Musketeers VS Arquebusiers VS Handgunners

[Chosun]

Which do you prefer and why? I am playing a Portugal Campaign right now and can't make a decision between the muskets and the arqs. The muskets have better range but the arqs have better defense and melee I think. I read in some previous posts about how great the musketeers were but they don't seem all that great on paper. Please enlighten me. Also, are handgunners good for anything?

[pevergreen]

Handgunners are early Arques
Arques are early muskets

Portugal Arque are better than musketeers, in attack, defence, charge, and Missile Damage.

No idea why, but they are.

[dopp]

Musketeers have 50% more range than Arquebusiers. They have the longest range of any missile troops in the game, siege engines excepted. The elite muskets like Cossacks and Janissaries also have the highest missile attack in the game.

[lars573]

Also Hanguns can explode, as can arquebuses.

[Chosun]

"Musketeers have 50% more range than Arquebusiers"

This doesn't seem to help that much when the enemy is closing pretty quickly.


"Also Hanguns can explode, as can arquebuses."

I haven't seen this happen to arqs just yet. I do remember them "exploding" in TW though.

You'all have expressed the different strenths but which one to choose?

[Multiplicity]

I haven't played with Musketeers yet, but when it comes to arquebusiers and handgunners, handgunners can hold themselves better in a melee fight compared to arquebusiers who can get trounced on.

[Ar7]

I haven't played with Musketeers yet, but when it comes to arquebusiers and handgunners, handgunners can hold themselves better in a melee fight compared to arquebusiers who can get trounced on.

But arquebusiers are better at what they were actually meant for - shoot people. I mean missile units should not be engaged in melee, if it happens then you have done something wrong. (Hybrid units excluded)

So it should be:

Special units (cossacks, janissaries, portugeese arqs) > musketeers > arquebusiers > handgunners

[pat the magnificent]

i send my missile troops into melee almost every battle, and i rarely have hybrids.

having a unit to wrap around the back of an already engaged enemy unit is always a good thing, regardless what type of units are involved.

also you often must make do with whatever units are at hand, sometimes that unit of crossbowmen or arquebusiers have to charge along with the rest of your infantry to avoid exposing your flanks after you make contact.

another good time to send missile units into melee is after you've made an all out frontal charge. its certainly not a good idea to leave your archers behind your infantry, just firing away into the fray. and its clearly a waste to let them loiter around doing nothing. take off auto fire and skirmish mode and reinforce your footsoldiers' rear. they probably won't kill anything, but their added numbers will make it easier to rout the enemy.

[TevashSzat]

I am pretty sure that one of the gunpowder units cause fear when they are firing. It might be handgunners

[pevergreen]

All of them do.

Handgunners wear plate, so are better in melee.

But Portugal Arques are the best non-special units in stats

[Husar]

The elite muskets like Cossacks and Janissaries also have the highest missile attack in the game.

Wrong, german Reiters have 20 compared to 17 for elite muskets.
Their range is considerably lower but they are still missile troops and very dangerous ones at that.

[pevergreen]

Yummm, plate armoured pistol weilding horsies!

[dopp]

Wrong, german Reiters have 20 compared to 17 for elite muskets.
Their range is considerably lower but they are still missile troops and very dangerous ones at that.

Yeah, forgot about them. Their range is a little short though; shorter even than javelins.

Getting the first one (or two) volleys in before the enemy can open fire in return can be decisive, especially considering that arquebusiers and musketeers come unarmored and their single upgrade doesn't help much, but if your favorite faction only gets arquebusiers then don't worry, just march them up close and open fire.

Portuguese Arquebusiers are among the best, but don't overlook Sudanese Gunners. They don't wear armor and don't fight as well in melee, but their morale and missile attack are excellent.

[supadodo]

Personally in my experience, handgunners are crap. They have stupidly short range and their mellee is easily surpassed by other units. Arquebusiers are rather good but theiy have shorter range even to most archers and since they lack armor, they can die very easily. Musketeers have better range than even elite archers and certain musketeers are good in melee.
I've Tried and tested, musketeers beat arquebusier coz of range. Cossack and Jans are equal range attack wise because I get mixed results on 1v1 matches but Jans have the upper hand in melee. Gunpowder units however should never be used as standalone units. 1v1 with chivalric knights against jan muskets, chivalric knights won coz jans coudn't kill them fast enough and got slaughtered in melee.

[Chosun]

It looks like the general consensus is to go with Port. Arqs.
Thanks and I will give them a try. I was hoping someone would come up with some secret qualities of the musketeers. They seem like a cool unit but their defense does appear lacking.

[Quillan]

I use handgunners only in city defense. Late periods, my city garrisons usually include one unit of pike militia and two units of hand gunners. I deploy the pike at the back of the street directly facing the threatened gate, and have the hand gunners to either side. If the enemy breaks through, they spill into the pikes and get shot in both flanks by the hand gunners. Their short range (and a little micromanaging) prevents the HGs from wasting ammo firing up and over the walls at the attackers, they should cause lots of fear in the mass that always piles up at at a gate breach, and their armor should protect them somewhat if the melee spills into the handgunners units. Otherwise I use musketeers if I have them; the range makes a huge difference.