Sakers

Sakers
Belongs to	Most Western factions
Type	Fixed artillery
Guns	3
Firepower	21
Range	400
Accuracy	40
Reload	30
Morale	3
Tech requirement	None
Produced from	Cannon Foundry (cannot recruit with upgraded facilities
Shot Types	Round Shot; Canister Shot; Shrapnel Shot
Cost	660 SP/610 MP
Upkeep	160
Turns to Train	2
Unit Cap	None

Sakers are a type of fixed artillery in Empire: Total War.

Description

A saker is an old-fashioned style of light cannon, deployed in a fixed position.

Artillery pieces are expensive to cast; as a result, they tend to be in service until captured, destroyed or rusted away. Sakers are a prime example of this, as many of the barrels date back to the 17th Century, even if they have been taken from dust-covered warehouses and mounted on refurbished carriages. They are relatively light cannons in terms of the shot fired, which is much the same as a six-pounder. Some sakers are even old enough to have been intended for stone ammunition, and this is reflected in the fact that the windage (or difference between the barrel bore and shot size) is often quite large. This “rattling” of a shot down the barrel when it is fired does not help accuracy.

Despite the light weight of shot, sakers are anything but lightweight guns. Saker gun carriages are large, awkward and tactically immobile. Gunners and draft animals can drag them into place before a battle, but there is little chance of moving a gun to a better firing position once the action has commenced.

Although obsolescent, there were 14 sakers in the “Blenheim train” of artillery in 1704 available to the Duke of Marlborough – guns were expensive and he took what was available.

General Information

Sakers are decent, cheap early artillery. Like demi-cannons, sakers are fixed artillery. They do not have sufficient range or power to battle against large armies, but can make good garrisons against rebels. They lose their relevance past early game when more powerful, mobile artillery become available; indeed, upgraded ordnance facilities cannot even train sakers. They have a 9-lber shot, making them slightly more powerful than either type of horse artillery, but are overall some of the worst cannons in the game.