Crossbows, Muskets and anything that fires in a straight line

[Renco]

Really, what is the point of them? You get maybe 1 or 2 volleys off if you're lucky, but other than that, what's the point? I've heard that you're meant to run them behind enemy infantry when they're engaged with yours, but then you stand to take casualties from you men shooting at your other men. It also seems to leave your missile troops exposed to the enemy.

It seems even peasant archers would be more effective, as they can shoot overhead and continually bombard anyone who isn't in the fray, which means any flanking cav you have are so much more effective. I really don't see the point of crossbows and gunners.

[Prince_of_Macedon]

I'm still pretty new to the game, but the gunpowder units seem to be really good at breaking down a unit's morale.

[dr_guerra]

Crossbows are excellent units, especially when used on hilly terrain. They absolutely butcher heavily armoured troops. They are also great for enticing your opponent to attack your superior defended position.

[ReyMandez]

I find muskets and especially crossbowmen to be my favorite men. You just have to know where to put them, it takes some time. You can't think of them like archers, because their stategy is completely different.

[Theseus1234]

i am kind of Renco here, i rarely use crossbows
so when do you use them to their full effect?

gunpowder units on the other hand are freaking awesome! no matter what the situation!

[ReyMandez]

i am kind of Renco here, i rarely use crossbows
so when do you use them to their full effect?

gunpowder units on the other hand are freaking awesome! no matter what the situation!

My most successful time using them has been in mountain ranges. Put them up high, and have your infantry(expendable ones) block the path. The crossbowmen completely slaughter anything that comes at you. I held off about 1000 or more enemies with only 200 men.

[Viking Prince]

I like to have a couple of peasant archers in any settlement that may be attacked. Especially early in the game. They ar cheap for upkeep and combine well with militia. Flaming arrows and a cav give you two shots to take out the ram.

Crossbows are also good for wall defence. They shoot slower, but the do not miss and they damage the noble's bodyguard. With a spear just out of the gate (so it stays closed!), you can usually break a few units.

In the open field, I like them in the early game. Obviously there is no reason to play the Italian factions if you do not load up on pavise.

Later in the game, you are right. One or two volleys against plate armor with nearly no hits and then the unit is toast.

The eastern factions put the beggars on horseback and I think this is where they really shine.

[REDrake]

I found firearms units to be very effective on the walls. The attackers usually move very slow and this give the gunners an edge. And they are also good to take to New World. I once won 11 sieges from aztecs (full armies) with only 7 stacks of tlaxcalan warriors and 16 arquebusiers. At the end of that my reinforcements arrived from Europe and aztecs were exhausted.

[Gornard]

Maybe i'm wrong, but if the situation doesn't allow me to give my crossbows a straight line of sight throughout battle, i just use them as normal archers and allow them to run behind my lines when the enemy approaches my lines. I can usually use them in all the same situations as archers, as there indirect fire isn't considerably differnt, except for seige defences where flaming arrows are handy.

[ReyMandez]

Maybe i'm wrong, but if the situation doesn't allow me to give my crossbows a straight line of sight throughout battle, i just use them as normal archers and allow them to run behind my lines when the enemy approaches my lines. I can usually use them in all the same situations as archers, as there indirect fire isn't considerably differnt, except for seige defences where flaming arrows are handy.

I found most crossbowmen and gunpowder units to be less effective than archers, a lot i have them stand in front, but don't have them run. They will get quite a few rounds off and at close range kill tons of enemies. Then they fight, and suprisingly are very effective in melee combat.

[clandestino]

For all factions ( except England ) crossbow is conditio sine qua non, that's why is Milan such a pain in a butt.

You get maybe 1 or 2 volleys off if you're lucky, but other than that, what's the point?

Tell that to my aventuriers ( respectively the best crossbow unit in game ) they always shoot till their last arrow
I think that key is in micromanagement, first you should disable skirmish and fire at will mod, then you should line them in two lines and put your infantry just behind them. As soon as enemie get in the range concetrate your fire at his missile units. Concetrated fire of 4 crossbow units can decimate unit in couple of volleys.

[REDrake]

Aventuriers are great. You can also use them as light infantry when they run out of bolts.

[snuggans]

the thing with elevation, guys, is that any ranged unit becomes a murdering force with enough elevation superiority, so constantly stating that crossbowmen are great from hilly terrain is kind of... irrelevant.

[Renco]

So essentially, what everyone does is put their crossbowmen in front of their infantry and fire at the enemy? Assuming you're fighting on a flat plain or some similar terrain, how does it work? Do you really get an effective amount of shots off before the enemy closes the gap. Once they do, it seems crossbows are rendered impotent for the rest of the battle. Surely there is something else, can someone tell of their specific strategy?

[Wheem]

So essentially, what everyone does is put their crossbowmen in front of their infantry and fire at the enemy? Assuming you're fighting on a flat plain or some similar terrain, how does it work? Do you really get an effective amount of shots off before the enemy closes the gap. Once they do, it seems crossbows are rendered impotent for the rest of the battle. Surely there is something else, can someone tell of their specific strategy?

They'll still be effective while firing at cavalry units, and not do too much damage in friendly fire.

Alternatively, if you can get your crossbowmen/gunners around to the enemy flanks, they'll do a lot of damage there. You just need to be wary of cavalry, or infantry units that break away and engage them.

[Gornard]

well as sicily, my best archers are muslim archers. My best crossbows are pavise. The first are better in melee but the second are hard enough to kill, especially by missles. They also have a bonus against armour, most the time when using them in field battles i just use my missles to draw the enemy in. The kills aren't huge for either of them, even if they get to fire for extended periods, but the crossbows seem to fair a little better, even when firing indirectly.

[Nole4694]

I never used to use crossbowmen but when i got the ltc mod and played as milan in the itailian states thing started to love them. AT close range they will kill like the whole first line of a wave of attackers and more. They are my new favorite unit after longbowman. great tactic if yu are short on infantry is run them far away let them shoot until units almost touch than run them away again horrific cassualties. I had 450 guys to some 900 guys I had 2 spear units and one crossbow units they had all spear . After my 2 spear ran they were down to about 600 units and i used this tactic above and i gott them down to 200 guys before they caught up.

[Desperado †]

Against any heavily armoured unit, muskets and crossbows are by far better than any archers. If you have an enemy with cavalry, after there infantry has engaged you can fire at their cavalry (which usually dosent engage until later) or at their Bodyguard (which crossbows and muskets are much more effective against. Against an army with no cavalry, place them on the flanks, or take them around after the enemy has engadged. If you haver them on the flanks, and your infantry's moral is fast fading, then crossbowmen are some of the best light infantry units for charging around and smashing into your enemy's unprotected flanks. The fact that they can shoot further and pierce armour is an added bonus.

[Xamt]

like real estate agents put it ... its all about "location, location, location"

get ur crossbowmen to high ground and let them shine....

they are also quite devastating against armored foes (armor piercing DUH!!!!)

so if u have a choise of targets ALWAYS go for the big shiny knights with the even bigger banners (generals bodyguard)

the only thing to know about ur crossbowmen is how to place them.... in an open battle example, once they battle lines have charged each other and melee deteriorated into chaos, run your crossbows (or muskets) around the edges of the line and have them shoot at the enemy from the side/rear... that way they wont hit many (if not any) of your troops and cause a lot of casualties to your enemies

[Akimbo]

Biggest mistake here seems to be the assumption that crossbows can't fire indirectly....they can. Aim at fleeing units, enemy cavalry that hasn't engaged, artillery units, enemy ranged units ( especially gunpowder units. ). Depending on your army and play style walking to the flanks of the enemy and unloading at close range is amazingly effective. Set out your army to force the enemy into this situation.