Re: How to use archers?
Prefr to use heavy armored units and/or units with shield as your main center force.
Put them in front , and if you think you have the upper hand in ranged attacks (archers + mages), make their order as "hold and attack".
While they wait, the ennemy will close and take loses from your archers, and your heavy armored unit will draw ennemy archer fire to them. With almost any nation, even in early era, you can have a unit type resistant to arrows enought to not take large loses from it.
I use mainly heavy infantry, with shields if available, but lightly armored units with the correct blessing or heavy shields can do the trick
You should also use "fire archers" orders , meaning your archers will usually fire behing ennemy frontlines (with a chance for a lucky hit on a ennemy mage or other leader)
Exemple strategy :
- mages at the center
- archers squads, left and right of the mages (if you look from your army point of view) (usually one or both set to 'fire archers')
- heavy infantry in the front (hold and attack closest)
- if available, cavalry or other fast unit on the flanks (hold and attack rearmost)
For exemple, With MA man, the heavy armor of warden, plus their blessing and protection cas by your mages make them resistant to all except the most heavy fire, and this is without a shield !
some sacred units have good overal combat stats, but lacks armor or shield and die in droves from arrows.
With such units, an air blessing and/or astral 9 (twist fate to prevent the lucky arrow) can be very effective.
With medium armors, earth 9 blessing is usually enought to resist most ranged attacks (+4 armor), the only problem being the first round of combat
Only problem with a sacred strategy : the first round of combat when you attack let the ennemy fire a full volley while your troops are blessed yet.
You can use then a squad in front of your main troops with heavy armor (or a sacrifice squad, such as militia/flagellant hordes you get from events and don't know what to do with) to draw arrow fire (even a lone unit can sometimes do the trick)
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