Escorpión

Scorpions are effective against slower, lower-health units, but they usually need to be used in large groups. Foot-archers are the primary exception to this, where a single Scorpion has a tactical advantage. Infantry and archers tend to be the units its slower-moving bolts have maximum efficiency against. Scorpions perform worse against Eagle Warriors, Woad Raiders, and cavalry, which can dodge its missiles and/or close the gap quickly, and Huskarls, Ghulams, and Eagle Warriors, who have higher pierce armor which can resist the Scorpion bolts. Scorpions, like most siege units, should be well protected, as their slow speed makes them vulnerable to attack. They are often paired with Pikemen to deal with enemy cavalry. This combination is often seen with the Celts and Slavs, who have bonuses for both units. They can also be paired with Genoese Crossbowmen, which help protect them against cavalry, and can also assist against other units, unlike Pikemen. When used properly, Scorpions can be quite devastating. A medium-sized group of Scorpions can decimate whole armies of infantry and archers, and will even hold out against cavalry in sufficient numbers. Scorpions tend to be countered by Mangonels. Khmer (and their allies') Scorpions are less vulnerable to Mangonels, as their Scorpions outrange them. Scorpions are also vulnerable to longer ranged units such as Bombard Cannons and Longbowmen. === Comparison to the Mangonel === ; General * Scorpions deal pierce damage, as opposed as the Mangonel's melee. * Scorpions do damage in a straight line, while Mangonels attack a single, small area. The amount of total damage against a group of units will largely depend on formation and enemy micromanagement. ; Mangonel advantages * The Mangonel has a much bigger base attack and its Area of Effect generally allows it to hit more enemies than the Scorpion. * In addition to its superior damage per shot, Mangonels have bigger bonus damage against both buildings and siege. * The fact that Mangonels deal melee damage makes them very effective against all other siege units in the game, including the Scorpion (since siege units have high pierce armor and low melee armor). At the same time, the Scorpion's pierce damage makes it very ineffective at destroying siege units. * The Mangonel has two upgrades, which increases its power much more than the one upgrade available for the Scorpion. The upgrades significantly increase the Mangonel's attack and health, as well as increasing its range by +1. The same does not happen for the Heavy Scorpion, which only gets a slight increase in health and attack from its upgrade. * Mangonels can attack ground - a cleverly managed Mangonel may hit fast-moving units. * Mangonels do not have attack delay; Scorpions have significant attack delay. * Mangonels have more hit points, especially their upgraded versions. * Mangonels do not need any technology to get going. ; Scorpion advantages * Scorpions do not damage friendly units, but Mangonels do. ** Mangonels need careful control throughout almost any battle or they are likely to deal heavy damage to the player's own troops. In contrast, Scorpions can be effective even with very little micro-management. As such. Scorpions can be argued to be more suitable for beginner players than Mangonels. * Scorpions cost only about half as much as Mangonels (Scorpions cost in total 150 resources, while the Mangonel costs 295, although the latter is less gold-intensive). * Scorpions need Ballistics to reach their full potential, after which they can track moving targets, making their use much more friendly. * Scorpions attack nearly twice as fast as Mangonels. * Scorpions move slightly faster than Mangonels (0.65 vs 0.6 speed), making them slightly better at repositioning. * While Scorpions have a shorter range (7) than upgraded Mangonels (8), the Scorpion projectiles continue moving 3 tiles ahead of their maximum range, allowing them to hit units 10 tiles away (11 with Siege Engineers). Combined with the fact that Scorpion shots reach their targets faster than Mangonel shots, this makes the Scorpion shots harder to dodge. This is especially true against ranged units performing hit-and-run tactics, since these units cannot retreat straight backward from the Scorpion shots, but will dodge Mangonel shots by doing this. * The Heavy Scorpion upgrade does not cost gold () and is much cheaper than the combined cost of the Onager () and Siege Onager () upgrades. * Scorpions have one extra pierce armor (although each upgrade on the Mangonel grants +1 pierce armor each). * Scorpions have a minimum range of 2, while the minimum range of Mangonels is 3. This influences the unit's survivability.