Arquero Largo

Longbowmen and Briton Arbalesters function very similarly. As such, the tactics apply to both of them unless stated otherwise. Like all archer units, Longbowmen work best in a group. While a single Longbowman does not present much of a threat, a group can be a deadly force as they can mow down opposing forces from long range before they can even attack. Longbowmen firing from behind walls can prove valuable for base defense. With the protection of infantry or cavalry, Briton foot archers can hold their ground against most units, taking a fearful toll of enemy troops while supporting the frontliners. A group of them can also perform hit-and-run techniques, killing the closest enemy while backing up constantly. Of course, they cannot do that as effectively as Cavalry Archers, and will struggle especially against cavalry. Since the Britons lack Thumb Ring, they fire slower than other civilizations' archers and lack the 100% accuracy, which can be a considerable disadvantage. On the other hand, when focus-firing individual targets as a group, lacking Thumb Ring can prevent overkilling a target. Most arrows will strike their target, while stray arrows may damage nearby enemies. This inaccuracy can grant Briton foot archers a weak Area of Effect-like attack. When facing massed heavy siege weapons like Siege Onagers or Heavy Scorpions, archers' long range can be used to destroy one siege weapon at a time, instead of letting them fire at will. Otherwise, once the siege engines come into firing range, they will quickly flatten the archers with a few shots. A group of Briton foot archers can be used as a siege option if the player is teamed with a Saracen, as the archers get additional attack bonus against and can take them down more quickly while also outranging them. Teutonic Castles, Korean Keeps, and Turkish Bombard Towers are the only defensive structures capable of returning fire. Still, Trebuchets should always be brought to sieges, especially since Warwolf was introduced in The Forgotten. Regular Longbowmen have the same range as Crossbowmen, but their Elite counterpart comes with +1 attack, range, and pierce armor in comparison to the Arbalester. Furthering their range with Blacksmith technologies, Yeomen, and the Briton civilization bonus (+1 range in the Castle Age and another +1 in the Imperial Age for +2 in total), Elite Longbowmen can get as much as 12 range, an unprecedented value among archer units. It enables them to outrange Castles, towers, Onagers, Galleons, as well as all other archer units. The extra attack and range advantage is nice to have, but due to needing Castles and the Britons having faster-working Archery Ranges, the Longbowmen are harder to mass and are used only in the very late game, when the players have sufficient Castles.