I also kind of mention this when I do a lot of Dagorhir style battle gaming and larping, which I know isn't actual combat, but it mimics it well enough that I feel safe in making this comment.
There is a major, major difference between individual fighting skill and what works well in groups. I have known many fighters who are excellent duelists. In tournaments and one-on-one situations, these guys are fantastic fighters. I have also seen these duelists become an extreme liability on the front line. In many cases, they are the weakest link in the shield wall and become the reason the line breaks.
This is important for archery, because archers are more efficient when firing together in large volleys. Even in societies where archery was more than just something peasants did this is true. In fact, it's especially unlikely that any general would allow his finely trained regiment of elite archers anywhere near the meatgrinder. To lose years of training and experience, which they can then pass on to lesser archers and improve the ranks overall, would be considered too great a loss.
What we're seeing here is his idea of what archery in a small skirmish might have looked like. In FFXIV we see skirmish scenarios almost exclusively, so it works. But the guy's assertion that he alone has found the One True Way of historical archery is laughable.
There is a major, major difference between individual fighting skill and what works well in groups. I have known many fighters who are excellent duelists. In tournaments and one-on-one situations, these guys are fantastic fighters. I have also seen these duelists become an extreme liability on the front line. In many cases, they are the weakest link in the shield wall and become the reason the line breaks.
This is important for archery, because archers are more efficient when firing together in large volleys. Even in societies where archery was more than just something peasants did this is true. In fact, it's especially unlikely that any general would allow his finely trained regiment of elite archers anywhere near the meatgrinder. To lose years of training and experience, which they can then pass on to lesser archers and improve the ranks overall, would be considered too great a loss.
What we're seeing here is his idea of what archery in a small skirmish might have looked like. In FFXIV we see skirmish scenarios almost exclusively, so it works. But the guy's assertion that he alone has found the One True Way of historical archery is laughable.
![[Image: BZneHYK.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/BZneHYK.jpg)
No Gods and Precious Few Heroes
