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Longbowman – Goodgame Empire

Longbowman

Defensive Ranged

A reliable defensive ranged unit at a reasonable price for the mid game, which noticeably raises your defense against enemy ranged units. He is a specialist, not an all-rounder, with attack 20 he does not belong in attack, so take him as one half of the defensive garrison, with melee defenders covering the other. Once you have the Barracks at level 5 and ranged units are coming at you, he is a clear choice, just keep his numbers in proportion to the raids.

20Attack
56Melee defense
125Ranged defense
21Speed
3Food upkeep

Quick overview

TypeDefensive, Ranged
SourceBarracks level 5
Cost90
RecommendationRather yes

rating

Attack
Defensive
Cost
Speed

Defense against ranged 125 is the main number on the Longbowman, the one you build him for. For a mid game unit that is a high value, and he also has a decent 56 against melee. His ranged attack is only 20, so he is not suited to conquering, he is a defender for the walls. You recruit him in the Barracks from level 5 for 90 coins and he eats 3 food.

How to use it

You deploy him in castle defense, not in attack. He belongs on the walls where your opponent hits you with ranged units, because his 125 raises the garrison's total defense the most exactly against them. Keep him in your main castle and in other castles, depending on where the raids come at you. You only care about speed 21 when moving him between castles or rearranging garrisons, when he stands at home on the wall it does not matter how fast he is. The numbers 56 and 125 are base level 1 values before bonuses, so bonuses will raise them further on the walls.

What to combine it with

On his own he mainly covers one direction, so always mix him with a melee defender. Build the wall from two types, Longbowmen against attacking ranged units and the Halberdier (135 against melee) or the Sentinel of the Kingsguard (150) against infantry. That covers both ways of attacking at once. Be careful though, do not read it as an impenetrable wall. Numbers still decide, so a big enough raid of ranged units will overwhelm even a 125 value through sheer mass, and a smart attacker aims where your ratio is weaker.

Weaknesses and what to avoid

Do not send him to attack or to sieges. Attack 20 is very weak for a ranged unit, the Heavy crossbowman from the same Barracks level has 92, and with speed 21 he drags slowly toward the target. Do not use him as your only castle defense either, since against melee he has just 56 and the attacker gets around it by sending pure infantry at you and not using your strongest value 125 at all. When you are not facing ranged units, do not build him ahead of the defenders you are missing.

Pro player tipWatch what your opponents actually attack you with and top him up accordingly. If raids come mostly with ranged units, raise the number of these Longbowmen so that your defense against ranged exceeds the estimated strength of the raid with a margin, rather than only just matching it. 90 coins per unit is an acceptable price and 3 food a reasonable upkeep. Recruiting takes 844 seconds per unit though, so build the stock ahead of time, not when the attack is already on its way.
Common mistakeA common mistake is stuffing him into the attack army because the player sees a ranged unit and expects it to do damage. Attack 20 adds almost nothing in attack though, and at 3 food per unit it is an expensive filler. The second is building only these and no melee defenders, so they take your castle down with a simple infantry attack against the weaker value 56. And do not underestimate numbers, in castle defense the quantity of units often decides, because total defense adds up across the whole garrison.

Related units

ArcherArcherVeteran bowmanVeteran bowmanVeteran longbowmanVeteran longbowmanScout of the KingsguardScout of the KingsguardShapeshifter sharpshooterShapeshifter sharpshooterDragon fireDragon fire

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