Good day,
This post is not intended to hurt anyone's feelings or judge anyone based on their capabilities. You guys are prototyping every class in a very short amount of time, in an open development environment, and that is a difficult thing to do. You have not had a lot of time to tinker with and explore each class to determine what ultimately feels right. I hope the tone of this post comes across as constructive and respectful.
I believe one of the bigger challenges with the Archer is going to be getting traps to function as intended, remain balanced, and still provide the "feel" of an Archer. This becomes particularly difficult when considering the number of terrain types where players are unable to place traps, as well as the fact that many of the traps currently do not work. Given the current stage of development, I imagine programming traps to function properly across all terrain types must be a significant challenge for the developers.
My hope for the next balance pass is that Archers receive a rework that allows them to fulfill their intended role of dealing damage in groups without becoming overpowered when played solo.
I would like to see the developers consider moving the Archer somewhere between a Wizard and a Rogue in terms of gameplay. This could involve longer cast-time abilities, positional abilities similar to Backstab, and a greater emphasis on damaging and visually impactful abilities.
Solo vs. Group Gameplay
Currently, the way the class plays solo and in a group feels almost completely opposite.
Solo:
You are expected to utilize nearly all of your abilities: Snaring Shot, Net Shot, DD, DoT, Caltrops, etc., often while constantly on the move. This creates a very fast-paced playstyle with relatively high risk and high reward, particularly given the new monster abilities.
Group:
You are primarily standing in place and managing the timing between Barb and Quickshot, while using Piercing Shot when it becomes available. Snaring Shot is used when needed as mobs are dying, with Exposing Shot and the occasional Caltrops being used on group pulls.
Realistically, you are primarily utilizing three keys in this situation (Considering Barb and Quickshot are part of the same damage cycle)
Archer vs. Fighter Ability Design
If we compare the Archer and Fighter strictly from an ability-design perspective, without considering the implications of the Fighter being a tank, I find the Fighter's abilities feel more like what I would expect an Archer's group gameplay to look like.
The Fighter has abilities that interact with and trigger one another's cooldowns. There are also significantly more emergency-use abilities, which gives the class a more diverse and reactive feel.
By comparison, the Archer's group gameplay currently feels extremely monotonous.
To be clear, I am not suggesting that the Archer needs more utility. I am specifically talking about having more damaging abilities and emergency/reactive damage abilities that give the class more depth during group combat.
Traps vs. Ranged Damage
My hope is that the developers consider pulling back somewhat on the number of traps Archers have and replacing some of them with different forms of ranged damage abilities.
These abilities could have meaningful caveats or limitations that prevent them from becoming overpowered in a solo setting. Longer cast times, positional requirements, cooldown interactions, resource costs, or other restrictions could help accomplish this.
I think traps could be a great part of the Archer's identity later in the game's development. However, I don't believe making the Archer heavily dependent on traps before the class's fundamental combat kit is established is necessarily the best direction.
I would rather see the Archer's core ranged-combat identity established first, with traps becoming an additional layer of complexity afterward.
Thank you for reading.
