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Shooting · 2,160 volleys
Old World shooting units: which ones do the most damage?
Old World shooting units vary far more by target than their points suggest. I decided to find out how much by firing 2,160 simulated volleys from 18 units at six very different targets.
My short answer: at short range, Cathay Iron Hail Gunners and Skaven Jezzails were level at the top, averaging 3.7 wounds per volley across six targets, just ahead of Empire crossbowmen (3.6). At long range Iron Hail Gunners pulled clear (3.4). Jezzails were the best answer to Ironbreakers because their shots are magical.
How many simulations I ran
I ran 2,160 volleys: 18 units firing ten fresh volleys at each of six targets, at long and short range. I added 60 Sky Lantern Bombing Runs and a separate movement and cover test. These were the results.
My shooting table is the most stripped-back test on the site: every unit stood still in the open, which flatters gunlines and undersells elves who shoot on the move. With ten volleys behind each number, treat gaps of a few tenths between units as a draw.
Results by unit and target
I kept every unit between 140 and 150 points. Short range is a quarter of the weapon’s maximum range; long range is three quarters. Click a column heading to sort.
Short range (25% of maximum range). Mean effective wounds per volley, each cell averaged over fresh targets. Darker cells are closer to the best result against that target; bold marks the best. n = 10 volleys per cell
| Unit | Pts | Knights | Ironbreakers | State Troops | Dregs | Rat Ogres | Skirmish Archers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cathay Crane Gunners Grand Cathay | 144 | 2.4 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 2.5 |
| Cathay Iron Hail Gunners Grand Cathay | 144 | 2.9 | 1.2 | 5.3 | 6.2 | 3.4 | 3.4 |
| Cathay Sky Lantern Grand Cathay | 150 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 3.5 | 2.3 | 2.9 | 2.4 |
| Chaos throwing axes Warriors of Chaos | 143 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 3.2 | 1.0 | 2.4 |
| Chaos javelins Warriors of Chaos | 143 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 3.9 | 1.0 | 2.0 |
| Wolves of the Sea Berserkers Warriors of Chaos | 144 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 3.5 | 4.7 | 2.4 | 3.0 |
| Skaven Jezzails Skaven (Renegades fan list) | 150 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 5.1 | 4.3 | 2.8 |
| Skaven Ratling Gun Skaven (Renegades fan list) | 145 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 2.5 | 1.5 |
| Empire crossbowmen Empire of Man | 140 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 3.5 | 7.7 | 4.2 | 3.1 |
| Empire handgunners Empire of Man | 144 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 5.3 | 4.7 | 3.3 | 3.5 |
| High Elf Archers High Elf Realms | 140 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 4.0 | 5.7 | 1.6 | 4.1 |
| Sisters of Avelorn High Elf Realms | 150 | 2.5 | 2.1 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 2.8 | 3.0 |
| Wood Elf Glade Guard Wood Elf Realms | 144 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 2.7 | 3.8 | 2.1 | 3.4 |
| Wood Elf Deepwood Scouts Wood Elf Realms | 140 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 2.3 | 3.4 | 2.1 | 2.7 |
| Dwarf Thunderers Dwarfen Mountain Holds | 140 | 2.2 | 1.3 | 4.4 | 5.2 | 3.0 | 2.8 |
| Dwarf Rangers Dwarfen Mountain Holds | 143 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 3.1 | 6.1 | 3.9 | 5.0 |
| Bretonnian Peasant Bowmen Kingdom of Bretonnia | 140 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 4.0 | 4.6 | 1.3 | 4.4 |
| Bretonnian Mounted Yeomen Kingdom of Bretonnia | 143 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 1.9 | 2.7 | 1.4 | 2.2 |
Long range (75% of maximum range). Mean effective wounds per volley, each cell averaged over fresh targets. Darker cells are closer to the best result against that target; bold marks the best. n = 10 volleys per cell
| Unit | Pts | Knights | Ironbreakers | State Troops | Dregs | Rat Ogres | Skirmish Archers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cathay Crane Gunners Grand Cathay | 144 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 1.3 |
| Cathay Iron Hail Gunners Grand Cathay | 144 | 2.7 | 1.5 | 4.2 | 5.1 | 3.6 | 3.2 |
| Cathay Sky Lantern Grand Cathay | 150 | 2.3 | 1.7 | 2.4 | 2.6 | 2.3 | 1.9 |
| Chaos throwing axes Warriors of Chaos | 143 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 1.5 | 3.2 | 0.6 | 0.9 |
| Chaos javelins Warriors of Chaos | 143 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 2.5 | 0.9 | 1.0 |
| Wolves of the Sea Berserkers Warriors of Chaos | 144 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 2.3 | 1.7 | 1.4 |
| Skaven Jezzails Skaven (Renegades fan list) | 150 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 1.7 |
| Skaven Ratling Gun Skaven (Renegades fan list) | 145 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 1.6 |
| Empire crossbowmen Empire of Man | 140 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 3.2 | 2.2 |
| Empire handgunners Empire of Man | 144 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 1.7 | 2.1 |
| High Elf Archers High Elf Realms | 140 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 2.2 | 3.4 | 1.4 | 2.8 |
| Sisters of Avelorn High Elf Realms | 150 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 2.5 | 1.6 |
| Wood Elf Glade Guard Wood Elf Realms | 144 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 2.4 | 3.6 | 1.8 | 2.9 |
| Wood Elf Deepwood Scouts Wood Elf Realms | 140 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1.4 | 2.6 | 1.7 | 1.9 |
| Dwarf Thunderers Dwarfen Mountain Holds | 140 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 3.0 | 1.4 | 1.6 |
| Dwarf Rangers Dwarfen Mountain Holds | 143 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 3.1 | 4.1 | 3.1 | 2.8 |
| Bretonnian Peasant Bowmen Kingdom of Bretonnia | 140 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 3.3 | 1.5 | 2.0 |
| Bretonnian Mounted Yeomen Kingdom of Bretonnia | 143 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Best shooters against each target
Knights of the Realm
Six Knights of the Realm: 3+ armour, Lady’s Blessing.
- Cathay Iron Hail Gunners2.9 short · 2.7 long
- Skaven Jezzails2.5 short · 2.1 long
- Sisters of Avelorn2.5 short · 1.7 long
Ironbreakers
Ten Ironbreakers: 3+ armour rerolling natural 1s, 6+ ward against nonmagical shooting.
- Skaven Jezzails3.5 short · 2.0 long
- Cathay Crane Gunners2.7 short · 0.8 long
- Sisters of Avelorn2.1 short · 0.9 long
Empire State Troops
Twenty Empire State Troops with 5+ armour.
- Cathay Iron Hail Gunners5.3 short · 4.2 long
- Empire handgunners5.3 short · 3.5 long
- Dwarf Thunderers4.4 short · 2.3 long
Skaven Dregs
Twenty unarmoured Skaven Dregs.
- Empire crossbowmen7.7 short · 4.2 long
- Cathay Iron Hail Gunners6.2 short · 5.1 long
- Dwarf Rangers6.1 short · 4.1 long
Rat Ogres
Three Rat Ogres: T4, three wounds each, 5+ armour.
- Skaven Jezzails4.3 short · 3.4 long
- Empire crossbowmen4.2 short · 3.2 long
- Dwarf Rangers3.9 short · 3.1 long
Skirmishing Empire Archers
Twenty unarmoured Empire Archers deployed as Skirmishers (−1 To Hit, 5×4 grid, 0.75-inch gaps).
- Dwarf Rangers5.0 short · 2.8 long
- Bretonnian Peasant Bowmen4.4 short · 2.0 long
- High Elf Archers4.1 short · 2.8 long
What changes after moving or in cover
My main table is a clean stationary volley in the open, which flatters gunlines. So I ran a second test at fixed distances with movement and cover. At 22 inches after moving into partial cover, Glade Guard averaged 1.80 wounds across all six targets, Sisters of Avelorn 1.47 and Empire crossbowmen 0.43. At 10 inches, standing still in the open, the crossbows led that trio at 4.00, against 3.13 for the Sisters and 2.40 for the Glade Guard.
In my opinion that second test explains why elf archers feel better on the table than the first table suggests.
More shooting units, short range only
Additional ~140-point shooters. I tested these at short range against four of the six targets. n = 10 volleys per cell
| Unit | Pts | Knights | State Troops | Rat Ogres | Skirmish Archers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orc Mob warbows Orc & Goblin Tribes | 140 | 1.7 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 3.3 |
| Goblin Mob shortbows Orc & Goblin Tribes | 140 | 1.7 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 3.5 |
| Ungor Herd shortbows Beastmen Brayherds | 140 | 1.8 | 4.0 | 2.4 | 5.6 |
| Tomb King Skeleton Archers Tomb Kings of Khemri · Skeleton Archers ignore To Hit modifiers. | 140 | 0.6 | 2.8 | 1.5 | 3.6 |
| Ushabti with greatbows Tomb Kings of Khemri · Greatbows add Multiple Wounds against monsters. | 147 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 1.9 | 1.2 |
Ungor Herd shortbows stand out against skirmishers (5.6), the best short-range figure I recorded against that target in either table.
Every shooting unit I tested
- Cathay Crane Gunners144 pts
- Cathay Iron Hail Gunners144 pts
- Cathay Sky Lantern150 pts
- Chaos throwing axes143 pts
- Chaos javelins143 pts
- Wolves of the Sea Berserkers144 pts
- Skaven Jezzails150 pts
- Skaven Ratling Gun145 pts
- Empire crossbowmen140 pts
- Empire handgunners144 pts
- High Elf Archers140 pts
- Sisters of Avelorn150 pts
- Wood Elf Glade Guard144 pts
- Wood Elf Deepwood Scouts140 pts
- Dwarf Thunderers140 pts
- Dwarf Rangers143 pts
- Bretonnian Peasant Bowmen140 pts
- Bretonnian Mounted Yeomen143 pts
Looking for artillery? See my Old World war machines results. For fast cavalry shooting, see Outriders vs Pistoliers.
Ten volleys per cell show broad patterns, but small gaps can be ordinary dice variation. Across all my shooting trials the firing units lost 25 of their own models and failed 135 Panic checks, and the Ratling Gun rolled 3 double misfires.
My conclusion
Based on these results, I would use Iron Hail Gunners as a general firebase and Jezzails to kill armour. I would not judge elf archers on the stationary table alone, because they did their best work on the move from cover.
FAQs
What is the best shooting unit in The Old World?
In my tests, Cathay Iron Hail Gunners. They tied Skaven Jezzails for the best short-range average (3.7 wounds per volley across six targets) and pulled clear at long range (3.4), because they ignore the long range and multiple shots penalties.
What is the best Old World shooting unit against armour?
Skaven Jezzails. Their shots are magical, so Ironbreakers lose their ward, and they did 3.5 wounds per short-range volley into Ironbreakers: the best result of any unit I tested.
Which shooting unit is best against skirmishers?
Ungor Herd shortbows did 5.6 wounds per short-range volley into skirmishing archers, the best figure I recorded. In the main table, Dwarf Rangers led with 5.0.
Are Empire handguns or crossbows better?
Crossbows held up better at long range (2.7 against 2.2 average wounds) and did more to Dregs and Rat Ogres. Handguns did more to State Troops and skirmishers at short range.
Does moving and cover change which shooting unit is best?
Yes, a lot. At 22 inches after moving into partial cover, Glade Guard averaged 1.80 wounds and Sisters of Avelorn 1.47, while Empire crossbows fell to 0.43.