Who has the best archers?

[t1337Dude]

King Ragnar made the unwise decision of denying me the third castle that I single-handedly ransacked. The first few times I figured there was only so many Lords he could give castles away to before me, but it seemed like I wasn't going to get one for quite awhile. So I accepted the castle and now I'm in need of some units other than the dozens of Huscarls I have. Which faction has the best archers?

 

[DaveDaDude]

Everyones gonna say Vagiers, but Rhodoks Sharpshooters have more powerful crossbows to  peirce armored troops assaulted your walls and have a big shield and sword and better armour to fight on the walls

 

[Pii100]

Try khergit veteran horse archers or vaegir marksmen.
Vaegirs have ~150 archery, veteran horse archers ~240/220, don't remember exact numbers.

I don't know about crossbows, may be worth a try.

 

[HTAPAWASO]

I always use vaegir marksmen and occasionally khergit veteran horse archers, but only because I have a bow and I like looting the arrows they drop...

I wouldn't be surprised if rhodoks were better, but I've never tested them.

One thing we can be sure about is that nords are the worst -.-

 

[GraaEminense]

Vaegirs. Rhodoks and Swadans have punch, but the Vaegirs have far better rate of fire. Either of the three will do OK when holding the top of the ladder (though not as good as dedicated high-level infantry, of course. Khergits have too weak armour, and Nords plain suck.

 

[InstantBlade]

Yup, Nord archers, when compared to other archers, directly... simply suck. But together with the rest of the norhtern army, do their thing and do it very well.

I like to roleplay, and my char doesn't get other non nordic troops, with the rare exception of Sword sisters and other mercs.

But, if you don't care about such petty things, I would go for other archers, like the vaegirs... I'm really not the biggest fan of how slow crossbows shoot.

Ok, when they hit, they usually kill... but that crossbowman can't kill squat if he doesn't have a head on his shoulders, and those riders do approach quickly.

Just try them out and figure out for yourself. It will depend greatly on your style of play... will the archers have to get in the scrap? Will they usually stay in a safe position shooting?
You decide

 

[Jarric]

Khergits. Lancers often spawn with bows and have some of the best armor in the game, while veteran horse archers do crazy damage, while wearing the equivalent of light mail. You might need some heavy infantry types directly in front of the breach, though.

They have a bit less Iron Skin than other factions, but really, 10 more hps isn't going to do much.

 

[duracell]

Vaegir Marksmen are the best, no question about it.

They were the best.

In 1.003 khergit veteran horse archers are the best archers.

 

[ttsec]

I have the best archers!

 

[Jarric]

In 1.003 khergit veteran horse archers are the best archers.

You put them in a melee and they're dead before you can even yell profanities.

That sort of goes for ALL archers. Veteran horse archers are not any less armored than Marksmen and Sharpshooters.

Besides, the OP was talking about siege defense. The sheer volume of fire when attacking a Khergit castle nowadays is eye-opening.

 

[duracell]

In 1.003 khergit veteran horse archers are the best archers.

You put them in a melee and they're dead before you can even yell profanities.

Okay, Khergit Veteran Horse Archers are the best archers.

If we are talking about siege defence and overall use of archers than Rhodok Sharpshooters are the best, they are super easy to train, they have the highest ranged damage (siege crossbow + steel bolts) and in melee they are equal to Nord Warriors! 

Rhodok Sharpshooters are the Space Marines of Calradia.

 

[Stannis]

For castle defense, I would think vaegir marksmen are the best... Less precise than khergits, perhaps, but it does not matter really at these levels, and better in melee fights. And the rate of fire gives them an advantage over rhodoks, even if crossbowmen are more protected by the walls when reloading...

 

[Kraven]

i tend to prefer Khergit Veteran Horse Archers, since well the odds of them getting in melee is minimal with the tactics i use anyway.

 

[HardCode]

I don't know why everyone underestimates the Khergits on foot. A lot of them have Winged Maces. Blunt weapons do the most damage while on foot, and can do a knock-down to the opponent.

 

[Kamos32]

I'd have to go with Vaegirs closely followed by the Rhodoks after that I don't pay attention because they die to fast .

 

[chantrain]

I'm a fan of the Rhodok Sharpshooters, i am.

theyre heavily armored, large shield, and a sword to rely on when the enemies get too close. I love hybrid melee/missile infantry and thats what rhodok sharpshooters are.

 

[Pii100]

i tend to prefer Khergit Veteran Horse Archers, since well the odds of them getting in melee is minimal with the tactics i use anyway.

Same here. If enemy gets few units to our flank, they will be killed by my cav or me anyway. They're just temporarily teasing us.
If the big masss of enemy arrives to my archers, and isn't gonna be just temporary threat, my tactic has already failed.

 

[Deathlordjaffar]

I'm Vaegirs, and was defending a Swadian castle(Rindyar). 50 Swadians, 47 of mine. I had mostly upper mid-tier troops, with some top and low tiers, I don't know about the Swadians. There 735-ish Khergits, at least 150 of which were Khergit Veteran Horse Archers.
We killed 650 Khergs, and wounded about 15-20 before we won the siege. I lost 3 killed, 20 wounded, Swadians took 5 killed, 30 wounded. I was playing on only 3/4 damage for friends, but still. I think this proves who has the best archers.

 

[Pii100]

I'm Vaegirs, and was defending a Swadian castle(Rindyar). 50 Swadians, 47 of mine. I had mostly upper mid-tier troops, with some top and low tiers, I don't know about the Swadians. There 735-ish Khergits, at least 150 of which were Khergit Veteran Horse Archers.
We killed 650 Khergs, and wounded about 15-20 before we won the siege. I lost 3 killed, 20 wounded, Swadians took 5 killed, 30 wounded. I was playing on only 3/4 damage for friends, but still. I think this proves who has the best archers.

Do same with having khergits on your side defending the castle...
Enemy besieger archers won't stop and use their bow. They just run to melee unless otherwise ordered. They may shoot few shots, but they won't stop completely and switch to skirmish mode.

So it doesn't really prove anything.

 

[killer-blead]

dependce pn what you wanne use them for.

veagir are good against horseman on the battle field. (and good on siege attack)

rhodok are good on the battlefield but only if you have the time to reload after 1 shot, so when the enemy only got infantery
(best on siege deffence)

khergit are deffinitly best on battle field and can perform well on siege deffence and offence.

nords archers, haven't tried them but heard alot of bad things about them from certain nords people, (Vilhjalmr and naridill)

swadian archers.. damn what kind of a swadian lord am i, know nothing about them, dont use them but i think they got the same ability's as rhodok.

and for Vilhjalmr, best melee using archers are veagirs since they all wield 2h axes instead of the regular sword-using-archer