Anyone else find them rather annoying in pvp … I die in 3-6 shots depending if I’m wearing light or heavy gear … unless I counter with my own bow build I see no way around them … yes I can use a shield but by the time I’m close enough and swung once with a melee weapon I am more or less dead 
Maybe remove the lock on so it requires some skill at close range and slow down the rate of fire on light attacks ?
I’ve seen this constantly on the PS. People will tug a super-aggro bow monster and hit you with a hidden follower to boot. Dead before you can even move.
Sandboxing: If you use Target Lock, there should be a die-roll on whether your shot ricochets off of my armor. Or if you use Target Lock, you are 75% guaranteed to hit my shield.
Same with Hammers.
Spears
Hammers and then Spears again. Then with Axe and Shield.
Then with mace animation canceling.
Then with Claws
Now with bows.
When you create a meta people will break it. The only way around the melee meta of hammers was to counter with bows.
I reckon that Axe and Shield will now have a place. It will become the bow breaker.
I have no problem with people using bows it how easy and quick they kill you at close range…
Just increase the stamina consumption while they move and shoot, heavily reduced consumption when staying still. Just my thoughts.
I’ve not had problems with people with bows. In fact, I wish bow damage was higher, not lower. I actually want bows to be a threat (especially for archer thralls to deter bases from being raided so easily).
Is that a serious comment 
Yes, its a serious comment.
Granted, however, I actually put attribute points in Vitality. So arrows aren’t as hard hitting as someone with low Vitality. I also actually dodge making arrows miss sometimes. I also use cover in my environment; I don’t charge an enemy across open ground who has a trained bow on me if I can avoid it ('cause that’s just asking to be killed).
Maybe the way I play makes me just different that way.
PS: And yes, as @LostInTim points out below, shields work! (Strong bows make shields a viable option instead of just the Hammer/Spear meta)
I think bows are in a great spot now that the 100% ap arrows are gone, right where they should be. I spec bows sometimes for PvP, but last night I didn’t, instead I went axe and shield, went up against a bow user as was able to deflect and get to him for the kill. He almost had me once but I was able to retreat, again using my shield to cover. It really just depends on who’s using it.
I must be playing a different games to everyone or you have not come across a decent bow user https://youtu.be/vf2uvLYzUN0
So I watched that video, it contained:
Still don’t see a problem. 
Bows are entirely OP currently, they can 3-6 shot any player and shield cannot block if you get close enough, if you are skilled with both you will be able to get those shots in even if they try to counterattack. You try to roll to dodge an attack, they got 5 more shots after. They need to nerf the fire rate of light attacks down and make it so they there is no toggle lock. being able to run top tier get and potentially 1 shot to the head is also possible and shouldn’t be. You can also still be hit by bows even if you block with shield, all they have to do is shoot your feet/legs and shield won’t block it. I don’t mind when weapons are overpowered, but I do when they take no skill to use at all.
If anything, it backs up where I think you’re going: in PvP you need to be well-rounded. Or at the very least, keep a shield on you.
Would you agree the biggest problem is there’s no downside to using target lock? There should be a penalty – for instance a chance of deflection by armor, AND if you’re shielded vs a target-locked enemy their shot goes like a magnet to your shield – for using target lock in PvP, because it removes 9/10 of the skill requirement.
The bow user can just walk around a shield too but again I must just be on a server of low skilled fighters that love to lock on and spam light attack… oh sounds like an old claws thread
This is why I play on servers with the auto lock on option disabled. Really makes you learn to aim attacks and you never have to deal with some crazy God bow being able to auto hit you despite your best efforts to zigzag and dodge.