I will tell you what I think I understood and reply, but keep in mind that I may be wrong. (Yep ur, nothing new )
The reasoning is based on the observation that weak archers who can kite are less dangerous to infantry and cavalry than strong archers who can't. It is evident that horses currently die quite quickly against STR archers, so cavalry loses their role of being a natural counter. Furthermore, the ability for infantry to catch up with archers who try to run away is not very valuable when you compare it with the archer's ability of trying multiple times to deliver a headshot that deals more damage than an Arbalest while the infantry player is approaching; and these attempts are usually quite successful because PD decreases crosshair size and increases projectile speed. This is an issue because archers compromise the fun of ->Pseudo<- melee players if they are too strong and don't face any real trade-offs when deciding to maximize STR.
well, how to describe something to a guy who knows shit about archery in this game, in a nice words i will try anyway
builds for archers:
Old sql rus bow/longbow pre patch build->18/27<- still ultra good and solid build, extremely good versus all kind of archers, ok vs Infantry if pewpew is headshot hunting only or bodyhiting agi/peasants
old sql Uzi build nomand bow ->15/30<- killer of agi inf and all kind of pure trowers builds, very good for players who can't play in FPS mode just run and spam(arrows)
and novadays builds after big revival patch: (i will focus on them more coz they are very popular)
->24/21&21/24<- the best and more easy to play than other builds for every one, beginners/full pro doesn't matter and most versatile build ever, there are no big cons for those builds exept maybe they are fragile
but like ppl are saying learn2dogde and l2b.
Pros are just awesome very fast archer can kite like he wants, and most important thing is he can fast switch places and this little thing is just crucial for archers witch good ath u can just headshot hunt like u want no need a good spot coz if u know how to dodge enemy archers/trowers are not so deadly and another crucial thing is u can go with your team without any hesitation that is a) ur not too slow like on str build u go with a team and support them b) if ur team wants to retreat or regroup it's just so simple no need to stress like on str that u will be an easy target for enemy cav attacking from behind (in most cases it's just an end for str pewpew or he gonna get ganked by melee)
->27/21&27/18<-the high level 'hybrids'- personaly i don't like these builds and i will try to explain why to choose other path it's better,
27/21 is a +1 PD more than classic 24/21 but that 'one point' it's like over-investing, if u can't '1 headshot 1 kill' against ->real melee<- (not some shiters in pyjamas with zero brain) with a rusbow/longbow why even to add this point and get low PS, if melee can survive HS and archer is on low PS it's just bit dramatic still it's very playable build.
27/18 same build but with more PS, same as above no 1HS=1 frag but with more PS it's easier to 'finish' opponent, but the biggest con for 27/18 is low Ath, if a bunch of happy enemy players are just rushing u and u can't 1hs them u can't kite so fast like with 7ath, so that's why i don't like those two builds, they are very good vs cav but all in all path of classic 24/21 or 30/15 are much better imo
->30/15<- eSuba ranger, extremely dangerous build and hardest build to play or adapt, very low accuracy and ultra slow releasing arrows can be a huge no go for beginners, if some is dedicated enough to live with cons like: low ath- i mean it's kurwa so low with rusbow and 2 quivers that u just can't even switch places, if ur team is a just a bunch of pseudo melee u will be so pissed like hell when cav and enemy team is attacking from behind, there is no way even to kite a ->fully plated player<- with 30/15 so there are two options get good with headshooting and get even better at melee with ->4 wpf<- on, so in tldr 30/15 build is very hard to adapt and it's a very reliable on melee in archer team, with shit team is just a hardcore BUT with a good and stronk melee this fucking build will shine like a diamond.
last tldr: i know only ->4 ppl<-who can play very solid with 30/15 so if so agi crossbow dumbo or other braindamged pseudo 2h will write a bulshit like something that str archers are OP when most of archer player base is 24/21 i will piss on his grave
->33/15&30/21- Strat ALL IN builds: it's same as above but with 0 PS and sometimes 0 ath (min maxed build), its an AWP build for long time huge PD and ok accuracy (naked or half naked EQ) means that on STRAT battlefield ur just a turret, headshots are deadly and hunting for enemy archer is also easy with 30/21 cos of huge PD/WPF but like most of the players and balancers Battle server is THE THING, so those builds are not so good for a battle server, no PS means ur dead or just so dedicated to block enemy player until he will die on tyfus, low ath means everyone just attacks u whenever they wants, u need a good spot on battle server to shoot, and u need a big protection from melee so it's a good build but for strat i played it for a long time but it's shit on daily basis, just way too much cons to bypass to shine
'PD decreases crosshair size and increases projectile speed' nope, it's not working like u describe, PD will not lower ur crosshair on any bow and missile speed is a constant value, PD only gives u straight projectile parabolic aka native lasser shooting less up/down trajectory, that's why now 'shitty' bows are so popular.