This applies to most aspects of gaming, so I am putting it here instead. Why is it that in nearly every game where an archer features they are lightly armed and armored? Shouldn't they be more bulked up, considering they do not need to move whereas their sword-wielding compadres do? Think about it. The exception being Elves, archers do not move around much. They either sit at the back of a battlefield or stay on the battlements. So why is it we're always giving them the weakest armor?
because, usually archer dont need armor for close combat, because they can just pick enemies off from afar
^This. You'll want to equip your frontmen with armor first, since archers who stay behind are only vulnerable to arrows of the other camp; if you're defending a castle, you can hide behind the balustrade; and if you're hit by a solid arrow, armor likely won't help much.
Besides, a mantlet is much cheaper and more effective for archers in the back lines.
It's because of the resources needed to make heavy armour and because archers sit back behind the main infantry they don't need it as much as the guys on the front line do.
you have to be really strong to pull back a longbow or even any bow that is stronger than a target bow. you would have to have 30 pounds of pull to kill someone i would think, and that is deadly up to 75 meters, with modern bows.
also armor would prohibit movement a lot.you need full range of motion to shoot a bow. thats probably why they dont have armor historically. i would think that in a fist fight, it would be even against a swordsman.
I bloody well shoot a longbow -_- And I dislike modern bows. Anyway, there have always been cases of an attacking force of infantry easily slaying archers if they are reached. Then again, archers are archers, not swordsmen. However, all of these points, especially the degree of movement point, go out the arrow loop in games like Skyrim and Minecraft. You've got a fully armored hulk using a bow. :/
This is SoymasterYos' post, he couldn't post it due to network issues; I think bowmen where lightly armored by leather because it is allot more flexible than cast iron and other metal alloys. Archers needed the flexibility to quickly reload their bows with arrows. Another aspect of leather versus metals is that leather is silent. I imagine archers sometimes played a sniper roles on the battlefield, thus being sometimes hidden in enemy territory. Wearing metal would create lots of noise, and inevitably lead to the sniping archer being discovered, caught, and killed. Leather was also taken from livestock, and no mining had to be done. I am no expert on historical facts, but I am using logic to come up with an answer to your question. Therefore, I could be wrong, but if you want a true answer, or want to disprove my theories, research this topic online. I would love to know the real answer.
Crossbowman are completely different than Robin Hood like bowman. I believe crossbows are much heavier, and having metal alloy as armor will add unnecessary strain on the upper body. I'm not real common with crossbows due to their age is more modern than most mid-evil weapons.
you have to be really strong to pull back a longbow or even any bow that is stronger than a target bow. you would have to have 30 pounds of pull to kill someone i would think, and that is deadly up to 75 meters, with modern bows.
also armor would prohibit movement a lot.you need full range of motion to shoot a bow. thats probably why they dont have armor historically. i would think that in a fist fight, it would be even against a swordsman.
I bow hunt with full coveralls (which are very bulky) and I never seem to have a problem aiming or getting in the full 360
i think all stereotype archers have armor because of the whole mid-evil times thing envolvong all the armor. personally, I'd rather being wearing armor then not wearing armor if i was on the front lines shooting arrows.
About the 30 pounds thing, that didn't apply mid-evil days. the bow you are referring to is a compound bow, with isn't a true bow people used in war. My bother in laws family has one that require 40 pounds. These are the bows that are used in most archery competitions today I believe.
