Pros and cons of fire arrows?

[Calypze]

This is a really simple question.

What are the pros and cons of letting your archers use fire arrows?

Thanks.

[Caelus]

As far as I know and can tell, fire arrows cause an increased moral penalty but have a much lower accuracy (thus inflicting fewer losses).

I personally use fire arrows only in siege defenses or to break wavering units in the field; otherwise I stick to standard ammunition.

[Maeran]

They also have a lower rate of fire, so I sometimes use this to draw out the barrage while my infantry get into place.

but the main use is against siege machines.

[Goth47]

Do fire arrows have any advantage against Elephants in RTW?. In real life Elephants are afraid of fire but i cant tell whether using fire arrows makes any difference in helping Elephants to panic.

Goth

[Tellos Athenaios]

A mix of Fire arrows + sling bullets is a particularly devastating combination against your average well-mixed AI adversary. (Mostly medium & heavy armours with some light support.)

Also very useful in countering enemy archers: the arrows on fire seem to get a damage boost.

[Decimus Attius Arbiter]

Fire arrows are on all the time with my armies. It provides sustained fire over the entire battle almost. I use them for support and it works well. If bows were my primary killing arm I'd probably use regular arrows with more bowman.

[Danest]

With powerful eastern archers I tend to favor regular arrows unless I really need a wavering but still stubborn unit to break immediately. With those awful greek archers (not the cretans), I tend to use fire, because the fear effect is more useful than their pitiful attack rating.

[Decimus Attius Arbiter]

And easterners get so much arrows.

[sanitarium]

Their best use is setting siege equipment on fire, in particular you can use them on sap points. Other than that I think standard arrows will ultimately inflict more casualties.

[Mouzafphaerre]

Do fire arrows have any advantage against Elephants in RTW?. In real life Elephants are afraid of fire but i cant tell whether using fire arrows makes any difference in helping Elephants to panic.

Goth

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They cause them run amok out of fear.
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[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

One disadvantage of fire arrows is that they cause tons of lag when you have a really old system.

[antisocialmunky]

Fire Arrows + Bridge + Horse Shoe of Death = win.

[Mouzafphaerre]

One disadvantage of fire arrows is that they cause tons of lag when you have a really old system.

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Especially when the momory leak hits.
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[Ymarsakar]

Pros

Morale hits on enemy, including any enemy under the arrow barrage, not just your target unit.

Flashy graphics that allow you to see which unit gets hit from which archer unit. Useful for coordinating fire from more than 1 missile unit.

Burns up siege towers and sap points, when on a wall and they have a damage bonus due to height. When not on a wall and they fire at rams, it takes forever to do anything.

Fire attack makes elephants go on a rampage, rather than just breaking them.

Cons

Morale hits on your own forces if fire arrows pass over them. This includes if you fire those arrows.

Lack of accuracy at range compared to normal ammo.

Slower rate of fire presumably.

Lag for lower ram or cpu machines.

[TWFanatic]

Do fire arrows have any advantage against Elephants in RTW?. In real life Elephants are afraid of fire but i cant tell whether using fire arrows makes any difference in helping Elephants to panic.

Goth

Yes, fire arrows help make ele go amok. They're even more effective against Scythed Chariots. Any time Scythed Chariots or elephants are in range, you should use fire arrows on them.

Anyone who has played multiplayer knows that fire arrows are excellent for firing in the enemy's rear when engaged. They cause massive casualties and often rout them after a few rounds (depending on unit size).

[Hooahguy]

Cons

Morale hits on your own forces if fire arrows pass over them. This includes if you fire those arrows.

is this true? ive had my own fire arrows pass over my own men and i dont think their morale lowered.....

[Calypze]

Thank you for the replies. When I've been playing, I've had some feeling that ammo run out faster while using fire, but maybe that's a delusion.

[Horst Nordfink]

I notice that the ammo runs out quicker than normal ammo, but the advantages against siege equipment and horses/elephants outweigh those set backs.

Against normal infantry, regular ammo is more than sufficient.

[Eduorius]

I just use them for sieges. I am not totally sure but I think that they were used only in those situations. I cant imagine a long fire line in front of your line for you to use in a battlefield.

The morale effect it has against the enemy is what I like more. A good volley of them can clear the gates of a settlement after the ram has done its work.

By the way nobody has mentioned that fire arrows are not useful when it is raining or snowing.

[Pharnakes]

Aren't they?

I'd never noticed that.

[antisocialmunky]

Aren't they?

I'd never noticed that.

I never notcied that. Though I think its more the arrows not being able to hit things or something rather than something else. I really haven't noticed/cared too much.

PS. GALATIONS.

[konny]

By the way nobody has mentioned that fire arrows are not useful when it is raining or snowing.

Bows and slings are much reduced in general in snow and rain. Because fire arrows have an alleady reduced impact they are completly useless under such conditions.