Frederick II's guide to Missile units, and how to use them.

[Dave Strider]

Ok, hello everyone that decided to read this humble guide to my experiences of how to, effectively, use Missile units in Medieval 2: Total War. Before I start yammering, a couple of things to say:

1. This guide, if you wish to add some, is open to your own strategies. Feel free to post them and I will use them.

2. This guide is open to suggestions and criticism as well. Feel free to post your thoughts.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1. Missile units in the Early period
2. Missile units in the High period
3. Missile units in the Late period
4. Cavalry Missile units
5. Archers
6. Crossbowmen
7. Muskets


Intro:
In Medieval 2: Total War, the first thing you would think of in that period is Heavily Armoured Knights duking it out in a bloody fight-to-the-finish. What many newcomers don't immediately think of, however, is the effect that Missile units, such as Archers or Crossbowmen, can have on a battle. They can make or break an army, a battle, a war, even a campaign if you use them poorly. So I came up with this guide to explain how to properly use these, in the right hands, powerful weapons.

Chapter 1. Missile units in the Early period.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

At the start of, pretty much, every campaign, really, each faction has a poor and limited selection of Missile Units, except for a lucky few factions, such as Venice and Milan. These two factions are gifted with the best missile units at the beginning of the game; Pavise and Genoese Crossbow Militia.

As for the rest of the European factions, they are stuck with the Peasant archer and Archer Militia, a pitiful unit at best. They are good to a certain effect in large numbers, but do not expect them to be a raining slaughterhouse against enemy Dismounted and Mounted Knights.

The Islamic factions, however, have a slightly better missile situation, especially the Moors. Desert Archers are cheap to train, have a good missile attack, and long range, and can make mincemeat out of the crappy Militia troops that your immediate rival for trade, Sicily, insists to train up. They are best used with the Berber or Lamatuna spearmen, and that combo makes a deadly force.

So, in conclusion, the early missile units are , at best. Try to use them, if anything, to kill the enemy archers and cavalry, and let your infantry and cavalry do a number on the enemy infantry.

Chapter 2: Missile Units in the High period.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Ok, so by now, the enemy, and yourselves, have gotten better troops, and the battles are becoming quicker some times and harder the other times. You are probably at war with at least One Catholic Faction by now, so this is when you need to get some Crossbows in your army. You can get Mercenary Crossbowmen at the start, and these are a prime example, in attack power at least, is of what is to come in later times. These guys are the unstoppable force in the early game, but will soon be taking a backseat as the professionals get to work.

So, if possible, get some Crossbowmen into the fray! Kick some peasant archer ass! Win a few battles and you will definetly change your mind if you think crossbows suck ass. I was able to hold off 2,700 Milanese soldiers with 1,000 French Mailed Knights, Armoured Sergeants and Mecenary Crossbowmen. The enemy lost 50% of it's army before it even made it to my lines. I flank charged and the enemy was routing faster than you can say, "Holy Robin Hood in a castle moat!"

But, that's if you are a European faction or the Moors. In the Middle East, it's archers. And it'll be tough to hold off Mongol and Timurid incursions into your lands with Horse archers. Now, don't get me wrong, Horse archers can be better than foot archers(and, in many cases, are), but the Mongolians will make hit the fan. Once you even make contact with their Melee units, the unit you sent to attack will be on Shaken, Steady, if you're lucky, Morale. The Mongols can rout a full stack of yours with Six of their units. Trust me, I've experienced it first hand. The Timurids are worse. Why, you may ask? Well, let's see. What's Big, Grey, has large ears, a long nose, makes a frightening noise and has a Cannon on it's back? That's right. Michael Jackson Elephants. 'Nuff said.

Chapter 3: Missile units in the Late period.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Ok, so, hopefully, you have dealt with those pesky Mongols, but the Timurids are probably still dancing a happy jig on your medieval ass, and the Pope either loves you or hates you. Also, you have been devestated by the plague(if it isn't over yet), and have Guns and can sail to the Americas. It may seem that you can't handle the game now, alot of people don't even have the balls to stick the game out this long. Well, don't expect me to say that you've reached the land of Milk any honey; The Aztecs are fierce, Other Catholic nations are at their peak, and everybody has guns. So that brings me to the final missile unit to cover; Guns.

These muskets are, mainly, the same; Arquebusier spam and you think you've won, huh? Think again. They might kick some massive ass when they fire, but that's the only good thing about them. They have defence, take forever to load, and don't seem to skirmish in time to be out of the Melee.So you may still wish to invest in Crossbowmen instead of Handjob-Gunners and
Arqueerebusiers.

The only guns that can make a massive difference, IMHO, are the Moorish Sudanese Gunners, the Spanish and Portugese Musketeers, and the Russian Cossack Musketeers. These guys have a better missile attack and range than normal gunners and are faster as well. The Moorish Camel gunners and the HRE Reiters are a fine example of Gun Cavalry at it's best. Use these guys and Arquebusiers won't stand a chance.

Chapter 4: Missile Cavalry Units

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Ok, I know what you're thinking, newcomers; "Missile cavalry? Horse archers? I remember them from RTW. They sucked then, they will suck now." *BEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!* wrong answer. In M2, these guys are the Saving Grace for the Turks and Egyptians, and are the main source of power for the Mongols, so they must have something going for them. Well, hell, they got everything going for them! The long honoured tradition of "Wear them down with missiles and charge home with Heavy Cav" is a good plan. They can be used to great effect with little to no of your men dying, if you use them right.

A fine example of these warriors which can stand the test of time are the Egyptian Mamluk Archer Cavalry, their best troops in the early game, but that isn't saying much.. These guys have a missile attack of 8, and that is a rarely seen stat in the early game. Another fine example are the Turkish Sipahis, which have an attack of 7. Although not as good it is still a force to be reckoned with when you have a Crusading army over there.

And now, to the Mongols. The "Golden Horde" that descended upon the Far East like a storm, forged an empire there, and then came to Europe itself. These guys are no pushovers. Their cavalry, Light and Heavy, are mainly Archers. And yes, I just said "Light and Heavy Archers". What I mean by that is this:

Light archers have the Fast moving trait but little armour, whilst Heavy archers have mush armour but not as much speed as the Light archers, making them seceptible to enemy Light and Heavy Cavalry charges. In fact, nearly every Horse archer unit that doesn't have the "Fast Moving" trait CAN and WILL fall victim to a well planned cavalry charge. Remember this and you will have an easier time chasing down enemy Cavalry archers, and protecting your own.

But this chapter doesn't end here, there are still the Cavalry Crossbowmen to cover! I know, Cavalry Crossbowmen, I wasn't sure about it either. With about half the missile attack of Foot Crossbowmen, and being on Horses, I thought they'd die fast the first time I used them. But, to my surprise, they actually did quite well. Just use them as a pat of your Missile line in your army(I.E = the units of missile troops that fire at the enemy from behind your infantry line), and they can do massive damage. And nearly every Catholic Faction that I've played(about 10 total) have them, so don't give me the "Crossbow Cavalry? I've never seen no damn Crossbow Cavalry." They are real and will kick ass when needed to.

Chapter 5: Archers

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Ok, as said before, at the beginning of the game, all archers for the European factions...simply...suck. Then, come High period, come the elite archers, minly for England and France; The Longbow units Three for England(Longbowmen, Yeoman Archers and Retinue Longbowmen), and the Dismounted French archers and Scots Guard for the French. All of these units are effective againts armour and have a missile attack(except for the standard Longbowmen) of 8, making them comparable, maybe even a rival to, the Crossbowmen of other factions. And, even later in the game, Robin Hood joins the fray with the Sherwood Archers, a unit based of the Merry Men of the Sherwood Forest, Robin Hood's loyal soldiers and comrades. Although only half of the strength of other Archer units, they get the Long Range, Armour Piercing bonuses, and have the rarely seen Missile attack of 14, and these guys are Archers, meaning Fast Firing and Reloading time. So Take(lives) from the enemies and give(women) to the Merry men, because now, is hitting the fan!

Chapter 6: Crossbowmen

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Ah, Crossbowmen, my life love for, really, any faction. Oh, your different variations, different abilities and ability to slaughter any unit that comes into it's path....Oh how I love you.

But, seriously, the Crossbow, although slow to load and fire, is arguably one of the best weapons in the game. It has, in many cases, a longer range than the bow, a better missile attack, and the ability to pierce armour. It should, at least, be a respected weapon, if your enemy has it, and a city defender if you have it. There is absolutely NO excuse not to use these wonderful machines of death.

So, go out and buy yourself some Crossbowmen today! *Wink*

Chapter 7: Muskets

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Now, hopefully, by now, you know that Muskets, although effective when firing, are only good for firing. They suck when told to skirmish, and I often have to move my Infantry to meet the enemy instead of relying on the Musketmen to come behind my lines. I never had that problem with my old girl, Crossbowmen.

There really isn't much more to say. Put the Muskets behind your lines, keep them firing, don't let them shoot your troops, and you're golden. Just don't let enemy cavalry charge their asses from behind....Then you're in trouble. If you want to see an entertaining battle, set up a Custom battle with 1 unupgraded unit of Arquebusiers against another of the same and see who wins. It is guaranteed to entertain you.

Ok, so there you have it! I hope this has changed your view on Missile units, so now don't complain if you lost a bettle where you had a ton of Melee units and the enemy had a bunch of Missile units. Thanks for reading!

EDIT: PICTURES ADDED

[FreeRadical]

Very funny,informative, thread.I like it! + rep.Some things even I didn't know about missile units after playing all this time Some people on this forum get too serious with their guides that they bore you to tears.When I read something that gives me quality information,but also gets me to laugh at the same time=A+

[Dave Strider]

Thanks dude. I'll rep you back.

[Mithrane]

Do you by chance have any guide-like advice on how to use javelines? They are a controversial unit type, and I'm curious on others' opinions on them.

[Dave Strider]

Well, it depends on the kind of Javelins. Many of them are armor piercing foot javelineers, so I'd recommend putting them between your infantry line and missile line and turning skirmish mode off. If in Cavalry form, protect them with Heavy Cavalry and use the Javelins as support for when the Heavy Cavalry go into Melee.

[Goofy]

I didn't read it properly, just checked it, and I must say that
a) there already are lots of this kind of threads but
b) despite that I want to support all you new guide writers and all that, I mean that when someone has done a big work, I wan't to reward him.
extra) I think Zyxos's guide already covers nearly all of this information, but as far as this is a question of opinion, it doesn't matter if there are 1,000,000 of this kind if threads.

So, take a small bit of rep from Unca Goofy.
(though I'm only 15 )

But I don't agree with you when talking about Peasant Archers. They're the ultimate power behind the rise of nations. Or what do you think about this?

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Stainless Steel 6.1 VH/VH.
In Vanilla M2TW that 468 would have been something around 700 killed enemies, when we remember several things which affected this when compared to Vanilla:
a) In Stainless Steel their arrows are (?) less effective, or at least not any more accurate.
b) I use a mod (made by Da Goofy *surprise surprise* ) which increases the sizes of units; this had an effect on the casualties I inflicted.
c) In Stainless Steel Peasant Archers' Missile Attack is 3 (?) but nearly all units have increased defense.

I hope you got my point.

Btw if you wanna do it, see my small M2TW guide/tut in M2TW General Discussion forum. Just search all threads I'm started (there are only a very few ones; I'm better at answering than asking).

[Lysimachus]

The guide could do with a picture at the start of each section, it just gives it a more professional look.

[Dave Strider]

I guess.

[Dave Strider]

UPDATED - PICTURES ADDED

[Chapstazz]

Very helpful and interesting

[{GrailKnight}]

Why would anyone say that HA sucked in RTW.... what the hell?? They owned in RTW lol

[Dave Strider]

Exactly, n00bs would say that they sucked.