I became a bowman because I enjoyed sniping in HHG. To be honest, I have rather rosy memories of n00b armor at lvl 10. 4th job had this effect on everybody, not just the bowmen. A 180lvl Bishop on my server quit and sold all his ultra-godly equips to fund his Hero because he was sick of the "wannabee Bishes" running around. How you distinguish a wannabee bishop from an actual bishop is beyond me, because they spam the same Genesis.
Unlike some people here, I don't think Bowman was ever a "cheap" class. If you think about it, the vast majority of your equipment is compatible with other classes. For example, you might want a 4 att 6 Dex cape, a 15 att Stormcasters or a 5 Dex Facestompers; all of which could be wanted by non-bowmen. As for the price of bows, well, purchasing like a 115 att Metus was never easy. Finding one is hell, affording one is also hell. And if you're talking unfunded, I've always been told that Clerics are good unfunded; but for choosing that you could now be accused of bandwagoning. :XD
I'd have to say that the bandwagon has a limited effect on 4th job. Most of the Bowmasters I am aware of have been around for a while. And if a new one pops up, is he really a shmuck for deciding to be one because of Sharp Eyes? I feel worse for the Dragon Knights, who had a nice, cushy 3rd job and are completely screwed now. Getting to 120 beats the bandwagon out of anybody, I think. If you get there, you deserve your Sharp Eyes.
The biggest advantage Bowmen have, I'd say, is that none of their skills drops from Horntail. Just MW 20, like everybody else. SE 20 is expensive, yeah, but grinding like 6 lvls on Sharks is simply not the same as trying to get TT30 or Gen30.
Unlike some people here, I don't think Bowman was ever a "cheap" class. If you think about it, the vast majority of your equipment is compatible with other classes. For example, you might want a 4 att 6 Dex cape, a 15 att Stormcasters or a 5 Dex Facestompers; all of which could be wanted by non-bowmen. As for the price of bows, well, purchasing like a 115 att Metus was never easy. Finding one is hell, affording one is also hell. And if you're talking unfunded, I've always been told that Clerics are good unfunded; but for choosing that you could now be accused of bandwagoning. :XD
I'd have to say that the bandwagon has a limited effect on 4th job. Most of the Bowmasters I am aware of have been around for a while. And if a new one pops up, is he really a shmuck for deciding to be one because of Sharp Eyes? I feel worse for the Dragon Knights, who had a nice, cushy 3rd job and are completely screwed now. Getting to 120 beats the bandwagon out of anybody, I think. If you get there, you deserve your Sharp Eyes.
The biggest advantage Bowmen have, I'd say, is that none of their skills drops from Horntail. Just MW 20, like everybody else. SE 20 is expensive, yeah, but grinding like 6 lvls on Sharks is simply not the same as trying to get TT30 or Gen30.