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The Battering Ram is an Ancient Era support unit in Civilization VI. Its purpose is to breach city defenses.

Vanilla and Rise and Fall[]

Gathering Storm[]

Strategy[]

A siege in ancient times was a grueling experience. Melee units do significantly reduced damage versus city fortifications, which makes taking down Ancient Walls difficult. The Battering Ram solves this problem, allowing melee units (and anti-cavalry units, in Civilization VI: Gathering Storm) to do full damage to Walls! Note that you will still need to beat the Walls before attacking the city proper.

The Battering Ram becomes obsolete (cannot be produced anymore) after developing Civil Engineering; it also becomes useless when the target civilization has itself developed Urban Defenses. It can be upgraded then to a Medic and salvage at least some of its usefulness.

In Gathering Storm, the Battering Ram is useless against anything but Ancient Walls. This plays much better into the historical accuracy of the unit, and adds a new layer of sophistication to early-to-middle game tactics.

Civilopedia entry[]

As the walls protecting towns got higher and thicker, so too did the gates. Eventually, it wasn’t enough to have a bunch of expendables hammering away at the gate carrying a thick pole. In its simplest form, a battering ram is a heavy log suspended from a framework that can be swung against walls and gates, eventually – theoretically – knocking them down. Over time, the ends were capped with metal, wheels were added for mobility, and coverings protected the users from boiling oil, rocks, arrows and other discomforts. So useful were battering rams that, if they couldn’t be constructed from materials nearby, ancient armies would drag them along on campaigns. Pliny the Elder even described their use in mining for breaking down hard rock (although a bunch of slaves with picks was a lot cheaper). Battering rams were used right through the Middle Ages, until the advent of gunpowder brought cannons into the art of war.

See also[]

Civilization VI Units [edit]
Civilian SettlerBuilderTraderArchaeologistSpyNaturalistRock Band GS-Only
Land military AT CrewArcher (Hul'che1Pítati Archer1) • ArtilleryBarbarian Horse ArcherBarbarian HorsemanBombardCatapultCavalry (CossackHuszár GS-OnlyLlanero1) • Courser GS-Only (Black Army GS-OnlyOromo Cavalry1) • Crossbowman (Voi Chiến1) • Crouching TigerCuirassier GS-Only (Rough RiderWinged Hussar1) • Field Cannon (Hwacha R&F-Only) • Giant Death Robot GS-OnlyHeavy ChariotHelicopterHorseman (Hetairoi1) • Infantry (Digger1) • Keshig R&F-OnlyKnight (Mandekalu Cavalry GS-OnlyMamlukTagma1) • Line Infantry (Garde ImpérialeRedcoat) • Machine GunMalón Raider R&F-OnlyMan-At-Arms (Khevsur R&F-OnlyBerserkerSamurai) • Maryannu Chariot ArcherMechanized InfantryModern ATModern ArmorMountie GS-OnlyMusketman (ConquistadorJanissary GS-Only) • Nihang1Pike and Shot (Carolean GS-Only) • Pikeman (Impi R&F-Only) • Questing Knight4Ranger (Highlander R&F-Only) • Rocket ArtillerySabum Kibittum1Saka Horse ArcherScout (Okihtcitaw R&F-Only) • Skirmisher GS-Only (Warak'aq GS-Only) • SlingerSpearman (Hoplite) • Spec Ops R&F-OnlySwordsman (Hypaspist1Immortal1LegionNgao MbebaToa GS-Only) • TankTrebuchet (Domrey1) • Vampire3VaruWar-CartWarrior MonkWarrior (Eagle WarriorGaesatae1) • Zombie5
Naval military Aircraft CarrierBattleship (Minas Geraes) • Caravel (Nau1) • DestroyerFrigate (De Zeven Provinciën R&F-OnlyJong1) • Galley (Bireme GS-OnlyViking Longship) • IroncladMissile CruiserNuclear SubmarinePrivateer (Barbary Corsair GS-OnlySea Dog) • Quadrireme (Dromon1) • Submarine (U-Boat)
Aircraft BiplaneBomberFighter (P-51 Mustang) • Jet BomberJet Fighter
Support Anti-Air GunBattering RamCultist3Drone R&F-OnlyMedicMilitary EngineerMobile SAMObservation BalloonSiege TowerSoothsayer2Supply Convoy R&F-Only
Religious ApostleGuruInquisitorMissionary
See also Great PeopleHeroes
1 Requires DLC2 Apocalypse mode only • 3 Secret Societies mode only • 4 Heroes & Legends mode only • 5 Zombie Defense mode only

R&F-Only Added in the Rise and Fall expansion pack.
GS-Only Added in the Gathering Storm expansion pack.

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