Mangonels Completely Overpowered?

[Cael]

So, I was wondering what the communities general consensus was on mangonels. I played the crusade DLC against one of my friends and completely destroyed him through a pincer movement, getting him stuck in place, and bombarding him. He got really mad and keeps arguing that their overpowered and that they can kill an entire unit with a shot and wants them banned. What's you guys opinion? Are they broken? Why or why not?

[EoNightcore]

If they can hit the enemy army, they're incredibly deadly. Even if they explode in mid-air, the flames that spew out can still deal damage.

However, they're rather inaccurate (and tend to explode out of range of the enemy force), absolutely useless in a siege, and just as vulnerable to anti-siege tactics as catapults and trebuchets are.

[|*D*F*| eggslop]

They can be in certain situations, but they aren't very accurate and will decimate friendlies.

[EoNightcore]

Originally posted by eggslopontopM2TW:

They can be in certain situations, but they aren't very accurate and will decimate friendlies.

^ the chances of this become more likely the closer the enemy and friendly forces are.

[Mile pro Libertate]

Originally posted by EoNightcore:

If they can hit the enemy army, they're incredibly deadly. Even if they explode in mid-air, the flames that spew out can still deal damage.

However, they're rather inaccurate (and tend to explode out of range of the enemy force), absolutely useless in a siege, and just as vulnerable to anti-siege tactics as catapults and trebuchets are.

This ^

They aren't op because they are not very reliable, or consistent, and yeah they suck against fortifications.

[Waxen]

They're not OP, but they're not very fun to play against. Most of the time artillery units don't pull their weight, but even a ballista can knock out your general in the first salvo and completely ruin the fight for the victim. Yes, I know you can play around it, but playing around that 5% chance isn't fun.

Anyhow, I haven't played multiplayer in a while, but back then artillery was typically banned.

[Monchhichi]

Originally posted by Cael:

So, I was wondering what the communities general consensus was on mangonels. I played the crusade DLC against one of my friends and completely destroyed him through a pincer movement, getting him stuck in place, and bombarding him. He got really mad and keeps arguing that their overpowered and that they can kill an entire unit with a shot and wants them banned. What's you guys opinion? Are they broken? Why or why not?

It's obvious your friend has a very massive ego and doesn't want it bruised. They are not overpowered because they are extremely inaccurate and they don't come with a lot of ammo. Your friend needs to stop blaming Mangonels being overpowered for his failure in battle against you or he will never grow up.

[Gunther von Rittersburg]

Ive only ever seen them in the Teutonic campaign. From my personal experience, they're only good for bombarding the enemy infantry, much like a Howitzer cannon firing the carcass shot seen in Empires: TW. Of course, as everyone else mentioned, useless in sieges.

Hence, I dont really use them. I find them to be a needless expense for a useless unit and the money can be used to get better siege units, or upgrade the siege workshop.

[Hat8]

They're garbage when used against somebody with an aggressive playstyle.

[EoNightcore]

Originally posted by Jack Skellington:

Hence, I dont really use them. I find them to be a needless expense for a useless unit and the money can be used to get better siege units, or upgrade the siege workshop.

I've used them in a mod called Total Vanilla.

I find them to be good at decimating and dismoralizing the enemy army before combat begins (assume any of the flames hit that is...) . Though I tend to combine them with more direct siege weapons such as Trebuchets, Bombards, or Culverins to make my armies both field and siege-battle flexible.

Originally posted by Hat21:

They're garbage when used against somebody with an aggressive playstyle.

^
When I was using them against the Aztecs, I found them to be useless, due to the sheer numbers the Aztecs could field combined with the "attack attack attack" mentality the AI has against armies with siege weapons; and than there was the possible chance of my own Mangonels burning alive a good portion of one of my units (those poor spearmen... you know how long it takes to transport good citadel-level units to the Americas?) once the Aztecs got too close.

[Ruinae Retroque Rursus]

Mangonels are best used as siege defense.

You know how the AI has that habit of just sitting outside waiting for its ram to break down the gates? Station a Mangonel at a reasonable distance from your walls and just fire in their general direction. Morale penalty to the enemy is always fine.

Also, they're pretty good in a siege if the AI is just loafing around waiting for you to attack. I've had some [modded] victories whereby I just sat outside the walls lobbing mangonel blasts over onto their massed infantry behind the gate.

They're not very effective against anything in particular but are very nice for AI-abusing and generally causing carnage if you don't mind a couple of casualties. In open battles they're about as useful as other artillery - that is, not very.

Modded on the other hand... those Hyrule Total War "Powder Keg Launchers" that the Gorons get have a habit of one-shotting giant spiders, famous generals, and even demigods - which makes them well worth keeping around. 820 dmg vs buildings is also insanely good.

[Hat8]

Originally posted by EoNightcore:

Originally posted by Jack Skellington:

Hence, I dont really use them. I find them to be a needless expense for a useless unit and the money can be used to get better siege units, or upgrade the siege workshop.

I've used them in a mod called Total Vanilla.

I find them to be good at decimating and dismoralizing the enemy army before combat begins (assume any of the flames hit that is...) . Though I tend to combine them with more direct siege weapons such as Trebuchets, Bombards, or Culverins to make my armies both field and siege-battle flexible.

Originally posted by Hat21:

They're garbage when used against somebody with an aggressive playstyle.

^
When I was using them against the Aztecs, I found them to be useless, due to the sheer numbers the Aztecs could field combined with the "attack attack attack" mentality the AI has against armies with siege weapons; and than there was the possible chance of my own Mangonels burning alive a good portion of one of my units (those poor spearmen... you know how long it takes to transport good citadel-level units to the Americas?) once the Aztecs got too close.

You should be aggressive against mesoamericans. With cavalry, they're easy.

[LuNi]

The single best thing in siege battles for both attacking or defending.

[Nexim95]

Originally posted by Cael:

He got really mad and keeps arguing that their overpowered and that they can kill an entire unit with a shot and wants them banned.

Just drink his tears.