Forest bowman

Defensive Ranged Special

A strong defensive ranged unit with ranged defense 153, which beats the ordinary defensive bowmen from the barracks, but it only works within a balanced defense, never alone. If you are a new player, treat it as a way to reinforce your wall against ranged attacks, and always complement it with melee defense. Experienced players build the core of their anti-ranged defense from it, but they never send it into the attack.

16Attack

71Melee defense

153Ranged defense

28Speed

3Food upkeep

The Forest bowman is a defensive ranged unit that stands and falls on one number, ranged defense 153. Its melee defense is 71, which is decent for a ranged unit, but it won't hold a wall against infantry or swordsmen on its own. Its ranged attack is 16, so it isn't zero, it is just very low for attacking work, so it belongs on the walls and in defense, not in the attacking army. When an opponent rolls waves of their own bowmen at you, this is where the Forest bowman has its place.

How to use it

Deploy it in defense, ideally in the castle where attacks on the walls come at you. The value 153 against ranged holds the anti-ranged line really well, that is its strong side. Don't rely on its 71 against melee, the first proper infantry wave would get through bowmen alone. Don't worry about attack 16 in defense, on the walls its defense numbers decide, and in an attack on a foreign castle it wouldn't be enough anyway, the attacking Veteran crossbowman has 98. Food upkeep of 3 per unit is a common value for defensive units, but still don't pile it up endlessly just because it is defensive, keep as many as you actually need to cover ranged attacks.

What to combine it with

On its own it is full of holes, so always mix it with defensive infantry or swordsmen who make up for the weaker melee defense, while the bowmen deal with enemy ranged units. Tune the ratio according to what the opponent most often comes at you with, so you can't be broken by either type of attack. A castellan with a bonus to ranged defense suits defense, the base 153 then grows further. On the walls the defensive tools that raise the defense of ranged fighters help it the most, they aim exactly at its strong side. No such tool will patch its weaker melee defense though, infantry has to cover that.

Weaknesses and what to avoid

Don't put it in the attack. Attack 16 is lower than the basic Bowman (24) and the Crossbowman (36), so in an offensive it would just fall needlessly and take up space. The second mistake is building a defense only from bowmen, the opponent sends footmen and on 71 melee defense your wall collapses. And don't confuse it with attacking ranged units for raids, that is a completely different role. Those 71 against melee are a decent cushion for a ranged unit, not full melee defense.

Related units

ArcherVeteran bowmanLongbowmanVeteran longbowmanScout of the KingsguardShapeshifter sharpshooter

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