Kretai Toxotai
(Cretan Archers)As elite archers from the island of Knossos, the ancestors of these famed bowmen once served in the all-conquering army of Alexander the Great.
Although archery was not highly thought of as a military skill in Greece, Crete produced truly excellent archers who were able to sell their services to the highest bidder as mercenaries. Firing bronze-tipped arrows from their heavy self bows, Cretan archers tended to carry shields, indicative of some additional prowess in melee, which must’ve made them an even more enticing proposition for a general hiring mercenaries for campaign. Their finest hours came when Alexander the Great hired Cretans directly into his army to support its unbeatable phalanx. Commanded by Clearchus, 500 Cretans accompanied the Macedonian phalanx into battle at Granicus, off-setting the Persians' numerical superiority on the day and enabling Alexander’s subsequent victory. Whereas the Romans didn’t traditionally use archers in their forces, once they conquered Greece Cretan archers began to appear as auxiliary troops in their armies. Notably, they fought in Caesar’s campaign in Gaul against Vercingetorix, causing him to rally the best archers the tribes could provide to range against them.
Unit Name Kretai Toxotai |
Main Unit Key AOR_34_Cretan_Archers |
Land Unit Key AOR_34_Cretan_Archers |
Naval Unit Key pel_transport |
Soldiers 175 |
Category Missile Infantry |
Class Missile Infantry |
Custom Battle Cost 1021 |
Recruitment Cost 1021 |
Upkeep Cost 204 |
11 |
├ Missile Weapon bow4 |
├ Projectile bow4 |
├ Missile Damage 11 |
├ Missile Ap Damage 0 |
└ Base Reload Time 12 |
Accuracy 15 |
Range 185 |
Reload 28 |
Shots Per Minute 7 |
Ammunition 15 |
Melee Attack 21 |
7 |
├ Melee Weapon dagger2 |
├ Weapon Damage 7 |
├ Weapon Deadliness 0 |
├ Armour Piercing No |
├ Bonus vs. Cavalry 0 |
├ Bonus vs. Elephants 0 |
└ Bonus vs Infantry 0 |
Charge Bonus 6 |
39 |
├ Base Defence 13 |
├ Shield shield1 |
└ Shield Defence 26 |
8 |
├ Armour arm4 |
├ Armour Defence 8 |
└ Shield Armour 0 |
20 |
├ Man Entity light_medium |
├ Man Health 20 |
└ Bonus Hit Points 0 |
Base Morale 30 |
Abilities
Kretai Toxotai- Stamina (excellent)
Governs how fast the unit tires and restores fatigue, and is dependent on type of unit, weight and approach to combat. - Concentrate Fire
The unit fires its missiles towards a spot causing damage to everyone in the area of effect
Attributes
- Hide (scrub & forest)
This unit can hide in scrub and forest until enemy units get too close.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Transport- Very poor hull strength
- Very slow speed
- Weak ramming
- Long range
- Fast rate of fire
- Good damage but low armour penetration
- Very weak in melee
- Poor morale
Faction Availability | |
---|---|
Grand Campaign | |
Samnite Wars | |
Caesar in Gaul | |
Hannibal at the Gates | |
Imperator Augustus | |
Macedonian Wars |