Mangonel

Mangonel
General Information
Available in	Stronghold games
Usage	Defensive engine
Cost	2 peasants/engineers 50 gold (SH,SHC) 200 gold (SH,SHL) 100 wood, 300 gold (SHC2)

The mangonel is a stone-hurling defense engine.

Description

The mangonel acts like a mini-catapult placed atop of a tower. It is operated by two engineers, one of them for reloading and the other to pull, then release the hurler. Upon launch, multiple rocks are hurled, which can cause devastating damage on buildings and troops. The mangonel has great inaccuracy, making the target area harder to hit.

Mangonels can be sited on towers that have stable foundation. They require 2 engineers^{(SH, SHC)} or peasants^{(SH2, SHL, SHC2)} to operate.

Usage

In Stronghold and Crusader

Mangonels are a frequent sighting, being one of the most reliable (and cheap) defenses. They can effectively stop a seemingly devastating attack, as the attacker has his army in one big clump, offering many kills to one mangonel. They can also cause significant damage to siege engines, to a lesser extent. When they are protected by shields, they are almost invulnerable to projectiles.

Mangonels are best used in conjuction with ballistae: mangonels can provide area damage, while ballistae snipe enemy siege engines and potential targets. In big numbers, a wall of these two machines is virtually impenetrable.

Their "area target" attack can prove very useful. Operating the mangonel at their peak of range actually sends rocks farther than the target range, outclassing the fire ballista's and the trebuchet's range. Mangonel groups can create death zones and cover a huge area in the perimeter when set on area attacks. They can also harass the enemy if they placed buildings close to the mangonels.

In Stronghold 2

Mangonels can be used to stall enemy attacks, since their rocks knock back and stun enemies, while dealing damage. They are a good obstruction for groups of mounted knights, who can lose their mount to only a handful of rocks in spite of having great speed. They are also useful for destroying nearby enemy buildings.

In Stronghold Crusader 2

Mangonels come with a wooden platform that can be fit over walls. They can deal enormous damage to units with their rocks in an area but unable to damage any outlying buildings or structures. Rocks damage units through barricades and hoardings, so the mangonel's utility in defense is unmatched by most defense engines.

Weaknesses

Mangonels are a threat to friend and foe both. The rocks can hurt either player's properties and units, meaning that a badly targeted mangonel can cause severe losses if one does not pay attention.

Other threat comes from its immobility and limited placement. Mangonels pretty much depend on their tower's health, as a severely damaged tower may cripple in no time, sending its engine and staff into destruction. Also, when a mangonel's health is in the red, it needs to be disbanded and replaced in order to "regain" its health.

The mangonel is so inaccurate that it has problems hitting targets being close. Archers and other missile units may shoot without much problem at the device, provided they are not in a big group. Melee units in the tower means doomsday for the mangonel.

Strategies

• A very offensive (albeit somewhat cost-ineffective) use of the mangonel is to build a large tower as close as possible to the enemy in the early game and place one on it. Proxy mangonels supported by archers and crossbowmen are lethal if used correctly. With repairs, the tower can remain strong enough to withstand catapult/trebuchet attacks. Two or three towers can cause severe damage in enemy ranks, but they should be guarded well, as fast units in numbers can quickly overwhelm and destroy these forward outposts.