Ranged Units

[St.Jimmy]

In your opinion what is the best ranged unit from any faction? Not just how good the units stats are but also taking into account there availibility and there price/ukeep/retraining cost. What i mean is some low tech archer could be better because its easier/cheaper to get hold of and cost less to retraine then a high end archer so proveing more usefull. Does that make any sense?

Also if anyone is using the Grand Unit Add On? Are the English mounted longbowmen any good? Just able to get them and I dont really use HAs.

One last question. If I place crossbows behind my lines and tell em to fire will the fire over or shoot my own troops?

[WarMachine187]

I love the pavise crossbowmen.there gooda and easy to get as espanya.They form the backbone of my spanish military along with chivalric knights.I like them because one,theyr quick,fast and reliable.the french aveturiers are one of my favorites to.But im not an exclusively crossbow guy.I like to mix it up.English longbowmen are everyones favorites,,so i choose to be unique and prefer the scots guard of my favorite faction,France.Norse archers are pretty good to.I like em because1:theyr great for covering my Axemen and odasheers,2: because they make good bait for coaxing my enemy to attack,only to be steamrolled by my norse war clerics!

[PrestigeX]

I think my favourite archers would be.

Norse Archers,

Highland Archers.

Trebizond Archers.

Merc archers =
Bulgarian Brigands

the reason why is that they are a good step-up from basic peasant archers, can use flame, are not as expensive as elite archers,, AND, can actually handle some hand-to-hand combat.
elite archer units are better damage, range, and melee but they cost more, aren't as available and more of a pain to retrain when they inevitably take losses.

[PBI]

Genoese Crossbow Militia.

Available from a Large Town, lethal missile damage and infuriatingly tough to destroy. Oh, and don't forget armour piercing.

Portuguese Arquebusiers.

Easy to build (for gunners), devastating missile attack and able to face down enemy archers or survive a quick melee better than most gunpowder units.

Vardariotai.

Elite armoured horse archers, who despite being essentially bow-armed heavy cavalry, are fast moving and available from a wooden castle.

[Anonymous II]

Like PrestigeX, I really like the Bulgarian Brigands. Probably my favourite mercenaries. It's because of their ability to actually be capable of defend themselves to a certain extent in melee. These are also available right from the start.

Bulgarian Brigands

When it comes to faction recruitable units, my vote goes to the Desert Archers. They only need a fortress (population 4500 castle) to be recruited, and have long ranged missiles. They are also pretty cheap (390 florins to recruit, and 100 in upkeep). And they look really cool too!

Desert Archers

One last question. If I place crossbows behind my lines and tell em to fire will the fire over or shoot my own troops?

No worries, they will fire over your lines by a mile!

[St.Jimmy]

No worries, they will fire over your lines by a mile!

Ok Thanks. As stupid as this might sound i dident think they would be able to get the right angle and either miss or fire straight into the back of my troops.

Iv only used the bulgarians once as the Rus. I used three of em and my genrals unit to take thorn. They were able to take the walls with ladders and then shoot into the centre massacreing everthing.

[JCoyote]

Ok Thanks. As stupid as this might sound i dident think they would be able to get the right angle and either miss or fire straight into the back of my troops.

You're so silly, expecting crossbows to work in a strategic simulation like they would in the real world.

[Old Geezer]

It is a toss up. Milanese crossbows are so very effective and easy to get - only problem is shooting down when on walls that I can think of. Longbows are - well, words failed me and I timed-out. Scottish Noble Archers are overall just superb - best at defending walls with thier great melee ability, morale, and defense. Their only drawback is that you need advanced archery range in a fortress IIRC. The Milanese crossbowmen are not as much fun, for me, but they have the best "bang for the buck". Deadly archers from a low level city building - how can you beat that? Sure beats hiring expensive mercs with lousy morale.

[Yaropolk]

This easily has to be #1) Welsh saethwyr and #2) english longbows (regular, not yeoman/retinue).

Both are available from a regular castle, both can use stakes, and both are armor-piercing. Saethwyr comes out ahead due to their larger unit size (75) vs standard 60 man archer squad