Cretan Archers

Summary
Cretan Archers are powerful missile infantry only normally available to the Crete faction, though they can sometimes make an appearance as mercenaries for other factions.

"Widely recognized as some of the most skilled missile units in the ancient world, Cretan archers served as mercenaries and auxilaries in most Greek and Roman armies from Alexander the Great to the Roman Republic."

- In-game Description

History
Crete was historically quite isolated from the rest of the Greek world, and developed a somewhat different military tradition as a result. Cretan archers, unlike those of much of Europe, were known to use more powerful composite bows rather than basic designs. As such, Cretan archers were some of the finest missile troops in Europe and the Mediterranean.

The economic weakness and lack of political cohesion in Classical-era Crete meant that many Cretan warriors sought their fortunes abroad, as pirates or mercenaries. As such, they were very popular among the Romans and other Greeks, who largely lacked skilled missile troops of their own and used Cretan archers to supplement their armies in that regard.

Tactics
Cretan Archers are arguably the best missile brigade in the game, with an even higher damage output than Gallic or Etruscan archers, though Gallic archers have a slightly longer range. Like all archers, they are fragile and should be kept safe from enemy attacks. They have the additional benefit of not requiring a target range upgrade, thus making them immediately available in assimilated cities when playing as the Crete faction.

Cretan Archers aren't normally available to other Greek factions, though factions of all faction groups can sometimes roll them as available mercenaries, in which case they can be very useful to make up for the lack of long-ranged archers that most factions have.