The Mortar can be used effectively against buildings and ships. They deal greatly inferior damage to Petard, though they can attack from great range and aren't suicide units, giving them more strategic value in a greater number of situations.
Since an update in Knights of the Mediterranean, Mortars can attack enemy land units, especially effective against massed infantry. Attack range against land units is shorter than the building attack range.
They play similarly to the Trebuchet from Age of Empires II in that they have very long range and must be packed up to move and fire.
African civilizations can train Mortars at the Palace when the Imported Cannons technology is researched. These Mortars cost 450 influence instead of wood and coin cost, and automatically upgrade to Howitzers and Imperial Howitzers in the Industrial Age and Imperial Age respectively.
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
"4 Mortars" is available to the Italians and Maltese.
"Blockhouse Cannon" is available to the Russians and also Swedes upon revolting to Finland.
"Engineering School" is available to the French, Ottomans, Portuguese, Russians, and Swedes.
"Argentine Mortars" is available to the Germans, Italians, 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.
"Lantakas" is available to the Dutch and Portuguese upon revolting to Indonesia.
"Wanderlust" is available to the 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.
Consulate units' train time -50%; Consulate technologies' cost -40% (-300 export for Brigades) and research time -50% (except Brigades)
Bakufu
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% instead
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, all Mortars can use the Barrage attack by default. The Barrage attack deals 30 siege damage, has an Area of Effect of 4, and a Ć0.4 multiplier against cavalry, shock infantry, artillery, and villagers. The Bombard attack has a Ć1.25 multiplier against Walls in the Fortress Age, which is increased to Ć2.0 upon reaching the Industrial Age.
Originally, Galilean Mortars cost 350 food, 350 wood. With update 14.43676, it costs 400 food, 400 wood, reduces Mortar coin cost by 50, and they received a new model.
Although it is not listed in the patch notes, with update 14.43676, Mortars' Bombard attack have a Ć0.75 multiplier against ships.
A mortar is an artillery piece with a short barrel and a large bore that fires massive projectiles in a high arc. The name "mortar" probably refers to its resemblance to the mortar of a mortar and pestle. The high arc of a mortar's fire reaches emplacements and buildings that are screened by terrain or walls or other permanent defenses. The projectile a mortar fired was filled with gunpowder and fitted with a fuse that was lit right before firing the mortar. The artillery crew had to carefully measure how long to make the fuse for the mortar to explode at the right moment (usually on impact). This made mortars much better at firing on buildings and fortifications than on fluid groups of moving troops.
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Gallery[]
A Mortar in Bombard mode
A Mortar in Limber mode
A(n) (Imperial) Howitzer in Limber mode
A Howitzer in Bombard mode
Mortar firing a huge shell following a reload
A Mortar fixed on top of the Monitor
Mortar from 1864 on a railroad, during the US Civil War
Mortar of 18th century
Mortar in the original game and in the Definitive Edition
A Mortar in Limber mode in the Definitive Edition
A Mortar in Bombard mode in the Definitive Edition
A(n) (Imperial) Howitzer in Limber mode in the Definitive Edition
In-game Ottoman Mortar (the in-game model required the "TopƧular" Home City Card before update 14.43676)
In-game Galilean Mortar in Limber mode since update 14.43676
In-game Galilean Mortar in Bombard mode since update 14.43676