Tennenoth, you make it seem like archers are either some sort of stationary turret until they're approached by melee or are so stupid as to always find themselves in melee positions. If you're not suggesting that melee just doesn't chase ranged, ever, which is completely unreasonable, then you're assuming something equally ridiculous; that if you just leave the archer alone, there will always be someone else to take care of him(assuming a best case scenario of only a single archer...). You keep spouting this "adapt, adapt, adapt" stuff yet have never once offered examples or explanations as to what this might entail. Adapting, could be melee waiting for ranged to kill each other off, which is probably the safest thing melee could ever do. Yet when I suggested this, you claimed I somehow missed your point.
When the objective is to kill each other off, there is nothing any melee can do that won't eventually result in the melee player chasing the ranged. Assuming all, or most of the enemy's melee is dead, you can stand behind a tree(very narrow, will only provide cover so long as the only thing engaging you is a single archer, doesn't grant any means of ever being able to kill the archer), hide behind a house(more cover, but will only allow you to hide from a single archer and won't grant you any means of killing the archer), possibly find some sort of crevice that would only allow the archer to shoot at you if he got into melee range (thus resulting in a stalemate until MotF, at which point you'd either have to give up or chase the archer).
Maybe I am missing something though. Maybe there is some sort of magical method to taking out archers without outnumbering them. Maybe EU has a bunch of maze like maps with narrow corridors that allow melee to pop out of nowhere and backstab archers. Or maybe the EU rotation is exactly like the NA one, in that it's a bunch of fields with some trees and a few buildings every map that are spectacularly setup in favor of a running/kiting ranged player.
Don't take this the wrong way just because I'm posting in this thread and am objecting to your suggestions. There are so many things wrong with your posts in this thread, that I had to post. I don't think ranged should have to just flop over and die any time melee so much as looks at them. In fact, I've always supported archer's ability to run and kite. Even before I became an admin I would argue with current administrators on the ATS/Hospitaller servers that were threatening running/kiting ranged.
So really, what are you suggesting? What qualifies as adapting?
First off, i'm not sure how i've made it seem like they're stationary turrets, and the adaption is down to you, there are going to be flaws with whatever I say as a solution because quite simply they will be adapting to what you're doing but if you keep mixing things up, it'll make them think and therefore will increase your chances of surviving/killing said archer.
Your first paragraph, I have suggested one, and that's to stop chasing and run away, which you even stated an adaptation/extreme version. Your suggestion wasn't the focus of that reply and I apologise if that one came across as if I read and debunked it, that wasn't meant.
Secondly, of course the overall objective is killing each other off however how you go about that has many variables, one of those is archers, the whole original focus of this thread was high athletics archers, and I will answer talk purely about that;
I can't cover every posibility, it's what you have to do on the fly, as you learn how to play, you know what to do in different situations, correct? When I say adapt, I mean change how you play, change to the variables, i'm sure that point hasn't been missed and those variables are different per each situation, whether or not you're in a town map, an open plains or a moutain overlooking something.
Whatever the situation is, there isn't one godlike method of dealing with them, there just can't be, that's what i'm getting at, there will be situations where nothing you can do will work, but there will be situations where you can coax the archer into a false sense of security and jump on him when he gets cocky, or maybe there is more cover that you can use to avoid them, as you said on the subject of NA maps, the maps on EU appear to have quite a nice variation.
In my previous posts i've not been talking from a "kill it" perspective which I gathered the original poster was getting at due to his particular statement about athletics (which for archers is more regularly used to out maneuver enemies and therefore have a higher chance of surviving and dealing with their aggressor) and as such I have said run away.
Adaption applies to everything really, because no matter what class you are, you can't do things someone else can and therefore you need to make yourself do something different in order to have the desired effect, play to their strengths and to their enemies weaknesses, exploit every pitfall that you can find (naturally I mean intended areas such as high swing speed of a weapon or crushthrough). That's adaptation, that's what i've been calling out. Stop playing to their advantages (their high athletics) and outsmart them, make them trip up by using your advantages, such as your surroudings, your allies, and even sometimes, yes, it is better to wait for the MotF flag because at least then you have a chance of being closer to it in a stalemate situation.
I restate, I can't give you a godsend because there isn't one I can only give you rough ideas, as I've also said, you've got a brain, use it. I know it's vague, I know you don't like it, I know most people want someone to come along and just stop this but I also want cavalry to not be able to stab me with a lance after they've bumped me.
There will be times when there is nothing you can do, everything you try it doesn't work, just accept the fact that you got unlucky and try not to get into the same situation again.
I hope that answers your question of "what qualifies as adapting".
I hope it's satisfactory, the problem I have is that there are no solid answers to this, the whole reason I said adapt was because as an archer, the number of people who just follow me as I run off is astonishing, and it's the same people over and over. When I am on my 2 hander alt, I have a real fear of ranged because I know what they can do, I know the mentality of most archers and I guess it's easier for me to think of how best to outsmart myself or simply carry over my run away state of mind into my melee play as well.
EDIT: Don't make me write anymore as each time I write, the posts are getting longer and longer and are more than likely becoming harder to understand. Plus when I started it was roughly 5:30pm and now it's 6:30am.
EDIT again: Most of what I have typed above relates to a single archer in respect to kiting.
