The decrease of diversity of units on the battlefield.

[Lorenzo_of_Iberia]

You dont need to do that with everything you balance. Ranged needed to get off roofs and their damage was stupid for the effort required, roof or no roof. I wouldn't mind seeing some accuracy increase if thats necessary, but you still do decent damage for what you actually have to do, considering what you have to do for any other class. Being encouraged to aim for the head makes it a bit more in line with other classes, but its still very 1 sided skill wise.

sounds like a melee player

On the point of nerfs, you cant just nerf one thing, see unbalance and nerf another thing. Before long you will see everything nerfed to the ground and there will be no point in playing the game as every class will have gone from powerful builds with pros and cons to a load of floundering group of players who all play the only surviving class

I predict stones will become the new top dog by 2014!

[Angantyr]

The amount of in-group out-group group psychology dynamics on these forums are questionable - please be mindful that not everyone is an archetype, nor can everyone's opinions or feedback be put into one-dimensional, one-colored boxes. This is not aimed at the OP but comments here and elsewhere.

Also, the increase in cav is there but it goes further back than the 0.260 patch.

[dodnet]

I predict stones will become the new top dog by 2014!

Just add poison gas to smoke grenades and we have it 

[Mike_of_Kingswell]

Leave time for it to balance out. Good ranged players will fill the shoes of people who just wanted to sit on a roof and shoot.

Oh comeon....i am no Jambi or whatthefuck all those "top mega hyper archers" are called and i dont WANT TO...
Its like calling out:"Nerf melee, because Chase/Phase/Cyber/Bazinga kill me whenever we meet in battle!!!"
Nerfkilling a class and then pointing out the 5-10 players who still are good is not a solution!
Banning roofarchery would have been enough to see who "good ranged players will fill the shoes"...its not like every archer always used a roof!

.... considering what you have to do for any other class.....

The idea is that ranged have to work for their kills and damage, especially if you're on a freaking horse.

I as a archer always worked for my kills: mostly by running away from heavyarmored twohanderspammers that were working sooo hard for their kills!

[Teeth]

Rather than reduce the diversity, it is better to increase it. Add new units, such as camels or elephants. Relax - at the cost of upkeep one elephant should work half the clan.

I'm sure you Greys would really like that

[_Tak_]

Rather than reduce the diversity, it is better to increase it. Add new units, such as camels or elephants. Relax - at the cost of upkeep one elephant should work half the clan. Look at this: http://forum.c-rpg.net/index.php/topic,23133.0.html  This is a joke, but it shows the desire of people for diversify.

+1 for the joke  , it's funny that all we "Peasants" are having a chat here

[Lactose_the_intolerant]

and the amount of 1h using elite spammitar 

I'm saying this again but I read somewhere that a dev is working hard to do range damage depending on the impact zone. like 100% in the body, 80% shoulders etc....
wouldnt that be nice hey? so cut the whining and wait 'n' see!

I dont like to use this argument but here it goes. I'v started using my crosswow alt again who is dedicated, without looms and I'm doing pretty well ( nice KD scores and a f*** loads of dehorsing even the armoured horses go down if they get near me. and I'm just an average player). so i get the impression the crossbow whine is due to loss of priviligies

[Tristan]

Archer nerf was too hard.
Don't balance cav by costs.
2h/pole brainless charge is all we got now.

- Don't nerf pikes, they have been nerfed a lot already. Only a valid weapon because of the amount of cav.

[Lactose_the_intolerant]

- Don't nerf pikes, they have been nerfed a lot already. Only a valid weapon because of the amount of cav.

the amount of pointy stuff as increased, im not the only one poiting this out...

anyway who talked about nerfing pikes and why the hell would they want that?

[Harpag]

I'm sure you Greys would really like that

I said it was a joke. Glaring example. I asked also to refrain from personal trips. That is not what's going on. Incidentally, for our clan Strategus is the most important . Our faction is mostly melee players, and our specialty is taking spawns. Therefore, for us new balnas is great. Personally, I hate horse archers, because I don't know how to kill them. Foot archers I don't like, because I can't catch them also. The question is whether personal dislike is a good reason to nerf them? I believe not, because it reduces the diversity of units and spoils teamwork in cRPG. I know ... A true warriors uses only 2 h, the rest is lame, who has the audacity disturb them in work 

[Penitent]

I am of the opinion that the game was pretty much in an ideal balanced state before the most recent patch and archery nerf.  It wasn't perfect but the only adjustments needed were very minor tweaks.  It was pretty much balanced.

I don't know why people felt this change was necessary, but it was a pretty drastic one.  Archers feel underpowered now.  I no longer fear or even respect their damage any more.  I don't care if I charge one and he gets to shoot me a couple times.  I used to have to dodge around. 

Anyways, if this aspect can be reversed, it would be very good.

[Armpit_Sweat]

   
Meah... 
 
Look at it form a different angle:
 
1h+Shield has an obvious advantage of having constant protection against multiple enemies, as well as ranged attacks.
Archers and players who focuses on crossbow, have an obvious advantage of inflicting damage without any risk of being hit themselves. ( Do you remember Birdman and Chimp?.. Or Chris? Sorry, but i don't want to see more players like them again )
Cavalry has their speed and maneuverability.
2h/Polearm users are the only class that is exposed to all types of damage, and has a limited means of protection. They have to have some advantages, right? It is THE hardest class to master ( no need to argue with that ), so it is only fair to keep them on top of melee "food chain".
 
As for diversity, it is natural for players to move towards 2h swords - the most challenging and rewarding type of combat in Mount and Blade. Original, top, Grey players - are all 1h+Shield users, and they are still leading scoreboards. Do you really want to buff them?..
 
I rarely play battles, but on siege servers - archers are still very popular. Crossbows and throwing weapons might need a little buff though

   
To sum it up - i approve the latest balance changes. It is my personal opinion, so don't burn me with your hate

[Mtemtko]

2h/Polearm users are the only class that is exposed to all types of damage, and has a limited means of protection. They have to have some advantages, right? It is THE hardest class to master ( no need to argue with that ), so it is only fair to keep them on top of melee "food chain".

No need to argue with that? Ever played a HA? Lets say 4 in 5 aimed headshots while riding on average is to "master" it. But in the current situation.. I have yet to meet somebody to get 4 out of 5 aimed shots (nonheadshots) as hits on average, dont get me started on headshots... yet in melee I have met quite many people that are close mastering it, and at very least 25-40% of the 2h/polearmers in EU can block/feint advanced moves reliably.

[Strudog]

Ive played archer for all my gens, and i think the nerf has had no overall effect on archery at all, I use a MW longbow and sharp bodkins and i can still 2-3 hit people. To counter cav all you would need to do is a single shot to the head of the horse and then running away. Longbow has now become a great weapon in the field of archery with its new accuracy and the slower pull back is worth the higher damaga and accuracy.

All i can say is leave how it is now, i can get good scores (15-1) sometimes but other times i can get (-2-7). i actually almost find it easier to kill people now with the single headshot.

All though i do agree on the needed buff of 2 slot crossbows.

[MrShine]

2h/Polearm users are the only class that is exposed to all types of damage, and has a limited means of protection. They have to have some advantages, right? It is THE hardest class to master ( no need to argue with that ), so it is only fair to keep them on top of melee "food chain".
 
As for diversity, it is natural for players to move towards 2h swords - the most challenging and rewarding type of combat in Mount and Blade.

I strongly disagree with this. 

I do agree melee is very rewarding as far as combat in the game goes.  I love melee.

But... the hardest class to master?  The most challenging?  Eh...define "master".

Maybe a better way to say it is 2h & Poles have the highest learning curve because the mouse attack/block form of combat is pretty unique.  It's not hard to "learn" how to shoot a bow other than adjusting to arc and missile speed.

But once you get the basics down blocking and attacking isn't too bad.  I would dare to say that it actually is much harder to master a ranged weapon in this game, because your aim will always need to be changed to depend on the enemy's position to you, what direction they are going, what your height is in relation to their height, if it's raining, if friendlies are in the way or may become in the way before the arrow arrives, etc.  With melee you need to keep yourself in range and worry about 1-4 different attack directions, but that becomes second nature/muscle reflex.  Ranged still has muscle reflex but the scenarios where you need to adjust your attack location are infinite.

There. I said it.  And I stand by it.