Dromond
"Let the hull be of medium thinness, that the ship be capable of agility in movement and at the same time be solid and robust to repulse the foe." | |
—Leo VI the Wise, Tactica Ch XIX.4 |
In game
Dromond — Vital statistics | ||||||||
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Basic light ship, best used for taking out unarmed targets and patrol duty.
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Prereq: | Build time | HP | LOS | Attack | Attack speed | Movement speed |
Upgrades to | |
10s (150t) |
140 | 10 | 11 | 1.6s (25t) |
50 | |||
Cost | Created from | Armour | Weapon range | Specialty | ||||
Base | Ramp | Pop | ||||||
: 30; : 30 |
: 1; |
1 | 1 | 0–5 |
| |||
Overall strategy
The Dromond is the starting ship available to all players, with one exception. As the only ship available for "line duty" in the early game, Dromonds are useful for one thing, and that is to destroy enemy civilian shipping, as well as attack enemy land units from the sea and perform scout duties (although some players may prefer to use Fire Barques to the same effect). The only threat to Dromonds would be Viking-style Longships, which are heavy unique unit ships which are accessible in the Dark Age to some factions, but a fleet of Dromonds and Fire Barques should work well to keep them at bay.
Dromonds are also relatively cheap enough to be used to act as floating "walls" to protect heavier and slower vessels, such as carracks and tower ships, from fireship attacks — not only are their missiles more accurate, but they are also capable of outrunning them, given that fire ships must close in before they can use their suicide attack to sink their quarry. They, however, are not meant to be used against heavy ships themselves. In the mid-term game, factions will have had access to heavy ships such as the Roundship, which can make short work of Dromonds and so you should upgrade your Dromonds to barques once the resources are available.
Unit summary
- Taking Enemy Fire — The increased accuracy of a Dromond's missiles and speed make them good for raiding and defending against fireships. On the other hand, their low cost makes them ideal as decoys.
- A Warm Welcome — As Dromonds are weak against heavy ships, complement your Dark Age fleet with fireships to keep enemy Longships and Roundships at bay.
- Planned Obsolescence — Upgrade your Dromonds to Barques once resources are available.
- Dromonas— The Byzantines do not build Dromonds, but instead maintain the Dromonas which is in fact the original prototype; the Dromond itself being a weaker and less efficient counterfeit thereof.
Notes
If you are playing the Western factions, this unit will undergo 3 different changes, depending on the Age you are in:
- Lineinf.png
Musketeer of the Mercantile Era.
- Colonials tap.png
Musketeer of the Imperial Era.
History
The term "dromond" was an Anglo-French derivation of the word "dromon", coming from the Greek word "drom-" (lit: run), meaning a "runner" or, in later Italian parlance, a "corsair", capable of good speeds at sea, while being sturdy enough to run down smaller prey. Contrary to more ancient models, dromonds did not ram enemies, but instead used a wooden beak or spar to break enemy oars, thus disabling the ship and making it easier to board. Dromon-type craft were popular to the communities that maintained contact with Byzantium (and were based off the more advanced Byzantine dromonas), although longships, based off a design used by Nordic tribes, were more popular throughout the North Sea and Baltic regions.