With the great hybridization nerf archers lost a lot of their ability to fight effectively in melee. To use a proper bow and have sufficient ammunition they would have to use either a 0 slot or a 1 slot weapon. Both aren't too fantastic. Combined with low wpf and nearly no armour for maximum archery accuracy, they basically can't do shit in melee.
First I thought this change was a good thing. It would be unfair if you could be an effective archer, and then when the enemy closes in, be decent at melee too. But this resulted in archers running away whenever the enemy got near. Which I think is one of the most annoying things in this game, almost as annoying as roofcamping. Something which might partly be caused by the same thing.
I think archers should be able to be more decent in melee. Alternatively, the hardcore archers could be made very slow, so they can't run away. Two ways to fix the same problem, make them better at melee, or make them unable to run.
Ofcourse being better at archery should cost them in melee power, but I doubt this running behaviour was intended. I'd rather have a good fight then a chase. If you give up the chase they start shooting you, incredibly frustrating.
I have a few ideas to fix the running, if you agree with me feel free to suggest your own ideas.
- Make bows when held very heavy, so archers won't be able to run fast while holding their bow, forcing them to switch to a melee weapon and fight or run with the melee weapon. Might need to buff archery if this gets implemented.
- Make two sets of arrows cost 1 slot, so they can have a proper melee weapon.
- Make drawing when running impossible, atleast for the two slot big bows.
- Make the wpf decrease with armour less significant, so they can wear some armour, if they can pay it.
- Decrease acceleration when holding a bow specifically, leave their topspeed intact though.
Ofcourse ladders should be removed regardless of anything, for obvious reasons.