The Archer tends to do better in a Light magic party when I play. He/she can cast Paralyze and save up the spell points for the Big Guns (mainly the Cleric). On Dark parties, the Archer doesn't appeal very much to me. This discussion comes back to the most basic element of this game: it has such a wide open set of possibilities, that all choices come down to a person's style of gameplay.
Hence, for Peter2, the Archer may well be indespensible. For others, that class may be highly undesirable. For persons such as me, an Archer may be a potentially useful option for some parties, and not quite as attractive for others.
