The Crossbowmen are a High Middle Ages ranged unit, trainable in Crossbow Range which is unlocked after having researched the Crossbow technology.
The Crossbowman is most similar to the Iron Age Archer (Mounted Archer is very different). It has the highest attack value of all High Middle Ages units, tied with the Berserker with an attack of 20. It is a big improvement over the Mounted Archer in terms of damage, although it loses a lot of speed compared to the Mounted Archer. It has a range of 5, retaining the range of ranged units from ages past. It has a low defense of 10, making it vulnerable to all sources of damage.
Usage[]
The Crossbowman is very effective against most units due to its high attack value and ranged attack advantage. This makes it so that even the Knight has trouble taking it down. It is most effective against the Heavy Infantry but with the Heavy Infantry’s increased defense and movement it may be arguably not as effective than Archers against the Legionnaire in the Iron Age.
It is also effective against the Berserker even if they are hidden in forests as their traded defense for attack is actually worse when taking out ranged units. They can even cause considerable damage against Knights too but their fast movement will usually beat the Crossbowman in most situations.
Arguably the best unit to take out Crossbowmen is the Trebuchet as their range of 14 and the weak defense of the Crossbowman can be easily exposed by them. However if Crossbowmen get a good shot on the Trebuchet, Trebuchets can take a lot of damage, even if the Crossbowman is injured.
Image[]
Crossbowmen in battle
Other Military Units[]
Legend: 
= Light Unit Class 
= Ranged Unit Class 
= Artillery Unit Class 
= Heavy Unit Class 
= Fast Unit Class