Veteran crossbowman

Offensive Ranged Veteran

For an attacking player in early game it's a clear choice and the Research Tower research pays for itself quickly in successful attacks on camps and neighbors. Just account for the slow march, long recruitment and double food consumption compared to a regular Crossbowman. Once you're targeting objectives with a melee defense advantage, take it as the foundation of your ranged section and don't look for anything better in this phase.

98Attack

16Melee defense

26Ranged defense

23Speed

4Food upkeep

Veteran Crossbowman is an upgraded version of the regular Crossbowman and you unlock it through research in the Research Tower, not in the Barracks. The research description in-game explains it precisely - it replaces the Crossbowman with a stronger unit, but the Veteran costs more gold and requires more food. In numbers that means Attack 98 instead of 36, cost 85 gold instead of 50, and consumption 4 food instead of 2. It's an offensive ranged unit for early game and you won't find anything with comparable attack elsewhere in this period.

How to use it

Send it in your attacking army to the ranged section of a flank. Attack 98 is measured against the target's defense against ranged units, so it works best where the defender built mainly on melee and neglected ranged defense, exactly as the game description says - ideal for fighting close-range defenders. Against a regular Crossbowman it has almost triple the attack, on a flank the sum counts, so one Veteran does the work of three regular ones and takes up less space in your army. Speed 23 is noticeably worse than 73 for the Crossbowman and recruitment takes 620 seconds, factor both into your planning.

What to combine it with

Veteran Crossbowman never goes alone. Supplement it with attacking melee units because the defender sets the ratio of close and ranged defense on each flank themselves and you need to cover both, otherwise part of their defense stays untouched. Add Ladders and Battering Rams so the walls don't chip away at your attack before the ranged units reach the defenders. In the Research Tower it's also worth researching the bonus that increases movement speed of Veteran Crossbowmen - it will at least partially fix their slow march.

Weaknesses and what to avoid

Don't put it in castle defense. Defense 16 against melee and 26 against ranged is far below the Veteran Archer, which has 132 against ranged and is available in the same game phase - with Veteran Crossbowman on the walls you're just wasting its attack. It's also not suited for quick raids on distant targets, the long march will eat up more time than the entire battle. And don't raid with it for loot, it only carries 22, same as a regular Crossbowman.

Related units

BowmanCrossbowmanHeavy crossbowmanVeteran heavy crossbowmanVeteran deathly horrorDeathly horror

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