Ohhh man, I love the long spear and the pike. In anyone's hands they are great for deterring cav, good for support, and nice for group crowd control. In the right hands, it's a viable weapon even in a 1v1 situation, with plenty of tricks and maneuvers that allow a one-direction, unbalanced, slow weapon to defeat a competent opponent. Fighting a long spear or pike, for me, is fun, and fighting with one is even more fun. There's so much that it can do, even with so much that it
can't do. I almost have no problems with it, I love it. Except for one tiny issue.
There's a good portion of the shaft that just phases through stuff like it doesn't exist. This, in and of itself, is enough to make me rage. Why?
- You can stab "through" opponents and teammates alike.
- You can stab "through" walls.
- You can stab "through" corners.
- You can "miss" an opponent and strike a friendly/the ground/some other opponent.
Of course, I'm aware there's an issue with making the entire shaft active, since thrusts are strongest from the middle of the animation. The most poignant refutation to this suggestion I've received is that it would make the long spear and pike a lightsaber, which is the exact opposite of it should be. It shouldn't phase through material, and it shouldn't deliver full damage by lightly whapping someone against the side. If you think it should, turn off the wuxia movies and think rationally.
So, how about this (if it's even possible): make the entire shaft active, but points beyond the head whiff. This will
still induce weapon stun from poorly timed and placed hits while doing little to no damage, but remove certain anomalies from the weapon.
Why should I want this?Long Spear and Pike Users- You no longer need to worry about phasing through into the ground.
- You no longer need to worry about phasing through to hit a friendly.
Non-users- Long spears and pikes can't warp through material to hit you.
- Poorly aimed shots will leave the user more open to counter attack.
If at any point I am incorrect in what I am saying, please correct me (with as little vitriol as possible) and I will edit correspondingly.