Most of this ranged meta QQ is a list of things that need to be fixed along with exaggerations and zero-evidence claims.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Vermintide/comments/8rqzk7/favourite_class_polls_results/
Polls tend to show that melee-focused classes are arguably more common (at least by self-declared survey results). Sienna, the game’s premier ranged character (no ammo on all ranged options) is likely the least common character seen (roughly tied with Kruber). Ironbreaker is extremely common, but no one complains about him despite IB having access to infinite-ammo Drake weapons. Meanwhile, Shade is obviously melee-focused and arguably the most common Kerillian class. Complaints are focused on Huntsman because of two factors: free ammo via some of the best elite-sniping possible when played well, and simple boss-melting potential, yet Huntsman is most likely Kruber’s least played class. Slayer doesn’t even have ranged weapons, and he’s far more popular than Ranger Veteran, who helps enable ranged-focused parties by providing shareable ammo and bombs and is oddly left out of most “ranged meta” complaints.
Ranger Veteran struggles with ammo consumption if attempting to use ranged weapons exclusively (especially if other players are taking his ammo), Bounty Hunter needs and relies on Prize Bounty for ammo sustain (meaning he’s only pumping out free shots periodically or if he’s also swapping back and forth between melee and ranged for guaranteed crit resets), Waywatchers frequently use Swiftbows that are less effective than they appear (crippled kill potential against elites/specials while spewing out a lot of arrows), and Sienna pays for her ranged effectiveness by having melee weapons that are generally worse than those available to other characters + she’s the least (or second least) common character. Huntsman requires a fair amount of skill for “infinite ammo” sustain, he’s fairly underplayed, and the only reason he isn’t completely terrible in melee is the Halberd.
“Ranged meta” complaints are arguably baseless due to the fact that the game simply has a lot of issues that need to be fixed that all affect melee more severely than ranged combat + melee is actually more prevalent than ranged.
I don’t mean to completely discard complaints from melee players when there are ranged-focused teammates dominating their matches. It’s true: playing as Slayer with a Waystalker, a Pyromancer, and a Huntsman generally isn’t fun. No one wants to be the person stuck watching everyone’s backs while they eliminate most targets at range… even though the odd one out is doing an important job looking out for specials ( a single slaverat behind your group can take out a fair chunk of health from a squishy ranged character in a single attack, let alone a special) However, such moments are less frequent than you might expect. The poll results suggest that parties with so much ranged focus are less common than commonly thought, and if you pay attention to your group’s ammo indicators, you might see that ammo-using, ranged-focused teammates are actually running low more frequently than you’d expect, especially if they’re bothering to shoot hordes at range (when they could be meleeing everything for no cost if doing it properly). Consider that those ranged-focused comps may be less successful, as well— squishy characters tend to make for bad Grimoire carriers, and a whole team of 100-health ranged characters can be killed off very quickly with less potential for clutching (who’s more likely to live long enough to revive allies in a horde-miniboss-specials smackdown: a Waystalker or a Zealot?). Boss battles invariably involve the whole team, and some of the most effective methods for dealing with a boss require skilled melee work (Shade, Slayer, Foot Knight with a Concentration potion). Remember that a squishy getting focused by those unblockable attacks dies faster than a melee character, and if that ranged character is doing more DPS than a melee character, they’re going to receive aggro (barring purple pot stealth spam as Huntsman and Ranger Veteran, the least common Kruber class and least problematic and least common Bardin class, respectively).
Yes, the game needs fixing, and Fatshark could be a lot more transparent (and a lot more focused on the core gameplay rather than slapping together a console port for an unfinished game when the first DLC and dedicated PC servers are already late). That being said, this whole “ranged meta” thing is borderlining on meaningless. Half of the problems mentioned are heavily affected by whether you’re the host or not, meaning that the eventual dedicated servers should reduce their impact significantly (and if they’re still an issue, they’ll be so prominent that it’s unlikely that they won’t be “fixed” in one way or another; ex: dodging unblockables).