Longbowman (Age of Empires II)

"British unique unit. Powerful archer with long range."

- Age of Empires II description

The Longbowman is the unique unit of the Britons in Age of Empires II. It is a foot archer with a very long range.

Longbowmen can be upgraded to Elite Longbowmen in the Imperial Age.

Overview
Longbowmen are the archers of England and Wales, boasting powerful damage and a very long range. These soldiers are often instrumental for Briton victory.

Regular Longbowmen have the same range as Crossbowmen, but their Elite counterpart comes with +1 attack, range, and pierce armor in comparison to the Arbalest. Furthering their range with Blacksmith upgrades, Yeomen, and the Britons' civilization bonus (+1 range in the Castle Age and +1 in the Imperial Age (+2 in total)), Elite Longbowmen can get as much as 12 range, an unprecedented value among archer units. It enables them to outrange Castles, Towers, Onagers, and Galleons.

Tactics
Longbowmen work best in a group. While a single Longbowman doesn't present much of a threat, a group can be a deadly force as they can mow down opposing forces from long range before they can even attack. Longbowmen firing from behind Walls can prove valuable for base defense.

With the protection of melee infantry or cavalry, Longbowmen can hold their ground against most units, taking a fearful toll of enemy troops while supporting the frontliners. Without protection, a group of them can instead perform hit-and-run techniques, killing the closest enemy while backing up constantly. Of course, they cannot do that as effectively as Cavalry Archers, and will struggle especially against cavalry.

It is recommended to set Longbowmen to Stand Ground stance. That way, they won't disrupt the formation and avoid rushing into situations they cannot handle.

Since the Britons lack Thumb Ring, they fire slightly slower than other civilizations' archers with it, and lack the 100% accuracy, which can be a considerable disadvantage.

When facing massed heavy siege weapons like Siege Onagers or Heavy Scorpions, archers' long reach can be used to destroy one siege weapon at a time, instead of letting them fire at will. Otherwise when the siege engines get in firing range, they will flatten the archers very quickly with a few shots.

A group of Longbowmen can be used as a siege option if the player is teamed with a Saracen, as the Longbowmen get additional attack bonus against buildings and can take them down more quickly. Teutonic Castles, Korean Towers, and Turkish Bombard Towers are the only defensive structures capable of returning fire. Still, Trebuchets should always be brought to sieges, especially since Warwolf was introduced in The Forgotten.

Counters
As archers, Longbowmen have the typical weaknesses. Without protection, they are easily overpowered by mass cavalry, Huskarl, and Eagle Warrior charges.

Skirmishers and Genitours are of course an issue as well, despite the fact that the Longbowmen can by far outrange them.

And, of course, siege weapons are a heavy threat, but the Longbowmen fare far better against them than all other archers, especially when massed, because they can take them out (apart from Bombard Cannons) from a safe distance without coming under fire.

Further Statistics
As Longbowmen are unique to the Britons, only technologies that are available to them are shown in the following table:

Civilization Bonuses

 * Britons: Longbowmen have +1/+2 range in the Castle/Imperial Age.

Team Bonuses

 * A team containing Berbers: With Kasbah researched, Longbowmen are created and upgraded 25% faster, and Conscription and Yeomen are researched 25% faster.
 * A team containing Magyars: Longbowmen have +2 Line of Sight.
 * A team containing Malians: Researching Chemistry and Ballistics is 80% faster.
 * A team containing Saracens: Longbowmen have +1 attack against buildings.
 * A team containing Teutons: Longbowmen are more resistant to conversion.

The Age of Kings

 * Longbowmen train in 19 seconds.

The Conquerors

 * Longbowmen gain an attack bonus of +2 Spearmen.
 * Britons: Yeomen introduced.

The Forgotten

 * Longbowmen now train in 18 seconds.

Trivia

 * Medieval English longbows took a lot of strength to draw due to their very high draw weights: ranging from 100-200 lbs, with the average bow between 120-160 lbs. These draw weights accounted for the longbow's incredible power in battle.
 * The Longbowmen in Age of Empires II are erroneously depicted wearing quivers on their backs, when in fact historical English Longbowmen placed their arrow bags behind their waists or simply stuffed arrows in their belts (but never wore them on their backs).

History
"The longbow was very tall, 5 or 6 feet long, and crafted from a single piece of wood, commonly yew. It fired 3-foot-long arrows at a great range and, in the hands of an expert, could be extremely accurate. Edward I (Longshanks) of England grasped the value of this weapon and the English thereafter employed large contingents of longbowmen in their Middle Age armies. All sports other than archery were banned on Sundays in Britain to ensure that archers practiced. The long bow was used effectively in long-range barrages against massed troops, firing thin pointed arrows called bodkins that could pierce armor. Arrows were fired simultaneously by thousands of archers and aimed at a distant area rather than a specific target. Enemy troops within the area were forced to receive the barrage with no cover but their armor and shields. The barrage caused casualties and reduced enemy morale. The most famous examples of this tactic were the great English victories at Crécy, Poitiers, and Agincourt during the Hundred Years War. French knights recalled with horror the awful sound of thousands of arrows in flight and the sky turning dark from their shafts."

- Age of Empires II manual