When do Longbowmen become available for the English?

[Yomamashouse]

I have started the late campaign and am a fair number of turns into the game, approaching 1300, but there are no options for training longbowmen at any of my castles.

Is this a bug or is there something missing from my campaign like an event I have to trigger?

[Duck of Death]

Are you playing 6.4?
Because you should start off the 1220 campaign with longbowmen (at least in Nottingham). Im trying to remember, but you may (or may not) have to make a single archery upgrade there to recruit more longbowmen then you already start off with... and that takes 6 turns.

[tudor93]

in 6.4 in the early campaign you can get them in the first turns by getting and accepting an offer from the woodsman guild and then upgrading the guild to master woodsman guild;
I don't think you can get them from the archery building tree; I've played 110 turns in my early English campaign and I could recruit them only from the woodsman guild (I had one in Nottingham); turn 110 in the early campaign means ~1210; I'm just curious, when do Yeoman (or whatever) and the other longbowmen (forgot the name) become available ?

[mattycraig1]

http://www.pressdat.com/mtw2/ This website contains all information upon units and their requirments (including mercenaries) for every faction in Stainless steel. For example it shows that English longbows are available after the "heavy mail" event around 1200-1220. Yeomens are available around 1300 after the "new world" event and retinue longbows after "full plate" event around 1380-1400. Hope this helps you out with your warring

[tudor93]

http://www.pressdat.com/mtw2/ This website contains all information upon units and their requirments (including mercenaries) for every faction in Stainless steel.

I don't think this is for SS6.4.
First of all, some faction symbols differ (see Byzantium, Fatimids and a few more).
Secondly, I don't see the faction 'Genoa', but 'Genova and Pisa'.
And finally, as I said in my first post: you can recruit longbows long before the heavy mail event (1200); not from the practice range, but from the woodsman guild; but in the link you provided us it says they are trained from the practice range after 1200.

http://www.pressdat.com/mtw2/ This website contains all information upon units and their requirments (including mercenaries) for every faction in Stainless steel. For example it shows that English longbows are available after the "heavy mail" event around 1200-1220.

Nevertheless, thanks for your link; I think that the information about Yeomens and Retinue Longbowmen is true .

[mattycraig1]

You may be right, I think 6.3 maybe? and its not longbowmen from the woodsmen guild, its Sherwood archers But I find as a rough rule of thumb it provides good information for units

[Yomamashouse]

Turns out I had to wait until around 1280~. That really changed my perception of medieval england. I thought the longbow had been around and in large-scale use for much longer.

[Gen. Chris]

Turns out I had to wait until around 1280~. That really changed my perception of medieval england. I thought the longbow had been around and in large-scale use for much longer.

Scattered here and there, but it took a while.

[The Mouth of Sauron]

Playing as France,I took over england and I could recruit longbowmen early in the campaign from Nottingham and Wincherster I think,Caernarvon too,not sure.But yes there is an event at around 1280 about longbows.

[PapaRosario]

I just found something interesting. Longbowmen can be recruited from the beginning of the Late Era campaign by any faction besides England under 2 conditions:
1. They have control of any of the following: York, Caernarvon, Nottingham, London, Exeter, Winchester.
2. They have a level 2 castle archery range. A level 1 will not work and anything above a level 2 will not work either. It must be level 2.

[GiddeeUpp]

I just found something interesting. Longbowmen can be recruited from the beginning of the Late Era campaign by any faction besides England under 2 conditions:
1. They have control of any of the following: York, Caernarvon, Nottingham, London, Exeter, Winchester.
2. They have a level 2 castle archery range. A level 1 will not work and anything above a level 2 will not work either. It must be level 2.

Just a glitch.

[PapaRosario]

Yeah it was likely a mistake. Looking at the corresponding lines in the higher level archery ranges, they use the English Archers event. So someone probably put the Heavy Mail event in the level 2 castle archery range by mistake.

[Yomamashouse]

Another solution for those who want early longbows is to just hire welsh mercenaries anytime they become available, every 4 turns or so a new unit is made, so as long as you dont let them reach the 2 unit pool limit you can build up a substantial reserve.

[PapaRosario]

^Their max pool is 3. The main thing that sucks about them though is that they have twice the upkeep of regular Longbowmen. I'd rather just take knights.