Best missile unit (non gunpowder)

**Alatien** · 11-30-2006, 17:23

I have beend experimenting a bit with various missile units and I came to a conclusion that the best unit is - Genoese Crossbow Militia.

This came as a suprise since I would rather expect English to lead the way, maybe with French Aventurier as follow up.

Meanshile I have done some testing, all on flat ground, Medium difficult and on still, not rainy day. Both sides deployed in loose formations, firing on long/medium ranges. The results below show the final numbers in units (starting 60) after depleting ammo by both sides:

Gen. Crossbow Mili. vs Longbowmen
36 - 20

Gen. Crossbow Mili. vs Yoeman Archers
33 - 6

Gen. Crossbow Mili. vs Aventurier
56 - 5

Gen. Crossbow Mili. vs Pav. Crossbow Mili.
42 - 25

Gen. Crossbow Mili. vs Musketeers (just to see how they do vs gunpoder unit)
0 - 41

I have also tried on Hard setting and i got
Gen. Crossbow Mili. vs Longbowmen
44 - 7
51 - 6

These all seem to be amazing results, especially since it is a Militia unit! And an early one! Add to this a decent melee skill and low price.
The main disadvantage is longer reload time, but if used correctly this doesnt hurt that much.

Anyone has other experiences?

**cassiusdio** · 11-30-2006, 17:30

Genoese crossbow militia are very useful, both in that they have very good defence and their missile attack is excellent. Genoese crossbowmen (built in a castle not a city) are even better.

However, i do find that longbowmen are better overall, maybe not in a straight missile on missile duel, but in that they can deploy stakes befoe the battle, and even in an open field give you a strong defensive position. Retinue Longbowmen lead the way as far as English missile troops go, they are by far the most useful missile troops i have yet used

**CaptainSolo** · 11-30-2006, 17:42

Must say i have to agree with Cassiusdio.

The main strength of the Longbowmen i have found when deployed in large numbers is the ability to decimate an enemy army very very quickly.
In large engagements 5 or 6 units of Longbows will cripple the enemy army quick time and leave very little for their armoured swordsmen to mop up,expecially when on the defensive as Cassiusdio says.

Thats not to say the Genoese are poor as i've played a Milan campaign and they are awesome units and at 100 florins upkeep they're a steal.For longetivity during a long battle they are worth their weight in gold due to the ammount of ammo they carry and are brilliant at defending walls.Having said that the Retinues are no slouches in melee either it has to be said.

I think CA got the balance between these two spot on as both are great in the right situation but in a large battle i'd take the longbowmen.

**magnum** · 11-30-2006, 17:43

I agree that Genoese Crossbow Militia are a great ranged unit, but I'd still take the top of the line Longbow over em. In tests you can give both sides time to fire all their ammo, but even vs the AI, I seldom fire all my ammo when I'm playing with Genoese Crossbows. The longbows however I can fire everything I have quickly, then finish it all up with a charge (cavalry or otherwise.) For the ease and costs though, they are one of the best units.

**Doug-Thompson** · 11-30-2006, 17:46

The obvious intent of this thread is for foot missile units.

I don't have a wide range of experience on that yet. I am anxious to seek how some of the Turkish units stack up.

**PaulTa** · 11-30-2006, 18:09

Not trying out ottoman infantry sort of left a gap in this... :P

**Spendius** · 11-30-2006, 18:11

Me too, I would like to see the same test with turkish archers. ottoman infantry is quite ok, and janissary archers kick *ss but are very expensive.

**Nepereta** · 11-30-2006, 18:35

the unit I used the most for missles so far is the yoeman. The ROF is a decimating force and the range is fantastic the defensive power is great too and its not too hard to get them with silver shields in decent numbers the first 40 turns. The retinue requires more work especially to armour indecently also I find as english spawning archers from a base I use nottingham means the appearance of the Forresters Guild pretty quickly which eventually gives you the fabled sherwood archers too.

If you are playing english I would suggest 1 castle permanently dedicated to archery it pays great dividends in the long run.

**Shahed** · 12-16-2006, 00:27

Originally Posted by Alatien

I have beend experimenting a bit with various missile units and I came to a conclusion that the best unit is - Genoese Crossbow Militia.

This came as a suprise since I would rather expect English to lead the way, maybe with French Aventurier as follow up.

Meanshile I have done some testing, all on flat ground, Medium difficult and on still, not rainy day. Both sides deployed in loose formations, firing on long/medium ranges. The results below show the final numbers in units (starting 60) after depleting ammo by both sides:

Gen. Crossbow Mili. vs Longbowmen
36 - 20

Gen. Crossbow Mili. vs Yoeman Archers
33 - 6

Gen. Crossbow Mili. vs Aventurier
56 - 5

Gen. Crossbow Mili. vs Pav. Crossbow Mili.
42 - 25

Gen. Crossbow Mili. vs Musketeers (just to see how they do vs gunpoder unit)
0 - 41

I have also tried on Hard setting and i got
Gen. Crossbow Mili. vs Longbowmen
44 - 7
51 - 6

These all seem to be amazing results, especially since it is a Militia unit! And an early one! Add to this a decent melee skill and low price.
The main disadvantage is longer reload time, but if used correctly this doesnt hurt that much.

Anyone has other experiences?

This is remarkable because it's already been proved (unless I got it all wrong) that Longbows wtfpwn all xbows. Just have a look at Reapz archery tests.

**Don Jacopo Caldora** · 12-16-2006, 01:02

After playing both the English and Milan campaign, I would say it is a toss up between the Gen xbow militia and the longbows. Each has it's unique advantages. The standard gen xbows are amazing too, but it is the economics of the militia units that make them amazing. Plus you have no need to convert cities to castles and can make tons of $$ and it is so simple to keep them replenished.

**Husar** · 12-16-2006, 01:14

Well, you tested them all once, if the genoese always reload while an enemy salvo hits them, they will do a lot better than if they are just about to fire and thus exposed to the enemies' missiles.

**andrewt** · 12-16-2006, 02:02

One on one tests aren't really a very good indicator of the strength of missile units. If I have longbows, dvor, ottoman, etc., I wouldn't get into a missile contest with genoese crossbow militia. I do more damage faster than they do, so I would just target something else rather than missile units that are armored and have a huge shield.