Ballestero Élite

thumb Arbalesters work better in large groups, as they can fire volleys at the opponents' units. Arbalesters are very good against targets that are unable to close the distance. Arbalesters do extremely well against Halberdiers and Heavy Camel Riders due to these units' lack of pierce armor. The Arbalester upgrade from Crossbowmen gives +1 attack and +5 hit points. This makes it a solid upgrade over the crossbowmen, though not as important as the Blacksmith technologies. As with most ranged units, micro-managing Arbalesters is important to use them to their full potential. Hitting and retreating works with them, and is especially important against cavalry, against which they are otherwise weak. If playing defensively, Arbalesters can become a valuable tool to protect a walled area, as they can attack enemy units from behind the wall at a safe distance, even protecting themselves from melee cavalry. However, they do almost no damage to rams. === Counters === The most basic counter to Arbalesters is the Elite Skirmisher. It beats the Arbalester at its own game because of its high pierce armor and attack bonus. With Ring Archer Armor, it is both cost- and population-effective, with civilizations like the Byzantines, Dravidians, Lithuanians, Maya, and Vietnamese leading even further thanks to their civilization bonuses or unique technologies. Arbalesters are vulnerable to Elite Eagle Warriors and Elite Champi Warriors, as they can close the distance with the fragile Arbalester before taking too much damage (especially the Incan Elite Champi Warriors, as Arbalesters only do one damage to them). Coustilliers are dangerous, as their charge attack can kill non-Vietnamese Arbalesters with two hits. The Tarkan, the Sicilian Cavalier, the Persian Savar (which can slay Arbalesters that lack Ring Archer Armor in two hits), and Elite Battle Elephants (Especially the Burmese ones) have the most pierce armor of all cavalry, which makes them very resistant as well. Shrivamsha Riders, deployed in large numbers, can overwhelm them due to the shield that dodges ranged attacks. Hussars can serve as a cost-effective answer to them, as they don't cost gold, with the Burmese, Tatar, and Turkish Hussar being the best at the task, thanks to their civilization bonuses and unique technologies that improve them. Among unique infantry, the Huskarl and the Ghulam resist them, are fast enough, and do large damage to them as well. Just like Elite Skirmishers, having the last armor upgrade, viz Plate Barding Armor/Plate Mail Armor, is necessary to make them a clear counter to Arbalesters. Most siege weapons work great against Arbalesters. Rams and Siege Towers absorb their projectiles, shielding units behind them, which provides a very cost-effective shield, even if these units themselves do not attack, Siege Elephants are the exception, as they have better damage than rams while being faster. The Hussite Wagon takes this a step further, by reducing the damage taken by shielded units by 50% if the Arbalester fires behind. Onagers, Heavy Scorpions, Ballista Elephants, and Elite Organ Guns specialize in killing clumped-up units, which Arbalesters tend to because they are ranged and have a small collision box. However, the second and the latter only work with Siege Engineers, since otherwise, the Arbalesters outrange them, while the third one, despite having lesser range even with Siege Engineers, has enough hit points and pierce armor to last enough, while having good damage output. While Bombard Cannons tend to be mediocre at countering Arbalesters due to their lower damage, blast radius, and pierce armor (meaning that at close range, Arbalesters do large damage to them), the Houfnice is the exception, thanks to having better durability and speed, and higher attack, with a higher blast radius. === Compositions === In a fast-Imperial strategy, the Arbalesters are paired with Bombard Cannons since the Arbalester kills everything other than buildings. This is also helped by the fact that the pre-requisite to Bombard Cannon is an upgrade to the Arbalester. Pairing Arbalesters with Halberdiers works especially well, since the Halberdier can cover one of the Arbalester's weaknesses: cavalry. This combination is weak to siege, Elite Skirmishers, and buildings. Ideally, Bombard Cannons will be created to complete this composition, but several civilizations lack them. The next best option are Hussars/Light Cavalry to counter siege and Elite Skirmishers, Trebuchets for taking down Castles, and Siege Rams for regular buildings. Unfortunately, several civilizations have Light Cavalry so poor that they are unable to aid, in which case Champions will have to suffice. Pairing the Arbalester with cavalry units works extremely well, but is usually achieved in late game, because of the disjoint set of upgrades and the food-heavy cost of the cavalry units. A double-gold composition is very taxing in 1vs1 as well. Pairing with different types of cavalry works differently: * Light cavalry - Light cavalry serve more of a trash meatshield role here, than anti-cavalry. Light cavalry takes out Elite Skirmishers and siege and can soak up enemy archer fire themselves, whereas Arbalesters take care of Halberdiers, heavy infantry, and camel units. The strengths of this composition are cost-effectiveness and a combination of range and mobility. The weaknesses of this composition are heavy cavalry and buildings, which can be addressed with Halberdiers and siege. * Heavy cavalry - In this combination, the Arbalester becomes the support unit. Heavy cavalry fulfills all roles of light cavalry, but better. Their weakness to Monks, Halberdiers, and camel units is covered by the Arbalester. The combination does not have many weaknesses since both units counter the other unit's counter. Since civilizations are meant to focus on either heavy cavalry or archers, and this combination is heavily reliant on gold, it is rarely achieved in 1v1s but is the norm for team games. * Heavy Camel Rider - Heavy Camel Riders are effectively mobile Halberdiers, and as such can counter both cavalry and siege units. They also do well against Elite Skirmishers. The weaknesses of this combination are its heavy reliance on gold, a stronger mass of archers, and buildings. * Elite Battle Elephant - This composition is very hard to destroy because of the lack of counters and the brute-force strength of the elephants. As with the heavy cavalry combination, the Arbalester becomes the support unit here. The combination lacks mobility in general and may struggle against heavy siege weapons. Another way to look at this is that both units in the combination are in the same speed tier. The Native American civilizations can pair their Arbalesters with the Elite Eagle Warrior, which works similarly to light cavalry as a support unit and can also take out enemy light cavalry. The drawback is that they cost gold (less than heavy cavalry), but the civilizations have strong economic bonuses. The Aztec one functions more as a front-line unit with its extra attack, but since their Arbalesters lack two upgrades, they will not be using Arbalesters much. === Comparison among civilizations === { Full upgraded generic Cost Korean bonus Mayan bonus Portuguese bonus HP Attack 6+4 +4 Range 5+3 5+ 5+3 Time (s) 100% 90% 100% 90% 100% 90% Firing rate 1.64 1.64 1.64 Armor 0+3/0+4 0+3/0+4 0+3/0+4 0+3/0+4 0+3/0+4 Extras , }