Roman Ballista (Ship)

Main Unit Key

Rom_Ballista_Five

Land Unit Key

Rom_Ballista_Shp

Naval Unit Key

roman_ballista_five

Soldiers

40

Category

Medium Ship

Class

Artillery Ship

Custom Battle Cost

620

Recruitment Cost

620

Upkeep Cost

124

Ship Health

1020

└ Ship

roman_five_art

Ship Speed

5

Missile Damage

180

├ Engine

ballista_medium_ship

├ Missile Weapon

rome_ballista_shp

├ Projectile

shp_stone_flammable

├ Missile Damage

120

├ Missile Ap Damage

60

└ Base Reload Time

30

Accuracy

40

Range

420

Reload

4

Shots Per Minute

2

Ammunition

1

Melee Attack

9

Weapon Damage

24

├ Melee Weapon

rome_shortsword

├ Melee Damage Base

20

├ Melee Damage Ap

4

├ Armour Piercing

No

├ Bonus vs. Large

0

├ Bonus vs Elephants

0

└ Bonus vs Infantry

0

Charge Bonus

6

Melee Defence

14

├ Base Defence

14

├ Shield

none

└ Shield Defence

0

Armour

40

├ Armour

mail

├ Armour Defence

40

└ Shield Armour

0

Health

45

├ Man Entity

rome_infantry_medium

├ Man Health

40

└ Bonus Hit Points

5

Base Morale

40

Abilities

Light Artillery Quinquereme
  • Row Hard 20
    Increases speed for 20 strokes.
    Ship speed

Attributes

No Attribute

Strengths & Weaknesses

Light Artillery Quinquereme
  • Average hull strength
  • Skeleton crew
  • Average speed
  • Average ramming
  • Abysmal boarding
  • Exceptional missile combat
Roman Ballista (Ship)
  • Very accurate
  • Very long range
  • Average rate of fire
  • Lower damage than other artillery
  • Easily destroyed
Requires Buildings
Light Artillery Quinquereme - Roman Ballista (Ship) Lv. 0 Military Wharf
Military Wharf
(rome_port_military_2)
Level 1
Drydock
Drydock
(rome_port_military_3)
Level 2
Portus Classis
Portus Classis
(rome_port_military_4)
Level 3