Sir We Have an Orc Problem Cannon Turret - Sir, We Have an Orc Problem

What the Cannon does

The Cannon fires explosive shots that deal area damage and often pierce through multiple orcs in a line. In Sir, We Have an Orc Problem, Cannons are the finish tower: they convert softened, compressed hordes into burst clears. Flamethrowers cut HP and density; Mortars splash stacked groups; Cannons delete what remains in the kill box with high-impact detonations.

Forum posts compare Cannons to Gunners because both shoot toward targets. Functionally they diverge. Gunners apply steady single-target DPS. Cannons explode on clumps and leverage pierce to hit depth in the horde. Community players who place Cannons forward without softening complain they lose to Flamethrower damage totals - placement error, not tower tier. The Turret Tier List keeps Cannon at A tier for finish role across most campaign maps.

Strengths and limits

Strengths:

• High burst AOE on grouped orcs
• Pierce through lines - strong in deep kill boxes
• Excellent rear-row partner after burn and mortar setup
• Scales with explosion damage and pierce meta nodes
• Visible impact when timed with choke compression

Limits:

• Weak on spread waves without prior softening
• Needs line of sight unlike arcing Mortars
• Can waste shots on thin streams if placed too early
• Misconfigured forward placement loses to cone weapons in damage charts

Cannons punish good design. They do not create good design alone.

Unlock and upgrade path

Unlock Cannons in the meta tree alongside or after Mortar nodes depending on your branch choices. Use Upgrade Priority as the master list. Cannon-focused order:

1. Cannon unlock - enables explosive placement.
2. Maximum Cannon count - rear row width matters for kill box coverage.
3. Explosion damage - percentage upgrades on stacked targets.
4. Pierce or shot count - depth through compressed hordes.
5. Fire rate - secondary once geometry is stable.

Spend on Flamethrower count and choke setup before chasing Cannon damage if leaks happen before your rear row fires.

Kill-box placement

Optimal Cannon row sits behind softening and on the stack peak:

1. Forward Flamethrower passes tag the stream.
2. Mid Mortar lobs punish the bend stack.
3. Rear Cannons pierce-burst the compressed remnant.
4. Gunner nest mops runners and pierce gaps.

Angle Cannons along the path axis so pierce travels through maximum depth. Side angles look clever but often catch fewer orcs per shot on fluid paths.

Line of sight: reposition Cannons when terrain blocks shots Mortars still reach. Hybrid rows - Mortars over walls, Cannons on open kill platform - are normal on wall-heavy maps.

Cannon vs Mortar vs Flamethrower

Question	Answer
Who softens?	Flamethrower cones
Who splashes mid-stack?	Mortar lobs
Who finish bursts?	Cannon pierce explosions
Who catches leaks?	Gunners

Skipping any leg wobbles the box. Cannons with softening but no Mortar can work on thin stacks; Cannons without softening rarely carry late missions.

Community damage debates

Players report Cannons out-damaging Flamethrowers when every shot hits a dense clump. Others report the opposite when cones double-pass entire streams. Both outcomes are placement-dependent.

When Cannons “lose” to Flamethrowers on final missions, check:

• Did orcs reach Cannons spread out instead of stacked?
• Did burn kill or thin orcs before pierce counted meaningful burst?
• Are Cannon caps too low for kill box width?

Adjust stack timing, not necessarily tower choice.

Abilities and Cannons

Cannon bursts and Bombing Runs stack multiplicatively when timed on the same compressed wave. Fire abilities when Mortar impacts and burn overlap - the kill box window is seconds wide on dense maps. Do not burn abilities on approach fields where Cannons cannot yet see clumps.

Late campaign tools like orbital strikes follow the same rule: spike the stack your Cannons already target.

Upgrade synergy with meta tree

Incremental progression means Cannon power jumps discretely when you unlock extra slots or pierce tiers. A failed run that funds one more Cannon cap often beats three small damage nodes. Pair spending with Upgrade Priority combat branches if you main AOE finish strategies.

Tower count, damage, and fire rate remain the three meta pillars. Cannons benefit most from count and damage; fire rate matters after the kill box exists.

Common mistakes

• Forward Cannon rows ahead of Flamethrowers
• Expecting pierce to carry open-field spreads
• Replacing Mortars entirely on wall maps where lob arcs matter
• Ignoring Gunner leak lines because burst “should” clear all
• Skipping Choke Points reposition after mirror layouts

Sample finish rows

Standard late mission: double Flamethrower pass, triple Mortar on bend, double Cannon rear pierce line, triple Gunner leak nest.

Open-to-choke transition: temporary forward Gunners, single Flamethrower, Cannons moved rear after first stack forms - reposition in build phase, do not idle.

Pierce-focused build: prioritize pierce meta nodes when campaign scripts show deep single-file stacks after funnels.

Related pages

• Turrets Hub - all four towers
• Turret Tier List - Cannon A-tier finish role
• Flamethrower - softening partner
• Mortar - mid-stack splash partner
• Gunner - leak cleanup
• Choke Points - kill-box geometry
• Upgrade Priority - cannon caps and pierce
• Bombing Runs - timed burst spikes