Trebuchet
Wherever you are, death will find you, even if you are in towers strong and high.
— The Qur'an, 4:78
In game
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Powerful siege weapon with a a powerful but slow ranged attack, highly useful against defensive structures, but very vulnerable to cavalry.
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| Prereq: | Build time | HP | LOS | Attack | Attack speed | Movement speed |
Upgrade of | Upgrades to |
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16.7s (250t) |
100 | 12 | 46 | 4.4s (65t) |
21 |
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| Cost | Created from | Armour | Weapon range | Specialty | ||||
| Base | Ramp | Pop | ||||||
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2 | 
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0 | 2–16 |
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Overall strategy
The way of the trebuchet is the way of war: seek out an area where enemies may not get you, and then attack them with impunity. Although it is one of the weakest units in the game, the trebuchet however has superb range and a powerful attack, making a mockery of enemy fortifications from afar. Even the mighty strongholds favoured by the Chinese cannot hope to stand alone if faced by a barrage of trebuchets.
All this power, however, has a great cost. Trebuchets
require a great deal of research to be constructed. Next is their cost: like all siege weapons, they are all costly and take some time to create, and finally they must be set up in a static position in order to fire. Because of their poor rate of fire and their accuracy, trebuchets are weak if facing enemy troops, but generally useful for disabling enemy artillery, especially culverins and war wagons, and fortifications. Trebuchets like most siege weapons require time to be set up, and even so they are fairly weak against mobile targets, so they should be protected from enemy units at all times.
However, it is to be noted that the trebuchet, while having better range, has a poorer attack and build time in contrast with a bombard once the Imperial Era is achieved. In which case, a bombard may be a better weapon to manufacture, given its cost structure and relative ease of construction, and its ability to crack apart fortresses with more potency than a trebuchet, given that trebuchets, while being cheaper than gunpowder weaponry, have a high ramp associated with them.
Unit summary
- Siege unit, with very weak stats but superb range and a powerful attack against enemy fortifications and very slow targets.
- Like all siege weapons, trebuchets require a great deal of research and resources to be constructed, so they should be protected from enemy units at all times.
- Although cheaper in base cost and fairly effective, a Bombard may be a better weapon to manufacture compared to the Trebuchet, given its cost structure and relative ease of construction as long as you have resources to spend.
See also
History
The word “Trebuchet” is derived from the Old French word 'Trebucher' meaning to throw over, and the siege machine of the same name has a history dating back to antiquity. Its first incarnataion was thought to be the traction trebuchet, which was invented in China in 300BCE and may have developed from the stave sling. In the traction trebuchet, human power was used by having a large troop of men pull down on ropes to propel the missile. Similar weapon systems of this type may have been described by Leo the Wise's Tactica and it is now believed that by the torsion trebuchet was invented either in the Roman Empire or the Muslim Middle East. The Trebuchet is thought to have reached Western Europe in the High Middle Ages, and proved to be a highly effective weapon in besieging the new stone castles that were being erected everywhere based off Byzantine or Muslim models. Notable uses of the Trebuchet were during the Crusades as well as the Mongol expeditions against China and the Middle East. The largest trebuchet ever to be built is thought to be Warwolf, a siege machine commissioned by Edward I Longshanks for his siege of Stirling Castle during the First Scottish War of Independence.
References
- De Re Militari, Byzantines, Avars and the Introduction of the Trebuchet
- Medieval Chronicles, Warwolf
- Middle Age for Kids; Trebuchet
