Using Missile Troops to Hold a Line

[Legionem Insanis]

I'm noticing in my Polish campaign that the crossbow militia and Lithuanian archers have almost as good a defense rating (8 vs 10) and an equal attack rating as my Spear Millitia. They lack the bonus against cavalry but have a ranged attack that can weaken the enemy before they engage. They are also a cheaper upkeep.

Has anyone tried to use them to hold a line? Seem like they would make an excellent garrison unit.

[Kratos]

I use Genuese crossbow militia like that when playing Milan. Bring a few spear units when facing cavalry but otherwise they will do fine.

[Broken Pope]

One of my favourite ways to defend a city when attacked by an army with loads of artillery units is thusly:

Don't bother making a stand at the walls. Put all your men in the central plaza - near the back. Have 4 or more units of archers (preferrably crossbows) in lines 2-men deep so they can all shoot on a level trjectory.
Turn off skirmish and put them in guard mode in a gentle crescent facing the street that comes from the walls.

You can trust the AI to send all its units straight down this one street. They will not try to outflank you down the side alleys. They will often not even send their whole force at the same time.

It is great fun to see a lumbering squad of heavy infantry being cut to pieces by crossbow bolts and routing just as they get to your archers. (240+ arrows per volley; they just walk into a hail of pointy death!)

If you have infantry to spare, put them in the sidestreets and behind your archers - ready to step in if things get ugly.

[Sodbuster]

That is one of the best way to beat multi-stack Mongol armies, especially if you can get a couple heavy infantry or spearmen to keep their cavalry from reaching your archers. Their entire army will bottleneck at the square and be shot to ribbons by your archers.

[Legionem Insanis]

One of my favourite ways to defend a city when attacked by an army with loads of artillery units is thusly:

Don't bother making a stand at the walls. Put all your men in the central plaza - near the back. Have 4 or more units of archers (preferrably crossbows) in lines 2-men deep so they can all shoot on a level trjectory.
Turn off skirmish and put them in guard mode in a gentle crescent facing the street that comes from the walls.

You can trust the AI to send all its units straight down this one street. They will not try to outflank you down the side alleys. They will often not even send their whole force at the same time.

It is great fun to see a lumbering squad of heavy infantry being cut to pieces by crossbow bolts and routing just as they get to your archers. (240+ arrows per volley; they just walk into a hail of pointy death!)

If you have infantry to spare, put them in the sidestreets and behind your archers - ready to step in if things get ugly.

It almost seems like an exploit but you could really think of it as a form of guerrilla warfare

[Strattios]

One of my favourite ways to defend a city when attacked by an army with loads of artillery units is thusly:

Don't bother making a stand at the walls. Put all your men in the central plaza - near the back. Have 4 or more units of archers (preferrably crossbows) in lines 2-men deep so they can all shoot on a level trjectory.
Turn off skirmish and put them in guard mode in a gentle crescent facing the street that comes from the walls.

You can trust the AI to send all its units straight down this one street. They will not try to outflank you down the side alleys. They will often not even send their whole force at the same time.

It is great fun to see a lumbering squad of heavy infantry being cut to pieces by crossbow bolts and routing just as they get to your archers. (240+ arrows per volley; they just walk into a hail of pointy death!)

If you have infantry to spare, put them in the sidestreets and behind your archers - ready to step in if things get ugly.

I love doing that. Add a few heavy spear units and you can massacre cavalry armies as well. Cram your army in the town square and you are set. I used this against hordes to great success.

[Surgeon]

Letting your missile troops engage in melee is good for them, as the will gain exp faster if some of them are killed. Letting them gain exp by shooting can take a long time.

[russ555]

Letting your missile troops engage in melee is good for them, as the will gain exp faster if some of them are killed. Letting them gain exp by shooting can take a long time.

lol at ur sig

[Soulghast]

Well, to be honest, I never really tried that, despite the statistics, I always used missile troops behind my main battle line, to kill as many enemy troops as possible before they engage in combat with my front line. I did a bit different with crossbows and guns however, as they can damage my own troops if they are standing behind them. I had to get them in front of my battle line to fire as much as they could before the enemy approached. The bad thing about this is that they are useless after a while, and cannot really participated in a battle without killing your own troops, and this is mainly way I always preferred archers, as they could be firing for much longer, even when hand to hand combat had commenced.

Back on the original topic, I believe it is a good idea to use these troops as main units early in the game, when armies consist mostly of militias. They would fail later in the game however, when better units will start to become available.

[Dreiko]

When defending i like using longbowmen holding the line, since their stakes are great in def. I keep my inf behind them so they can withdraw if things get ugly, plus they gain a lot of XP this way. The best part is though that if the enemy has low enough morale they may never get close enough to charge. They are usually cut to pieces long before (I LOVE LONGBOWS!!!!)