menu
HomeHome / Total War: Rome II / Marcomanni (Imperator Augustus) / Units / German Giant Ballista
German Giant Ballista Marcomanni (Imperator Augustus)Marcomanni (Imperator Augustus) Fixed Artillery

German Giant Ballista

The tribe may gain little glory through its use, but a giant ballista wins many an argument.

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.

German Giant Ballista
German Giant Ballista

Unit Name

German Giant Ballista

Main Unit Key

Ger_Giant_Ballista

Land Unit Key

Ger_Giant_Ballista

Naval Unit Key

barbarian_transport_small

Soldiers

40

Category

Siege Engine

Class

Fixed Artillery

Custom Battle Cost

730

Recruitment Cost

730

Upkeep Cost

150

Missile Damage

210

├ Engine

ballista_giant

├ Missile Weapon

rome_ballista_giant

├ Projectile

stone_large

├ Missile Damage

105

├ Missile Ap Damage

105

└ Base Reload Time

31

Accuracy

5

Range

550

Reload

4

Shots Per Minute

2

Ammunition

15

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

10

├ Armour

cloth

├ Armour Defence

10

└ Shield Armour

0

Health

45

├ Man Entity

rome_infantry_medium

├ Man Health

40

└ Bonus Hit Points

5

Base Morale

35

Abilities

No Ability

Attributes

  • Cannot Run
    This unit cannot run and will only move at walking pace.
  • Resistant to Cold
    This unit tires less quickly in snow.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Light Transport
  • Very poor hull strength
  • Very slow speed
  • Weak ramming
German Giant Ballista
  • Accurate
  • Very long range
  • Average rate of fire
  • More damage than normal Ballista
  • More hit points than normal Ballista
  • Immobile
Requires Buildings
German Giant Ballista Lv. 0 Builder's Hall
Builder's Hall
(barb_craftsmen_wood_4)
Level 3