I have one character a 26 ranger.He starts fights with his long bow.

When I've tried a caster I felt the range was MUCH less than a long bow and so I took more damage from another caster or a mele who rushed to strike me.

Do casters get longer range at some point ? If so...how do they get that longer range ? How does the linger cast ranger compare to the range of a long bow ?

Thanks in advance for your help.