Confused, whats better - Arbalesters +1 valor or Pavise arbalesters?

[Patron]

You need a bowyer 4, which means you need to upgrade all the way to citadel aswell. castle1, bowyer1, castle2, bowyer2, castle3, bowyer 3, castle4, bowyer4.

What's the point of using archers vs pavise arbalesters?? That's sort of like using light cavalry vs halberdiers in a forest.

[Geezer57]

What's the point of using archers vs pavise arbalesters?? That's sort of like using light cavalry vs halberdiers in a forest.

There was a thread about "favorite missle troops" over in the ezboard forum, and the subject of Longbow vs. Pavs came up. Out of curiosity, I set up a 1-on-1 custom battle on a flat map, and ran it repeatedly. The Longbows would maybe inflict a tiny bit higher casualty rate than the Pavs until they ran out of arrows (Pavs still over half full for ammo), at which point I'd have them charge the Pavs. No sense just leaving them standing in the "steel rain". They'd take some losses while moving into melee range, then launch a minority melee attack against the Pavs - and lose, every time, over and over.

Does that prove that Pavs are better than Longbows? No. Is that something I'd do in a real battle (MP or campaign)? No. About the only thing it shows is that Longbows have a heck of a time beating Pavs in 1-on-1 custom battles.

I like both units, and often incorporate both of them into my campaign armies. With the Pavs out in front and the Longbows right behind, I get the best of both types. The Pavs provide missle cover (the AI likes to target your lead units) while inflicting a slow, steady, kill rate - the Longbows provide a high rate of plunging fire for a short time, and can either be relieved by reinforcements or act as flankers in a pinch after the main melee begins.

[antisocialmunky]

Well, it's best to sit L Bows behind some cheap expendable heavily armoured unit like Pavs.

[Roark]

Unless you're Turkish, any missile unit you employ is going to be part of a larger mixed group.

Longbows are perfect for going on the offensive, because they are much more mobile, they can sit right behind your front line without delivering friendly fire, and they have a couple of points of attack.

The fact that Arbs and Xbows don't shoot in an arc makes them harder to use in concert with infantry. Their opportunities to shoot are further reduced by this.