Javalins

I recently started a campaign (xl mod) as the Volga-Bulgarians i quickly grabbed as many of the surrounding rebel provences as i could and began building up my technology and allied with everyone around me however a few years later the Novgorods attacke dme in Moscow they attacked with just their king and i outnumbered them slightly but with crap troops (1 unit each:steppe cavalry, horse archer, and whatever the volga javelin unit is bashkorts i think) anyway it was heavily raining so my horse archers could only kill one boyar i attacked with my steppe cavalry but they were routed after killing only 2 boyars so i have horse archers and bashkorts both valor 0 no upgrades and i realized the battle was all but over when suddenly the bashkorts began throwing their javelins and the boyars were swatted down like fleas wow those javelins sure are effective in only a few volleys i had killed their king and the boyars fled in terror of the all-mighty javalins i had never really used javelins before but now upon further inspection i realize they are a great weapon they dont get any penalty for the rain, they are armor piercing and most units with javelins are fast so they can skirmish well once arabalests or even crossbows come along they cease to be useful but in early they are great
wow that was a long description of a fairly simple thing anyway my main question is am i right in assuming they kick butt in early or was this just a lucky battle

Javelins are a gift from God. Especially if you're in Iberia.

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Originally Posted by metatron

Javelins are a gift from God. Especially if you're in Iberia.

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I wholeheartedly agree. Jinnettes are especially nice, as they combine the benefits of both javelins and light cavalry. They have brought many victories to my Spanish armies.

Jinettes are wonderful to have, the best catholic lightish calvalry IMO. I'm just curious, has anyone seen these guys in Vanilla slaughter knights? More than once I have taken down and have lost whole units of knights with a pin and charge from Jinettes under 3 star generals.

Hm, I rarely ever use javelin units. Whenever I tend to use them, they can only get 1 or two volleys before they get charged. They are more of a burden for me then anything. Oh, and please use periods, would have been a huge burden taken off my head.

Jinettes were the key for me to conquering the iberian peninsula as Spain. But as my empire grew, I stopped using them and used sheer man power of heavy infantries and archers to battle. It was far more simplistic and powerful than jinettes. But they were definately key to victories in many battles of the early period.

They suck, in all my experiences with javelins (which i try to keep to a minimum) their short range let's them down, it takes about 6 seconds for them to get organised before they even throw a single javelin and by then they are either being chased or in a hand to hand melee.

Which is why you use them against pinned units, not as front line units. leave them behind your spears, and when a unit of knights or swordsmen charge, pin them with the spears and let loose with the javelins from behind. You may kill some of yours, but spears are cheap, knights are not. Some of them are actually pretty fast (Like the Murabitin Infantry), so you can afford to wheel them around the back of the pinned unit and unleash into their flanks. This will really tear them to shreds.

Nowadays I always throw in a unit of javelins into my army when I can (or naptha. Sometimes both even). I have seen the sheer destructive power they can have when used right. Just remember to take them off skirmish, and keep a close eye on them, or they won't get a shot off.

I usually use them in team with a spear unit on attack, while the spears exchange blows with the enemy the javelins rains death from below, actually it's perfect fr those nasty kings that don't want to die peacefully...

Soulfly and Zarax are right on, hide those javelins behind a spear wall and focs them on the most heavily armored ad elite units. Great at bridges and castle walls,they also do well in the open (when protected by inf)

ichi :bow: