Now, I am sure that you all heard players rant about how weak the Elephant Archer is, mostly because, prior to Definitive Edition, it had the same attack as the Composite Bowman while being-Much-More expensive. However, I have been( Post DE ) fooling around with the Elephant Archer, and there are a few things I have been... Observing. A few actual advantages of its 600 HP.
One of then is that it is actually cost effective against against the HHA and the Chariot Archer, despite its massive food cost. Against the Composite Bowman, it is not cost effective if you factor in the food cost of both units. It is cost effective, however, in terms of strictly gold, as of DE. I have been told I dont consider gold as much as I should, so I am not sure as for to what point this information matters, though. Another thing is that, surprisingly, it can actually defeat Cataphracts in one versus one. It is not exactly a scenario where it dominates, but it gets better the more the numbers increase, especially if you can force a chokehold. It is certainly cost-effective in terms of gold, and I would imagine that after a certain thereshold it gets cost-effective even in terms of overral resource cost, though I havent tested enough to know how many Elephant Archers would you need to have out. It can similarly( And in fact, with even further ease ) defeat Scythe Chariots in one versus one. However, between the Scythe Chariot costing no gold, being overral cheaper, and its ability to deal area damage, I think it is one of those scenarios where it is not as good in pratice as it seems.
So, what is your opinions on Elephant Archers? Slow, clumsy archer that is way much more expensive then it is worth, or a unconventional unit that can potentially be as good as the Heavy Horse Archer under the right circunstances?
One of then is that it is actually cost effective against against the HHA and the Chariot Archer, despite its massive food cost. Against the Composite Bowman, it is not cost effective if you factor in the food cost of both units. It is cost effective, however, in terms of strictly gold, as of DE. I have been told I dont consider gold as much as I should, so I am not sure as for to what point this information matters, though. Another thing is that, surprisingly, it can actually defeat Cataphracts in one versus one. It is not exactly a scenario where it dominates, but it gets better the more the numbers increase, especially if you can force a chokehold. It is certainly cost-effective in terms of gold, and I would imagine that after a certain thereshold it gets cost-effective even in terms of overral resource cost, though I havent tested enough to know how many Elephant Archers would you need to have out. It can similarly( And in fact, with even further ease ) defeat Scythe Chariots in one versus one. However, between the Scythe Chariot costing no gold, being overral cheaper, and its ability to deal area damage, I think it is one of those scenarios where it is not as good in pratice as it seems.
So, what is your opinions on Elephant Archers? Slow, clumsy archer that is way much more expensive then it is worth, or a unconventional unit that can potentially be as good as the Heavy Horse Archer under the right circunstances?