Hey gamers, hope you're all doing great. We're continuing to explore the classes in Chivalry 2 and this time I decided to venture into the Archer class. It's a pretty entertaining class that offers a very different type of combat and strategy compared to the other three classes, and I'll get into all of that right now. I'll be honest with you, Chivalry 2 isn't a bad game, but I also can't say it's something I absolutely love, however this Archer class does add a different flavor to the whole experience that caught my attention more than I expected.
Before getting into the subclasses themselves, let me give you the baseline stats for this class so you understand what you're working with from the start. The Archer is the squishiest class in the entire game, sitting at just 90 health, with a movement speed of 100 and only 50 stamina depending on the subclass. That's a big gap compared to the Knight with 175 health or even the Footman with 150. So right away you know this class isn't built to be tanking hits on the frontline, it's built to stay back, pick your spots, and contribute from a distance. And there's actually a cap on how many Archers a team can have at once, which makes sense because if everyone was running Archer in a 64-player match it would turn into a complete mess. With that context set, let's get into what makes this class interesting.
A Medieval Shooter!
One of the first things that jumped out at me when I started playing the Archer is how radically it changes the feel of the game compared to every other class. When you're playing as a Knight, Vanguard, or Footman, Chivalry 2 is this chaotic melee brawl where you're reading enemy swings, timing your blocks, and fighting at arm's length. Switch to the Archer and all of that goes out the window. Suddenly you're hanging back, scanning the battlefield from a distance, lining up shots, and picking off enemies who have no idea you're even targeting them.
And if you're playing in first person view, which I highly recommend trying, the effect is even more pronounced. It genuinely feels like you're playing a medieval shooter, like an FPS but with bows and crossbows instead of rifles. You're tracking moving targets, compensating for the arc of your arrows, holding your breath before releasing the string. The whole vibe of the game completely transforms, and honestly it's a welcome change of pace after spending a bunch of time in the thick of the melee chaos. The sounds help too, the thwack of an arrow connecting, the creak of drawing back the bow, it all adds to the atmosphere in a way that makes the Archer feel genuinely distinct from everything else this game offers.
The Traditional Archer: The Longbowman
The first subclass you get when you pick the Archer is the Longbowman, which is your classic traditional bow and arrow setup. The Longbow has incredible range, probably the farthest effective range of any Archer subclass, and it lets you contribute from really far back on the map, picking off enemies before they even reach your team's frontline. The special ability here is the Brazier, which lets you set fire to your arrows and deal fire damage on top of your regular arrow damage, which is a really cool touch. You also get Spike Traps you can place on the ground to protect yourself in case an enemy tries to rush you down, which is something you'll absolutely need since the moment someone gets close to you as an Archer it's basically game over if you don't have an escape plan.
The Longbowman's special skill charges by landing headshots, so the better your aim, the more frequently you can pop off that fire arrow ability. It rewards accuracy in a really satisfying way, because when you're landing consistent headshots and chaining those kills together while your team pushes an objective, you genuinely feel like you're making a difference from all the way across the map. The drawback is that holding your aim too long drains your stamina, so you can't just sit there perfectly lined up forever. You have to pick your moment and commit to the shot, which actually gives the class a nice layer of pressure that keeps you engaged.
The Crossbow Archer: My Personal Favorite
The second subclass you unlock is the Crossbowman, and honestly this one is my personal favorite of the two I've been able to try so far. I just like it way more than the traditional Longbow setup, and the main reason is precision. The crossbow fires a bolt that hits harder and more accurately than a regular arrow, making it feel much more deliberate and satisfying when you land your shots. The tradeoff is that the reload time is significantly longer than the Longbow, so every shot you take has real weight to it. You can't just spam arrows and hope something connects, you fire, you wait, you pick your next target carefully. It slows the pace down in a way that I actually enjoy because it forces you to think more about positioning and target priority.
The Crossbowman also gets some really useful tools that change how you play the support role. You get a Pavise Shield, which is basically a deployable wall you can crouch behind while reloading, giving you cover in a completely open area which is genuinely lifesaving when you're positioned somewhere exposed. On top of that you get a Banner ability, which once planted will heal your nearby teammates over time. So the Crossbowman ends up being this interesting hybrid between a precision damage dealer and a support unit, which is something I didn't expect from an Archer subclass at all. You're hanging around behind the frontline, firing heavy bolts into the enemy crowd, and simultaneously keeping your teammates healthier, it's a surprisingly solid combination.
I haven't unlocked the third subclass yet, the Skirmisher, since that one requires reaching class level 7 with the Archer. From what I've read though it's a completely different direction, dropping the bow entirely in favor of throwable javelins and axes, which can also double as melee weapons. It even has a Leaping Strike ability that lets you do a charging jump attack, which sounds absolutely wild for what's supposed to be an Archer. That one I'll have to cover once I've put in enough time to unlock it.
The Distance Problem
Now let's talk about the biggest challenge of playing the Archer, because there definitely is one, and it's something you feel really strongly in the 64-player mode. Controlling your distance at all times is without a doubt the most difficult part of playing this class, and it becomes a genuinely serious problem depending on the map and objective you're playing.
In a big open field battle, being an Archer is fantastic. You've got space to breathe, angles to work with, and enough distance from the frontline to actually contribute without getting immediately swarmed. But the moment you end up on a map with tight corridors, cramped castle interiors, or objectives that force everyone into a small space, the Archer class becomes extremely difficult to play effectively. Objectives like escorting a Convoy or defending a gate are brutal for this class because everyone is packed together in a narrow space and your entire advantage of range completely disappears. You can switch to your secondary melee weapon if someone rushes you, but let's be real, you're 90 health fighting against a Knight with 175 health who knows what they're doing, that fight is going to go very badly for you most of the time.
The low stamina pool makes it even harder because you can't dash out of danger as reliably as other classes, and if you get cornered you're basically done. It teaches you pretty quickly that as an Archer you always need to be thinking one step ahead about where the fight is moving and making sure you're repositioning before you end up in a situation where your range advantage is gone entirely. It's a real mental shift from playing the melee classes and honestly a skill on its own.
Next Class to Explore: The Knight
So gamers, that's been my time with the Archer class in Chivalry 2. An interesting class for sure, one that completely changes the feel of the game and gives you a whole different perspective on those massive 64-player battles. In the next post I'll be getting into the Knight class, which is a completely different experience all over again. See you there!
