Castle.
1) Archers. Good Castle units; shooting twice, of course, helps, otherwise it wouldn't be so great. Defense is very weak. 4 points.
2) Fanatics. Low health, enemy towers constantly kill them when you attack. No resurrection, for example. So, a two-week increase in level 5 warriors is lost. There is no penalty in melee combat; usually, it doesn't come to that. There are better units in the Castle that can deal damage. 2 points.
Rampart.
3) Great Elves. Double attack. You can say they are 50% improved archers. Good units. 4 points.
Stronghold.
4) Orcish Leaders. Not very strong, health... maybe for an archer, but for a level 3 unit, the damage is also low. I don't really believe in their power. 2 points.
5) Cyclops Kings. I rarely use their wall-breaking ability, but level 6 archers are interesting. Health and damage are average, but the cost is clearly too high due to this "optional" ability. 2 points.
Fortress.
6) Lizard Warriors. The only ranged unit of the faction and the only support for shooting from long distances. But, as follows from the specifics of the Fortress, defense should be greater than or equal to attack, but not the other way around. Good defense and damage, health - all this is pleasing. Maybe my opinion is subjective (this is my favorite castle), but these are some of the best archers. And something tells me that it will defeat an archer one-on-one. 4 points.
Dungeon.
7) Evil Eye. I am skeptical about the ability of ranged units to deal full damage in melee combat; they should not do that. An average unit. 2 points.
8) Medusa Queen. "I am skeptical about the ability of ranged units to deal full damage in melee combat; they should not do that." (:) D. Petrification does not give the Medusa any special powers; damage and health are average. 2 points.
Inferno.
9) Magogs. Not a bad unit, especially due to the fire ball. The only ranged unit in the faction, so it is valuable, but a ranged unit will most likely defeat it one-on-one. 3 points.
Tower.
10) Master Gremlins. ... I would like to remain silent, but... no, I'd rather stay silent... no, I'll say it. By acquiring ranged attack, they completely lose their already weak melee attack. And hundreds of these green little monsters are just for amusement. In melee combat, there is, to put it mildly, nothing to fear from them...
1 point.
11) Archmages. Good units: damage, health, characteristics, no penalty at the same time. And it also reduces the cost of using magic. This is twice as effective for cheap spells. They are very good. 5 points.
12) Titans. I can't even bring myself to call level 7 creatures ranged units. It shouldn't be that way in my opinion. Although, if you think about it, they aren't ranged units anyway, so one ranged unit of this level won't hurt. As usual, there is no penalty in melee combat, speed, a large amount of health and levels, the highest of all factions when blessed. I won't even mention that magic affecting the mind does not work on them. Blindness will not work. I give the highest rating, and not because they are so strong, they are level 7, a couple of traits stand out, no... The main thing is a very high-quality synthesis of the unit's skills and characteristics. 5 points.
Necropolis.
13) Mighty Liches. This is a separate conversation. A combination of damage and acceptable health. Cloud of Death, which acts almost like a fire ball... makes this unit a good guardian of the undead legions. 4 points.
Conflux.
14) Storm Elementals. You can talk a lot about this castle, but I don't like it. Because there is no gradation of power. In a certain scenario, Storm Elementals can defeat a Magma Elemental. Levels are not clearly defined. Naturally, they are the strongest creatures of level 2, the damage is simply unreal, especially when blessed, health, speed... There is no penalty in melee combat. 4 points.
15) Ice Elementals. Also a ranged unit, but not very good compared to similar units at the same level; the speed is not very good, actually. I would prefer Great Elves. Moreover, there is a penalty in melee combat. 2 points.
Now let's talk about uncontrolled units.
16) Hobbit. There is little benefit from luck, to be honest. Otherwise, it is a copy of a Gremlin, only the defense seems to be twice as bad. 1 point.
17) Sniper. Naturally, the unit is good because it shoots without penalty. But I want to think about whether it is worth the money. 400 gold is not lying on the road, and the health is very low. I'll digress and talk about the "Clash of Dragons" chronicles. Oh, I had a lot of trouble constantly reviving them... 15 units. The most ordinary "Explosion" with damage of about 600 units, I consider this to be almost the minimum damage. And 40 of them disappear in an instant...
But the shooting is worthy of all praise, as is the damage. 3 points.
18) Wizards. I'm starting the conversation with the same thing again. Is it worth the money? In the "Lords of the Elements" chronicles, I also had a lot of trouble reviving these 30 HP units. With one arrival at the enemy castle, you can immediately lose 4-5 units. And if there are more rounds during the siege? And they cost 750 gold. On the other hand, they give useful spells, for the entire army: either friendly or hostile. There is no penalty in melee combat, but I think that if they get close, they won't have anything special, because in melee combat, you will already be fighting back! It is not quite clear what level this creature is (level 5 or 6, it seems to cost like level 6, but the health and damage are level 5). 3 points.
With this assessment, as well as according to my own principle, I assigned points in accordance with the main parameter for me in the game - balance. That is, the correspondence of level, characteristics, abilities, and "decent!" cost. It is possible to create such a rating in which I will still present 17 places, and in case of a tie in points, I will choose the more acceptable one from the alternative choices.
Rating of the best ranged units.
1) Titans.
2) Archmages.
3) Great Elves.
4) Archers.
5) Lizard Warriors.
6) Mighty Liches.
7) Storm Elementals.
8) Magog.
9) Sniper.
10) Wizard.
11) Orcish Leaders.
12) Fanatics.
13) Evil Eye.
14) Medusa Queen.
15) Cyclops Kings.
16) Ice Elementals.
17) Master Gremlins.
18) Hobbit.
That's it... :)
Added 18 minutes ago
If I forgot someone, I will fix it!