Best Ulm troops early/mid? ArmorPierce v ArmorNeg

[Arryn]

The key thing with missile troops is to put them on your wings (flanks) firing towards the enemy (the AI almost always places its troops along the centerline). That way, your missileers won't be directly shooting over (or into the backs of) your own troops. The "firing archers" command is nice for making sure your volleys try to avoid your own troops, but it also has the drawback that it won't cut down the number of enemy troops charging your own, nor hurting them so they'll fail morale faster. I find that very frequently the enemy unit charging me will break morale and rout just as it's reaching my front line, due to the massive storm of arrows coming from both of my rear flanks. It's quite nice when they do that and your own swordsmen don't have to risk their skins, the archers (and mages) having done all the dirty work. It's especially important as Caelum, since the winged folk aren't even remotely (except for iceclads) as tough as Ulms are.