Typical thread: Title says Buff ranged. Thread is only about archery
Archery doesn't need a buff, it needs to be corrected.
Problems with many of these suggestions is they are done by players who have no understanding about archery, just a desire to change it, but their suggestions result in the
opposite effect.
They claim that they want archers to shoot at long range and then ask for reduced missile speed and reduced accuracy.
Reduced missile speed means the arrow doesn't fly as far, putting the archers distance at mid-range at most. They don't have the range to put as many arrows into a player so require more damage to finish them in the shorter range.
Reduced accuracy means you miss much more, especially at longer ranges. This means that you need each arrow that hits to do more damage as you are going to miss more, in less of a range to do it. That means they go for bigger bows and higher PD.
They didn't want archers camping high hard to reach places. Ladders were removed. Rooftops were blocked off. This was fine when they actually had a chance to dodge cavalry zipping around the field. They could run fast, so they usually scattered to the wind, some flanking the melee scrum, others going out to hunt down cavalry. They could dodge well enough to make a cavalry vs archer duel an even outcome.
Then somewhere this minority anti-kiting crowd made up this idea that every archer kited the entire map, could never be caught by anyone. Horse, and shields, xbows, and throwing weapons were entirely useless against these gremlin bastards. Despite being a team game, this player with no shield, no ranged weapon, and no horse was
forced to solo this evil wingfooted Cupid to the downfall of the entire mod. So the arrow weight nerf was introduced.
Did they go stand in the open field with their heads bowed and their ass cheeks spread? No, they did not. They adapted. They quit scattering, formed into archer squads and found the closest hill in the map and rained down their arrows in massed formation.
Did melee adapt? Nope. That same player with no shield, no ranged weapon, and no horse is still trying to go up and solo his way through the archer squad and comes to the forum raging against archers when he dies repeatedly, especially when he can't tell the difference between a bolt, a war dart, and an arrow and thinks they are all the same thing.
Just fix archery. No buffs. Make the smaller bows very accurate with low damage and enough range to shoot at cavalry, HA's and HX's from the distance they always ride away at. Make the 2 slot bows poor accuracy with decent damage and enough range to shoot at cavalry, HA's and HX's from the distance they always ride away at. Make them
both so that they aren't a doormat for any cavalry that can press W. Bring back the
balance to those fights where it used to be between 2 equally skilled but different classes. Quit balancing the no horse, no shield, no side range vs archer to a very large open field map. There are city maps and other maps like the one full of trees where the archer is at a disadvantage because there is no or very limited Line of Sight.
You want archers to behave differently? Quit making changes that
force the playstyles you claim you want to
avoid.