Ranged combat (Civ5)

Back to the combat section

Some units' weapons allow them to attack the enemies from far enough away that they're unable to retaliate. When they shoot, the enemy can do nothing but cower in fear. This is ranged combat.

There are both land and naval units capable of ranged combat. For a complete list, see below.

Ranged units statistics

Any unit that can engage in ranged combat has some special statistics:

• Ranged Combat Strength (often called "Ranged Strength" for short) - This is an alternative to the normal Melee Strength stat and is used when the ranged unit either makes or defends against a ranged attack.
• Range - This is the distance, in tiles, from which the ranged unit can attack the enemy. The ranged unit needs to both be within this distance and have visibility of the target in order to attack.

Rules of engagement for ranged units

Line of sight

Main article: Sight (Civ5)

Generally, a ranged unit must be able to "see" its target in order to be able to fire at it (with the exception of units with the Indirect Fire promotion). A unit cannot see a target if a blocking terrain object is between the two - a mountain or hill, for example, or a forest tile. A unit can always see into adjacent tiles, even if it contains blocking terrain, but it cannot see objects in tiles past the blocking terrain. Note that flying units can see over blocking terrain, because of their vantage point. Also, units on hills often have a high enough vantage point to see over blocking terrain - the only exception is if the blocking terrain itself is on hills.

Finally, individual sight radius may also affect the ability to attack. Most ranged units' sight radius is at least equal to their range, which allows them to always use their full range to attack. A notable exception are siege units, which usually have a sight radius of 1 and a range of at least 2. Thus, for example, a Catapult left on its own won't be able to use its full range, because it won't be able to see far enough. However, if the Catapult has a line of sight to a tile seen by another unit, it will be able to attack that tile as long as it's within range.

Attacking

A ranged unit may attack any unit within its range with impunity. The attacking unit's Ranged Combat Strength is compared to the target's Combat Strength, bonuses are applied, and the damage the target suffers is determined. If the target is destroyed, the tile where it was remains unoccupied.

Note that when applying bonuses related to terrain, the tile of the target is what determines them. For example, an Accuracy promotion bonus will only work if the target is on flat terrain, while a Bombardment bonus will only work if the target is in rough terrain. Defensive terrain bonuses also apply for the target, and the attacking unit may not use any Formation bonuses.

Defending

When a ranged unit is attacked by a melee unit, the stat used for comparison with the enemy's attack is Combat Strength. As a rule, ranged units have weaker Combat Strength than Ranged Combat Strength, which automatically makes them more vulnerable when attacked. Make sure to take this into account!

On the other hand, when a ranged unit is attacked by ranged unit or enemy's city, the stat used for comparison with the enemy's ranged attack is Ranged Combat Strength.

Ranged attacks allow your army to deal damage without endangering themselves. They are an essential part of your army from the very beginning to the end of the game. Make sure to learn how to use them well, and defend them.

Ranged attackers

The following is a list of all the units in the game that are able to perform ranged attacks, sorted by era.

Ancient Era

• Archery units
  • Archer
  • Atlatlist (Maya only)
  • Bowman (Babylon only)
  • Slinger (Inca only)
• Mounted units
  • Chariot Archer
  • Horse Archer (Huns only)
  • War Chariot (Egypt only)
  • War Elephant (India only)
• Naval ranged units
  • Dromon (Byzantium only)

Classical Era

• Archery units
  • Composite Bowman ()
• Siege units
  • Catapult
  • Ballista (Rome only)

Medieval Era

• Archery units
  • Crossbowman
  • Chu-Ko-Nu (China only)
  • Longbowman (England only)
• Siege units
  • Trebuchet
  • Hwacha (Korea only)
• Mounted units
  • Camel Archer (Arabia only)
  • Keshik (Mongolia only)
• Naval ranged units
  • Galleass ()
  • Great Galleass (Venice only)

Renaissance Era

• Siege units
  • Cannon
• Naval ranged units
  • Frigate
  • Ship of the Line (England only)

Industrial Era

• Archery units
  • Gatling Gun ()
• Siege units
  • Artillery

Modern Era

• Archery units
  • Machine Gun
• Naval ranged units
  • Battleship
  • Submarine

Atomic Era

(Expansions only.)

• Archery units
  • Bazooka
• Siege units
  • Rocket Artillery

Information Era

(Expansions only.)

• Naval ranged units
  • Missile Cruiser
  • Nuclear Submarine
• Bomb units
  • Guided Missile

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