You know, there is archery in other games, too. Morrowind + Oblivion + Skyrim, Age of Chivalry, and so on. With physics not worse than in WB. But I don't know a single game where damge is determined by the speed of which the hitboxes connect.
I dare to say that latter was the basic idea of the game, and archery was only added because it somehow belonged to the theme and age, but the developers didn't say "Hey! Let's make a game about archery!"... I even dare to say they didn't say "Hey, let's make a game about melee and archery!". it was rather "Hey, let's make a game about melee. Both on foot and from horseback. Complete with striking yourself by the mouse and parrying and so on. Or having a shield. And with lancing and things like that. Oh and archery."
Even the FAQ on the homepage only mentions melee:
Best your foes with realistic physics based combat, that takes into account momentum, attack timing, and position.
Don't tell me they are meaning archery with this.
That's why I think archery has only to play a side role in this game, it's a niche weapon. In my eyes playing archer in M&B is like using the M60 machine gun in Hitman: you can do this, but it's not what the game was meant for really.
It's not like you are not allowed to play archer, but any special demands over melee (which, btw., is definitely more difficult to master, no arguing about it, just take a look at the amount of input signals (keys, mouseclicks) you need for ranged fighting and for melee) should be ignored.
This is MY opinion. OPINION.
And yes, the idea behind my suggestion is to lower the fun for most archers. Because then only the most dedicated will stay, which is what I am aiming for. (No wordplay intended
).
The alternative would be further nerfing their effectivity, which would hurt you definitely more.
And, btw., my suggestion didn't involve removing the current XP and gold ticks. As I said, it was more of a small bonus. The actual numbers of XP can be negotiated at any time, but I think a mechanism that encourages an equal distribution of classes is something good.