Sherwo(rthless) Archers?

[Marauder]

I really like England's archer selection; the longbowmen wreck havoc against just about anyone. Which is why I was so excited when Caen became the woodsman guild's HQ. Not only do I love it for the experience bonus, but also these strange men in tights.

By the numbers, Sherwood Archers rock. Except in the unit size number. At half of a longbow unit, I'm finding very little use for these guys. Add on that they can only be retrained at a castle with a woodsmen guild (I'd rather have a swordsmith's guild), I find they're just a novelty and I've disbanded most of my units to save upkeep. I'd rather have the retinue/yeoman longbowmen.

Do any of you guys have an actual use for them?

[Kadagar_AV]

I must say i also struggle to find a use for them...

I mainly use them for general/knight killing mission, having them deep on a flank.

The small unit siye allows me to manouvre them to a advantageous (sp?) position, and then I can pepper the enemy from behind/the side.

But, yeah, I see them as a novelty more than anything else...

NOTE: One use I found that ROCKS is on walls...

Here the small size is good, as you normally cant fit many units on the walls (in a good position where they reach the enemy).... and if the enemy bring ladders or towers, they can easily fight, well, anything off.... Given the wall bonus.

So yeah, a few of these to hold the walls makes a city/castle 100% safe...

But again, the lousy siege AI means it#s not really neeeded anyway, but this can be used nicely in a tight spot:)

Hope this helped:)

[Askthepizzaguy]

They do have 2 HP, and better hand to hand combat rating. They can hide anywhere I believe and make excellent flanking units, and have slightly better stats if I am not mistaken.

I do find that more arrows is better, so they arent as good as retinue longbows in most situations. But they do well in the forests around wherever they are recruited from, and also as a wall unit as Kadagar_AV pointed out. Not for going on campaigns with, therefore, defensive.

[Kadagar_AV]

My friends calls me kad:)

[oz_wwjd]

yeah longbowmne are a better buy for the unit size,but Sherwood Archers make decent infantry in a pinch. I had one fight a light calvary unit that was trying to run them down,and to my amazement they actually won..

[pevergreen]

Are not Retinue Longbowmen the same though? In the multiplayer section of M2TW, my Army the First employs them as front line troops.

[Privateerkev]

I use them as skirmishers on my flanks. As the English, my armies are always "archer heavy." At least 8 RL's in a line with stakes out. I'll put a SA on each flank and use them to skirmish. They can run out, raid the enemy's flank, and pull back. They can hide way out in the woods and pull a nasty surprise on any units trying to flank me. If I get really ambitious, I can send them out on general killing missions behind enemy lines during the battle.

It's all about how you use them. RL's are better for putting in your "archer line" and there are better units for stand up frontline combat. Where the SA's excell is far off on your flanks.

[Kadagar_AV]

Privateerkev, allthough I agree with you, I must say that I much prefer having knights on my flanks...

They do a FAR better and faster job, imho...

if you stack both, you will either have friendly fire OR the SA will be in the way of the knights...

So, I'm not saying your solution is bad, i just say England's standard setup can do the job faster and better:)

[Privateerkev]

Privateerkev, allthough I agree with you, I must say that I much prefer having knights on my flanks...

They do a FAR better and faster job, imho...

if you stack both, you will either have friendly fire OR the SA will be in the way of the knights...

So, I'm not saying your solution is bad, i just say England's standard setup can do the job faster and better:)

I just have more fun shooting things. I have Knights, and later Demi-Lancers way out on the flanks too. But the SA can shoot. When the enemy army comes in, the SA can shoot down their line and survive pretty much what ever is sent after them.

Also, as someone else on here mentioned, the SA do well on walls. I look at the SA as special forces and I look at the Knights as your armored battalions. I use them both for different things.

[Kadagar_AV]

What is your tactic for using both mounted units and SA at the same tank on the flanks?

To avoid friendly fire, that is... *curious*

[Privateerkev]

I keep the "tanks" as a strategic reserve. While I recognize the superiority of the charge, I have much more fun turning units into porcupines.

I line up the archers with the SA on the ends. I have a few infantry behind the archers to plug holes if needed. I'll have arty on a hill or off on a flank to first do counter-battery fire and then whack the general. The Knights will be off on one side and I'll just have them sit there. I don't want to get them into the arty and missle fire. The SA's will be used actively to harrass the flanks, do raids, hit their arty, and hit their general. Since they can hide anywhere, they are good at this. I don't have to worry about friendly fire because I can keep the SA's far away while they shoot.

If needed, the tanks can come in and roll up a flank at a decisive moment.

Another thing the SA are good at is ambushes. If you can build up a pure SA half or even quarter-stack, they can do some damage to what ever they ambush.

[Marauder]

Thanks for the suggestions. Even on VH, the enemy doesn't seem sophisticated enough to use special forces when the regular units work so well. I like the idea of putting a quarter stack in hiding near your castle, that would be a brutal ambush. That would be an expensive ambush stack though and I wouldn't want to pay their upkeep for more than a couple turns if they're just going to sit there. I think a strong offense is a strong defence; if I'm always on the attack then I don't have to worry about an invading army =)