Battlefield role
Core ranged damage dealer — shreds unarmored infantry and supports the frontline from behind a screen.
Archers convert good positioning into free damage. Behind a solid melee line they delete unarmored infantry and pressure anything that stands still; caught alone, they evaporate against the first cavalry charge that reaches them.
That risk-reward is the point. An archer-heavy army demands real skill — screens maintained, flanks watched, targets called — and repays it with fights won before the enemy closes the distance.