I have several issues with ranged weapons:
- The bows and crossbows are generally of low quality untill you get the best ones in the final chapter. There are very few options along the way.
- The damage is fine if you max Dex, but the speed is horrible. You have to back away halfway across the island to kill a pack of lizards.
- When going the "dex route", the melee weapons you get are rubbish. In G2, you could get access to the Master Sword, which had high enough damage to weigh up for some of the lost strength (you'd still do less damage than strength based characters, but enough to actually harm most enemies).
- Overall it just seems like more effort was put into making melee fun and well balanced (the result being amazing I might add).
I'm hoping for a patch or add-on to fix that particular aspect. Other than ranged combat, the foundation of the combat system is so good they could easily re-use it in add-ons and sequels.
Right now, however, ranged weapons are not worth the trouble. Even at rank 10 with maxed Dex you still need to get your hands on the very best weapons, or you'll be backing away forever.