Talk:Elephant Archer (Age of Empires II)/@comment-92.57.158.87-20190328183751/@comment-2003:DB:F3D6:1BD2:CC3E:B6B3:89AD:4CD4-20190728142548

... oh, and don't forget about their ability to break enemy formations. In a way, to the civs that used them (in classical times, more so than the medievals), they were the shock-cavalry of their time, reaking havoc by breaking and terrorizing un-disciplined unit formations. The archers, if they were riding along, just had to take care of the leftovers.

The real problem of elephant-units were to be found elsewhere. Like being hard to control, running amok at times even against your own troops, and being useless when being handled carelessly or being used against the wrong kind of opposition. And they were costly to maintain, thanks to the huge amounts of food they needed, and the long time it takes them to grow up and be battle-ready (it just isn't an effective tool for young, ambitious leaders, thursting for fame and conquest; thus they were usually found with aging, saturated civilizations and monarchs, that had lost an edge when it came to fresh, lusting ambition and strategic thinking; a luxury and a Wunderwaffe that was notoriously ill-applied). And not being fit for every climate...