Hi! We've got another thread going on this subject, and it makes sense to confine discussion/debate/suggestions to that one. Chime in at
http://forum.c-rpg.net/index.php/topic,23853.0.html You'll find my own arguments and my suggestions for alternative nerfs on page 2.
For those who don't know, basically the change means that headshots do more damage, but body shots do significantly less. For example, a masterwork Arbalest or balanced jarids with maxed powerthrow can now no longer one-shot armorless peasants with low HP. Additionally, high-level, plated enemies are now basically useless to engage, even with high-tier ranged weapons like the arbalest, longbow and jarids.
Notably, these nerfs were applied as a blanket tweak to all ranged weapons, regardless of the fact that xbows, bows and throwing weapons all involve different styles of play and tactics for success. As it is now, post-patch, Xbows are useless unless you headshot, due to their long reloading time. Only low-damage, low-difficulty, fast-firing bows are truly viable, due to their increased chance of headshots. Throwing weapons become unplayable due to their low ammunition amount and their relatively large reticule, and with the lowered damage it takes about half of a full loadout of jarids just to kill one reasonably armored enemy, lulzily making throwing stones a more effective weapon than throwing spears.
This new thread exists only to have a simple yes/no poll to get a clear picture of how many players are opposed to or in support of the nerf to ranged damage in the last patch. I think it makes more sense to keep the discussion to the thread that's already in progress, linked at the top of this post, so this is the last I'll speak up here unless, of course, everyone ignores that.
If the other thread had a poll, I would not have started this one.