The newest patch gave us four interesting pole weapons, the Ranceur, the Corseque, the Spetum and the Partisan.
Despite being super slow (around 88 speed) especially with the overhead attack, they have a nice reach 185+ and offer good damage in the primary (pierce) and secondary mode (cut, blunt, pierce). Yes, its possible to kill with them, but these are weapons of passion, not efficiency. Using these, you cannot score as many kills as with the awlpike, ashwood pike or as a hoplite, (not even talking about 2h Superstars) but still, much is possible on the battlefield. Guess the word “fun weapon” describes it best.
For all those players who want to give it a try, here a short guide. Its not written by a lvl 35 Superkiller (K/D 1-1.1) and it´s my first guide, so please correct me when you see some flaws!
History:In General, these weapons came up in the late middle ages and didn’t stay long in service. The fighters could stab their enemies to death, and the form of the weapons allowed to pull out a shield out of an enemies´ hand (of course this is not possible in crpg). Their form enabled the user also to fend off enemy sword hits and to counter attack immediately (no, this is also not possible here)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranseur http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spetum http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corseque http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partisan_%28weapon%29 Your build: I recommend a more agi driven build. You need to be fast, you need to keep up with the team and f*ck off from enemy odds.
Personally, with my 16/21 I realize that I can hit enemies fast, but not hard enough to kill them quickly. The result is sad, as I often hurt them and someone else finishes the work, not very satisfying. I realize that by using other weapons too, so it’s a general deficite.
18/18 would be a nice build, with 6 athletics and 6 power strike.
A high degree of athletics and medium armor increases the damage you can inflict, while stabbing forward, more of that later. (see Dalfadors spear guide for that
http://forum.meleegaming.com/guides/dalfador%27s-%27way-of-the-spear%27-guide/)
A STR build is also possible, but fighting with these weapons does not come along with carrying a shield, and a heavy armor slows you down. The length of this weapon creates a handicap as well, your movement is slowed down. Strongly advised is a polearm wpf of at least 100, better more.
Gear Medium to medium-heavy armor, 8-15kg can be a good choice. Why? It gives you enough mobility, and you get a damage bonus while stabbing forward.
Too heavy armor makes you a sitting duck once you leave the protection of teammates. With these weapons, its very challenging to survive 1vs1, even more than as a hoplite.
Take some gloves, not too good ones as their weight penalty will slow you down.
A good helmet, meaning over 20 protection, but not a helmet over 2kg.
A secondary weapon is not a bad idea, take a cheap one like a Yanmaodao or an Arabian Straight Sword (around 2,5-3k price), a better weapon makes no sense.
The four weapons Ranseur -7950 cost
weapon length: 189
weight: 2.5
difficulty: 12
speed rating: 88
weapon length: 189
thrust damage: 31 pierce
swing damage: 30 cut
slots: 2
Can't use on horseback
Can't sheath
Personally my favorite. Simply gives me most kills. Thrust is deadly with 31 pierce (Ashwood pike give you 30), and the overhead attack gives you 30 damage, although just cut, and we all know what that means vs heavy armored foes. Longer than any cav lance except the Great Lance, which is not mastered by most cav heroes.
Spetum-8180 cost
weapon length: 186
weight: 2.5
difficulty: 12
speed rating: 88
weapon length: 186
thrust damage: 31 pierce
swing damage: 23 blunt
slots: 2
Can't use on horseback
Can't sheath
Don’t like this one. It has weaker stats, less range and the secondary attack is only 23 hitting. It´s blunt damage though, if youre lucky (think it was 8% chance) your enemy falls on the ground, giving you an extra hit. My experience with the Spetum is that it´s not worth the extra upkeep in comparison to the Ranseur. Possible to kill with it, yes, but worse stats of all four new poles, except its lighter weight (2 instead of 2,5 and 3)
Corseque-8470 cost
weapon length: 186
weight: 2.5
difficulty: 12
speed rating: 88
weapon length: 186
thrust damage: 31 pierce
swing damage: 21 pierce
slots: 2
Can't use on horseback
Can't sheath
Biggest advantage of this weapon is the piercing effect of both attacks. Quite useful on rpg 1 server (most competitive and heaviest gear there), more expensive in upkeep than Ranseur. A bit shorter.
Partisan-9370 cost
weapon length: 176
weight: 3
difficulty: 14
speed rating: 89
weapon length: 176
thrust damage: 37 cut
swing damage: 32 cut
slots: 2
Can't use on horseback
Can't sheath
Massive damage, but only cut. Shorter length which is still sufficient to pawn all horses and is a bit better in 1v1s. High upkeep with almost 10k price. Faster with 89 speed, nice difference to the other three, looks evil
Teamwork/1v1Good teamwork is essential for survival; more than with other weapons (except pikes and long spear) Always have at least one wingman beside you, evade 1v1s. Ideal situations are mass encounters, where a quick stab through a gap in the enemy line or even better, a flanking maneuver and then close in on the prey. Speed is important here. When you stab, be in forward mode, it increases the damage significantly. A stab in backpeddling mode creates only lousy damage. Avoid overhead attack when possible, it was nerfed recently and takes ages. Good tactic is to circle and stab your opponent, but that needs practice and some blocking skills. If you can, try to kick, don’t try to kick on an open field.
Anti CavIn some maps, its worth to patrol the back of a friendly formation looking out for enemy horses, the team will acknowledge this, even if you don’t top the scoreboard (its not a weapon for this purpose anyway). This weapon is a fantastic horse killer, brutal damage against incoming riders, outranges every standard lance, after you dehorsed the rider, the great range makes it sure that you get a quick stab on the fallen cav hero, aim for the head here!
WingmenIf you see another guy with a long pole weapon, team up! Of course better to be protected by a swarm of clanmates with shield, but this is not always possible.
However, the closer your enemy gets, the more disadvantages you have. You cannot stab your opponent from 20cm, your weapon is too long, and an overhead attack is so slow that a good 1h or 2h foe can slash you twice before you can land the first hit. Try to keep 2-3 meter distance to your enemies.
Don’t try to get into an 1v1 encounter, you will hardly win against an even lower than average player. The weapons are damn slow, you only got 2 attack directions and their too long to be effective in the super-close melee. You can survive with some backpeddling and excellent blocking skills (which I don’t have) for some moments, but not forever.
Against archersWell, this is a real problem. Seek cover, seek teammates with shields, once you close in on a ranged foe, either try to aim for his head or pull out your secondary weapon, as many archers will shoot at you, run away and shoot at you again. Your long weapon makes it difficult to chase them.
Footwork:Very important, try to maintain a certain distance. Be swift, retreat, support, analyze before you attack. As mentioned its not a heroes´weapon, it’s a teamplayer weapon.
Summary-always try to aim for the head
-prefer thrust attack
-attack in forward mode for more damage
-don’t take too heavy gear
-act in a supportive role, youre not an OP killer, never forget youre done in a 1v2 before it begins
-if you get hit by arrows, stay calm, don’t rage attack
I will insert some pictures in the next days to make it more colorful, many thanks to the great polearm and hoplite guides, which provided a detailed body of knowledge for this topic. Here some
further (or basic)
reading:
Fight effectively with a spear (Dalfador)
http://forum.meleegaming.com/guides/dalfador%27s-%27way-of-the-spear%27-guide/Fight effectively with a pike (Zerran)
http://forum.meleegaming.com/guides/a-guide-on-using-the-pike/For better Battlefield awareness (Phazey)
http://forum.meleegaming.com/guides/tactics-in-crpg-a-guide/Hoplite Guide (Ronin)
http://forum.meleegaming.com/guides/the-sword-and-spear-way-hoplites-guide/(looooove that one)
In general most guides are pretty useful and offer a great reading.
I got some requests to the
devs, maybe they can consider some modifications
-increase speed
-make one of these weapons available with 4 attack directions (thanks Teeth)
-make them cheaper, as their value for money is poor
Guys youre welcome to post your hateful comments and further hints, or drop me a line
Cheers
Sarissas
