So, I just used a FU viking petard on a siege workshop. It left the workshop with 1378 health. From a start of 2310 health. It did 938 points of damage
Houses have 990 health.
Now petards cost 65 food and 20 gold.
Houses cost 25 wood.
Cost effectiveness is negative vs non-stone structures. 
Now, lets talk demo ships! It took 5 heavy demo ships to blow up a docks. Demo ships cost 70 wood and 50 gold. Docks cost 150 wood. So, for 350 wood, and 250 gold, I can destroy docks with demo ships.
I can totally understand petards having terrible cost effectiveness vs stone walls, castles, town centers etc. But is it too much to ask to let demo ships and petards have a neutral cost effectiveness against wood structures?
Is it too much to ask to let petards do 1160 damage so they can 2 shot barracks, and 1 shot a house? Is it really too much to ask for demo ships to be able to 1 shot or 2 shot docks?
On a more historical realism note, demo ships were used against fleets that were asleep, and against fortifications. For example, Fall of Antwerp - Wikipedia. That estacade was effectively a palisade wall in marsh lands. Boom with demo ships. For the sake of the game balance I can understand the demo ships being faster, and being able to hard counter fire ships, but really now. let us have a demo ship rush that can destroy ports 
Costs and benefits are not just about which building it destroys. Having a few petards to make a gap in the defense of the enemy is worth more then just the costs of a building lost.
6 Likes
One shotting a dock is insanely good. My friend you need to start playing before you pontificate knowledge you claim to have on balance
But Ill pretend you post in good faith:
Docks dying to one demo ship is brutal. It means you getting a blast through has just turned a naval fight to your victory to the point you might as well resign or slowly starve out
3 Likes
I don’t know about anyone else, but I think petards feel really goofy and out of place, especially for a Castle Age unit available to every civ. To me, their one saving grace is that they’re hardly ever useful. They probably are underpowered, but I’d rather they stay that way, personally.
I honestly don’t understand why they were added. The ES devs obviously thought there was some vital role for them to play – some situation where every civ absolutely needs petards – but I’m damned if I know what it is.
Even down to the name. Seems like one of those things that was suggested as a joke, but nobody got the joke, so it made it into the game.
Obviously there’s the occasional use for blowing up walls, but my most consistent use for them is in Castle duels and/or stopping ram pushes, especially when I don’t have a melee UU or it’s not convenient to go SW + Mangonel. Two petards can kill two rams knocking at your castle door, which is pretty economical and often unexpected. But it would probably be fine to have civs without them.
2 Likes
The big issue I’d say is that FU petards are basically only petards with siege engineers. The only civs in the game with bonuses toward petards are civs like Portuguese, Gurjaras, and Incas. There are literally no bonuses for damage or speed. It would be pretty cool to see a civ bonus specifically for petards.
1 Like
With petards, you pay for a unit that can take opponent by surprise and let all your army in in few seconds.
1 Like