Oh, don't get me wrong, they're pretty annoying in their own way too. Poisoned arrows... eugh. The only saving grace is that arrows aren't a guaranteed hit. When you've got four or five of them, however...

[She drains the last of her tea, and then places the cup back on the saucer.]

Though it sounds like using your magic to buff up someone who's already good at close-quarters would be really potent. It is, in the end, a battle of whether the melee fighter can get up in the mage's personal space. I usually prefer the brute force route... by which I mean, walking off a hit or two in return for getting into range. One can plow through archers the same way, assuming you're not outnumbered.

But gods do I miss my shields... taking everything raw sucks.