The Li'l Bombard has a decent number of hit points, unlike other artillery units. It is very slow but is very good at taking down ships and buildings. It can also attack other units, but it is very vulnerable to cavalry designed to counter artillery. It uses the same model that the Great Cannon and Redoubt Cannon originally use. The Li'l Bombard is a smaller version of the Great Bombard.
Although slow and extremely expensive, just three of these Bombards will destroy nearly all infantry that approaches them. They also surprisingly do well against cavalry because they have high base damage instead of having a large attack bonus against infantry. They are actually capable of taking out entire armies of cavalry provided they are guarded well. However, since update 5208, they received a negative multiplier against cavalry and shock infantry, reducing the damage done by the Li'l Bombard to these units by half. Li'l Bombards should be used similarly to Heavy Cannons. Be sure to guard them with heavy infantry or light cavalry. With the hit point improvement upgrade and all cards (any European and Indian allies), the Chinese Li'l Bombard is the artillery with the highest hit points, 1,008.
Ships 5 Consulate Culverins; artillery get +10% hit points and -10% train time; Culverins get +20% hit points and -25% train time instead; costs 500 wood
N/A
"Engineering School" is available to the French, Ottomans, Portuguese, Russians, and Swedes.
"Hire Li'l Bombards" is not available to the Ottomans, and also available to the Germans and Spanish upon revolting to Argentina.
"Flying Battery" is available to the Germans, Italians, and Spanish upon revolting to Argentina, and French upon revolting to Revolutionary France.
"Loyal Warriors" is available to the Italians, Maltese, Ottomans, and Portuguese upon revolting to the Barbary States.
"Lantakas" is available to the Dutch and Portuguese upon revolting to Indonesia.
"Wanderlust" is available to the British and Dutch upon revolting to South Africa, and can be sent 3 times.
"Knox's Continental Artillery" is available to the British, Dutch, French, Italians, and Swedes upon revolting to the United States.
Daimyo and Shogun Tokugawa get +5% speed, +10 Line of Sight and train units 15% faster; land military unit train time -20%, artillery and banner army train time -10%
Ships 13 random mercenaries; up to 3 random mercenaries available at Saloon; costs 3,500 coin
Indiana Mobilization
Ships 1 Carbine Cavalry for each shipment sent so far this game including this one; unit train time (except Heavy Cannons), technology research time, and age-up time -10%; costs 250 food, 250 wood
Ships 4 Napoleon Guns and 2 Li'l Bombards; mercenaries get +25% hit points and attack; costs 2,500 coin
"Indiana Mobilization" is available upon selecting the Indiana Federal State.
"Connecticut Shipwrights" is available upon selecting the Connecticut Federal State.
"Hamilton's Own" is available upon selecting the New York Federal State.
Great Cannon[]
“
Powerful Russian heavy artillery.
”
—In-game description
The Great Cannon is a more powerful version of the Li'l Bombard. It cannot be obtained during normal gameplay, appearing only in the Bring Down the Mountain scenario of the Act II: Ice campaign. In this scenario, the player must close the three passages in order to prevent the Russian convoys with Great Cannons from crossing through them and escape. The Great Cannon is pulled by two cavalry (like the Great Bombard) and has the firing sound of a ship gun. It is very effective against infantry and can only be countered effectively by cavalry in hand-to-hand combat and anti-artillery artillery.
The Redoubt Cannon is a campaign exclusive and more powerful version of the Li'l Bombard. The can only be found in the The Battle of Yorktown scenario of the Act I: Fire campaign. There, four enemy Redoubt Cannons will be split in half to guard two redoubts and must be taken down to complete the primary objective. The cannons will be guarded by Jaegers and will prove to be a lethal force against infantry. However, unlike Li'l Bombard, they cannot move, although they can switch between Limber and Bombard mode.
With update 14.43676, Li'l Bombard costs 1,100 coin and trains in 70 seconds.
In-game dialogue[]
The Li'l Bombard (or their crew) speaks Italian, which is also shared with the Elmetto.
Select 1Sì? - Yes?
Select 2Pronto - Ready
Select 3Comando? - Order?
Move 1Sì - Yes
Move 2Lo farò - I'll do it
Move 3Sto per farlo - I'm about to do it
Attack 1Vado all'attacco! - I'm going to attack!
Attack 2Alla battaglia! - To the battle!
Attack 3Sì! - Yes!
The campaign-only Great Cannon speaks the same dialogue as the Russian Heavy Cannon while the Redoubt Cannon speaks the same dialogue as the British Culverin.
History[]
“
Artillery has existed for hundreds of years, practically since the invention of gunpowder. Early artillery, such as the great bombard, was extremely large, heavy, and difficult to maneuver across the field of battle. Military tacticians envisioned the value of more lightweight pieces, leading to the creation of the first mortars in the mid-seventeenth century. Armies soon discovered that the tradeoff in firepower for increased mobility was valuable in certain situations. Today, the mortar and similar weapons play a strong role in the blend of weaponry used in modern combat scenarios.
”
Gallery[]
An in-game Li'l Bombard in Bombard Mode
An in-game Li'l Bombard in Limber Mode
Two Li'l Bombards on the map
The Li'l Bombard's history portrait
Li'l Bombards are capable of killing multiple units in one shot.
An enemy Redoubt Cannon firing in The Battle of Yorktown
In-game Li'l Bombard in Limber mode in the Definitive Edition
In-game Li'l Bombard in Bombard mode in the Definitive Edition
Professional Gunners (+10%)
Gadaa System (+5%; Ethiopians only)
Tar Kilns (+5%)
Smokeless Powder (+5%)
Heated Shot (+50% multiplier vs. ships)
Somali Ajuran Engineers (+20% multiplier vs. Frontier fortification)
Gunner's Quadrant (+6)
Town Watch (+3)
Trunion (+15%)
Apache Endurance (+5%)
Blue Nile Ties (-15%; Ethiopians only)
Immigrants (-10%)
New Mexico Immigration (-10%; United States only)
Philhellenism (-10%)
Strangers' Quarters (-10%; Africans only)
Mapuche Ad-mapu (-10% coin cost)
Golden Liberty (-5% coin cost)
Yemeni Relations (exchanges cost for 50% coin, 50% influence; Ethiopians only)
Improved Cannon Trade (changes cost to 700 coin, 400 influence; Africans only)
Outlaw Combat
Feudal Armies
Loyal Warriors
Siege Hitpoints
Siege Attack
Siege Combat
Western Reforms
TEAM Engineering School
Acupuncture
Ignatian Spirituality
Italian Firearms
Engineering School
Hire Li'l Bombards
Flying Battery
Lantakas
Wanderlust
Knox's Continental Artillery
Improved Mercenaries
Sahelian Kingdoms
TEAM Shivaji's Tactics
Bakufu
TEAM Knights of the Round Table
Squires
Plan of Veracruz
TEAM Mariachi
Colegio de San Nicolás
National Servant
Topçular
TEAM Spanish Inquisition
German Mercenary Contracts
Poker
Indiana Mobilization
Connecticut Shipwrights
Hamilton's Own
The WarChiefs[]
