Why can't I build English Longbowmen???

[Jorgen_CAB]

This is the first time with this game, I have started one campaign with the Spanish and one with the English. No matter what I do I can't seem to build any more advanced missile units than archers, even though I have built the Bower Work Shop and the Bower Guild.

Both are early campaigns and I have patch 1.1.

[YAKOBU]

Hi Jorgen_CAB

I'm on MTW: VI and longbows etc are era specific. You should be able to build advanced archers in 1205

[The Tuffen]

Hi, Jorgen_CAB

as YAKOBU said you will have to be in the right era for some units. The only way u will be able to get longbows in early is to either mod them in or by bribing the welsh at the start.

[katank]

yep. english longbows are brits only from high onwards with bow guild.

in early, as catholics, the best you can do is vanilla except if you can conuer Genoa to produce genoese sailors or if Polish and Huns to take Bulgaria and produce brigands with master bow.

from high onwards, you can get x-bows with bow shop, arbs with bow guild and the pavise versions of each require one level above the nonpavise version.

[Mith_]

Another, somewhat related question...

I had some difficulty with producing advanced bowmen in my last campaign as the Turks. It was the High Age and all, and I had the Master Bowyer in several of my provinces, but I could not produce Arbalesters or Pavise Crossbowmen/Arbalesters. I could make Archers, Desert Archers, Turcoman Foot, Futuuwas, and Crossbowmen, and the Master Bowyers worked fine when it came to producing Janissary Infantry/Archers and gave valour bonuses to lesser archers, but I was never able to train Pavise or Arbalest units. I could hire them from inns, however, even Pavise Arbalesters. Perhaps the archers above Crossbowmen are not available to Muslims, but I doubt this as a) my little foldy tech-tree things indicates no such thing and b) some of the mercenary Pavise Arbalesters I hired had Muslim art in the lower right-hand corner when you right-clicked on them. What was going on?

[Tozama]

yep. Longbows are only for English players.
But you will have Arbalesters after 1205 and they are very strong units.

I am replying to the original post...yes Turks do not get arbs either.

[Ludens]

Mith_, the Turks don't get arbalests. They are the only faction that has to do without them. Neither do they get pavise crossbowmen.

[Mith_]

Ah... thanks for the info. I didn't really need pavises and arbalesters much anyway-- on the rare occasions when I was facing an army with a lot of armoured units, I just collected my mercenary longbows there And the other strengths of the Turkish unit line more than make up for it.

[katank]

yep, it's probably for balance reasons that they didn't give turks arbs or pav x-bows.

they have a huge lineup of killer hybrids already and don't need arbs that badly.

[lars573]

The turks don't get any crossbowmen but the basic kind. But they do get yeni cheri infantry and yeni cheri bowmen. They more than compensate for lack of crossbowmen. Yeni cheri infantry are a bow/sword unit like bulgar brigands. Only ten time better than bulgar brigands. I have to say that the turks and the byzantines are my favortite factions in regular MTW.

[Papewaio]

Turks have a fairly mobile army that has plenty of missile troops... the X-bow men just aren't quick enough anyhow to keep up pace with the majority of the troops, thier missiles would not be needed and they then wouldn't compare in melee with the rest of the Turks hybrids... it may be that they don't get them, but I wouldn't build them either when I play the Turks even if I could.

[ah_dut]

Pape, i find that the damn arbalesters are useful in just about any style of play. Even the Byz, who can have highly mobile Horse orientated tactics i find need arbs. However, my turk style of ha's doesn't need arbs.
Against the GH however the Arbs would be much appreciated esp on bridge battles

[SpencerH]

Dont forget that sometimes you can pick up units that you cant build yourself cos of faction or era as mercs.