Unit balance can differ by faction, hero bonuses, research choices, difficulty, and later patches. The recommendations below describe roles and decision criteria rather than claiming universal numerical superiority.
Fast answer
The answer before the background
Build Hunters when you need a mobile army that can clear the map, respond to breaches, and keep pace with an advancing hero. Build Arbalests when the main job is holding a fixed defensive line, especially from towers, where range, armor, and strong hits matter more than movement. In practice, Hunters are the safer general-purpose choice for expansion, while Arbalests are the better specialist for prepared Death Night defenses. If you can afford both, use Hunters outside the walls and Arbalests in towers or at the most threatened approach. Between this game and They Are Billions, choose Age of Darkness for heroes, fantasy combat, Death Nights, and co-op; choose They Are Billions for a more stripped-down colony-survival test.
Unit comparison
Hunter versus Arbalest: the practical difference
The most important distinction is mobility. Hunters are better suited to active play: scouting through the fog, clearing Points of Interest, escorting a hero, and rotating toward a threatened side of the settlement. Community testing and discussion consistently describe them as faster-firing and more mobile, although exact performance depends on faction bonuses and upgrades.
Arbalests are more comfortable when the battlefield is already organized. Their slower attack cycle is easier to accept when they are firing from towers or behind walls, because they do not need to spend time moving between targets. Their longer reach and heavier individual attacks make them attractive against durable enemies and high-value targets that survive ordinary ranged fire.
That does not make Arbalests a bad map unit or Hunters a complete defensive replacement. The correct question is whether the unit will spend most of the mission moving or shooting from a prepared position.
- Choose Hunters if your army must keep clearing territory before the next Death Night.
- Choose Arbalests if you have a stable wall, tower network, and predictable attack route.
- Use Hunters to support heroes and respond to unexpected pressure.
- Use Arbalests where range, concentrated damage, and tower efficiency are more valuable than speed.
| Situation | Preferred unit | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Early and mid-game exploration | Hunter | Movement and faster firing support repeated engagements. |
| Emergency response to a breach | Hunter | The army can reach the threatened side sooner. |
| Fixed wall or tower defense | Arbalest | The unit can exploit range and defensive cover without relocating. |
| Durable targets near a choke point | Arbalest | Heavier attacks are more valuable when targets stay in range. |
| Flexible mixed army | Both | Hunters cover movement while Arbalests anchor the defense. |
The official site confirms that the game revolves around exploring, recruiting armies led by heroes, and surviving large Nightmare waves. The Hunter-first and Arbalest-first recommendations are strategic conclusions from those systems plus community unit testing; they are not an official developer tier list.
Build order
How to decide during a real run
Start with the unit that matches your next threat, not the unit that looks strongest on a spreadsheet. If the next several minutes involve opening territory, removing enemies near resources, or connecting separate defenses, prioritize Hunters. A fast army creates more room for your economy and reduces the chance that a distant problem becomes a wall emergency.
Switch the emphasis toward Arbalests once your settlement has a defensible shape. They become more valuable when several towers cover the same approach, when enemies must pass through a narrow route, or when you are preparing for a major night wave. They also benefit more from staying in the position where you invested defensive infrastructure.
A practical sequence is to establish a mobile core first, then add enough Arbalests to staff the most important towers. Keep at least one mobile group even in a defense-heavy plan. An all-Arbalest army can lose time traveling, while an all-Hunter army may spend too many resources replacing units or compensating for weaker static coverage.
Before committing resources, check five things: the next wave timer, the distance between your fronts, the number of usable towers, the enemy types appearing on your map, and your faction's bonuses. If two or more answers point toward movement, choose Hunters. If most answers point toward a single fortified lane, choose Arbalests.
- Scout and clear with Hunters before expanding the perimeter too far.
- Place Arbalests where towers create overlapping fields of fire.
- Do not pull every defensive unit away from the base to chase a small group.
- Recheck the composition after each major research or faction upgrade.
- Treat exact costs and cooldowns as build-specific information and verify them in-game.
Alternative game
Age of Darkness versus They Are Billions
Both games use the same broad survival-RTS tension: expand, gather resources, establish defenses, and survive increasingly dangerous waves. They are not identical experiences, however. Age of Darkness adds heroes, a living death fog called the Veil, Death Nights, fantasy enemy types, and official multiplayer co-op. Its official site also presents a story-driven campaign with ten missions.
They Are Billions is the better alternative if you want the colony itself to be the main character. Its core appeal is a strict chain of economy, expansion, noise and sightline management, and defensive layout. The game does not rely on the same hero-led structure, so failure and success are more directly tied to settlement planning and army positioning.
Choose Age of Darkness if you want more active battlefield tools and a darker fantasy identity. Choose They Are Billions if you prefer a cleaner zombie-colony formula in which one breach can become a cascading disaster. Neither is simply the upgraded version of the other: one emphasizes heroes and night defense, while the other emphasizes colony discipline and systemic containment.
- Pick Age of Darkness for heroes, fantasy enemies, Death Nights, and co-op.
- Pick They Are Billions for a more focused zombie-survival colony challenge.
- Pick the former if you enjoy moving armies between a base and external objectives.
- Pick the latter if settlement layout, economy, and breach prevention are your favorite decisions.
| Decision criterion | Age of Darkness: Final Stand | They Are Billions |
|---|---|---|
| Setting | Dark fantasy, the Veil, and Nightmares | Post-apocalyptic steampunk zombie world |
| Battlefield leadership | Unique heroes with abilities | Army and colony management without the same hero focus |
| Main pressure | Death Nights and large Nightmare waves | Zombie waves, infection chains, and final-horde pressure |
| Multiplayer | Official co-op is advertised | Primarily a solo colony-survival experience |
| Best fit | Players who want action around a defended settlement | Players who want rigorous colony planning |
The shared features and co-op claims come from official game material. The broader preference between the two games is a recommendation, not an objective ranking, because it depends on whether you value hero abilities and fantasy combat or colony systems and containment more.
Decision guide
Recommended choices by player type
For a first survival run, favor Hunters until you understand the map, the enemy routes, and the timing of your defenses. Their flexibility gives you more opportunities to recover from an imperfect opening. Once you know where the final approaches are likely to form, add Arbalests to the towers that will actually see sustained fire.
For a defense specialist, prioritize Arbalests earlier, but only when the economy can support the infrastructure around them. A ranged unit without a useful firing position is not receiving the full value of the investment. For an aggressive explorer, use Hunters as the core and treat Arbalests as a rear-line reserve rather than trying to march the entire force at the same pace.
For co-op, divide responsibilities instead of duplicating armies. One player can use mobile Hunters to clear and reinforce while the other develops a tower network staffed by Arbalests. This reduces travel time and makes each player's army serve a distinct purpose. The official patch history also shows that multiplayer stability has been an active maintenance focus, so both players should use the same game version before starting.
- New player: start Hunter-heavy, then add defensive Arbalests.
- Defensive player: use Arbalests in towers and retain a smaller Hunter response force.
- Aggressive player: make Hunters the field army and avoid overbuilding static units.
- Co-op team: split mobile clearing and fixed defense between players.
- Challenge runner: test both compositions on the same faction and difficulty before judging them.
FAQ
Common questions
Are Hunters better than Arbalests overall?
No unit is always better. Hunters are generally better for movement, map clearing, and emergency response. Arbalests are generally better for prepared tower defenses and sustained fire against durable targets. Their value changes with faction bonuses, research, terrain, and difficulty.
Should I use only Hunters or only Arbalests?
Usually neither. A mixed army covers the two main jobs: Hunters move through the map and reinforce weak points, while Arbalests hold the positions where you expect the main wave to arrive. A specialist-only army can work, but it gives up flexibility.
Do Arbalests belong in towers?
They are a strong candidate for tower duty because a fixed defensive position reduces the cost of their slower movement and lets them use range and concentrated fire. Check the tower bonuses and the current in-game unit details before investing heavily.
Is Age of Darkness better than They Are Billions?
It is better for players who want heroes, fantasy enemies, Death Nights, and co-op. They Are Billions is the better fit for players who want a more concentrated colony-management challenge built around expansion, defensive layout, and infection control.
Are the exact unit numbers in community guides still reliable?
Treat old numerical guides cautiously. The official announcement feed documents multiple patches and balance changes over the game's life, while the latest balance information may not be reproduced in every community post. Verify current costs, cooldowns, and upgrades in the installed build.
Sources
What we checked
Official listings establish current availability and product facts. Community pages are used for mechanics and build history, then labeled separately.