Corrupted crossbowman

Defensive Ranged Special

An NPC defender of the castles of the corrupted barons in the Outer Realms with high ranged defense of 134 and half that melee defense of 67. Attack 17 is low, but as a castle defender it doesn't need it anyway. You can't recruit it, so treat it as an opponent and attack the castle where you expect it with a majority of melee units. A player unit with the same numbers is the Corrupted veteran longbowman.

17Attack

67Melee defense

134Ranged defense

28Speed

—Food upkeep

Quick overview

Type	Defensive, Ranged
Source	Special
Game stage	Special
Cost	—
Recommendation	Cannot be recruited

rating

Attack

Defensive

Cost

Speed

The Corrupted crossbowman is an NPC ranged unit that you meet as a defender of the castles of the corrupted robber barons on the temporary Outer Realms server. You can't recruit it. It stands on one number, ranged defense 134, and against melee it has 67. For comparison, an ordinary Crossbowman from the barracks has only 36 ranged defense. Its ranged attack is 17, so it isn't zero, just low, and as a castle defender its attack need not trouble you anyway.

How to use it

Count on Corrupted crossbowmen when attacking the castles of the corrupted barons in the Outer Realms. Your attacking ranged units run into their defense of 134, melee units only into 67, exactly half. The more crossbowmen defend a castle, the more it pays to shift the weight of the attack to melee units. Both numbers are base values and the result of the fight is also influenced by bonuses on both sides, so treat them as a guide, not an exact calculation. Speed 28 and food upkeep 0 are just technical data for an NPC defender, you will never manage the crossbowmen from the baron castles or send them anywhere.

What to combine it with

Against a baron castle with Corrupted crossbowmen, build the attack with a majority of melee units, because that is where the defender has the weaker side of 67. Don't leave ranged units out completely, if the castle is also defended by infantry with high melee defense, fine-tune the ratio according to the whole garrison. Attack tools that reduce the strength of ranged defenders will help, and so will a commander with a bonus to melee attack. How large a share of the attack to shift to melee depends mainly on how many crossbowmen stand in the garrison.

Weaknesses and what to avoid

Don't send a pure ranged army at the castles of the corrupted barons, it would run exactly into the defense of 134 against ranged, which is its strongest side, instead of the weaker 67 against melee. Don't try to get it into your own army either, it is an NPC defender and can't be recruited. And don't underestimate it because of the low attack of 17, in a castle it stands as a defender and it is unpleasant mainly because of its ranged defense.

Pro player tipIn combat numbers the Corrupted crossbowman matches the Corrupted veteran longbowman, both have attack 17, defense 67 against melee and 134 against ranged. The difference is that you can have the veteran in your own army, whereas you only meet the crossbowman in the barons' castles. If you know how the veteran holds up on your walls, you also know what to expect from the crossbowman.

Common mistakeThe most common mistake is to read only the melee attack, which is zero, and declare it a unit without an attack. The crossbowman is a ranged unit and attacks at range, its attack is 17. For an attack on a baron castle though, another mistake matters more, judging it by its melee defense of 67 and underestimating it. Against your ranged units it holds 134, so a pure ranged attack against it goes worst. And the third mistake is looking for it in events or offers, it can't be recruited.

Related units

Scout of the Kingsguard

Shapeshifter sharpshooter

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