Opinions below: The kits have once again been meddled with, and this time I believe it upsets the balance of the game significantly and allows both the Tank and Assassin kits to excel beyond reason due to void of a counter-kit. Recently, the Archer kit's bow had its Punch I perk removed. In the most recent update, this perk has been reinstated at the cost of Power II being reduced to Power I. Now the Archer kit cannot damage the Tank enough to be able to realistically deter it, whereas the Assassin can no longer be killed as quickly which nullifies one of the two weaknesses of the Assassin; the other being the Tank. Was the Archer overpowered? The answer is Yes and No. The Archer, like any other kit in the game besides Demolitionist, was only overpowered from the perspective of a disadvantaging kit. To Vampires and Tanks, the Archer kit was terrible, usually being unable to out-DPS the Vampire and dealing insufficient damage to the Tank, though the only reason that the Archer was complained about as much as it was is because it is very effective at deterring the Assassin kit; by far the most overused kit in the game. The people that so regularly complained about the Archer kit weren't complaining because the kit was overpowered; they were complaining because it was effective against their preferred play-style. By nerfing the kit this so significantly, you have further strengthened this already effective method of playing, and although the Assassin has had a very minor nerf of its own, reducing the maximum number of boost-jumps to five rather than six is completely insignificant in comparison to the Archer kit's nerf, since it doesn't force you to change the way you use it. On the topic of "bow spamming"... Those that complain about bow spamming are basically complaining that Archer's don't immediately submit once somebody gets too close to them. What do you want us to do, use our insufficient swords to still not kill you? Of course if somebody is getting too close you're going to begin shooting rapidly, as it allows you to increase the distance between the aggressor and yourself. Personally, I have been told to kill myself and have been referred to as 'stupid', 'scum' and a 'noob' for doing this, which confounds me because not only are they getting so overly aggressive over a game, but because they're complaining at me for using the trump card of my kit whilst they're boost-jumping, or should I say basically flying, around the map to kill me using their own trump card. Bow spamming is annoying, but it is not overpowered or imbalanced in any way, and only in the hands of an accurate and skilled player will the arrows tend to frequently connect. Further thoughts on why bow spamming is not a problem... No other competitively viable kit in the game is rendered as useless as the Archer is once it has exhausted all of its consumable supplies. The Tank kit is still a badass that can withstand attacks regardless of whether it has a golden apple or not, and the Assassin still has that Sharpness I Diamond Sword despite depleting its boost-jumps. The Archer on the other hand, is rendered completely non-viable once it has depleted all of its arrows, and when you're spawning in with as few as half a stack of them, firing all of them in rapid succession with little damage output proves very counter-productive to the user. So tell me again, why is it that Bow Spamming is a problem, when it requires the user to deplete half their stock to little effect in seconds? How would I nerf the Archer? If I had to decide how the Archer is nerfed, I would disallow it from using the Refill signs, but instead allow it to regenerate an arrow every two seconds, and six arrows for every kill. This makes bow spamming costly and therefore discourages it, seeing as even if you do survive you'll be forced to lie low until you've acquired a sufficient number of arrows. Make the use of Refill signs an upgrade that the Archer kit exclusively has to unlock, or perhaps nerf the usefulness of it. I would also reinstate the Punch I perk alongside Power II, given that removing Punch I actually seemed to buff the kit, as the knockback at close range was more predictable and gave the opposition less time to be able to strafe out of the way. Other than this, the kit feels perfectly balanced, being able to swat Assassin's like flies (and Vampires, if at a distance) but struggling to withstand attacks at close range (especially from an Assassin) as well as struggling to deal damage to Tanks. Please reinstate the Archer kit to its former greatness: -Unbreaking X -Power II -Punch I Thanks
