A question about bows-

[Toshach]

After playing METW for years, I am embarrassed to ask these questions.

• How do flaming and regular arrows differ?
• I know that flaming arrows are less accurate, exactly how are they more effective?
• Are their certain situations and unit types where it is better to use one type of arrow over another?

Thanks in advance.

[devastating-d]

Flaming arrows are less accurate, takes more time to reload, but more devastating to enemy moral. Regular arrows do more damage, more accurate, take less time to reload and my personal favourites :-) My tactic: Fire few volleys of regular arrows, than use flaming arrows to route the enemy. Flaming arrows are good against units with poor morale and units who can run amok, elephants etc..

[alreadyded]

Fire arrows are all I use, they often set their victims on fire on the first hit. Regular arrows usually take multiple hits to bring an enemy down, especially against well armored enemies. As for the accuracy and reload time, I have never really noticed a difference. It depends more on where and how you position your archers than what arrow type you use. Direct fire is faster, more accurate and does more damage. Indirect fire can often be useless.

[SinerAthin]

I always use normal arrows until I seek to break the enemy.

Ready flaming arrows, ready a cavalry charge from behind, ready a full scale infantry charge from infront.

=

Full scale retreat.

[djfdx]

Normal arrows to kill more enemies.
Fire arrows to break morale, scare elephants or setting on fire siege weapons.

Personally, my default is always normal arrows until i really need fire for one of the above goals.

[Withwnar]

Fire arrows are also useful to see where your units are aiming. But that's not really a reason to use them. I rarely do except for occasional morale-breaking. Or sadism.

[djfdx]

Fire arrows are also useful to see where your units are aiming.

In this case, I would use SHIFT button. It is also useful to write uppercase letters

[JorisofHolland]

Fire arrows are all I use, unless I want to hit a small or routing target. Weak archers, the Peasants in vanilla, should always use flaming arrows, for this is the only way to make them do damage. Otherwise their 1 attack just sucks.

[Mikail Mengsk]

I find flaming arrows not so effective unless you use them on already battered enemy units, so i use normal arrows most of the time, then switch to flaming arrows when things are going well enough to try a deadly blow to enemy's morale.

[axnsan]

Normal arrows kill just as much or even more than flame arrows, it's just that you notice men on fire easier than those simply falling to the ground.

I almost never use fire arrows and don't know why so many people like them. The only time I'll use them is when most of the enemy units are bunched up and wavering, or when my infantry is fighting on the walls and I wanna make the ers rout already!

[Seleukos_I.]

Normal arrows kill just as much or even more than flame arrows, it's just that you notice men on fire easier than those simply falling to the ground.

I almost never use fire arrows and don't know why so many people like them. The only time I'll use them is when most of the enemy units are bunched up and wavering, or when my infantry is fighting on the walls and I wanna make the ers rout already!

I agree. I only use fire arrwos in bridge battles or when I fight the enemy at my gate.

[Deedlit]

The time it takes to fire one volly of fire arrows i belive the archer group could of fired two normal arrow vollys.

[Hound of Culann]

The time it takes to fire one volly of fire arrows i belive the archer group could of fired two normal arrow vollys.

That's definetly the case IMO too. Fire arrows are so ridicculoysly (how on earth is that spelled? ) slow that at least in open field battles they get only one shot before the enemy closes in with my infantry and it's too risky to shoot anymore. Even if they do more damage on contact, normal arrows' speed and accuracy greatly compensate that.

[Lordinquisitor]

Flaming arrows will always do less damage. They might individually do more damage (Could someone verify that?).. But they fire too slow, and miss too often. Normal arrows do much more damage, believe me.

Only, only, use them if you just need that extra bit more moral damage. Even setting siege engines on fire isn`t viable, since it won`t work often enough.

[Smaug]

Flaming arrows will always do less damage. They might individually do more damage (Could someone verify that?).. But they fire too slow, and miss too often. Normal arrows do much more damage, believe me.

Only, only, use them if you just need that extra bit more moral damage. Even setting siege engines on fire isn`t viable, since it won`t work often enough.

I concur .

[Mega Tortas de Bodemloze]

Ahhh yes, the eternal debate.... But one thing is a certain...Fire arrows + Dread General = win. The double headed morale killer cannot be beat!!!...
Well, most of the time anyway...

Personally I prefer fire arrows for extended battles and regular & fire arrow mix for short battles. That way you have the best of both worlds. As others have said, with short range peasant type {crap} archers always use fire, for best damage.

[axnsan]

Finally someone with some sense

[bazziman]

It seems to me that at a (very) short range the fire arrows are just as accurate as the regular ones. I've no real way of backing this claim up, but it makes sense and it's how I observe it. As has been said before a burst of flaming arrows in the backs of an attacking army / at short range is usually enough to send them running. Especially if you concentrate the fire of multiple units on a single attacking unit.

In general I like to concentrate my (fire) arrows on one of two units if I really need to rout them (and cause a cascade of fleeing units).
When I am thinning out mode I spread my fire - have my archers shoot at different individuals units. It only takes one (1) arrow to fell a man!
I's also usually a good idea to shoot the larger units instead of wasting your ammunition on already badly thinned out enemy units.


A question: Does anybody know if the shape / number of lines of archery units effects their accuracy / rate of fire? It would make sense that archers standing in a thin line have an easier time aiming and firing their bows (due to a lack of their comrades standing in their way).

[glassakias]

at night battles, is it preferable to use fire or not? when at the start of the battle, the default is fire, does it mean that the game seems th battle as night?

[Lordinquisitor]

at night battles, is it preferable to use fire or not? when at the start of the battle, the default is fire, does it mean that the game seems th battle as night?

They probably did it because fire arrows look more impressive. Especially in night battles.