I have an alt, or had, for every class and pretty much eveyr possible basic build (and a few extremes).
My main used to be an archer simply because I liked the concept, and because there is no other game with comparable archery mechanics., so combined with the romantic concept of a two-hander who also used a warbow I simply loved it.
Several patches later (Okay, many, many, many patches and years later) my archer grew to a dedicated version because I loved running with the now-deceased "Archer Death Squad" that used to troll the ATS servers of old, and because I still loved the idea of using a bow (Even if I could not use my Miao' anymore with my warbow, and instead used a +3 stick because it looks great with the heirloom pack).
Now I play a shielder because conceptually it appeals to me, is great for teamwork, and because it has survived every patch to date without any major overhauls so i don't have to worry about any changes to my build.