Are archers worth having?

[IHateMao]

I'm coming back to this game after a while. I kind of wrote it off when I first tried it and then forgot about it.

I'm digging it, but having started up five bands from scratch I'm starting to really ask myself this question.

I've had my archers kill probably only slightly more enemies than brothers. I mean, it seems like lining up clear shots for them is difficult and not often worthwhile, and taking shots with no clear line of site and a brother in the way almost always ends up with me hurting my own cause.

Am I just better off not using them? I really want to use them...archers are just great, especially for freedom of tactics (usually!) but in this game they do not seem to give any real advantages.

Hoping I'm missing something, but would love to hear some folks thoughts on this.

[Cat®]

Archers when you first get them are a way to safely, without risking a human life, waste money as you throw ammunition into the dumpster in the vain hope it will somehow be useful to the real warriors.

Archers when they have a few levels under their belt and perks to match are hyper focused killing machines. Bows killing 3 enemies in one turn, crossbows eliminating heavily armoured enemies before they ever get within striking distance, or handgonners flipping a coin between doing 'significant damage' or 'winning the battle outright'.

You do however have to get through that awkward teething stage of finding a decent archer recruit and then tending them like a delicate flower until they are big enough to become the terminator you always wanted them to be. But they will get there. For practical tips on getting there I recommend using reach weapons or throwing weapons depending on what their stats look like and not bothering dedicating yourself to an archer unless you have a decent recruit. Keep them safe and in a supportive role, and remind yourself crossbows have innate accuracy bonuses that can help your amateur perform better than if they were using an alternative ranged weapon.

[IHateMao]

Originally posted by Cat®:

Archers when you first get them are a way to safely, without risking a human life, waste money as you throw ammunition into the dumpster in the vain hope it will somehow be useful to the real warriors.

Archers when they have a few levels under their belt and perks to match are hyper focused killing machines. Bows killing 3 enemies in one turn, crossbows eliminating heavily armoured enemies before they ever get within striking distance, or handgonners flipping a coin between doing 'significant damage' or 'winning the battle outright'.

You do however have to get through that awkward teething stage of finding a decent archer recruit and then tending them like a delicate flower until they are big enough to become the terminator you always wanted them to be. But they will get there. For practical tips on getting there I recommend using reach weapons or throwing weapons depending on what their stats look like and not bothering dedicating yourself to an archer unless you have a decent recruit. Keep them safe and in a supportive role, and remind yourself crossbows have innate accuracy bonuses that can help your amateur perform better than if they were using an alternative ranged weapon.

Haha nice. I was hoping it was something like that. I have gotten much better with their usage, and am starting to figure out better placement so they can more efficiently waste their bolts and arrows I spent money on without killing their own buddies.

The dirt though...they are wrecking the dirt.

[Cptn_Miller]

2 or 3 behind a shld wall can be fun, place them right behind the wall and they can shoot a lot of targets w/o hittin friendlies in front, picture opening scene of lord of the rings, elf shield wall with archers behind

depending on what dlc, there are some nasty shld wall breaking mobs..... the horror... the horror, im a noob, early impressions

[Uncle Khai]

No! But for some battle you need at least one or two to win and control ranged war! Or you better pray don’t get shoot from their heavy crossbow

[Uncle Khai]

I recommend you should train hyrid heavy armor with heavy crossbow, javelin and polehammer! Build them focus on injury, execution and KF! Don’t bother with Berserker! Let AI count every shot you throw

[Scipio]

As already stated. They start out kind of trash, but become very good. Their ability to take down Hexes and Necromancers from a distance, kill exposed archers and hurt those annoying wolfriders are all very valuable assets when they become competent and well equipped.

Mine tend to get a whip and cleaver mastery (and preferably swift hands and the pockets perk) for close support when there are no good targets (or when facing ancient dead).

[km_md60]

Decent archer practically win combat in most scenarios. Two of them in second line is minimal for decent warband. Keep them close with good tank and get them decent armor since AI archer will surprise you with some lucky shot.

[Fabricated]

Archers are great for some of the most annoying threats, like Necromancers/Hexen/etc. The problem is that until you get an archer leveled up, they suck wind. You can get around this by sticking with crossbows for a while until they got the ratk to not miss 80% of their shots- or find the true gospel and just use throwers which are vastly superior to archers at everything except the aforementioned necromancers and hexen.

[Lampros]

Originally posted by Ngo Khai HD:

I recommend you should train hyrid heavy armor with heavy crossbow, javelin and polehammer! Build them focus on injury, execution and KF! Don’t bother with Berserker! Let AI count every shot you throw

I recommend that you tone down on all the exclamation points, if you want people to listen to you.

[wei270]

i think in this game the dev actually trys to get you have a little of everything, archers are great, throwers are great, daggers are great now, gunners are good too.

but i think the general rule is that a good archer > a good cross bowman, because you do alot more with 2 shotting archers, and archer has the snipe skill which is really powerful.

however cross bowman can now use guns which is very good in a situation where you are outnumbered and the enemies are just pilling on to your front line.

[Nerdgasm]

Archers are excellent at clearing trash at the start of the battle. 1 archer = dead barbarian thralls before their line even reaches you. 3 archers = dead orc berserkers before they can engage.

Archers suck in the early game due to their low accuracy. To mitigate this disadvantage. give them throwing weapons instead of bows until they have 65-75 ratk. If you're smart, you'll want to make them into thrower hybrids eventually, so you might as well get used to using throwing weapons.