15/24 50hp
6 riding
4 horse archery
5 power draw
8 weapon master
As much as I "hate" horse archers myself I think it is really sad that an entire class gets nerfed so hard that the best players stops to play it.
I kinda miss Tuonela chasing me and ultimately leaving me on the ground with my horse dead behind. When I played versus him I actully got forced to stay on the opposite side of the map if I didn't want to get shoot. But when I managed to sneak up on him and kill him it was really enjoyable 
I played with the above build for some time and I have to admit that playing as a HA, even with that good accuracy was still very hard. HA duels were very challenging but the better player would almost always win which is not the case anymore because of the randomness.
HA really isn't that bad. It took me a while to adjust, but recently I've been going to servers and coming in the top players. Mind you I haven't played for a couple of weeks in pubby now.
Tuonela still plays as well. I just see him on Pecores instead of any of the EU servers and he often tops the score boards there. It's a matter of adjusting. But I have no problems with my 15/24 build. I've never witnessed the randomness you speak of. HA duels are still a matter of which player shoots most accurately, can manoeuvre their horses the best and judge arrows perfectly. Hell I've beaten Tuonela a good few times, but the majority of the times he will always own me because he is the better player (also level 34 helps
)
Anyway, I don't recommend an 18/18 build. As much as I like the idea of being able to switch between melee and HA. It doesn't work so well. Most HA who use melee weapons do so from horse back. It's generally accepted that once you hit the ground you're screwed, unless you're particularly on form with blocking or can run to the nearest team mates. Sacrificing the accuracy is simply not worth it. And those HA that do sacrifice the accuracy, tend to get most of their kills with their melee weapon anyway. Negating the real point of being HA in the first place.
Either way, if you're playing HA you've got to expect to be downed in some crap places every now and then. Most of the time I rely on that 24 agi and light armour to run me out of the situation. Or hope that there's a riderless horse nearby. Either that or just accept you're impending doom and try to take someone with you.
Anyway tips for HA:
1. The best HA know how to ride their horses. Positioning is everything. If your a cav chasing HA like me I'd recommend a courser because it allows you to keep up with everyone, yet also run away from everyone. That way you can put yourself in the best positions for shooting the enemy (often just following them behind). If you're an infantry killer, I'd suggest an Arabian for the ability to circle them and get out of sticky situations quickly.
2. As much as I hate it, bump shooting is sometimes a necessity to survive as HA. If you circle the enemy then you often give them time to shoot you/ start moving to friendlies. Master the bump shoot. It usually requires some prediction. So draw/bump/aim back/shoot. You have to time it perfectly to do it properly, otherwise there's some luck involved.
3. Keep away from infantry as much as possible. The lack of a long pointy stick means HA is very easily taken down with pretty much any weapon if they get in to close. Mastering the perfect distances to circle infantry is a must if you are going to pump those arrows into them without taking damage.
Murchad still beasts it up! His special powers un-nerfed it for him 
Thanks for the builds
Marathon's build is 27/12 right? I never understood that build as the majority of your arrows will be entirely luck based and you're near enough just a 1h cav instead. Any 15/24 build would rip right through that. I've never seen one of those on EU because 15/24 builds are the norm there.
