Regarding Crossbows...

[winrehs007]

A couple of questions about Crossbows...

1.) Does it have a shorter firing distance compared to Longbows?

2.) Is it still effective to use in siege attacks just like any other Longbows?

Thanks in advance.

[ladymarion]

1.
I don't think so.

2.
I find bows kill the enemy faster in sieges but having 40-50% of your siege troops being A5-A7 Rhodok crossbowmen will do the same job with just a little longer time. Crossbowmen also tend to be harder to kill because they bend forward when they reload, making them harder to hit. A6/7 also have higher HP than bowmen.

For me as the player I use a bow in sieges. After I'm out of arrows, I pick them up from the ground or I climb the ladder an pull the arrows which were shot from my companions out of the wall.

[winrehs007]

I see, is it also possible that I mix faction-armies? Like I have Rhodok Infantry then Swadian Archers? As a non-vassal character of course, would it not lower the morale of the party?

[Deathwhisper]

I see, is it also possible that I mix faction-armies? Like I have Rhodok Infantry then Swadian Archers? As a non-vassal character of course, would it not lower the morale of the party?

No, except if you're at war with the faction you draw your troops from. For example if you've got -100 relations with swadia your swadian troops will take a pretty big morale hit, but that shouldn't matter much unless you already had below average / average morale because of party size.

[winrehs007]

No, except if you're at war with the faction you draw your troops from. For example if you've got -100 relations with swadia your swadian troops will take a pretty big morale hit, but that shouldn't matter much unless you already had below average / average morale because of party size.

I see, but does that apply to if; My faction is composed of all Swadians but I'm actually at war with them. Would my troops suffer a negative morale?

[Deathwhisper]

No, except if you're at war with the faction you draw your troops from. For example if you've got -100 relations with swadia your swadian troops will take a pretty big morale hit, but that shouldn't matter much unless you already had below average / average morale because of party size.

I see, but does that apply to if; My faction is composed of all Swadians but I'm actually at war with them. Would my troops suffer a negative morale?

Yes, you can see how much in the party morale report. It's usually not that big though.

[anoddhermit]

Tip tier rhodok crossbowmen, as in native, are clearly the best ranged siege unit IMO.

Their advantages over archers are numerous. They've got shields, making them more survivable while positioning as well as better melee units(in fact they're better melee than many T5 and even 6 melee units I'd say). They have higher armor, making them more survivable in general. I'm pretty sure they deal more damage per projectile than archers, which in a long siege is superior to faster firing rate if running out of arrows/bolts is an inevitability.

As for the lower tiers, archers will kill weak enemies much faster, and archers can kill crossbowmen faster than the other way around. Still, low level crossbowmen have piercing damage while most archers won't, making them the superior unit vs. higher tier enemies.