Mangonel

The Mangonel is a defense device.

Description

The mangonel is a defence engine that is mounted in a tower with a stable foundation. It operates similarly to the catapult, but instead of big rocks, it hurls a handful of smaller rocks with great inaccuracy that are capable of dealing fatal damage to friend and foe alike. Mangonels are operated by engineers and are destroyed when their host tower crumbles.

Contents

• Background
• Stronghold Crusader
• Stronghold 2
• Stronghold Crusader 2

A mangonel with a sling

Mangonels are mechanic engines that operate the same way as catapults. They were capable of catapulting smaller-sized ammunition, mostly smaller rocks, pots and optionally carcasses from their pots (instead of a sling that catapults did use). It is also easier to reload and fire this way. Due to this setup, the mangonel is more of an anti-personnel weapon than an actual demolisher engine and actually found utility in defenses' big towers. Tower mangonels were effective at inflicting unwanted casualties when a charge was led against the castle walls.

Mangonel
General Information
Available in	Stronghold Stronghold Crusader
Usage	Defense engine
Cost	50 gold 2 engineers

Functionality

The mangonel is an anti-personnel weapon that is placed atop of a tower and is operated by two engineers: one of them for reloading and the other to pull, then release the hurler. Catapulted rocks can incapacitate and knock out units with only one hit, regardless of health. Siege engines take more hits to destroy. These rocks can also damage buildings, but not to a great extent. 

Mangonels can be ordered to attack a specific target or circular area within range, but they fire with great inaccuracy. They can only be sited on towers that have stable foundation, such as square and round towers.

Usage

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.

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, since 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 scaling the tower means doomsday for the mangonel without proper defense.

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.

Mangonel
General Information
Available in	Stronghold games
Usage	Defense engine
Cost	200 gold 2 peasants

Functionality

The mangonel is an all-round defense weapon that is placed atop of a tower and is operated by two engineers: one of them for reloading and the other to pull, then release the hurler. Catapulted rocks can incapacitate and knock back units with enormous force that they need to recover after a short time. Rocks can hit buildings, most of which can crumble from one hit. They are mildly effective against siege engines.

Mangonels can be ordered to attack a specific target or circular area within range, but they fire with great inaccuracy. They can be sited on any tower except for the lookout tower.

Usage

Mangonels can be used to stall enemy attacks, since their rocks knock back and stun enemies, while dealing damage. This can be used with particular effectiveness in terrains full of trees and water, since units landing  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 such as siege camps and neighbouring hostile farms.

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, since 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 scaling the tower means doomsday for the mangonel without proper defense.

Mangonel
General Information
Available in	Stronghold games
Usage	Defense engine
Cost	100 wood, 300 gold

Functionality

The mangonel is an expensive all-round defense weapon that is placed atop of a tower. It catapults rocks into an area in short range, which can cause great collateral damage to anything they hit. Rocks can hit buildings close-by, most of which can crumble from one hit. Mangonels can be ordered to attack a specific target or circular area within range, but they fire with great inaccuracy.

Mangonels come with a huge wooden scaffolding that can be put over walls and some buildings. The hurling device cannot be directly destroyed, but it can be attacked by missiles and melee attacks: whittling down the scaffolding's integrity until its collapse. Mangonels can be repaired with the repair tool.

Usage

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.

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. Repeated replacements/repairs of a mangonel can prove costly.