I think you guys are fighting over nothing the real problem is not the ranged class or anything its their NUMBERS basic idea is if you want to counter archers be a shielder well im a shielder and yes i can COUNTER an archer but you cant dodge arrows coming from everywhere teamwork will help you for some time but once your teammates tell you "we are catching archers for 1 hours im tired lets play another game"its the end
" There are too many 2hers on!". / "There's too many Cav on" / "There's too many Shielders on today I can't play!" - Said noone ever
The problem isn't the numbers, it's that piercing damage scales way too well after the patch of destiny compared to other dmg types, and ranged piercing damage is even more obnoxious. Range should be strong, but not 1 shot someone in full plate with 27 str strong... that's just not fun. Now ppl with high level builds 34/35 can really output some damage we just wouldn't see before the level changes.
Most range dmg is fine except the random BS instakill headshots on full plate tbh.
A combination of better team balancing ( force 50/50 range on both teams) and scaled down headshot bonus damage on higher armor values would put things where they should be.
When you are stabbed in the face by a corseque or ashwood pike you are going to lose a huge amount of HP compared to any other melee weapon in the game, if not die instantly, but you could have just avoided it by blocking. When you are shot in the face by a range for around the same amount of huge damage you can't really say the same.