Archers in Atlantica should never be in the front row because of their poor defense and low HP.
Be careful to keep a unit in front of them so that they are not exposed to any melee attacks. Their high DEX can help them dodge less accurate ranged attacks, but be prepared to heal them when they get hit by any kind of attack.
The real value of an archer lies in her strong attacks, as she can often wipe out an enemy with lower defense in one attack. Also, her Silence spell can keep pesky enemy casters from hurting allied units.
You'd better to buy Atlantica Gold and Atlantica powerlevleing to strengthen your characters.
Having more than one archer can pay off against single tough targets, such as bosses, but they are not the most efficient against multiple foes. Usually, one archer is plenty for a squad.
As Rank C units become available, the player gains access to prophets, a sort of ranged/caster hybrid. They are not exactly apples to apples, but prophets end up better in every attribute except DEX, and they have magics that can take some of the punch out of enemy magic as well.
The archer's Silence spell is very versatile, but the tougher prophets make the better choice at higher levels.
