Siegecraft : Blocking the advance of rams with artillery

[elevenwest]

I have found out that by moving a ballista unit just outside the gates will allow me a couple of fire shots to the oncoming besieger's ram (I once set fire to the ram this way). As the ram draws closer, I rout the ballista unit back into the settlement and miracle! the ram is getting stuck on the ballistas and cannot reach the gate!! Scratch one off, most of the times I can manage to hold them off at the walls when that happens

In one occasion, the AI managed to bring a second ram around the blockage to assault the gate, so I guess the golden rule is to leave the artillery piece close enoufh to the gate so the attackers can't bring extra rams around it but far enough for the actual gate to close behind the artillery unit. Btw the artillery unit will regenerate the ballista after the battle.

[Marine Hoplite]

Yeah, found that one by accident the other day. Give's your archers time for an extra volley or two

[kleemann]

Hm, interresting. I attack ram with cavarly so that attackers leave the ram. Works fine. They will use ladders instead. I kill them off on walls. Using archer with flaming arrows. and infantry to fight.

That is good idea

[Amur_Tiger]

Another thing that's quite potent is the use of seige weaponry to take out things like seige towers or even ladders. Something that I succefully managed in the defence of Jeruselem was shooting Culverin fire from the central square at the walls where their seige towers were lined up, once those were knocked down enough they couldn't load any more onto my walls. Even better then that is the terrifyingly accurate plunging fire you get from the Motar which I've destroyed several seige towers with without ever damaging the walls to any signifigant extent. Motars are, quite simply, the peak of defensive seige weaponry, because they're not nearly as adversely affected by buildings and walls that you have to defend.