Firefly Studios have released another Stronghold: Warlords dev diary, showing off the power and might of the mighty Trebuchet, pronounced treb-u-shay, a common instrument of war in centuries past, check it out.

While rocks and rocks set of fire have been known to be used in the past, it seems there is more you can load than just the ground beneath your feet.

“Our trebuchets can be loaded up with either pigs or water buffalo” said Nick Tannahill, Marketing Director at Firefly Studios. “This may sound silly, but spreading disease throughout an enemy castle can mean certain doom for soldiers and peasants alike! Just remember it takes longer to load up a water buffalo, so think of the pig as your rapid fire option”.

Stronghold: Warlords will be the first game in the strategy series to introduce gunpowder siege weapons. Coming in the form of thunder crash bombs, the fearsome mortar, hwacha fire arrow cart and more, each can be used in different ways to cripple and eventually conquer rival players. Spread fire across enemy farmlands by catapulting bombs over their walls, blow apart defences with massive cannonballs or breach their castle walls with ancient rocket launchers. Castle defences also benefit from the addition of gunpowder with mounted hwacha able to mow down lightly armoured enemy infantry before they can approach your walls.

The game is set to release on January 26th for PC.