In the Definitive Edition, Gatling Guns are only available to the United States and their revolutionary version. The former can train Gatling Guns at the Artillery Foundry once the Fortress Age is reached and can upgrade them, while the latter can also train Gatling Guns at the Fort and they have 25% more hit points but cannot be upgraded.
While the South American (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Gran Colombia, Peru and Revolutionary Mexico, except Haiti) Revolutionary States cannot train Gatling Guns, they can be still shipped from Home Cities.
The Gatling Gun is unusual compared to the other artillery pieces in the game, with the exception of the Organ Gun. While devastating against infantry they are less effective against cavalry and buildings, doing reduced damage against them. However, due to their high rate of fire they can still do good damage against them if in groups.
With the "Coffee Mill Guns" Home City Card, the Gatling Gun is able to fire endlessly without reload. This allows them to deal a huge amount of damage and makes them capable of defeating an entire army if used in large numbers (10-20 units).
Upgrades[]
The Gatling Gun upgrades are only available to the United States.
Ships 5 ConsulateCulverins; artillery get +10% hit points and -10% train time; Culverins get +20% hit points and -25% train time instead; costs 500 wood
"Engineering School" is available to the French and Swedes.
Gatling Guns fire continuously instead of in bursts
Rolling Artillery
Ships 3 → 2 → 1 Gatling Gun(s); resets after every three uses (4th, 7th, 10th, etc.)
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
With update 13.58326, Damage multiplier against Cavalry changed to 0.25x and against Shock Infantry to 0.15x.
Trivia[]
Originally, the Gatling Gun shared the same portrait as the Organ Gun in-game, even though it had its own portrait in the game files (as seen above) which was used by the 4 Gatling Guns Home City Card in the Revolution Deck. That was fixed in the Definitive Edition.
The Gatling Gun has the second fastest rate-of-fire after the Flamethrower, together with the Organ Gun, if every shot from a volley is counted separately.
The Gatling Gun were originally planned to be trained in the Industrial Age instead of by revolting first.
The Gatling Gun unit model visually resembles a Colt 1874 Gatling gun. This is slightly anachronistic considering the time period the game and its expansions were set in (between the 1500s and the year 1850).
The in-game history section mentions the Gatling Gun's invention taking place in 1861. In reality, the Gatling gun's final designs were completed in 1862 and the weapon was first fielded for service in 1863 during the American Civil War.
If the player is playing with the Portuguese and researches the Rabaulds upgrade at the Artillery Foundry and then revolts, they will get a Gatling Gun with a unique model. However, this will not affect the unit's statistics. This feature was removed in the Definitive Edition.
This model of the Gatling Gun uses a Broadwell Drum, developed in 1870 by Lewis W. Broadwell.
With the release of the United States civilization, the Gatling Gun received visual upgrades, which change as U.S. Army uniforms evolve over the years:
The unupgraded Gatling Gun crew wear uniforms of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), but the Gatling Gun was first fielded for service in 1863 during the American Civil War. This may be a reference to soldiers wearing American Revolutionary Uniforms in the American Civil War.[1] This visual is also used by the Gatling Guns of the revolutionary civilizations since update 23511.
The Heavy Gatling Gun crew wear uniforms similar to those used by the U.S. Army during the War of 1812.
The Imperial Gatling Gun crew wear uniforms similar to those worn during the American Civil War, and the Gatling Gun model uses the Accles Drum, developed in 1883 by James George Accles. This visual was used by the Gatling Guns of the revolutionary civilizations before update 23511, but the Gatling Gun model used the conventional vertical magazine.
History[]
“
The Gatling gun was invented by Richard Gatling in 1861. Although not precisely a machine gun, it nonetheless offered devastating firepower for its time. The operator of the gun would turn a hand crank, which rotated six gun barrels around a central shaft. Cartridges were continuously fed into the barrels as they made their rotation.
The Gatling gun saw its first limited action on the battlefields of the U.S. Civil War, where its rapid fire of up to 600 rounds a minute proved extremely deadly. The gun was also used in multiple conflicts worldwide during the latter half of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, until it eventually was replaced by the modern machine gun, with its automatic action.
”
Gallery[]
A Gatling Gun in Bombard mode
A Gatling Gun in Limber mode
A real-life 1874 Gatling Gun
The Gatling Gun in Limber mode
The Gatling Gun in Bombard Mode
Gatling Gun model after researching Rabaulds in Limber mode
Gatling Gun model after researching Rabaulds in Bombard mode
Gatling Gun image from the Compendium section in the Definitive Edition. Before update 23511, the Gatling Gun of the revolutionary civilizations used this visual.
The United States' Gatling Gun in Bombard Mode
The United States' Gatling Gun in Limber Mode
The United States' Heavy Gatling Gun in Bombard Mode
The United States' Heavy Gatling Gun in Limber Mode
The United States' Imperial Gatling Gun in Bombard Mode
The United States' Imperial Gatling Gun in Limber Mode