them pesky sharpshooters !!

[slavetrader]

i recently joined the noble vaegir forces ( usually go for the swads)
and as i suspected i have been having some serious trouble with the swadian crossbowmen. what would be the best way of dealing with them?
i'd usually just feed them my party, but i'm going for a solocharacter with lance+shield and bow.

i did notice that they tend to whip out their meleeweapons really fast when i close in on them. so should i just circle around them and poke them with my lance? everytime i try to go for couched lance damage i have to make my self some room, and that's when i usually lose my trusty steed


so should i get a party to sacrifice or what?

 

[Mechstra]

Yes. If you're up against large numbers of crossbowmen, the best thing to do is get a similarly large number of your own men - infantry or cavalry - who have shields. Get yourself a good strong shield too, and go in the middle of this mass of men, then charge. The large group soaks up the crossbow bolts in shields and the flesh of your compatriots, so once you close the gap you'll have an easier time of it.

 

[tsuken]

Attract their attention by going near them with a raised shield. Then just wait for your party to arrive, so they will take out their melee weapons.

A one handed sword is a fast weapon for some quick hits. You just have to watch out they dont aim at you when you lower your shield to make a hit

 

[slavetrader]

yeah i used to solve my occational problems with the sharpshooters by simply sending my men to their deaths, but since i went solo i havent really found a way to deal with them.
as luck would have it i just found a thick heathershield, so that should help me a bit

 

[tsuken]

you know what may help, but you might consider it AI abuse. Get a crossbow or bow yourself and stand behind a hill, so they won't shoot at you and can't hit you if they did. Look over the top of the hill by tilting your view in 3rd person view. Pick a target, walk in view, aim, shoot, get back in position behind the hill, reload (if crossbow), and repeat. Often some will wait for you to come out and not come any closer. When they get too close, jump on your horse (which should be right behind you) and go find another hill.

I suppose you would have to be pretty desprate if you did this... I wonder who figured it out. Maybe it was some Pikeman with only a crossbow and a pike

 

[DaLagga]

Just stand on the other side of a small hill. Some of them will rush you, and when they do, move out. The ones that stay back won't fire because they would hit their own troops, so they pull out their melee weapons and charge as well. I've taken 40+ crossbowmen solo without so much as taking a bolt to my shield using this strategy/AI exploit. However, if you're using a lance on horse...well, you're not going to be able too, period. Your bow would be your best bet using tsuken's strategy though.

 

[ShangTang]

Generally large groups of heavy cav can easily break them within a few seconds. Then it becomes a slaughter.

 

[mike-]

i never have trouble with crossbowmen actually. i can take on 40 with marnid and borcha with me. i use a reinforced great axe, i just rush at them and when their about to fire i try to turn to the right (preferably) then just run into them. turn around, swing and kill. rinse and repeat.

 

[pasisti]

I don't have any problems with them nasty crossbowmen. I just take my 2h-axe and ride half-naked towards them and kill 'em all!
Of course, sometimes it is just a matter of luck!
I invite my friends only when my horse is down and I'm really badly outnumbered or I'm gathering a new army.

 

[slavetrader]

lately i've been circling really close to them, so that they won't take out their xbows, and shooting them with my bow, every now and then i make mad charges to them and return to shooting them from close distance.
it seems to work well untill swadian knights rush in