Archers





"The bow remained an important military weapon after the fall of Rome, although less so in areas of Europe covered by dense forests." - Excerpt from Archer description

Archers and all other non-siege weapon or artillery ballistic units fall under this category. A deadly class to be sure, these units are the most cost-efficient ranged units in Age of Empires, Age of Empires II, Age of Empires III, and Age of Mythology. Their ranged attacks easily massacre Infantry, though their low armor and HP make them vulnerable to fast Infantry, such as Eagle Warriors and Woad Raiders. Another major weakness of archers are cavalry units which can take out multiple archers due to their fast speed. Archers are also ineffective against siege engines due to their short range and low amount of hit points.

Age of Empires Archery Units

 * Bowman
 * Improved Bowman
 * Composite Bowman
 * Slinger (Rise of Rome Expansion only)
 * Chariot Archer
 * Elephant Archer
 * Horse Archer
 * Heavy Horse Archer



Age of Empires II Archery Units

 * Archer
 * Crossbowan
 * Arbalest
 * Skirmisher
 * Elite Skirmisher
 * Cavalry Archer
 * Heavy Cavalry Archer
 * Hand Cannoneer
 * Chu-Ko-Nu: Chinese unique unit
 * Janissary: Turks unique unit
 * Longbowman: Britons unique unit
 * Mangudai: Mongols unique unit
 * Plumed Archer: Mayan unique unit
 * War Wagon: Koreans unique unit
 * Conquistador: Spanish unique unit

Tactics


The Archers have several uses, though their primary one is to demolish all slow units that are not Siege Weapons. Being cheap and quick, these units can easily decimate an enemy's economy, slay villagers, and kill other infantry. However, cavalry can easily defeat these units, as well as their own archery banes, Skirmishers and War Wagons. Archers are not to be used to destroy buildings their main purpose is to suppliment Infantry. The Goths unique unit, Huskarls, can also slay archers. They should not be used against siege weapons, and only a large quantity should try to stand against cavalry, though a useful bane against cavalry is a combination of archery units and spear, pikes, or halberd users. Keep in mind that the gunpowder units have a longer range and attack, though are more inaccurate with growing distance, and their range is rivaled by Longbowmen assisted by Yeomen.

Age of Empires III
In Age of Empires III, Archers are not used in Colonial Age and onwards. Still, there are a few archer units, mainly Native American, but also some European units like Crossbowmen. Archers are light infantry and best used against heavy infantry. The remaining units from the Barracks are either gunpowder using ranged infantry or melee infantry.

Archer Class-esque units

 * Longbowman
 * Crossbowman
 * Besteiros (Home City Card required and only available to the Portuguese)
 * Chu Ko Nu (Asian Dynasties Expansion)
 * Yumi Archer (Asian Dynasties Expansion)