Quote Originally Posted by Knight of the Rose
It migth be slightly off topic, but I'll give a little shout-out for "fire-at-will". Yes Unknown Guy, I agree that it is very often a waste of ammo, and I always keep it off. But in cases where I'm being rushed by the enemy and have slow loaders (x-bows, arbs) I fire once at maximum distance. If the enemy is slow (footmen) I give it another shot. Then I turn off "skirmish". And then I wait.

I wait for them to come closer. And closer. Closer still. And then, at "can you see the white in their eyes?"-distance I turn on "fire-at-will" and they shoot instantly into the enemy at point blank range. Sometimes (usually when I'm not playing expert) the shock of being under fire and at the same time loosing a third of their numbers in one second, routs them immediately.

But mostly, FaW is bad for you.

/KotR
Thanks KotR and everyone who discussed FaW. This is something I never really learned much about, and last night I used this tactic to kill off a Pope to get rid of my excommunication. I don't know why the Pope was sitting in Rome with other units (2 ballista) but after his successor asked for peace I have been able to use those crusades I built.