How To Use Billmen

**imnothere** · 11-15-2007, 23:41

heavy billmen are useful, but only if flanking or behind stakes.

i do add them in, and when counter charging into the units that are biting into your spearmen units, absolutely devastating to their morale. but bills should never ever be consider as standard troop-of-the-line unit. their slow animation, 2-hander bug, and lack of defense give them the survival rating of peasants, just like Beckett in Church really.

**Jason X** · 11-16-2007, 10:30

Originally Posted by imnothere

give them the survival rating of peasants, just like Beckett in Church really.

LOL! can i borrow that crowbar for my next historical reference?

**imnothere** · 11-18-2007, 23:04

Originally Posted by Jason X

LOL! can i borrow that crowbar for my next historical reference?

certainly :-) although i do believe that i borrowed Becket-inna-church from an old reference elsewhere which i cant remember. feel free to whack anyone with it (the crowbar, or the bill...oh wait, sorry 2hander bug).

**Jason X** · 11-19-2007, 17:14

hehe - i wonder if a crowbar would count as armour piercing?

**napoleon526** · 11-20-2007, 21:42

Heavy Billmen are OK units, I usually keep a few in my English armies. They're very effective against militia and spear units. I have noticed though that they are vulnerable to cheap units with the "effective against armor" trait. These include Ceitherne, Highlanders, Highland Archers, and other axe-armed units. Heavy Billmen will usually defeat these units, but they'll take an irritating number of casualties.

I don't use them in battle lines though, since they're very vulnerable to cavalry charges. Which is dumb, since the billhook was used as an anti-cavalry weapon (the billman would use the hook to unhorse heavily armored knights). I suppose their ineffectiveness vs. cavalry is to avoid making them a super-unit.

**WhiskeyGhost** · 11-21-2007, 03:23

Originally Posted by napoleon526

Heavy Billmen are OK units, I usually keep a few in my English armies. They're very effective against militia and spear units. I have noticed though that they are vulnerable to cheap units with the "effective against armor" trait. These include Ceitherne, Highlanders, Highland Archers, and other axe-armed units. Heavy Billmen will usually defeat these units, but they'll take an irritating number of casualties.

I don't use them in battle lines though, since they're very vulnerable to cavalry charges. Which is dumb, since the billhook was used as an anti-cavalry weapon (the billman would use the hook to unhorse heavily armored knights). I suppose their ineffectiveness vs. cavalry is to avoid making them a super-unit.

they work fine against cavalry, in a melee. its the charge that they can't take.