Bullseye - Stronghold Crusader AI Lords

Bullseye is a skirmish opponent in Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition (available in the Baldwin and Bullseye DLC).

Overview

This ordinary-looking "Good Soldier" has been a loyal aide to the Crusader generals, being on the lookout for enemy movement and informing his superiors well in advance. His keen eye has however also been made use of during battles, earning him the moniker of "Bullseye": his shots never missed. Bullseye plays the game by putting all of his arrows into one quiver: recruiting steadfast crossbowmen for all war duties. This makes him a one-dimensional personality and strategist, nonetheless Bullseye vows by a way of life which had been carrying him to the top ranks: if it works, don't fix it!

Castles & Defenses

Bullseye's castles are constructed as literal roadblocks in the desert: he builds one giant courtyard which is surrounded by a simple ring of thick walls and Killing Pits. On the inside, Square Towers and Perimeter Turrets are built on points of symmetry to provide ample coverage in the perimeter. His fortification has one or two points of entry via Small Gatehouses, which along with the towers are riddled with Crossbowmen and Tower Ballistae. Bullseye's Lord himself is guarded by a whole slew of additional Crossbowmen and Macemen.

Bullseye's farms and outer buildings are patrolled by three groups of Crossbowmen, as well as one will be sent out to repel raiders in a rather lazy manner.

The Bullseye's fortress is literally about stakes and arrows, armed to the teeth with Crossbowmen, Ballistae and Killing Pits. His Crossbowmen are really great against all types of infantry and mounted soldiers, but less imposing against siege equipment. A traditional attack involving Trebuchets and/or Catapults set up just outside of ballista range can easily cripple the pillars of Bullseye's defense with persistent bombardment. Once a breach has been created, there is the option of running a decently armored shock division to storm the Keep, as the defending Crossbowmen are very slow to reload and shoot, resulting in the Lord's death before your army would be annulled. Should you prefer a slow and steady approach, slowly leapfrog your artillery closer to the other towers, thinning out the garrison in the rest of the towers. Deploying a few Portable Shields around your siege engines may also be used to buffer against Ballista shots, if you would accidentally set them up in their range.

Economy

Economically speaking, Bullseye relies on a modest but effective economy to fund his simplistic and numerous armies. He gathers Stone to build his castle, and Iron to generate minimal profit in the marketplace. Bullseye feeds his populace with Apples and Cheese, and he also produces Ale to increase taxes. Bullseye also has a steady weapons industry, crafting crossbows sometimes supported by tanners to recruit lots of Crossbowmen, as well as selling surplus equipment for profit. He likes to buy his equipment for other troops in small bulks.

Raids & Sieges

Bullseye is one of the most straightforward opponents, rivalling maybe only the Pig in terms of strategy. He is however heavily geared towards defense, meaning that not many raids will be seen early on. Once Bullseye builds his castle and economy, he can be somewhat aggressive, as he will spend a few Macemen running about to quickly traverse the battlefield and turn outlying buildings into piles of scrap wood. These groups have some extreme varience to size, so their threat level can range from a nuisance to significantly difficult, due to Macemen being sturdy and that they can deal high damage very quickly.

The 'Good Soldier' can eventually be seen venturing out to the battlefield with a large army of infantry. Again, Bullseye's armies resemble much like the Pig's ones, except they are very heavily skewed in favour of Crossbowmen; successive attack attempts however feature a steadily growing number of Macemen. Siege Engineers are also brought to construct a handful of Catapults and pummel whatever buildings they find in a distance. If the target enemy builds a moat, Bullseye recruits some Spearmen exclusively for this purpose, who are rather weak and die easily to a moderately prepared ranged defense. As it should be apparent, Crossbowmen are very potent against the field, however Bullseye does find limited effectiveness when assailing the castle head-on with them.

Facing Bullseye does not require a lot of preparations, given his early focus towards defense. When he is developed however, he can be really quick to replenish the fallen soldiers from a failed siege attempt, so a proper guarding force should be set up well in advance. Bullseye can be defeated in the exact same way as he defends his castle, namely utilising a lot of Crossbowmen atop towers and building Tower Ballistae to snipe his Catapults from long range. Additionally, digging Moat can also invalidate much of his attack potential thanks to his underwhelming number of Spearmen, who once fell leave Bullseye's army stranded. Against his raiding Macemen, either have Crossbowmen stationed overlooking their paths, or a few armored infantry set on Aggressive Stance to intercept them.