Idea 2019 Archer Rework Idea (less complicated than my other ideas)

Perceived problems with Archers as they currently are:
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Everyone complains about too many SNIPES/HEADSHOTS and that only Elves (and possibly Dwarves?) have any chance of defending against them. Archers also tend to BOWSPAM and at the moment this bowspamming can actually benefit the Archer in combat (not always, not rarely, but at least "sometimes"...and that's often enough to be a problem for most CTFers).

I know Archers aren't on the top of the "needs work" list, but in case snipes and bowspam remain a heated issue that demand a change, then at least most of these changes should be quite simple to implement for testing at some point (or at least these changes seem simple when compared to some of my other suggestions in the CTF Ideas forum, ha).


Proposed solution:
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Remove any existing default damage multipliers that may apply (such as 1.5x arrow damage to Chemists)
Remove the Punch effect from the bow
Grant a Power I effect on the bow instead
Replace the stone sword with a wooden sword that has Knockback II
Moderately reduce the minimum snipe distance from 30+ blocks away to 25+ blocks away
ALLOW ALL ENEMIES TO BLOCK THE INSTANT KILL SNIPE EFFECT FROM SNIPE DISTANCE SHOTS
(Keep the current steak count, arrow count, and armor unchanged)


Long-winded reasoning and more details:
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Punch is a great part of what makes the current Archer build fun for me personally ("punting" enemies off ledges at a distance is helpful and fun, but Scouts have become a much better counter measure for bringing enemies down from their perches since they've entered the scene). In exchange for all these other changes I'm proposing for Archers, I wouldn't complain about completely losing all Punch effects on the Archer bow.

With my years of playing Archer against countless classes, I find that the damage output is woefully LOW no matter what I try in any long-lasting combat encounter. When I fight and manage to kill an unarmored Ninja in melee as an Archer, it usually takes the same length of time for a Heavy to fight and kill an armored Archer in melee - with that Archer using all 4 steaks! I find it silly that virtually all kills have to be instant snipes or low/no armor classes (like Ninja or Assassin). When most other classes charge in too close to be sniped (which often seems like 10 blocks in from the farthest away that they would actually pop up on the screen, ha ha!) I find myself instead focusing on leading them on a chase just to keep them busy and away from interfering with my other teammates. Having some level of Power on the bow would help against this "guaranteed low damage output" tremendously without bowspam keeping melee enemies frustrated from constantly being knocked out of fighting range (by the Punch I effect of the current Archer bow -- assuming that enough consecutive shots keep hitting).

Some Archers currently spam arrows at "bottleneck" areas of maps from a distance too (on maps that have bottlenecks and clear distant shots to them) and all non-premium classes as well as most premium classes have NO defense against multiple snipe kills. I think that FINALLY players should be able to BLOCK THE ARCHER SNIPE INSTANT KILL EFFECT (even though the shot would still hit and have the Power I factor into the damage suffered unless the blocker was an elf deflecting the shot). To balance this major nerf to Archers, the effective snipe distance required should be reduced a bit in my opinion (25 blocks, down from 30 currently). Any player that is blocking would be protecting players behind them if the archer doesn't shoot over their head too, so the shorter snipe distance requirement isn't going to make archers overpowered by any means.

Archers (as war-trained CTF individuals who should know that typically their greatest weakness is being caught too close to the enemy) should be prepared enough to have a reliable way to keep their enemies at a fair distance. Granting Knockback II on a weaker melee weapon (like a wooden sword) would allow a better chance to keep most enemies at bay if need be without being able to be abused like the current bow and the aid of a narrow corridor. During "knockback sword time", the Archer isn't sniping at anyone. So even if the fight takes some time and is frustrating, the enemy is still helping their team by keeping the Archer occupied while suffering lower damage from the major Knockback II effect. The Archer's damage output should (by namesake) be predominantly from their knowledge of the BOW. And again, while shooting the bow without any Punch effect, the enemy is not being knocked farther away so enemies can charge in more easily against even the worst bowspammer (yes, believe it or not there are even worse bowspammers than me).

Overall this would force Archers (like myself) to run in close for the fun "punting" strategy, and snipes wouldn't be considered overpowered - OR dangerously underpowered - in my opinion. Any player that would anticipate a snipe in an area could intermittently block to protect against instant snipe death, and as a trade-off the Archer would be effectively slowing down that opponent (because blocking slows them down a lot) and this can be helpful to the entire team in flag recovery situations especially, while still granting the Archer a chance to score an instant kill snipe if the aim is true and the target's blocking timing is off.

If an opponent blocks nonstop the entire time then the Archer would never be able to instantly kill them with a snipe. However, each hit would cause a bit more damage thanks to the Power I and other teammates would have ample time to catch up pretty easily...especially Scouts that can make a slow-paced blocking walk a total waste by swapping with them from back where they started from.


Side notes:
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Having everyone able to block Archer shots would actually allow some degree of early Elf vs. Archer "snipe vs. shield" practice as well, which can help players who are on the fence about choosing between the Elf or some other premium class once they earn enough credits (on any day of the week).

An Archer who attempts to shoot an Elf at a snipe distance and has the arrow deflected back can block the arrow, but it would come from the Elf with the same Power I enchantment and hit the blocking Archer with the same amount of damage that it would cause if it was fired from an enemy Archer. Obviously if the Archer didn't block the deflected arrow then the Elf would gain a snipe reflection kill.

Since Dwarves would suffer a subsequent mini-nerf by having all players gain their level 5 ability to effectively block against a snipe's instant kill effect, any Dwarf that reaches level 5 would instead be able to benefit in a similar way without even having to block at all (though they would still suffer the same 50% hit to their XP - and if they DID block, they would suffer NO hit to their XP so it's still a perk for the Dwarf class regardless).