Lots of people think Archers are weak, but they're not

The thing with Archers is that in order for them to be VERY effective, you have to use them with a STRONG tactic along with GREAT technique.

As someone has already pointed out, Fire-At-Will will NOT achieve great results. Archers need to be used with Player directed Fire. This is the first thing.

Second, Archers should ALWAYS and CONSISTENTLY be firing at something, unless the Player is deliberately conserving their Arrows.

IMO, this means that Archers should be put on Hold Position; and they need to be Protected

If they are not put on Hold Position, then EVERY time an enemy unit gets within a certain distance to them they will STOP firing and attempt to Retreat to a safe position where they will try to start firing again (given they are set to Fire-At-Will).

This is EXTREMELY wasteful

Given that time in any battle is comprised of 100% [Battle Time], and that (Archer) Fire Time is a percentage of Battle Time, then the nearer the ratio of Fire Time to Battle by Archers is to 100/100 the greater the effectiveness of Archers. (Hope I wrote that comprehensibly.)

For example, generally, Archers who only Fire 25% of the Battle Time will be less effective than Archers firing 75% of the time (25/100 vs 75/100). Of course, Valour effects this equation, but given units of equal Valour....

Obviously, I've given this some thought, and started experiementing with techniques to give my Archers Maximum Fire Time/Battle Time.

Hold Position allows Archers to maximize their time, because they will just keep firing until they're all slaughtered; but, obviously, they are *quite* vulnerable on-the-field at this setting (to Slaughter and disruption).

Consequently, they need Dedicated Protection. I generally, assign of a unit of Spears, 1 for 1, with the *main* purpose of protecting my Archers. 2 Archer units, deserves 2 Spear units and so on. The exception is in how you place your units on the battlefield. (A single Spear unit can protect 2 Archers if they are placed one behind the other (stacked).)

I ALWAYS place Spears in Front of Archers.

What I call the Run-Thru technique is wasteful (in my style). Run-Thru is when you place your Arches in front of Spears (or whatever), Get off a few volleys and when the enemy gets close, you retreat the Archers thru your Spear units which engage the advancing enemy unit(s).

As you can see this minimizes Fire Time.

The Spears used for protection in front of the Archers are ALSO put on Hold Position for two reeasons: 1) I don't want them retreating. I want them to stay put right in front of the Archers; and 2) I want the Spears to fight to the VERY last man and NEVER flee.

I keep an eye on the Spear unit(s), if that unit(s) begins to weaken and/or is getting slaughtered, then I know its time, and *have* the time, to either pull my Archers back to safety w/o losing any; or, MORE appropriately, bring an additional unit to aid in their protection. This can be repeated several times, as necessary.

All the while, my Archers NEVER stop firing, unless I choose for them to do so. (In a long battle, preserving Arrows can be important, but that's another thread.)

2/3 units are the core of my Army, and I build my Army around them. 3/4 Valour Archers can be TOTALLY devastating if used effectively. Garnering 100-200 kills per unit regularly WITHOUT losing a single man; and this is the KEY factor

The longer you keep your Archers safe (and preserve them), using them effectively, they simply just keep getting better and better. Their Valour *can* rise battle after battle w/o losing a single man.

NO other unit type can boast this, as ALL other units MUST engage the enemy in order raise their Valour.

Whaddaya think?

~ ToranagaSama

P.S., the poster who mentioned Morale is absolutely correct. Archers are the only unit that can effect the Moral of an ENTIRE Army. Before your Army contacts the enemy, Rain some Arrows upon some poor Peasant unit, see the Peasants become decimated and watch them Flee. The moral of the Entire Army recieves a Negative effect upon Morale. I call it the Fear Factor. (Historically accurate&#33

Or, with high enough Valour Archers do the same, but upon the opposing King or Knight unit. The Knights might not flee as easily as Peasants, but the effect can be equivalent (or greater).