The Dwarven Ballista is a Dwemer animunculus added in Dragonborn, and it is exactly what the name suggests: an oversized crossbow given legs. A heavy metal housing sits on four mechanical limbs, and from it the machine hurls huge metal spears at anything that wanders into its ruin. Loading screens rank it among the most dangerous Steam Animunculi, because its bolts can punch straight through the thickest armor.
Like the Dwarven Centurions and other automatons, ballistae were built by the Dwemer as guards and soldiers. Their makers are long gone, but the machines still keep watch over the halls they were assigned to, on Solstheim rather than mainland Skyrim.
Variants
| Variant | Level | Health | Stamina | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dwarven Ballista | 20 | 409 | 186 | 45 |
| Dwarven Ballista Guardian | 28 | 530 | 218 | 90 |
| Dwarven Ballista Master | 33 | 700 | 238 | 135 |
None of them use Magicka, and all three share the same resistances and armor-piercing bolts. Only the basic Ballista record turns up in the game data by name, so the Guardian and Master figures come from the wiki tables alone.
Where to find them
- Nchardak – the flooded Dwemer ruin explored with Neloth.
- Fahlbtharz
- Kagrumez
All three ruins lie on Solstheim.
Notes
- While exploring Nchardak, Neloth keeps musing that he ought to have an assistant haul one back to Tel Mithryn. Visit his tower later and a dismantled ballista is indeed on display.
- The spears it fires cannot be picked up or collected.
- A ballista that topples into water keeps shooting, but sinks out of reach where it can no longer be hit.
- Ammunition appears to be unlimited, so waiting for it to run dry is not a plan.
