How would you balance crossbows on archer militia? Only thing I can think of in that regard is something that is even weaker than the Light Crossbow but can at least be used on horseback. x:
Yeah, they have those in 1.8.x, I forget what they called them. Ultralight crossbows that can be reloaded at a walk or on horse. That would be interesting, but I'd honestly rather see those on light cav or something, there needs to be a tangible difference between the Militia's ranged weapon choices.
Archer Militia's crossbows were taken before we even introduced ranged-weapon flinching iirc. Xbows have been nerfed into the ground since then. Vlandian Arbalists are fine, and they have access to a mid-tier sword and shield as well, which Militia would not. Give them something comparable to the Arbalists xbow.
If their xbow is more powerful, just give them 20 bolts. The ranged weapon ammo count in this game in general is too damn high.
Slightly Unrelated Rant:
High Ammo Counts in general remove three somewhat interesting decisions
--Can you just wait out an enemy in shieldwall to deplete their ammo
--Should I reposition my archers so we can scavenge previously shot ammo?
--Should I take crossbows, knowing that my enemy only has Bows and can't shoot my ammo back at me?
If Empire had access to more Xbows when fighting Vlandia, ammo scavenging becomes an interesting strategic decision point.
I'd certainly take the Ultralight Xbows for Archer Militia, but I'd prefer them to have a slightly harder hitting and slower weapon choice. They'd still be slower shots than Arbalists in any case without the cheese extra ammo + fast reload perk, and are a non-starter in melee with the butter knife and no shield. We should just give them the damn Pugio.