Dude, I've played about... oh, 8 hunters up to *at least* wilderness fam. Archery defense is HUGE. I can tank "hooded" mobs with a bow much easier than I can with a sword/shield or staff w/ healing. That's even with higher defense percentages with dodge/shield block/parry. However, the killing of the mob is much, much slower until rapid shot if I'm trying to rank solo. Add bait to the equation and you're the best tank in the game, period.