whats the point of archers

[charlie53]

whats the point of archers if they only attack when the grunts are all dead, i currently have 10 archers left doing nothing whilst my 20 strong grunts ended up as 3 grunts after battle.

[Nukar]

Actually the archer units do more dmg/ have higher accuracy.
THey hit in same round as your 'grunts' and yes they hide behind the recruits.

However if your recruits did all the killing the archers wont show their skills just yet

[Luuk_The_Great]

I'd never attack with archers only... You should use melee soldiers as well... The melee soldiers could defend themselves, and attack a bit, and the archers could finish it:P

[Lymond]

You should check out the newbie FAQ area and get a better idea of how combat works. Bowmen, longbowmen etc are great troops for dealing damage as long as they can avoid being targetted themselves. You don't use them alone, but in combination with melee units that can shield them from damage. They are vulnerable to dogs because dogs attack the unit with the least hit points first.