How to get archers for Rome

[Pokke]

Despite having buildings with the archer symbol in my regions I'm unable to build the archer unit. What is missing and how can I get it?

[devoncop]

If you click on the "archer symbol" building you will find it gives an experience boost for skirmishers and archers when created not an ability to build archers if you read the description.

To gain access to archers you need to capture regions that produce them as provincial units. Crete does this as does Lydia and Nubia but there are others. Historically Rome used Velite type skirmishers much more than archers.

[Pokke]

Aha? I see. Thanks for the info!
Maybe I can get some through mercenaries, but I haven't yet figured out how to do that either.

[loki100]

In Empires, archers are a very specific unit (with some nice traits). As Rome you have two potential sources - if you reach the Imperial legion, you also get the option to build the Sagitarrius (so an armoured archer unit). Beyond that, you'll need to take some provinces in western Asia Minor or the Ionian islands - the provincial unit is an archer --- and the Cretan one is especially nice

[vakarr]

Crete (ie Rhodes) has the best archers but you can also get them in Bithynia, Paphlagonia, Cilicia, Pontus, and Colchis (these are all light infantry archers with the "mountain" ability). You can get slingers in Thracia and Illyria.

[Pokke]

Thanks! (there's no way to give a thumbs up in this forum, is there?)

[Tharmas]

So far playing Rome or Nubia on level 2 difficulty. (standard?) Rhodes is tough to take but Crete (2 regions) and Ionia ? (1 region) are pushovers occupied by barbarians, so you don't even have to declare war to take them. Rome can take these 3 regions, form the province and begin exporting Cretan archers to Rome or wherever you might have a Master Fletcher, where I expect they will be issued the upgraded bows. Repeat whenever you need another batch of archers. Make sure you sink the enemy navy first.

[SpeedyCM]

In Empires, archers are a very specific unit (with some nice traits). As Rome you have two potential sources - if you reach the Imperial legion, you also get the option to build the Sagitarrius (so an armoured archer unit). Beyond that, you'll need to take some provinces in western Asia Minor or the Ionian islands - the provincial unit is an archer --- and the Cretan one is especially nice

Samnites also get this option, my Samnite tier 3 civilisation playthrough can build the provincial Sagittarrius units in all 4 of it's provinces Italia Inferior, Italia Superior, Cisalpina and Corsica & Sardinia.