Is archer the worst weapon?

Its huge and look badass but: barely damages max; vehicles and aircraft n/a; infantry? forget about it; very slow in all aspects; high exposure.
Can anyone explain me why this gun is costing 1k certs? I am the saddest person right now, i would pay 200 certs for it and just to kill boredom... but i spent 1k, i feel so stupid.

Actually it damages MAX's between at least 1000 and at least 500 damage per headshot depending on the range, making it one of the the highest damaging primary weapons to use against their class. It also inflicts some indirect damage. The only primary better suited than it is probably the Lasher, by situation. The best a MAX can defend against it is 20% at the last rank of Kinetic and that only requires one more headshot.

Heresy! The Archer is far from "the worst weapon". It's an anti-everything support gun.

And even then it still outperforms other weapons in terms of taking out MAXs and Valkyries. Also works better than small arms to get a Harasser to retreat/die. Otherwise; there isn't a single situation in which the Archer cannot help out.

The only flaw is that, in most cases, it doesn't do much on its own.

Thats exactly the problem. Support? Not even that i dare to say. A weapon that can do anything by itself is better support than a "support" one.
I easily trashed 1k certs, is there any way to get a refund?

The archer is a MAXbuster, you literally get in fronto of a damaged MAX and blast its face and he cannot do nothing but die.
Also it works against infantry as a counter sniper weapon, and it's the only weapon you should have when playing vehicles, to pull last hits on damaged enemies if you happen to bail.
The archer is easily the best purchase i did on my engineer, and with the ASP shotgun secondary i literally won't go anywhere without an archer in the meantime

Archer is exellent if you use it as intended porpose. If it is a support weapon use it as support weapon. Or maybe I am just a TR used to a redicully low damage per bullet.

I'm no Archer fan boy, but it really is a good gun. I use it all the time now that I can equip my Baron in my secondary. It's the best weapon of you do vehicles, especially because if the great damage it does against aircraft and harassers. And every infantry squad should have one or a couple, because they really do melt Maxes. With a straight pull bolt it's really nice to support HAs in the field, as you can lend a small hand while giving them ammo. And indoors and when driving vehicles the laser sight let's you hip fire fairly accurately while on the move. If you don't have a shotgun secondary then the Commissioner works great, or possibly the Emissary. It's also a great choice if you're a Valk engineer, as you can help against anything when you aren't repairing. It's a good gun.

Stop treating the Archer as a primary weapon. Your secondary weapon is your primary weapon now.
Treat the Archer as if it were a Lancer with splash damage and remember that you have unlimited ammo.
There is nothing you can not destroy with the Archer. If you can see it, you can destroy it or scare it away.

If I had to start over with a new account and zero unlocks, the Archer would be my first acquisition.
Good secondaries to go with the Archer: shotguns (if you're in A.S.P.), NS-44 Commissioner, NS-45 Pilot, NS-61 Emissary, or a good faction specific one.....

WTF guys... how am i suposed to kill a max if they get repaired all the time? How do i do anything if everyone backs because this weapon is crap and does 0 damage to anyone... even an average sniper does better at killing infantry and they cost nothing.

Landing a bullet to an airship unless is a whale or lib is really hard because its muzzle velocity is at the speed of the most generic submachine gun... even when its size its comparable to the one from an esf or even a skyward LOL. This game is not making any sense honestly and i am feel really disapointed.
It doesnt matter how much you try to sweet it, the gun is crap honestly. Been trying to play with it and i only killed 1 max and in a very situational way. Even it fails at killing max because they back all the time and the bullet speed is awful, GOD.

I know its my fault for buying this crap, but still is really sad...

Time-honored tradition: kill the priest medic engineer first.
Another time-honored tradition: headshots.

I feel sad for every Archer dragged through the mud by lackluster players.

How am i suposed to kill those "priests" behind ****ign walls? At this rate you are just trolling.

I only see one troll here, and it isn't FateJH.

Same way with any other direct fire-weapon.
In which case, the Archer's capabilities, of 2-shot killing any infantry unit at a distance with proper accuracy with a sniper rifle's velocity & range, while also having the anti-armor capabilities, make the Archer, the most adaptive weapon nearly.
Any Target, you can threaten or kill with Skill & practice.
Enemy Snipers? Yes.
Infantry? Yes.
Tanks? Yes, situational, but either as a finisher, or literally having the situation where it can't run or doesn't, you can directly kill it by yourself.
Aircraft? If you can land the shot, it's actually pretty effective.

Max Units, without support, like a constant engineer strapped to it, are fodder to the Archer, which out-ranges it.
The Engineer sitting behind a 'wall', or the medic in the same position, has to keep at it.
No other weapon has the range or damage output to a Max unit, at that range, with such a short TTK on a Max.
If the weapon is called poor, as it can't kill the Engineer behind a solid object, every single non-splash weapon is in the same boat.
And the splash weapons that aren't, lack the direct damage to hold a candle the Archer.

The Archer is a glorious weapon if used properly & wisely.
You can engage ANY target you like, with the range of a sniper rifle.
It's not an infantry-killer carbine, it's an accuracy-based weapon designed to kill Max units, with a nice ability to also deal damage to any target type.
2 Shots to the head, at sniper range, and a max is dead.
If it has no medic to revive, that can even reach it without being shot dead by you or your allies, You just nailed a 450 nanite priced unit at a range it can't even fire back.

You can even Hipfire a Lightning tank to death or a Vanguard, if it lacks HESH or HEAT.
Many many uses, to a Sniper Rifle that can damage armor.
It's just not a rapid-fire killer. It's a ******* sniper rifle that can affect armored tanks.

The archer is more a weapon you use when you know there is a certain task to do and as such bit gimmicky. At least until you got the ASP for 2 primary guns unlocked via ASP(then you can run around with it all the time cause you got the shotgun for the CQC work).

Look, I can't hold your mouse while you play or be the critical thinking skills you need to solve your minute to minute problems no matter how lucid your descriptive skills. If it's not the MAX, it's going to be the Engineers hiding around the corner; and, if it's not the Engineers around the corner, it'll be the Combat Medics poised behind them and then the Heavy Assaults behind the Combat Medics; and, last of everyone, it will be that sniping Infiltrator, who took advantage of your indecision dealing with the Heavy Assaults guarding the Combat medics guarding the Engineers guarding the MAX's. The whining would be incessant. You're the player that needs to figure those things out, else it's more me playing than it is you playing.

All I'm here to do is answer your somewhat rhetorical initial question and that is give you a notion about where the Archer can shine its brightest.

So thats why this gun is useless for its cost. The most it can do is get assist or shooting exp.
Even pressing the goddamn "q" grants you more exp than landing awesome and consecutive shots at great distance to airships. Its so pathetic that it doesnt even reward you properly for doing good with it.

Just give me 800 bullets speed, 10 bullets per magazine and exp for good shoots and i wont complain about it being useless. The most kills/blew stuff it was pure luck because i had bunch of people assisting (killed and blew literally most things but all assisted, it feels so frustrating...).

Dumpass try your stuff on vr or koltyr before you buy it. There you can find yourself good bum bums to kill.

You can trial the weapon before you buy it. In addition, the weapon is ok. Like others are saying, it's good against MAX units, able to damage them greatly with accuracy from a distance. If you're a MAX, you know it's time for cover when you get hit by an Archer bullet.

The thing does more damage than you expect against armoured vehicles. It isn't a tremendous amount, but I've finished off other tanks from cover or when my own got blown up. To umarmoured targets it packs a punch, easily killing things like a Harasser when you get the chance.

Sure the thing isn't a powerhouse, but for the distance and accuracy it is a very decent weapon.

It fills a microscopic niche: long range Max sniping. It's cool to force Maxes to take cover but it does not go further than that. It's ac weapon for support heroes who do not give a damn about their kdr (do these players even exist??)

Vehicles:
If i plan to dirve or fly as engei, archer has to be equipped. The only usefull revenge, kill deny and ****-off weapon that works for the engie. Can be used as emergeny poor mans sniper rifle.

Infantry:
Why to pick engie in an infatry fight in the fist place? Support! You are not meant to be the premium infranty killer. Better stay in second line and eventually even run. Get a MANA, wall, spitty up, place ammo, repair MAX, place mines and help defending against enemy maxes. Beneit is archer works good at medium distance with minimum exposure time, synergizing best with engies rapid shield charge.