Crossbowman. Who uses them?

[J_RocKeT76]

Was wondering how many people actually use crossbowman. It always seems to be a waste when you know Longbowman aren't far off. Or am I doing it wrong and should I have armies of them?

 

[HannibalBarka]

Was wondering how many people actually use crossbowman. It always seems to be a waste when you know Longbowman aren't far off. Or am I doing it wrong and should I have armies of them?

They are the best against maceman on the field

 

[Jarrod32]

Yeah...if I am next to Tokogawa, I will build several of them, because they are an effective counter against Samurai. They are also effective against Praetorians, if you can get to 'em quick enough...

 

[Kurbads]

never make single one. somehow my expansion stages go so that I skip some phases to focus on others, so crossbowman are after initaial expansion but prior to knight domination. havnt got chinese game yet, they have some extras here I quess.

 

[Strauss]

I always try to have some Crossbowmen in my army, they are indeed the best countermeasure against Macemen, or worse, the Samurai (Knights will come soon after Crossbows, but as Pikemen are stronger than Knights and Crossbows are stronger than Pikemen I still build some Crossbows as well)

 

[ThERat]

don't underestimate them, they can be very powerful, check some SG's

 

[player1 fanatic]

They are the best against maceman on the field

They are also best defenders in city if attacked by macemen.

Although as good as longbowmen if it's city on hill.

 

[Heero Blaze]

Best way to get rid of Macemen is Crossbowmen.

 

[AngryPants]

Crossbowmen dominate all melee units. They are great units, much more versatile than Longbowmen. Longbowmen are good for city defense and not much else.

 

[Breunor]

I love em -- especially against someone without a lot of horse. Great against those mixed stacks. When your oponent has axemen or macemen, horse archers, spearmen, and longbowmen, they really get the job done.

Bruenor

 

[Dueck]

Think of it this way... between crossbow and pike, you've got a counter for all of the real medieval attackers (knights, macemen especially). I always bring a couple crossbow along, because they're so so nice for picking off melee units without taking casualties.

 

[Crighton]

i tend to build units as i go, so i usually end up making a couple every so often, i ussually put them out on perimeter defense or just sequester them in whatever city needs backup

 

[Kester]

When's a good time to go for crossbows? I tend to find I only bother going for machinery early on when I've got metal casting through the oracle - otherwise metal casting -> machinery costs a LOT of beakers for the era for (what I see as) less return than other techs around at the same time. Given what people are saying here, are crossbows in fact good enough that it's worth going for early?

 

[BrutalusMaximus]

In MP games it is the combined arms approach that is best. Scattering several types of units into your stack makes it vastly more difficult to take down. It is a weakness of the AI that they do not take full advantage of combined arms like a player can.

The xbow is especially good because it is difficult to counter well in a rock paper scissors sense yet it stops all those various melee troops cold.

 

[punchandpie]

Best counter to Macemen that I know of. Good against Samurai and Preatorians too.

 

[Tan]

Best way to get rid of Macemen is Crossbowmen.

Agreed. I find myself using Crossbowmen as a defensive unit more than an offensive one. Does anyone regularly use this unit as part of their attacking army? Also, what about the Cho-Ko-Nu (I hope thats what it's called) ?

 

[JerichoHill]

The Cho-Ko-Nu is devastatingly strong.

Basically, its like having attacking artillery much earlier. Because they do collateral damage, a Cho-Ko-Nu force can attack after your cats barrage and knock down defenses to zero, leaving the remnants in the city to be mopped up by your macemen and getting them promoted. Choks are inexpensive relative to their value

 

[Tan]

Interesting, I'll have to play with a Chinese leader in my next game.

 

[player1 fanatic]

Last time I played Chinese I lacked iron.
Damn...

 

[Dueck]

When's a good time to go for crossbows? I tend to find I only bother going for machinery early on when I've got metal casting through the oracle - otherwise metal casting -> machinery costs a LOT of beakers for the era for (what I see as) less return than other techs around at the same time. Given what people are saying here, are crossbows in fact good enough that it's worth going for early?

I will generally not rush for machinery. Though crossbowmen are very useful, they still are not that great for attacking cities, and so you won't gain a big offensive advantage with crossbows. In fact, swordsmen are better for attacking cities which contain only archers/longbowmen.

I'd make a streak for machinery if your opponent is heavy on the axe/sword/mace. In a multiplayer game, people will often overpopulate their army with those melee units.