Two Towers ballista: when to pick it and what to upgrade

The Two Towers ballista is the tower you pick when armor, shields and helpers are what break your gate. It fires a heavy bolt through a line of attackers and ignores armor. This guide covers what the Ballista does, which attackers the game itself tells you to meet with it, what to pair it with, and a ten-stage plan for spending your gold on it.

Everything about the game here comes from the game itself and its own text, on twotowers.vlvd.net. Where the game gives no number, this guide gives none either.

What the Two Towers ballista does

On the title screen you choose the tower for each side of the gate from four kinds. Each has a one-line label, and the Ballista's is "Bolts through armor".

Set the four side by side and the Ballista's place is clear:

• Archer Tower: fast arrows at one attacker, and with Volley at up to four.
• Trebuchet: slow, long-range stones that hurt everyone where they land.
• Ballista: a heavy bolt through a line of attackers that ignores armor.
• Fire Tower: fire pots that leave the road burning, and fire burns through armor.

Two things make the Ballista different. Its bolt goes through a line, so attackers walking one behind another on the road all get hit. And it ignores armor, so a knight's or a ram's protection does not soften it.

The six attackers the Ballista answers

The game has a one-line tip for every attacker. Six of those tips name the Ballista, more than any other tower.

• Knights: "Knights' armor turns arrows: Ballista bolts and fire go straight through it."
• Battering rams: "Rams hit the gate hardest: Reinforce the gate, and use Ballista bolts that ignore armor."
• Monks: "Monks heal those around them: kill them first, with Archer Volley or a Ballista."
• Standard bearers: "Standard bearers armor those around them: bring them down first with a Ballista."
• Shieldbearers: "Shields stop arrows: Trebuchet stones and Ballista bolts get past them."
• Siege towers: "Siege towers let a crew out at the wall: stop them early with a Ballista and Damage."

Read the list again and you see two jobs. One is armor: knights, rams and shields shrug off arrows, and the bolt does not care. The other is helpers: monks heal and standard bearers hand out armor, so killing them first makes everyone around them easier.

What the Ballista cannot cover alone

One heavy bolt at a time is the wrong tool for some problems. The game's tips point elsewhere for these:

• Crowds. "Peasants win by numbers: a Trebuchet or Fire Tower hits the whole crowd at once." War hounds come in packs, and "a Trebuchet stone or a Fire Tower catches the whole pack."
• Fast riders. "Cavalry ride fast: Fire rate and Archer Volley catch them before the gate."
• Far shooters. Archers and crossbowmen stop on the road and shoot at the gate. The tips say to buy Range, and for crossbowmen, a Trebuchet. Mangonels throw stones from far off, and "a hill tower with Range reaches them."

That list tells you what your second tower is for.

Which tower to pair with the Ballista

You get two towers at the gate, so pick a partner that covers the Ballista's gaps.

• Ballista and Trebuchet. The Trebuchet handles crowds and packs, and reaches crossbowmen. Together they also cover shieldbearers twice. The gap is fast cavalry.
• Ballista and Fire Tower. Fire also burns through armor and catches crowds and packs. The gap is cavalry and far shooters.
• Ballista and Archer Tower. Archer Volley answers cavalry and monks. The gap is crowds.

There is no wrong pair, only a different gap, and you fill that gap with your hill towers later. Our post on which two towers to pick first goes through every pair, and what to build on West and East Hill covers the hills.

What to upgrade on a Ballista

Click or tap a tower, on the field or in the tabs along the bottom, and you can buy damage, fire rate, range or its special. Every upgrade shows on the tower itself, from Plain through Trimmed, Fine and Grand to Masterwork.

The game's tips give you an order for the Ballista:

1. Damage first. The general tip is "Spend your gold on Damage between stages, and Reinforce the gate." The siege tower tip pairs the Ballista with Damage, and berserkers fall to Damage before they run.
2. Range when shooters appear. If archers or crossbowmen start hitting your gate from the road, the tips say to buy Range so your towers reach them before they stop.
3. Fire rate when the line gets long. More bolts means more lines hit. Buy it once Damage is keeping up.

On top of what you buy, every five stages your towers are rebuilt stronger, from Timber to Legendary. That strength costs you no gold, on top of every upgrade you buy.

A worked example: the first ten stages with a Ballista

Here is a plan you can follow. Pick Ballista on the left of the gate and Trebuchet on the right, then press Defend Greenvale. The game gives no prices for upgrades, so the plan is about order, not exact gold.

1. Stages 1 and 2. Spend on Damage, as the general tip says. If a crowd reaches the gate, Trebuchet Damage first, since it hits the whole crowd; if anything armored does, Ballista Damage first.
2. Stages 3 and 4. Watch what reaches the gate. If knights or rams do, more Ballista Damage. If riders do, note it: your hill tower will be an Archer Tower. Between stage 4 and stage 5, Reinforce the gate, as the king tip says, and keep gold for Damage.
3. Stage 5. A king leads every fifth stage, very strong and hurrying those around him. Your gate is reinforced and your saved gold has gone into Damage.
4. Stages 6 to 9. Buy your first hill tower for 150 gold. With this pair, an Archer Tower covers the cavalry gap. Then go back to Damage and Range as the attackers demand. Your second hill tower costs 300.
5. Stage 10. Another king. Reinforce the gate before it, as before, and keep the same rhythm after it: there is no final stage.

If you lose, the game tells you which attacker did most of the damage to the gate. If it names an armored attacker, that is a sign to add Ballista Damage sooner. For the king stages, see how to hold every fifth stage.

The real ballista behind the tower

The tower takes its name from a real siege engine. English Heritage's guide to medieval siege warfare describes the ballista as a very large crossbow on a wooden frame, which fired a big arrow or bolt at high velocity, sufficient to pass through several people. The game's bolt through a line of attackers echoes that. For the real weapons, see medieval siege weapons explained.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Ballista good in Two Towers?

It is the tower the game's tips name most: against knights, rams, monks, standard bearers, shieldbearers and siege towers. It is weaker against crowds and fast riders, so pair it with a tower that covers them.

What should I upgrade first on the Ballista?

Damage. The game's general tip is to spend gold on Damage between stages, and buy Range once shooters hit your gate from the road.

Does the Ballista ignore armor?

Yes. Its label on the title screen is "Bolts through armor", and the game's text says its bolt goes through attackers and ignores armor.

Can I put a Ballista on a hill?

Yes. A hill tower can be any of the four kinds, 150 gold for the first and 300 for the second.

Get started

Play Two Towers, pick the Ballista for one side of your gate, and try the ten-stage plan. It is free and plays in your browser on a computer or a phone.