Quote from Xeno;1292194:
People are so min max these days it's sad. Listen bro, take it from a dex capped archer. Just play what you want to play. Play what is fun and motivating to you. Everything dies so easily now, it doesn't matter what skillset you choose. You're going to have a tough time in alban and lords early on but high dex let's use use puppetry which is nice in at least lords. Point is though that no one cares if you clear the mission in 30 seconds or 45 seconds because you choose a slightly less optimal skillset. Just do what's fun and you'll be rewarded.
Well, to be fair, the Alban level that actually matters isn't meant for early players anyway. I, for one, am all for archery (especially for elves), and if you've seen me in game, you'd notice I use archery most of the time and clear about as fast as most of the other melee users. But of course, I'm nearly capped on dex with a pretty nice bohemian set.
The point is, like this person said, it doesn't matter what you use (at least most of the time). At least it's still not fighter or battle alchemy.
Quote from Syliara;1292199:
Is it viable? Yes, though technically everything is "viable" in this game. Is it worth the investment over other skillsets? I personally think no, and this coming from someone who put everything into range at one point and almost maxed out human archery. I spent thousands of dollars and hundreds of millions of gold capping range as much as i felt was possible at the time and then i go spend a fraction of the cost on melee and dual gunner and get better results back. The real question is do you care about clearing tougher content? If you do id recommend finding a different skillset. If you dont then do w/e you want as it really doesnt matter. Dont get me wrong, range can clear all current content but the cost of getting to that point is ridiculously high in comparison to other things like melee and gunner. If your not willing to invest a ton of time, effort, and gold/money into range then it turns into nothing more than a "fun" skillset.
And again, it's a matter of experiences. I'm at a same point in archery that you were once in (or maybe even slightly higher), and I find it to be rewarding enough. Do also note, I still use FH enough to have a set gear for it as well that's better than most of the FH users. I think another important distinction to make is that you said Human archery, but we're talking about Elf archery, which still has more to offer, though the difference is minimal compared to what we would like it to be. If one can find good enough resources to pour into range, I won't stop them, especially for Elves, but like you, I'd also caution with the high cost. While the outcome after the completion of gears and skills, aka rewards, isn't actually bad, the ratio is terrible compared to close combat or magic.