Hello everyone
I‘ll share my thoughts on this concept, mainly from the perspective of a player who plays mostly Multiplayer.
First of all, I don’t think Gondorarchers are that bad, at least not as bad as they used to be^^
Their formation is a lot better than before (I don’t know if this was a change from 4.4.1 to 4.5 or a later change tbh) and with the central spell they really aren’t that bad.
However, you are ofc right that rangers are the better alternative and most players go for them instead of the normal archers.
...refocus the Rangers as a harassment, ambush focused unit as they were portrayed in the books and films.
I don’t think this kind of unit design would work all too well in Edain. Yes, in the books and the films the rangers are this kind of ambush force, using guerrilla tactics and so on. But I don’t think this would work at all in Edain, at least not in multiplayer. Using archers as individual units, without being supported by melee infantry (at least some pikes) is very risky and any good opponent would punish it with cav (or other highly mobile units, like wolves).
Buffing the hp of normal archers and reducing the hp of rangers would go against the “system” of all elite archers having the same stats or all standard cavalry units having the same stats, and so on. This being said, I in fact would like to see the hp of all elite archers to be lowered, just enough to allow cavalry to one-shot them again. But that’s a different topic^^
In general I like the idea behind the suggested abilities. Only the “Fiery Blaze“ sounds too strong to me. Setting the ground on fire is really powerful, especially vs weaker units, like orcs. Also, having it as an ability of a regular unit (and not a hero/spell) allows you to cast it several times at once, which – I think – would be too strong.
I do like the other abilities, but I think the composite bows should not only decrease the cooldown of the salvo but also double (or buff at least) it’s damage, as they are doing it now.
Looking at the whole concept my main concern is that the idea of designing rangers as a “independent force” won't work for the Multiplayer, I’m afraid.
In order to buff Gondor archers and make them somewhat attractive compared to rangers; What if the town houses would not only discount towerguards (and heroic guards), but also normal Gondor archers? On the one hand this would maybe make townhouses more useful again, on the other hand it could help to buff Gondor archers.
But ofc that’s a more boring approach, compared to your idea ^^
Best regards,
Seleukos