Is it practical to snipe generals in Rome: Total War?

Question

In the Battle of Hastings, it's said that King Harold was shot through the eye with an arrow. In Rome: Total War, it's theoretically possible to use archery or siege weapons to snipe off the enemy general like this, even early in the battle, by targetting the general's unit with massed fire.

• In practice, is this feasible, or is it too difficult to kill the general this way?
• Is the effect of killing the general better than the effect of the kills the archers could have scored by firing at enemy units normally?

Answer 1

In practice, is this feasible, or is it too difficult to kill the general this way?

It is totally practical. I usually have good luck with scorpion or grazing catapult shots: both of those will carry through the group and have an excellent chance of hitting high value targets. Note that a general unit will tend to regroup pretty tightly around the general, increasing your chance of hitting something.

Is the effect of killing the general better than the effect of the kills the archers could have scored by firing at enemy units normally?

Shooting at the general is almost always worth it. Worst case, you take out some expensive cavalry, hit their neighbors and pretty much demoralize the general. Best case, you take out the general early and his whole army loses quite a lot of morale.

Answer 2

The other side's generals are in a unit with his bodyguards. Focused fire on that unit has a chance to kill him just like any other soldier.

This is bad for enemy morale. Totally worth doing.

Answer 3

With arrows, it's quite hard to do, as the general takes a couple of arrows before he goes down. Probably not worth it.

With siege weapons though, you can get him with one lucky shot, so it is a very viable tactic.

The higher stars the general has, the more important it becomes to remove him from the battle.