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Ballista

From Fire Emblem Wiki, your source on Fire Emblem information. By fans, for fans.
Revision as of 22:58, 15 April 2015 by The Return of Willy on Wheels (talk | contribs) (The Return of Willy on Wheels moved page Ballista to Ballista on Wheels)

This article is about ballistae as a broader weapon type. For the specific type of ballista which goes by this name, see Ballista (weapon).


Arrowspate, a recurring ballista in the Archanea games

The ballista (シューター shooter) is a recurring weapon type comprised of siege engines, mostly those of the titular ballista variety. Ballistae are defined by their immense range, with the almost unique benefit of being able to strike at enemy units at up to ten tiles away from the user; this is primarily counterbalanced by the ballistae themselves being slow and cumbersome to operate, being unable to double-attack at all, and being helpless should an enemy attack the ballista's operator at close range.

Use of ballistae is always locked to a small number of classes: they are exclusive to Ballisticians in the Archanea games, to similar classes divided into specific wielders for the individual ballista in the Jugdral games, and to Archers, Snipers and Marksmen in the Elibe, Magvel and Tellius games. In the former two game groups, ballista weapons are actually carried in the inventories of these units, while in the other appearances ballistae are found only as objects present on the map which can be boarded and used temporarily by any unit of these classes from any army.

11 different ballistae have existed in the entire Fire Emblem series; in the majority of appearances, ballistae are considered to be a category of bows locked to specific bow-wielding classes, while the Archanea games make them their own weapon type unusable by conventional bow users. Ballistae are not present at all in Awakening.

Ballistae in the Fire Emblem series by type

Archanean ballistae

These five ballistae appear solely in the four Archanea Fire Emblem games: Ankoku Ryuu, Mystery of the Emblem, Shadow Dragon and New Mystery of the Emblem. In these games, the usage of ballistae is exclusive to the Ballistician class. The Archanean ballistae are unique in their diversity of function, each being portrayed and described as firing different forms of ammunition for different roles.

Weapon Available in: Notes
FE01 FE02 FE03 FE04 FE05 FE06 FE07 FE08 FE09 FE10 FE11 FE12 FE13 FE14 FE15 FE16 FE17
Stonehoist --
Hoistflamme --
Thunderbolt --
Arrowspate --
Pachyderm --
A means that the weapon is available in that game, while a indicates the contrary.

Other ballistae

These six ballistae appear in all other ballista appearances in the series. With the exception of the Onager of Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn, all of these are mere variations on the standard "giant arrow" ballista.

Weapon Available in: Notes
FE01 FE02 FE03 FE04 FE05 FE06 FE07 FE08 FE09 FE10 FE11 FE12 FE13 FE14 FE15 FE16 FE17
Ballista --
Iron Ballista --
Killer Ballista --
Poison Ballista --
Great Ballista --
Onager --
A means that the weapon is available in that game, while a indicates the contrary.

Classes capable of using ballistae

There are 10 different classes which, at some point in the series, have been able to wield ballistae.

rowspan=2 style="Template:Roundtl; border:1px solid #222222; width: 15%"|Class Wields ballistae in: rowspan=2 style="Template:Roundtr; border:1px solid #222222; width:35%"|Notes
FE01 FE02 FE03 FE04 FE05 FE06 FE07 FE08 FE09 FE10 FE11 FE12 FE13
Ballistician --
Ballista --
Iron Ballista --
Killer Ballista --
Great Ballista --
Poison Ballista --
Archer --
Sniper --
Fleet --
Marksman --
A means that the class wields ballistae in that game, while a indicates the contrary.

Etymology and other languages

Names, etymology, and in other regions
Language Name Definition, etymology, and notes
English

Ballista

A classical siege engine of ancient Greek origin, designed to fire arrow-like projectiles.

Spanish

Ballesta

Ballista

French

Baliste

Ballista

German

Ballista

--

Italian

Balista

Ballista

See also

Weapon types
Physical weapons ArtAxeBow (Ballista)CannonballGauntletsDaggerLanceSword
Magical weapons Anima (FireThunderWind)Black magicDarkLightStaffTome (Blue tomeColorless tomeGreen tomeRed tome)White magic
Other weapons BreathCrest StoneSpecialStoneStrike, beast, and monster weapons
Ballistae
Basic ballistae BallistaGreat BallistaHoistflammeIron BallistaKiller BallistaLauncherOnagerPachydermStonehoist
Ballistae with secondary effects ArrowspatePoison Ballista
Magic-based ballistae Fire OrbThunderboltViskam