Paralogue 20: The Silent Archer
Archers are basic ranged units, typically promoting to Snipers, capable of attacking targets two squares away, and sometimes three with special weapons. They excel at hitting flying units for significant damage and possess high Skill, leading to good critical rates and accuracy. However, archers are vulnerable to adjacent attackers, as they cannot counter-attack in melee.
Historically, archers are often considered low-tier due to their inability to counter-attack most enemies in melee, which is a major part of the game's combat. They struggle against mages, who can fight at range and counter in melee, and against melee units using thrown weapons. Archers often have abysmal stats, particularly strength, making them less effective in their primary role of hitting key enemies on the player phase or countering ranged threats from behind a defensive line. Warriors with bows can sometimes be a stronger alternative due to their higher strength.
Later games have attempted to address these issues with mixed results, though features like Pair-Up and Dual Attack have significantly helped. Rare weapons or skills like the Double Bow or Point-Blank can grant close-combat capabilities, but these are often endgame-only. Archers are more effective in "dungeon levels" where they can attack over walls without immediate retaliation and can man siege engines for extended range and high damage. Snipers may gain skills for guaranteed hits, though their naturally high Skill and weapon accuracy often make this unnecessary.