Archers

Recruitment Cost 250
Upkeep Cost 70
Missile Damage 35
Range 125
Shots Per Minute 6
Ammunition 15
Melee Attack 8
Weapon Damage 24
Charge Bonus 3
Melee Defence 12
Armour 10
Health 45
Base Morale 25
Strengths & Weaknesses
  • Long range
  • Average rate of fire
  • Good damage but low armour penetration
  • Very weak in melee
  • Very poor morale
Description

Although archery was not highly thought of as a military skill in Greece, Crete produced truly excellent archers who were able to sell their services to the highest bidder as mercenaries. Firing bronze-tipped arrows from their heavy self bows, Cretan archers tended to carry shields, indicative of some additional prowess in melee, which must’ve made them an even more enticing proposition for a general hiring mercenaries for campaign. Their finest hours came when Alexander the Great hired Cretans directly into his army to support its unbeatable phalanx. Commanded by Clearchus, 500 Cretans accompanied the Macedonian phalanx into battle at Granicus, off-setting the Persians' numerical superiority on the day and enabling Alexander’s subsequent victory. Whereas the Romans didn’t traditionally use archers in their forces, once they conquered Greece Cretan archers began to appear as auxiliary troops in their armies. Notably, they fought in Caesar’s campaign in Gaul against Vercingetorix, causing him to rally the best archers the tribes could provide to range against them.

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