Why are Ballistas so much better in Med II than in Rome?

[Rainbow Dash]

Ok, so in RTW, 1 unit of ballistas usually couldn't destroy one part of a crappy regular stone wall, and in Med II, 1 unit of them can take out 1 part of a stone wall and 2 towers and still have enough ammo to shoot down a few guys, too (which ballistas are also a lot better at, you'd be lucky if you killed 10 men in a unit in Rome).

So, why are ballistas so much better? Did Rome underpower them?

[Dave Strider]

In a word; Medieval stuff was crappier than roman stuff. Ok that's Six words. but you get my point.

[cisse]

Frederick II has a point; the Romans were (to a certain extent) the inventors of concrete, after all. In medieval times, it took some time before buildings were as well constructed as in Roman times. Though of course the romans didn't know how to build proper arches and domes at first, so they were at a disadvantage there. But you don't see many of those in city walls.

[Goofy]

To keep the game better in balance I believe.

[Mithrane]

Most mods I've tried, and the Kingdom expansions, too, if I remember right, make it so that balistas can no longer attack walls. I don't even think they can attack the doors. They can be made to hit the walls, if you attack a unit which is on top of the wall, as about 1/2-1/3 of the shots will fall short and thus hit the wall, but the damage they do is very negligable.

[VersionLangley]

Most mods I've tried, and the Kingdom expansions, too, if I remember right, make it so that balistas can no longer attack walls.

to whoever make that mod.

Real life law forbid a pointy stick from shatter a thick stone wall

Unless the wall was make by the same guy that make this:

[Mithrane]

Well, in truth, a ballista can use a large stone instead of a bolt, and do so to great effect against wooden and lesser stone walls. With enough time and enough rocks, one could, in theory, break down any wall with a ballista. Though, the ammunition you would need to use far surpasses that given to siege engines in this game. (IMO, they should not limit their ammunition for siege engines, but they had to due to game balance. )

[Old_Scratch]

Make sure you have the latest patches. I remember the ballistas being as powerful as cannons in the first release, but they fixed it in subsequent patches.

[Rainbow Dash]

Make sure you have the latest patches. I remember the ballistas being as powerful as cannons in the first release, but they fixed it in subsequent patches.

I do have the latest patches, and I still think that they're probably better than catapults!

[Viking Prince]

Also remember -- this is a strategic level game with some tatical field elements. One man need not represent one man, so why would a ballista represent a single ballista? Also -- the distructive power of any weapon is relative to materials used and the skill of the craftsmen involved. The ballista are factory manufactured and not built in the field. I cannot find my sources on this at the moment, but I seem to recall that most Roman ballista (and related) weapons were built in the field.