Best way to fight cavalry archers

**Tuuvi** · 07-24-2006, 03:11

What is the best strategy/unit combo for cavalry archers? I just fought an army of rebel cav archers in my Getai campaign and got my ass kicked. Since the Sarmations are nearby I figure it wouldn't hurt to have a good strategy in case I ever have to fight them.

**MSB** · 10-02-2006, 18:21

Simple! Use a combination of well armoured spearmen (with good shields) or heavy infantry (with good shields) and light cavalry (such as Komatai Hippeis). The strategy is simple, keep your cavalry out of the way and let the horse archers waste their missiles on your heavily armoured infantry. Then when they run out they should charge. Send your light cavalry nearby and at impact with your infantry they should all quickly die and run for their lives. They should at this point be very tired so your light cavalry can immediately chase after them and kill the rest.

If you can't find any well armoured infantry (I don't think the Dacians have much better than the Getikoi Stratiotai which are only lightly armored) then hire mercenaries.

**Wardo** · 10-02-2006, 19:09

I think it might be unrealistic to use a Mercenary unit as a human shield. I mean unrealistic in the sense that if I were a Mercenary I wouldn't sign my own death sentence, what good is the money if I won't live to see it being put to good use? Unless it goes to my family, or perhaps if I'm a slave. Maybe you can convince a unit of your own to stand firm and endure by ultra-religious zeal. Die and fulfil the will of "insert Dacian deity here".

But basically what was said by the poster above with one addition: counter-ranged units. Find yourself a human shield unit, get some light cavalry and fill the rest with as many slingers and/or archers as you can, horses are as vulnerable to archers and slingers as your light troops are, unless they are heavily armored horse archers, then you're screwed.

**Musopticon?** · 10-03-2006, 01:01

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=67277

We had two threads about this. both started by our dear Lignator.

**Tellos Athenaios** · 10-08-2006, 23:16

Slingers.

Eaven simpler: slingers seem to - no, wait, they don't seem to, they do - have a longer range than horse archers. And besides: one unit of slingers outnumbers one unit of horse archers + slingers are really cheap (only 65 mnai upkeep per turn with large units), so you can always afford a few units extra of them + they are easily recruited.

This solution also gives your (heavy) infantry some cover to enable them to get at their targets without being nearly destroyed. (Especially in the northern steppes, armies of nearly 20 unit's of Skuda something (horse archers anyway) frequently roam the lands, so heavy infantry would be no good there.)