Warhammer Online, offers us one of the archer "types" that were available in the tabletop game; The Shadow Warriors of the Nagarythe, descended from the small hunter tribes who lived among those who would become the Dark Elves. The Shadow Warriors vowed to continue the bloody civil war against The Witch King and fight for revenge alone. Outnumbered, the Shadow Warriors became masters of guerilla warfare and ambushes. Ironically, the Shadow Warrior of Warhammer Online is, in my opinion, misunderstood, and they suffer an opinion that parallels their fantasy history; in Warhammer Lore their brutality is so renowned that they are shunned by many of their High Elf brothers, in the online game there are quite a few people who feel the class is worthless and should be removed from the game entirely. Contrary to mainstream opinion, I do not consider them to be the one of most under powered classes in the game, rather, I believe they have a unique niche that most other players do not recognize or realize. I do not play my Shadow Warrior to put out large amounts of damage, I play them closer to their fantasy Lore; I am a harasser, a softener, and an ambusher. Regardless of why you love them, or why you hate them, I believe everyone can agree that they could use some love.
I propose giving Shadow Warriors mounted shots. In Warhammer lore High Elves have mounted archers, Ellyrian Reaver's, so I believe bringing a mounted archery ability to the Shadow Warrior, with their renowned skirmishing skills and expert archery, is reasonable and generally consistent with lore. My original thought was to have a new tactic that allowed mounted archery. However, this may be too powerful so another option would be to have two stance specific new tactics at around level 23. Addressing Dismounting: One of the issues that would need to be addressed for mounted shots would be that presently damage = dismount which would pretty much defeat the intended purpose of mounted abilities. Mounted shots should primarily focus on giving an advantage in speed and mobility. I think the most viable solution would be that while using the mounted tactic, damage (on par with that required to dismount one from an armored guild mount) would slow the SW rather than dismounting him. After all, if he is in the fray his horse's movement will be hampered by the enemy and allies around him. I've put in a 20% speed increase while taking damage, but the % really needs be tested and figured out in-game. The movement speed increase while taking damage should be enough to maintain a bit of a mobility advantage, but not so much that it becomes unfair. After consideration I chose 20% because I felt it should be less than the durational speed increases other classes can use during combat and less than the Flee! tactic, but still provide a mobility advantage. However, I would not be surprised if 20% were found to be too high. The skirmishing Shadow Warrior is always on the move, roving across the battlefield searching for an opening that would allow him to strike into the heart of the enemy army. It is not the intention of this new tactic to simply hand the Shadow Warrior a movement speed increase, but rather to give him an exciting new tool for his get in and get out assaults. (For comparisons: Flee! gives a 30% speed increase for 10 seconds and drains all AP. The SH's Run Away! ability gives them a 30% speed increase for 10 sec. Slayer's Charge! gives a 50% speed increase for 10 seconds. Odjira's proc gives a 60% speed increase for 7 sec. Standard mount gives a 50% speed increase, Guild mounts give a 60% speed increase, and the recruit-a-friend mount gives a 70% speed increase.)