Hwatcha II

The improved hwatcha of the Late Medieval period reflects a generation of Korean military engineering applied to the lessons of the first rocket artillery. Reinforced iron fittings replaced wooden joints that cracked under recoil; rocket tubes were rebored for straighter flight; propellant charges were reformulated with purer saltpeter for greater consistency and increased impulse. The result was a weapon that delivered the same devastating salvo effect with greater accuracy, longer range, and a heavier explosive payload per rocket. Commanders who had used the original hwatcha to devastating effect would have recognized the improvement immediately: the same fearsome spread of fire arriving more reliably and with harder impact. In game the Hwatcha II strikes harder and more reliably than its predecessor, excelling against massed formations, but remaining fragile against cavalry or flanking infantry that close the distance before it can redeploy to safety.