TheJackinati wrote on Sep 20
th, 2019 at 1:02pm:
Personally I'd say that long range firepower isn't necessarily about killing people.
It was likely more about forcing the enemy to close the distance in a quick and thus disorganised manner whilst giving your own troops the time to form up into formation (And said sling glandes would probably disrupt enemy archery). Any kills afforded would be a nice bonus.
And having the small, nearly invisible things whizzing over your head like a swarm of wasps... that would definetly demoralize some people, and might make enemy commanders want to 'rush' in to avoid taking further pot-shots.
I saw a thing about Total War: Atilla with regards the slingers in that game, how they were 'OP' because they will slow down any units they are firing upon. I haven't checked out that myself yet, still got a Rome II campaign to get through
But it's easy to imagine how effective a hail of slingstones could be at disrupting the movement of an enemy group, the sheer force of impact against a shield alone might require you to brace against it.
Sling vs shield tests are something I'd love to see.