this so called "special" units for Scythia

[Orxan]

total Joke,Saka horse archers are so bad even tho they are special units they are weaker than normal units.they have no ability and they are very weak in general

[Assault Squirt]

They have range, which makes them automatically better than their contemporary units.

[Orxan]

Originally posted by Assault Squirt:

They have range, which makes them automatically better than their contemporary units.

no they dont?their range is 1 tile which makes them suck more

[paugus]

Originally posted by Captain Flint:

Originally posted by Assault Squirt:

They have range, which makes them automatically better than their contemporary units.

no they dont?their range is 1 tile which makes them suck more

Ranged attacks mean they don't take damage from hitting an enemy unit. If you get a sizable number of Saka Horse Archers, they are very effective until walls. Scythian units heal on kill and do more damage to wounded enemies, making them even better. It's not the best UU, but if you think it's the worst you're probably using it wrong.

[Orxan]

Originally posted by paugus:

Originally posted by Captain Flint:

no they dont?their range is 1 tile which makes them suck more

Ranged attacks mean they don't take damage from hitting an enemy unit. If you get a sizable number of Saka Horse Archers, they are very effective until walls. Scythian units heal on kill and do more damage to wounded enemies, making them even better. It's not the best UU, but if you think it's the worst you're probably using it wrong.

he meant they have longer range.its obv range unit doesnt take damage

[paugus]

Originally posted by Captain Flint:

he meant they have longer range.its obv range unit doesnt take damage

..Yeah, they have longer range than melee units, hence why they don't take damage when attacking. I agree it's pretty obvious, but I explained it to you anyway since you can't seem to figure out how to use this UU properly.

What point are you trying to argue, exactly? That a ranged ancient era unit with high movement that produces 2x at once is bad because it has one attack range instead of two? Adjust your tactics, you're not using Saka archers very well.

[ambershee]

Range as a characteristic, ergo not being hit back by defenders is pretty useful.

Saka Horse Archers are excellent units, compare them to normal archers (both units cost the same to build - 50 gold / 50 production):

Horse Archers are better because:
1) They are twice as fast as normal archers (4 movement verus 2)
2) They have the same combat value (25 ranged / 15 melee) - but get a +5 melee bonus when defending against damage units.
3)They get half their health back when they kill an enemy

They are worse because:
1) They have a range of 1 instead of 2.

The range issue is the only drawback, and it is not that much of a drawback. The archer can hit an enemy up to 3 tiles away because it can move one tile, then fire two - the horse archer can hit an enemy up to 4 tiles away because it can move three riles, then fire one. They will defend themselves at the same strength as a warrior that is attacking them, so long as the attacking warrior is damaged.

Also important to know is that spearmen do *not* get a damage bonus against them - no units do.


My main tip for using them would be to keep them together in a group of at least four, and plan your attacks carefully to ensure that any enemy that can retaliate is damaged, and that you can always heal your weakest / most vulnerable members of the group each turn.

Honestly, Saka horse archers are one of the best units in the game.

[Lawrencium103]

The healing and bonus damage when attacking wounded units is Tomyris' ability, it's not an ability of the Saka horse archer.

[ambershee]

Whilst true, the Saka horse archer can only be built by Tomyris, ergo always has that ability.

-but yes, other Scythian units also gain that bonus.

[Lemurian1972]

The other advantage to them is they pretty easily get the 'can move after attacking' upgrade, which really helps them shine. Step in, shoot, step out, repeat with other Sakas. It's fiddly but lethal, and gives you solid control over the battlefield.

The downside to this is something that isn't the unit's fault. With the smaller maps and preponderance of hills, forests, and swamps, there's rarely much room for them to move.

[Limygeorge]

Originally posted by Lemurian1972:

The other advantage to them is they pretty easily get the 'can move after attacking' upgrade, which really helps them shine. Step in, shoot, step out, repeat with other Sakas. It's fiddly but lethal, and gives you solid control over the battlefield.

The downside to this is something that isn't the unit's fault. With the smaller maps and preponderance of hills, forests, and swamps, there's rarely much room for them to move.

That gave me a chuckle! I love th irony. But yeah, I agree with you!

[Xuande]

They're bad, but they don't require Horses and come on a civ that has an abusive synergy with Horse units. If playing on something that isn't strategic balance/mod balance, it can matter.