Do slingers have any value?

**the_mango55** · September 03, 2013, 08:49 PM

Seems like slingers are totally pointless so far. They can't even get kills on unarmored "farmer" garrison units.

I mean I guess they give nice morale debuff on the enemy, but I'd much rather have another infantry or cavalry, or a unit of javelins (I haven't tested archers enough to say about them, been mostly playing romans and barbarians). Am I just using them wrong or what?

Also, now that the game is out we need some more subforums. One for only gameplay/strategy and one for modding.

**Naked Emperor** · September 03, 2013, 08:53 PM

Are you kidding? Slingers and javelins are the only units that can scratch my Romans units so far (Im 50 turns into the game). When I see that the barbarians are fielding lots of slingers I know that I'm going to take losses

**johannlo** · September 03, 2013, 08:58 PM

only done the prologue but my slingers can sit there for minutes on end slinging away for low single digit kills IF I'M LUCKY

**Volound** · September 03, 2013, 08:55 PM

They're completely useless. CA got it right by giving them more range than bows, but they're garbage.

**PlacidDragon** · September 03, 2013, 09:02 PM

Originally Posted by Volound

They're completely useless. CA got it right by giving them more range than bows, but they're garbage.

Garbage ? I took my first two cities as Pontus without losing a SINGLE man (because of idiotic AI). It formed up nice and neatly, then halted. I moved my slingers up, and killed them all, hehe. Granted, they were only garrison forces, but they had units with shields (eastern spearmen or somesuch).

The "trick" that i've found is to not be at the extreme edge of the firing range. Then you wont really kill anything, no. Move them 20 meters further forward, and you'll see results

**Volound** · September 03, 2013, 10:04 PM

Originally Posted by PlacidDragon

Garbage ? I took my first two cities as Pontus without losing a SINGLE man (because of idiotic AI). It formed up nice and neatly, then halted. I moved my slingers up, and killed them all, hehe. Granted, they were only garrison forces, but they had units with shields (eastern spearmen or somesuch).

The "trick" that i've found is to not be at the extreme edge of the firing range. Then you wont really kill anything, no. Move them 20 meters further forward, and you'll see results

Anything you accomplished with your slingers would have been accomplished 10 times easier with archers. They suck. I've spent the whole day using them and observing how crap they are. They have extremely

damage which is supposed to be offset by their superior range (so that they become archer killers, archers themselves being javelineer killers, javelineers themselves being the anti-infantry).

What you get is slingers that completely suck and are extremely cost-ineffective compared to archers, which are almost the exact same role, just much better.

**DJPenguin** · September 03, 2013, 08:58 PM

Aside from what looks to be a bug that makes the first volley of stones deal no damage, playing on Hard as Athens Slingers have won me countless battles. They make attacking armies that have gone into a fortified position cake. They completely destroy lightly armored units and shooting into the flanks after melee has already engaged makes the enemy route that much quicker. Just don't shoot at the front of armored units.