Hello again everyone and Happy Friday!
There's been some interest and discussion about the Khmer recently, so today is a perfect time to look more in-depth into their unique unit: the Ballista Elephant. As weird as this unit is, there is SOME historical basis for this unit, as the Khmer Empire did indeed use ballistas mounted on elephants on at least one occasion.
Anyway, how 'bout them stats?
Cost: 100F, 80G
Base Attack: 8 (9 elite)
Base HP: 250 (290 elite)
Base Armor: 0/3
Training Time: 25 seconds (before Conscription)
Range: 5
Rate of Fire: 2.5
Speed: 0.8
Elite Upgrade Cost: 1000F, 500G
The Ballista Elephant is unique among all the unique units in aoe2 as it is the only unit to be classified as both cavalry and siege as well as elephant. Because of this, it is affected by cavalry upgrades (Bloodlines, Husbandry, etc.) AND siege upgrades (Siege Engineers, etc.), NOT cavalry archer upgrades such as Bracer and Thumb Ring, something which may be counter intuitive for players inexperienced with the Khmer.
This dual classification also means it takes bonus damage from anti-siege units as well as from anti-cavalry units. So Magyar Huszars, Mangudai, onagers, and rams all do bonus damage to them as well as halbs and camels.
Technically as elephants they should be weak to monks; however their relatively high attack and range might counteract that. How, in your experience, does the Ballista Elephant perform against monks?
The Ballista Elephants is also affected by the Khmer Imperial unique tech - Double Crossbow - which gives an extra (though weaker) projectile bolt.
Finally (and most importantly Kappa): the Ballista Elephant can cut through trees - in Castle Age!
What do you think of the Ballista Elephant's strengths and weaknesses? How does it compare to its closest kin: the Scorpion, Elephant Archer, and War Wagon? When is the best time/place to make them? Worst? How important are upgrades for the viability of this unit?
As always, volunteers and suggestions are welcome, and I'll see you next Friday!
Resources:
Strongest Army Challenge - ft. "The Big Beefy Ballista Boys"
Spirit of the Law - Khmer Overview
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