Quote Originally Posted by Kraxis
But anyway, plunging shots might have done the trick, though I believe the longbowmen would have sniped the crossbowmen, or at least attempted it. They would likely count the seconds from shooting to the next shot and try to hit the crossbowman as he looked out.
The pavise was usually held by someone else, so he could always vary the angle at which it was held. Another thing is that arrows and quarrels are noticably slower than bullets (you can even see musket balls in flight), so the crossbowmen should have been able to see the incoming volley and take cover at the right time, especially if said missile duel took place at long range. No laser sniper rifles in 1415, sorry.

The Genoese at Crecy were sent into battle hastily and left their pavises on the wagons, with predictable results. BAD example of longbow pwning crossbow. But, as I said before, I don't see why longbowmen expecting shielded enemy archers wouldn't a) take cover between volleys and b) pay someone to hold pavises up themselves, instead of standing around complaining about the unfairness of it all, how their longbows should pwn everyone etc.. Don't Retinue Longbowmen have small shields, giving them half the bonus of the pavise? A nice compromise on CA's part. Result: Retinues outshoot pavise crossbows (and have more total armor than Scots Guards).

Conclusion for all: longbows are fine, train them up for best results. Don't expect them to beat everything out of the box. Imagine playing AGAINST the English, killing off all their experienced longbowmen in a miraculous stroke of luck involving a bridge and a monster ribault, only to discover that the newly assembled replacements still pwn your 3-gold crossbowmen. Nasty.