Archers - Chainmail or Leather Armor?

[Tater]

What is better for archers?

I'm at a point in my game where all my melee units have chainmail armor. I'm starting to get surplus chainmail and I'm wondering if giving that armor to my archers is the correct choice or not.

I know that certain helmets start to add penalties to vision, so I'm making sure my archers avoid those... but I haven't been able to determine if heavier armor affects the archers' ability in combat (other than a higher fatigue penalty).

Aany suggestions are welcomed - Thanks!

[OrangSemut]

I tend to equip my archers with bandit mail (ie worn mail shirts or patched mail shirts) and dire wolf hide or mail if I managed to get any.

Heavier armour affects your fatigue and your initiative (pls correct me if I am wrong on this). But your archers can't avoid combat all the time. There are times due to ambushes or vampires, or even orcs pushing into your lines, your archers will be engaged in melee. Also, they can be shot at by enemy archers.

For helmets, its closed mail coif mostly although sometimes I will equip any archers with eagle eye with padded nasal helmets. If I am fighting goblins (at night) my archers who also double as pike/bill/longaxemen will swap out for heavier armour such as mail shirts and padded nasal helmets since I am mostly not swapping missile fire with goblins.

[vanger666]

For my last 2 bowmen I use armor-210 and hemlets-150 v-1. Enough against vampires, single ork warriors and goblin lucky arrow shots.
Yes it reduce fatigue, but for me 65 is more than I usually use cause all dirty work make my 10 malee tanks in 320+300 hamlets
Dont worry too much about archers cause in late gate you will change them to be able to have more malee fighters in your squad

[holy-death]

Patched Mail Shirt or Worn Mail Shirt (Raider's gear basically) is something I usually make them wear. At the endgame I go as far as Reinforced Mail Hauberk. With Recovery perk stamina is not that much of an issue and with such protection archers/crossbowmen can easily double as 2-line billhooks if the need arises.

[Muscarine]

Originally posted by holy-death:

Patched Mail Shirt or Worn Mail Shirt (Raider's gear basically) is something I usually make them wear. At the endgame I go as far as Reinforced Mail Hauberk. With Recovery perk stamina is not that much of an issue and with such protection archers/crossbowmen can easily double as 2-line billhooks if the need arises.

Scale armor has 30 more protection for the same fatigue cost (-26), so at endgame since you should have the money at this point i'd recommend switching.
Reinforced Mail Hauberk is the best "starter" heavy armor though since it's pretty cheap.

[holy-death]

I agree but I've found Scale Armor to be much more rare than Reinforced Mail Hauberk, so that's why it's a standard issue uniform late game.

[Muscarine]

I find there's always at least one for sale in castles whenever they resplenish their stocks, although it's usually a while before i even set foot in one of these.

Btw anyone knows at which rate armorsmiths and weaponsmiths get new stock ?
Contracts and tools come back every 2 days but it seems different for these.

[WarWise]

Mail and closed mail coif.
It depends on fatigue. Something 70-80 is usually enough.

[Pringles™]

Originally posted by Muscarine:

Btw anyone knows at which rate armorsmiths and weaponsmiths get new stock ?
Contracts and tools come back every 2 days but it seems different for these.

I think stocks for merchants reset every 72 hours. That's what I remember from my last playthrough months ago. Mightve changed during progress on 1.0 though.

Originally posted by WarWise:

Mail and closed mail coif.
It depends on fatigue. Something 70-80 is usually enough.

I did the same. Worn mail and closed mail coif for archers, but its useful to change things up if youre doing ranged duels or excepting someone to whack at your archers during the incoming battle.

[Zlodey]

Chainmail. Otherwise a stray arrow or two can take out your guy.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

My level 9-11 guys have so much fatigue they wear plate armor and closed mail coifs on their heads.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=844793241

[Tater]

interesting. so i noticed that your archers all use bows. do you not use crossbows?

[Muscarine]

Originally posted by Xihu:

interesting. so i noticed that your archers all use bows. do you not use crossbows?

High tier marksmen with great accuracy using warbows (even hunter bows) out damage and outrange crossbows even against Orcs, after a few turns.
Crossbows on the other hand can deal devastating burst damage with high chance of injuries even through heavy armors. Hence the dreaded AI marksmen headshot.

[Pringles™]

Originally posted by Muscarine:

High tier marksmen with great accuracy using warbows (even hunter bows) out damage and outrange crossbows even against Orcs, after a few turns.
Crossbows on the other hand can deal devastating burst damage with high chance of injuries even through heavy armors. Hence the dreaded AI marksmen headshot.

Do you think the upcoming arbalest will up the game for #TeamCrossbow? :D

[Sarissofoi]

Originally posted by Puttiis:

Originally posted by Muscarine:

High tier marksmen with great accuracy using warbows (even hunter bows) out damage and outrange crossbows even against Orcs, after a few turns.
Crossbows on the other hand can deal devastating burst damage with high chance of injuries even through heavy armors. Hence the dreaded AI marksmen headshot.

Do you think the upcoming arbalest will up the game for #TeamCrossbow? :D

Only if it can shoot lead or stone balls.