I decided to revisit the archer class after probably 500 levels of barely touching it. Ended up going 48-18-3, which I think is solid for archer. I think I figured out how to do that consistently.

Most archers play from way too far back. They sit in the rear, lob arrows, miss half their shots, and hit their teammates with the other half, and then panic the second an enemy closes the distance. I did the exact opposite.

I played right behind the front line. And I mean immediately behind them. Your shots hit harder, land faster, and you don’t have to account for drop. You’re releasing arrows into openings as soon as they happen.

The other advantage is that people love rushing archers because they assume archers can’t fight. That’s where melee experience is crucial. I’m comfortable enough with a cudgel to survive those guys, punish bad pushes, or worst case, hold them off until help arrives.

The point of this post isn’t braggadocio. It’s this:

If you main archer but avoid melee classes, you are hurting yourself.

You need to understand how the front line actually works. Learn spacing. Learn timing. Learn how people push, feint, overextend, and chase kills. Those are things you only really learn by being in the thick of it. Then, when you go back to archer, you’ll be a lot more dangerous. You’ll know where to stand, when to shoot, when to switch weapons, and how to kill the people who charge you out of pure hatred. Or at the very least, you’ll survive long enough for your teammates to save you.