cRPG
cRPG => Suggestions Corner => Topic started by: KaMiKaZe_JoE on May 27, 2011, 09:45:34 pm
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It works, and it is playable, and it is fun, but I do not feel it is balanced. Before I offer my suggestions, I must first address the issue of teamwork. Those people who will reply to my suggestion with "Lol hoplite is for teamwork" can kindly go fuck themselves. I know spear and sheild users are supposed to work with the team, just like every other god damn class is supposed to work with the team. It is, however, unfair to suggest that the hoplite build must do that which every other class can--but does not--do.
To be quite frank I am sick of stabbing my enemies in the anus as they harass a teammate, only to be rewarded with a minimal damage stab which only distracts the enemy long enough for my teammate to stab his anus much harder than me and get the kill. Yes, that is "teamwork", but it's unfair. A class should not exist solely as a big, annoying distraction.
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What a "Good" Hoplite (too lazy to type "Spear and Sheild Guy") Generally Does In Kombat
In a normal scenario which is "optimal" for Mr. Hoplite, the large gaggle-fucks which are the opposing teams' formations approach one another at a choke-point of some sort. The hoplite stands near the front of his gaggle-fuck, his sheild almost always up, distracting the enemy with his very presence. The fight begins, and the hoplite waits patiently for an opening in the guard of one of his enemies--this generally happens when an enemy moves to attack a teammate nex to him: the enemy chambers, and Mr. Hoplite lunges in with his spear...
Glance. The bastard's wearing an above-average amount of armor, oh well.
The fight continues. Mr. Hoplite dances left and right, blocking the occasional pike-thrust or arrow. Once in a while an enemy will try to simply walk through the front of the hoplite's team's gaggle-fuck, but he is denied entry by the hoplite, who simply holds his sheild up and blocks the intruder. Occasionally Mr. Hoplite will thrust with his spear, hoping to distract an enemy or damage a sheild. Again, finally, an enemy lets down his guard in order to attack one of Mr. Hoplite's teammates. Mr. Hoplite sees this from the safety of his force-feild sheild, and stabs the attacking enemy before he can complete his attack.
A hit! But the enemy is still completely alive, even though his face has been horribly mangled from previous hits, and there two arrows stick out of where his nipples should be. The enemy gaggle-fuck surges foward, somebody with a practise sword gets behind Mr. Hoplite in the confusioin, and beats him to a pulp.
I think you get what I'm trying to say: Mr. Hoplite's attacks did no fucking damage. Either they glanced, or they didn't do much if they connected.
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That is the primary issue I see with spear and shield builds. Citing anecdotal evidence: It generally takes me at least four or five stabs to kill an opponent wearing moderate armor. I have no problem hitting him, for he underestimates me and tries to spam (noob), but I simply cannot kill the bastard.
I think that the War Spear, Red Tassel Spear, and Spear should so more thrust damage. The War Spear, the most epic of the spears, does 28 pierce damage. The Short Spear, the most sucky of the spears, does 26. What the fuck? I know someone is going to tell me to use the awlpike, which does alot of poking damage, however its far to slow for hoplite use. My knowledge of how this game works is limited, AND I REALLY FUCKING HATE NOT BEING ABLE TO SEE WHAT I'M TYPING. I'm ENDING THIS POST WITH RAGE, BECAUSE MY DAMNED THINGY IS TWITCHING UP AND DOWN. DON'T TELL ME TO PUT THIS IN MICROSOFT WORD OR NOTEPAD, JUST DON'T.
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I agree with this. War spear at full speed on a rouncey into the back of someones head sometimes doesn't even hurt them and they're only wearing moderate armour.
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Exactly.
I just said that to bump, really.
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You cant do what you suggest, it would unbalance the game. Reason being, folks who dont spear/sheild using those spears will be rediculously fast with high damage weapons. Just not fair, now....there have been tons and tons of posts about how to properly be a hoplite. I'd know since I wrote one of the first ones back when was in the clan "hoplite". So, since the dawn of c-rpg there are these following suggestions to make spear/shields a more common and viable class.
Suggestions:
Add a second attack direction that requires a different block (obviously needs some balancing in speed and reach)
Shield bash(totally useless btw, hated it in other mods as it was more of a oh cool.....now this is annoying and useless)
Adjust the "hardcoded" speed penalties for spear/shielders
Give spears less than 140 length 1h swing animations(Of course we can eliminate overheads since that is and will look rediculous, but side swings with a shorter spear is quite possible, also the 1h animation will give the spear the true "hoplite overhead thrust")
Add a different attack animations using X (implemented in other mods, however the attack still only requires a down block)
Why none of these have ever come to pass......well, quite honestly the devs are too busy and no person with the skills to produce such codes has taken interest. Otherwords, no one gives a crap about spear/shielders. I wish they did and wish that they would become the majority in games, it certainly would move the game to be more tactical and less mosh pit.
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These threads make me sad because there is a grain of truth in them.
they do so little damage AND the spears aren't even long or fast!
I have a hoplite right now on a second installation. I have finally found the most hoplite-true and useful combinations. A Light lance with a Huscarl. Now, using teamwork and amazing things I can get a decent KDR but nothing compared to if I was using any other character type like If I had a strength build 2h/Pole I could easily go 6 to 1 every map. It is not very impressive for a hoplite just because it does so little damage, so little speed, and still is shorter than most weapons? WHY?. Now, If I use an awlpike that works better! I can do pretty damn well thanks to the damage being high enough to get kills. But It is still short for a spear and shield [Don't even mention the shorter spears like war spear and such, what a laugh].
What makes spears good is that they are longer. That is what they are good at. They thrusted pretty fast, but they had the most range. They did OK damage but you could help out everyone by you, parrying blocks FOR them and such thanks to your long weapon.
It is sad that the only weapon with around correct length for a hoplite is the bamboo spear. I use the Light lance since it is the closest in appearance, but since it is geared for cavalry it is slower than it should be.
Oh well. we also don't have hoplons or anything which cover your left more than they cover you (and your easier to attack right side). Y'know, something that is conducive to teamwork and a shield that you could protect teammates with? oooh man that is a pipe dream.
Want to be a hoplite in this game right now? Bamboo spear for length, Awlpike for damage, and light lance for the looks, Warspear/redtassle/spear for the speed. You can't have what you want, but at least you can get something.
I would like to end this post on the note that my hoplite is getting a 2 to 1 KDR with a light lance and 4 PS. It isn't the worst thing on earth, but I have to do everything right to get a 2-1 and rarely a 3-1 KDR. That is a lot worse than a 2h or even a pikeman.
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I agree with Oni's post, and would like to add that spear shield is quite a rewarding class to play on maps where you're not getting flanked constantly (elf tree fort, I'm lookin at you).
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Add over-head spear attack ;)
Check this thread out: http://forum.c-rpg.net/index.php/topic,6726.0.html
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I have encountered people in the duel server using these spears mentioned without a shield. Then they seem to own pretty hard and can instakill(one-hit-kill) someone in decent (30+) armor. It really seems like spears get a big penalty in both speed and damage when used with a shield. If this was reduced/removed the hoplite class would be perfectly viable.
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Yeah but ppl with no shield must manual block, it's logical that they could do more damage.
It's always the same thing : balance.
Someone with a shield will do less damage that someone without (offensive/defensive) you can't have everything in one class (reach/damage/defense).
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A class should not exist solely as a big, annoying distraction.
Hello horse archers.
I have encountered people in the duel server using these spears mentioned without a shield. Then they seem to own pretty hard and can instakill(one-hit-kill) someone in decent (30+) armor. It really seems like spears get a big penalty in both speed and damage when used with a shield. If this was reduced/removed the hoplite class would be perfectly viable.
Before the patch I had a pocket pike and an awlpike/kite shield which allowed me to be sort of a hoplite. With the awlpike I was getting hits off consistently, but it wouldn't really bother me if I killed them or not. The problem is you have to be at the right distance and you have to lunge at them in order to get a good hit. The penalty you get when using a shield is a major factor in this, since when I put my shield away I was not only faster and hit harder, but I could hit enemies that were closer to me without worrying about glancing off. I've not used the regular spears for this though so I can't speak from sexperience, unfortunately.
So, the solution would be to have certain spears not get a penalty with a shield. I remember some spears had this stat, but from what I understood it didn't do anything. Just put a functional one on some spears and it would be more viable. The question is, which spears would get the bonus? Either that, or in your little example from the first post you were not lunging (EDIT: despite the fact that you said you were). Lunging is very important. Either that or in some situations when there's less danger you could put the shield on your back.
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I did not know that the spears which look like they should be used with a shield (spear, warspear, penisspear) still suffered from the shield penalty. I do not know what this penalty entails.
I spelt shield wrong alot.
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I was just thinking about this subject last night- and basically:
Thrust speed needs to be increased for nearly every weapon. (for realism sake)
And perhaps strength/agility vs weapon wt could have some effect on thrust speed.
Swords and spears particularly have/had their thrust made nearly useless by being forced to stab the sides and feet of people,
and do other equally ridiculous unrealistic things.
I guess some of this got fixed lately, since pikes/LoLspears are now stabbing me to death point blank, (really the most OP thing in CRPG now btw)
but those guys don't have shields.
I am still sometimes getting stuck in the stab animation while trying to thrust a sword at someone I am standing next to, only to have it do absolutely nothing to them.
I guess I suck and need to practice stabbing feet and other edges of someone's profile?
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You should just avoid using a spear/shield combo to me.
Enemies can easily down-block and you can't hurt them at all. Only a matter of time before they corner you and break your shield.
Not to mention spearing is extremely slow, and if you're too close you can't thrust the spear at all.
Plus the fact that even though you're holding a shield, it doesn't constantly protect you like a real shield would. If you aren't pressing the "block" button, you're screwed.
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Yes Altreides, spear and sheild sucks. Hence my original post, and the purpose of this thread.
I must say, however, that I am perfectly able to defend myself in one-on-one, and even against multiple opponents. I can block their attacks, and hit them. The issue here is that I CANNOT KILL THEM.
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Serious question, why exactly does this class need to be implemented/ balanced along with the other classes? To me it seems like its slightly under-useful since its a hybrid. Some class hybrids are just not viable and I feel like the hoplite one just is not. (Why not balance crossbow/archer, etc.)
Might as well go 1h/shield, or you can just get a long spear if you're going for support. I haven't played this hoplite build, however, so feedback is welcome.
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Hoplite is not a hybrid. It is a spear&Shield. Hoplite is being used as an umbrella term.
Also, all spears suffer the speed and damage penalty when used with a shield....
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I love hoplites we should receive a health potion when we run over you since your just speed bumps along my way of slaugther.
Only usefulness you bring to the team is maybe blocking and entrance or being cannon fodder :mrgreen:
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I don't know about hoplites, but pikemen can kill things. Even with the 300 reach pike that does very little damage I kill people occasionally, usually ending up with good k/d around 1.75/1.
I think you can't use the biggest shields nor the biggest armors in a hoplite set. You need the speed as much as a pikeman does. A war spear, a round cavalry shield, 21/18 build, there you go.
What about this ? No IF isn't really going to hurt you since you have your shield and good speed.
Level 30 (4 420 577 xp)
Strength: 21
Agility: 18
Hit points: 56
Skills to attributes: 8
Ironflesh: 0
Power Strike: 7
Shield: 4
Athletics: 6
Riding: 0
Horse Archery: 0
Power Draw: 0
Power Throw: 0
Weapon Master: 6
One Handed: 1
Two Handed: 1
Polearm: 156
Archery: 1
Crossbow: 1
Throwing: 1
The damage calculator says 28 pierce makes an average 15.5 damage against 40 armor. Add the speed bonus and you can end up with 22 damage easily. With 33 pierce (awlpike), average damage goes up to 20.5.
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Oddly enough my spear/shield build IS a sort of hybrid.
I am, first and foremost, a cavalry player. However, since my cav player requires sheild and polearm points, I thought that I'd simply go all out with sheild, and add some points to athletics. I fight with spear and shield on horseback, and spear and shield on foot, and it works.
Still, I'd like to see the spear I use on foot do more damage when used with shield. I have six powerstrike, and while that doesn't exactly make me a heavy-hitter, I'm not a weakling either.
Six points in shield, athletics, power strike, and riding. 5 points in WM. 18/18.
No reason for me to not kill people when I poke 'em :(
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I would like to see an increase in the speed of shields, if I have to do a 1 vs 1 I prefer to keep the shield because without it there is a chance that I will do a swing which will bounce and get me killed. However, if the enemy that I am facing has some knowledge about fighting with / against spear + shield it would be impossible to kill him.
Chambering is really easy and holding down block is rumored to be quite easy. Which means that I have to feint and try to outrange the enemy, however many have these gigantic 2h / Polearms which
A) seem to swing a wee bit faster than my stab(Probably because of shield penalty)
B) Have a longer reach then me anyway (Granted, I am using a normal spear so its not exactly very long)
C) Can chamber all of my attacks because the attack direction is known (Fair game, that's the main drawback that I have to face I geuss )
Feinting is really dangerous, because if an enemy goes for the chamber, I have to block quickly but the shield's have a unique feature that controlls how fast you can block (Speed of Shield) much unlike normal blocking which happens instantly. A good shield has a low speed (Board shields) which means that the timeframe to block is very small. A cavalry shield has a better speed, but makes you extremely vulnerable to archers/xbows/throwing weapons which is kinda weird, because archers are supposed to be good against 2h and horses not people with shields.
Also taking a worse shield means I can take less hits
oops it's kinda late, I will finisht hse post later :O
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Good post MaHud. I agree, shields should be fast when used with a spear.
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I have a 1h/shield character and I don't get amazing scores. Between 1:1 and 2,5:1 most of the time.
I have a 15/21 build with full athletics/WM and some points in shield and a few in riding. 5 PS for obvious reaons.
With my twice heirloomed warspear I'm fast enough for a block-attack-block-attack rythm and with a bit of turning/twisting I can get hits in from point blank range. Especially my speed is what catches most people off guard. They come running at you with an attack chambered and just before they get in range I lunge out forward and stab them in the face.
If they hold downblock, I hold my attack chambered or feint an attack. If they release to swing, I try to stab them in the gut.
The only ones that doesn't work against are the ninja builds, but I can always put away my shield for that.
It's underpowered to be an exclusive hoplite character, but it's versatile when you put away the shield.
Oh and the penalty to speed/damage should be for any weapon longer than 150 reach. (Awlpike, lances, etc). The red tassel spear, war spear and the other spears shouldn't have the damage/speed penalty.
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Oh and the penalty to speed/damage should be for any weapon longer than 150 reach. (Awlpike, lances, etc). The red tassel spear, war spear and the other spears shouldn't have the damage/speed penalty.
They do have it though. The penalty doesn't deal with reach, it deals with a polearm being held in one hand. Problem is, you can do that fine with a spear up to 8 feet long in real life. ~_~
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They do have it though. The penalty doesn't deal with reach, it deals with a polearm being held in one hand. Problem is, you can do that fine with a spear up to 8 feet long in real life. ~_~
Back when 1h spear thrusting was introduced in the warband beta the speed penalty was only for weapon over 150 reach. So unless cRPG changed that, spears under 150 don't receive a speed penalty when used with a shield. Damage penalty I'm not sure about.
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"Penalty with shield" has not done anything since the beta. It was left over code, and the cRPG team recently removed the flag from the item file as it does nothing. Holding a polearm in one hand causes it to do 30% less damage and reduces the attack speed significantly. The speed penalty makes the faster spear weapons used with one hand as slow as the slowest one handed weapons, and the slower spear weapons used with one hand are as slow as the slowest two handed weapons. I have posted exact numbers for the speed penalty elsewhere (http://forum.c-rpg.net/index.php/topic,2624.msg46112.html#msg46112).
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I have a 1h/shield character and I don't get amazing scores. Between 1:1 and 2,5:1 most of the time.
I have a 15/21 build with full athletics/WM and some points in shield and a few in riding. 5 PS for obvious reaons.
With my twice heirloomed warspear I'm fast enough for a block-attack-block-attack rythm and with a bit of turning/twisting I can get hits in from point blank range. Especially my speed is what catches most people off guard. They come running at you with an attack chambered and just before they get in range I lunge out forward and stab them in the face.
If they hold downblock, I hold my attack chambered or feint an attack. If they release to swing, I try to stab them in the gut.
The only ones that doesn't work against are the ninja builds, but I can always put away my shield for that.
It's underpowered to be an exclusive hoplite character, but it's versatile when you put away the shield.
Oh and the penalty to speed/damage should be for any weapon longer than 150 reach. (Awlpike, lances, etc). The red tassel spear, war spear and the other spears shouldn't have the damage/speed penalty.
If you feint someone who chambers you, you are dead.
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I can do pretty well with an elite cav shield and a shortened spear. It's fast enough to keep up with an attack-block rythem, you can even feint with it. (No one expects a spear/shielder to feint a thrust, so it can be extremely effective).
I never had any problems with damage (I have 8 ps), though I do admit that the longer spears are pretty useless for anything except support. Having an overhand thrust as well as the down thrust could be a solution that.
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There is certainly a large number of people that doens't recognize / expect spear feinting.
But with the shortened spear you may be fast enough to attack before the enemy hits you from their attempt at chambering.
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I find the awlpike + shield gets me alot more kills than any of the spears. The slowest is almost an advantage as I can weave/wiggle the tip to hit just about anyone thats open for a shot. the stun screws up them completely and I swear I'm doing more dmg.
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If you grabbed a hoplite thinking you will get the most kills in a round, you will be very sad.
If you grabbed a hoplite thinking that you would use your polearm-stun to assist kills, your shield and range to distract and harass enemies, your main weapon to demolish cavalry and often times keep them from even approaching (especially your best buddies, ranged characters), that through your gear and build you would be able to casually choose when to engage and disengage, and that you would survive to the end of almost every round, even in lighter armor- you will be very pleased.
Hoplites are like god's gift to team players.
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Aye, but they shouldn't be useless in 1 vs 1.
It shouldn't be easy to win, but atleast you should be able to hold and wait for help
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Aye, but they shouldn't be useless in 1 vs 1.
It shouldn't be easy to win, but atleast you should be able to hold and wait for help
They aren't optimal 1v1 that's for sure, but they're not exactly completely useless. As for the waiting for help, with a decent shield, superior speed to most players, and a huge engagement range i haven't seen getting back to teammates as a problem, to the point where i specifically get "cut off" drag 3 or so fighters away from the main group and back over towards either the cavalry i saw coming from across the map, or my teammates waiting over the ridge of the hill. Bonus points in that you're fast enough to bob and weave through the enemies gaining my favorite of victories, the forced-tk.
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If you grabbed a hoplite thinking you will get the most kills in a round, you will be very sad.
If you grabbed a hoplite thinking that you would use your polearm-stun to assist kills, your shield and range to distract and harass enemies, your main weapon to demolish cavalry and often times keep them from even approaching (especially your best buddies, ranged characters), that through your gear and build you would be able to casually choose when to engage and disengage, and that you would survive to the end of almost every round, even in lighter armor- you will be very pleased.
Hoplites are like god's gift to team players.
You seem to be quite experienced in this. Tell me, what are the basic differences between a hoplite and a pikeman ? I know the latter and I thought I could try the former.
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I'm guessing a "hoplite" is spear+shield and pikemen is a guy with a pike.
I don't think spear+shield should be a very effective build, at least in the absence of teamwork. Using a spear with one hand and a shield in the other would be difficult and require a lot of arm strength/stamina. The shorter the spear, the more effective the build should be. Even 1Hing awlpikes is pretty ridiculous. Ideally, spear+shield builds are good in close groups against 2H, against ranged, and non-spear/lance cavalry. Pikemen will suffer against ranged, can outrange lance cav, and are better 1v1 (more attack directions).
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I'm guessing a "hoplite" is spear+shield and pikemen is a guy with a pike.
I don't think spear+shield should be a very effective build, at least in the absence of teamwork. Using a spear with one hand and a shield in the other would be difficult and require a lot of arm strength/stamina. The shorter the spear, the more effective the build should be. Even 1Hing awlpikes is pretty ridiculous. Ideally, spear+shield builds are good in close groups against 2H, against ranged, and non-spear/lance cavalry. Pikemen will suffer against ranged, can outrange lance cav, and are better 1v1 (more attack directions).
Ever heard of a guy named Alexander the Great? Who conquered 1/5 of the worlds population at the time? He used hoplites and lighter version of hoplites that used pikes instead of spears.
Using a shield and spear requires no more strength than it takes to pull and hold a longbow. Archeologists have found bowman remains with bonespurs their muscles were so fucked up from being so strong on their bow arm.
Uh no, shorter spear is not more effective. You ever see the counterweight thats on the end of longer warspears? Uh, might wanna educate yourself. Weight + reach = death dealing.
Shield + spear = one of the best combos ever created for warfare. Blocking spears is a joke in this game and theres no shield based attacks or moves (bull rush, push backs, etc).
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I'm waiting to see a real hoplite formation in cRPG (or Strat), and i wonder if it's really possible with the game engine.
But it could be interesting to see atleast 6 guys in line of 3 with hoplite formation, but it could be awesome to see a Strat battle with a 3 lines of 10 guys standing in front of an infantry charge. This will need a lot of teamwork.
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I'm waiting to see a real hoplite formation in cRPG (or Strat), and i wonder if it's really possible with the game engine.
But it could be interesting to see atleast 6 guys in line of 3 with hoplite formation, but it could be awesome to see a Strat battle with a 3 lines of 10 guys standing in front of an infantry charge. This will need a lot of teamwork.
And then they got flanked by archers and shot to pieces.
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Hoplite builds can actually be fairly nice for hunting flanking archers. War spear + round shield, cav will leave you alone. When you get to the archer drop your shield and fight with 2h spear.
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Ever heard of a guy named Alexander the Great? Who conquered 1/5 of the worlds population at the time? He used hoplites and lighter version of hoplites that used pikes instead of spears.
Yes, and those hoplites worked in close formation, which was the reason why they were effective... like I said. They would not be so effective 1v1 (unless they pulled out a short sword). Also, when they used longer spears, they'd use them two handed (keeping the shield passive on their forearms). What is the issue here again?
Using a shield and spear requires no more strength than it takes to pull and hold a longbow. Archeologists have found bowman remains with bonespurs their muscles were so fucked up from being so strong on their bow arm.
Yeah, so you'd have to be pretty jacked to use them. In other words, it takes high str to use effectively, as opposed to two handing it, requiring less strength.
Uh no, shorter spear is not more effective. You ever see the counterweight thats on the end of longer warspears? Uh, might wanna educate yourself. Weight + reach = death dealing.
Weight + reach = fatigue. They were able to pull this off because of their close formation. A shorter spear would be faster and less tiring. Also, you have more control over a shorter weapon, no matter how much you balance a longer one with weights. Their formation allowed each individual to conserve shots and be protected from close combat, where their long spears could not be drawn back fast enough or far enough to strike an opponent in close range.
Shield + spear = one of the best combos ever created for warfare.
Sure, but not for the small scale, individualistic style of crpg. The key is in the mass tight formation.
Blocking spears is a joke in this game and theres no shield based attacks or moves (bull rush, push backs, etc).
Agreed.
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Any and all references to realism and historical accuracy are wrong, at least when a discussion regarding game mechanics is happening. I'm not singleing any particular person out, but I highly suggest that those who bring history into these discussion, with a few exceptions, must seek out the closest person to them and request that that person shit down their throat without mercy for the period of five hours.
Historical shit and realism are great (I'm a history major, that sort of stuff gives me a boner), but only as a bonus. It enhances the gaming experience, and draws the player into the battle more than if the participants were beating eachother with unrealistic weapons, like massive purple dildoes or salmon.
Anyway, it seems that the reason that spear and shield users have trouble inflicting damage on their enemies is the malign, evil presence of of the shield spear penalty. Obviously the penalty has a purpose, however I must bitch: sheild/spear users inflict FAR less damage than their opponents, and can only attack in one direction.
But apparently this is ok, because they can stab far, and have a shield.
I doubt very much anything I, or anybody else, will say can convince the development team to remove or alter the shield penalty--it could very well be hardcoded, or perhaps fucking with it might break the game. If this is what will happen I accept it, for I am an amazing player no matter the circumstances.
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I'm guessing a "hoplite" is spear+shield and pikemen is a guy with a pike.
I don't think spear+shield should be a very effective build, at least in the absence of teamwork. Using a spear with one hand and a shield in the other would be difficult and require a lot of arm strength/stamina. The shorter the spear, the more effective the build should be. Even 1Hing awlpikes is pretty ridiculous. Ideally, spear+shield builds are good in close groups against 2H, against ranged, and non-spear/lance cavalry. Pikemen will suffer against ranged, can outrange lance cav, and are better 1v1 (more attack directions).
Hoplite:
Sword + Shield + Spear (other polearms for variety, spear is bread and butter- preferably Red Tassel Spear, the fastest).
Pro: Amazing support. Can defend like a beast. Cav coming? Turn around and show him your spear and watch how quickly he leaves your archer buddies alone. Other archers an issue? Pull up your Steel shield, Huscarls, or Round shield (depending on preference) and you are an instant source of cover. Teammates fighting an enemy? "LOL I DOWNBLOCK YOU!" That's great until your buddy to your left starts swinging side to side while you constantly thrust. With a high enough speed and a partner, no one should be able to drop their shield, and 2hers should go down pretty quickly between getting poke stunned and missing blocks.
Always stay near your team. If you're interested in some solowork however, drop down to Khergit, or Saranid Leather Armor and grab a buckler. You'll have to semi-manually block arrows and incoming slices, but you will also move like the wind. Use hills and terrain as cover, give enemy ranged a suprise party they will never forget.
Cons:
Polearms take a penalty to speed/damage with the shield. Steel shields are heavy and decrease your mobility. Switching from a polearm to your sidearm when you've been rushed by a 2her is an exercise in fancy footwork, one has to step through (past) the opponent, turn fast enough to block the swing coming, and step back (and have enough ath) to backpedal, switch out, and have the shield up for the next strike. "Lol, downblock forever." You will not be optimal 1v1 and unless you're better at aiming than me you'll be getting assists instead of kills. Assists are fine when that x5 multiplier keeping you company, however.
Dedicated Pikeman
100% Polearms. I haven't tried this build yet, but not splitting points between wpf makes your polearms unspeakably swift. With the proper aim one can keep a group of enemy far at bay with a good pike and some timing. I'll flesh this out more after i've actually tried the class, i will say i know there's at least 1 guy who can use the full long pike better in close quarters than i can use a red tassel spear. The number of kills he gets is disgusting and awe inspiring.
For this build you are essentially a 2her with all the problems that entails, but one major benefit: Polearm stun.
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I keep getting teamkilled, say about 75 percent of all rounds I play in.
(Mostly by cav and archers )
Support class doesn't seem to be very handy when everyone has insane speed and an idiotic "friendly" horseman decides to just ride through you taking half of your life..