Longbowman ridiculously effective

[molesworth]

I recently played a game as England where I had no Saltpeter after the discovey of Gunpwder. I was in a long running feud with my neighbours, France. They had Saltpeter, suffice to say, I needed it not least to build my UU, the Man-O-War. Anyway France walked all over me with wave after wave of Longbowmen. They really are very difficult to deal with. Even though they only have an attack of 4 they will take anything and everything down. Even a veteran Pikeman fortified in a mountain fortress .

Add to that the Longbowman's ability to bombard when attacked and you can't dislodge the little b*****s. Anyone got any tactics for dealing with the Longbowman?

 

[Kernal]

Longbowmen have very weak defense, so try attacking their units first with a strong offensive unit such as a knight, medieval infantry, or another longbowman.

 

[Sir_Lancelot]

Even a veteran Pikeman fortified in a mountain fortress .

That's bad bad luck, may happen...

Add to that the Longbowman's ability to bombard when attacked and you can't dislodge the little b*****s. Anyone got any tactics for dealing with the Longbowman?

Longbowmen defensive bombardment? I can't remember this. Was the Longbowman changed in later versions?
They still got only 1 in defense and isn't hard to take out.

 

[AutomatedTeller]

In conquests, archers/longbows/guerillas all have defensive. bombardment, so they are a pain in the butt if you attack a stack of them TOW probably do, too.


Pikes fortified in a mountain fortress have a defense of 9.75, and longbows have an attack of 4, which is not that much different from an warrior attacking a fortified spear.

basically, a longbow will, on occassion, take out a pike in that instance.

It's the wave after wave that gets you You may have kicked off their GA, which would account for all the longbows.

 

[Tomoyo]

Longbowmen are my favorite "pet" unit. I like to keep them until the modern age in games when I have my own island so I can use them to kill tanks.

 

[Sir_Lancelot]

If they still only cost 40, then they give much pain for the buck!

Longbowmen are my favorite "pet" unit. I like to keep them until the modern age in games when I have my own island so I can use them to kill tanks.

Tanks vs Longbows? That is against ROE! Possibly against the Geneva Convention too...



But why an island?

 

[Tomoyo]

Because when I don't have my own island, I'm usually not as secure-minded and actually use stronger units. I won't have the "game already won" mentality and I won't fiddle around with longbows.

 

[civverguy]

If you keep some longbowmen in your cities garrisoned with better defenders, they can wipe out an enemy stack attacking your city pretty easily.

 

[Aceman101]

It's great when you have your own Island. You don't have to worry about the enemies next door. And you'll have more territory too.

 

[Kiowa]

I recently played a game as England where I had no Saltpeter after the discovey of Gunpwder. I was in a long running feud with my neighbours, France. They had Saltpeter, suffice to say, I needed it not least to build my UU, the Man-O-War. Anyway France walked all over me with wave after wave of Longbowmen. They really are very difficult to deal with. Even though they only have an attack of 4 they will take anything and everything down. Even a veteran Pikeman fortified in a mountain fortress .

Add to that the Longbowman's ability to bombard when attacked and you can't dislodge the little b*****s. Anyone got any tactics for dealing with the Longbowman?

I've used the Longbowman as an offensive force when I didn't have iron nor horses, and they swept through Germany and Egypt. (This was an island start, and I sent boat loads of long bowman over to the main continent to collect much needed resources and luxeries.)

They can be a powerful offensive unit.

 

[Siaphi94]

If you keep some longbowmen in your cities garrisoned with better defenders, they can wipe out an enemy stack attacking your city pretty easily.

thats true, but what about against knights or even horse men?
longbowmen would only have a defense of 1, and the horseman or knght could get the first attack, then your screwed

 

[Whomp]

thats true, but what about against knights or even horse men?
longbowmen would only have a defense of 1, and the horseman or knght could get the first attack, then your screwed

I think he's saying behind a pike or musket because they'll bombard the unit attacking.

Longbow's are the greatest leader farm material in the world when they're not supported by defensive units. If you can funnel them to grass, plains and deserts by defending the high ground your going to increase your odds of elites and MGLs.

One way you can funnel is by leaving a border town empty (the AI loves empty cities) with offensive units on roads behind it (or on the high ground close to it) that can meet the incursion two tiles away (roaded or fast units especially).

 

[alcinicia]

Concur. They're effective not just in support of defenders but as mobile defenders in their own right.

 

[Ansar]

All units are effective, that's why Sid created them.

 

[hrhomer]

In my current game, I'm going for a cultural victory. I had no Iron, horses, or salpeter, until I took over a couple of AI cities. The only reason I could even THINK of taking over a city was the longbowman. Played right, they can be just as good as a medieval Infantry, and if you have no Iron, they are indispensible!

Joe

 

[sixtysix]

All units are effective, that's why Sid created them.

F-15? Was Sid drunk that day?

 

[psweetman1590]

F-15s aren't useless. They suck as a UU, but they're still the best thing around for air superiority in the modern age.

 

[madviking]

well, how would you explain the 3-man chariot and the carrack?

 

[psweetman1590]

Carrack - on an archipelago, you get to rule the seas before frigates are around. No other civ can do that, and if the world is still being colonized, or if you're in an intercontinental war, this is a big help.

Three man chariot - its an early UU, with all the benefits that come from that. What are the stats, again? 2/2/2? An early rush with these is like an early rush with horsemen, except they have more staying power, come earlier, and give you a golden age. This is bad.... how?

Again, I'm not saying that they're great UUs. They suck. As far as UUs go. But if you think of them as units and not as UUs, they have their uses. Every unit does.

 

[WackenOpenAir]

It is said, but not stressed enough. Fight those longbows by attacking them with horsemen or knights. You will start to love them as they are worthless when defending and easy oposition to promote your units.