Large ballista

Defensive

A narrowly specialized defensive tool for ranged units against storm castles, which fits in that one situation; elsewhere, it is unnecessary.

Quick overview

Type	Defensive

The great ballista is purely a defensive gadget for those desperate to defend against storm castles. It increases the strength of your ranged units during defense, and that is its entire purpose. One thing you must experience: it works exclusively against storm castles; it won't help you anywhere else. My opinion? It's a specialist. Either you know why you're using it, or you're just taking up space in your equipment.

How to use it

You deploy it in defense when you expect an attack from a storm castle and know that the attacker is pushing through with ranged units. Bet on defense where you have many ranged units in the garrison, as the ballista increases their strength. You place it as a supporting tool for the army in the defending castle or fortress, not as a replacement for units. Without a decent number of ranged units in the garrison, the bonus has nothing to increase.

What to combine it with

It belongs to a purely defensive ranged setup. Combine it with defensive archers and other tools that increase ranged defense or add general defensive value, so the effects stack in one direction. It only makes sense where your defense relies on ranged combat. If your garrison is built for close combat, discard the ballista and equip a tool for close defense; otherwise, this position will just be idle.

Pro player tipKeep a few of these ballistas aside as a specialized piece for defense against storm castles and don't drag them into regular defense against normal attacks, where they are useless. Before deploying defense, always check where the attack is coming from. If it's a storm castle and the attacker is coming through ranged units, the ballista can make the difference. In another scenario, leave it in storage.

Common mistakeThe most common mistake is that a player crams the ballista into every defense as a universal boost and wonders why it does nothing. It only works against storm castles; against everything else, it's dead equipment. The second classic blunder: you deploy the ballista, but there are no ranged units in the garrison, so the bonus to the strength of the ranged units has nothing to strengthen, and the value is lost.

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