Not exactly top of the heap (but counterstrike IS coming back, archer numbers are increasing again plus throwers which are the new plague), but look, archers were whining prematurely about the change. Before the buff, they weren't exactly bottom of the heap either.
The damage increase is signficant, because you have to factor in powerdraw, etc. And they leveled up, too, of course. I was using a archer pre-buff, once I got PD6 the damage really picked up and was decent. In fact, now I retired my main and repicked heirlooms are a balanced glaive and a very strong bow, going to make (another) melee archer type char, was very happy with it.
Also, the bit where the arrows are pierce - I'm very sure the total damage is still cut, from what I recall the damage type of the launcher determines the damage type.