pikes? spearmen builds? viable?

[martyrAD]

so ive been goofing off with this build and that build, and im genurally curious as to if Spearmen/pike builds are even worth bothering with? or should i just go witht eh basic cookie cutter melee stuff (1h/shield 2h?)

ive played crpg on and off for some time, but stuck mostly to archery. so i'd just like to know if theres really a point to playing as a pikemen/spearmen.

[[ptx]]

Yeah, quite. My main has been a pikeman/cav hybrid since some early cRPG beta. Still viable. Pure is even more so. Same for spear+shield builds, though that one is a rather difficult playstyle.

[martyrAD]

only reason for asking, is i dont see much in the way of polearm users, and rarely pike users.

[[ptx]]

Huh.
And just not so long ago people complained that pikes/long spear were OP and everyone was using one...

[bredeus]

for spear n board 21 str, 18 agi and 6 shield skill, also pump athletics and pray for decent team

[martyrAD]

does the standard 18/21 build work for a dedicated pikemen?

[[ptx]]

Yeah, but a 21/18 build will work better, generally. Depends on your playstyle, though.

[Banzai!!!]

I play as English Pikemen and im also new to CRPG and am gen 1 lvl 30. I agree that currently pikemen are rare and I use the 300 long pike which is even rarer as most use the 250 long pike. I find that I mostly go positive with my scores although sometimes I do go negative but ive found that ive got used to using such a long polearm and find I rarely will poke my teamates in the back.

I also wear plate armour to go with the english pikemen feel and altogether everything I have costs around 31k however ive still been able to make money with this build and currently own 120k. However had I gone with a 2h build and wear armour I dont think I would have made as much money.

My advice is that if you prefer 1 v 1 then pike is not for you and you should go 2h or 1h shielder but if you like to be in a supporting role downing cav as well as taking on inf with your own inf support then give polearms a go.

Also here's a link to the thread I made asking about what builds should be used for polearms http://forum.c-rpg.net/index.php/topic,20079.new.html#new and this helped me out allot due to the positive feedback I got from these guys.

[zagibu]

The two long spears are more of a support thing. You can grab many kills, if you have some teammates around you, but in a duel, you will probably die. The awlpikes are a different sort of weapons, though, very viable in duels with spinstab. They also do a shitload of pierce damage.

[Tristan]

21/15

120 1h wpf
100 polearm wpf

2 if
7 ps
5 shield
5 ath
5 riding
5 shield
5 wm

1h sword
elite cav shield
red tasselspear/Heavy lance

Very fexible build that lets you duel with polearms and 1h on the duel server, lets you play cav when you want to do so.
Good shielder.... very very flexible build. (But ofcourse flexible builds are never as good as a focused build in one area. It requires you to be flexible.

[Inkompetent]

Pike and spear+shield builds definitely work, and long polearms are still the #1 cavalry deterrence.

For a pikeman-build you can always use a Shortened Spear or Quarter Staff (one slot) as second weapon so you can go 100% polearm wpf. Not fantastic weapons, but decent enough for self defense in tight situations. Other option is to carry a fairly light shield (2-3 shield skill) on your back to reduce projectile damage from behind.

Spear + shield is pretty fun to play in my opinion. I've got a money-earner-outfit on Ildov (who otherwise use the bec and quite heavy mail) which is Padded Armor, Heater Shield, and Spear, and it works really well as a support-fighter, and if you have to fight alone you can always put the shield on the back to get four attack directions, instead of only thrust. It's excellent to be a hard-to-touch fighter, that at the same time can mess with shielders and give annoying pokes to pretty much anyone while besting their range.

For a more serious shield+spear build you have the Red Tassel Spear, War Spear, and the Awlpikes. The Awlpikes however can't do side swings as far as I know, but have excellent reach and thrust damage.

[martyrAD]

my current goal at 30 is 18/21 with 5 IF 6 PS 7 ATHL and 5 WM. so far im pretty well rounded and its working quite well for me.

[Mala]

only reason for asking, is i dont see much in the way of polearm users, and rarely pike users.

There are lots of them and nearly all are exploiting the animations like mad.

[zagibu]

There are lots of them and nearly all are exploiting the animations like mad.

Because you have to or otherwise you will never kill something.

[Mala]

A lame excuse to cheat.