Are Hoplites Still Viable?

[Turkhammer]

What shield is preferable for Hopilite?

[Digglez]

Elite cav + 6 shield skill is best from my experience.  U need something relatively fast so you dont get spammed

Heavy round or regular round if ranged becomes a very big problem.  Huscarl if there is some reason to hold a chokepoint or I want to be a distraction

[callahan9119]

Elite cav + 6 shield skill is best from my experience.  U need something relatively fast so you dont get spammed

Heavy round or regular round if ranged becomes a very big problem.  Huscarl if there is some reason to hold a chokepoint or I want to be a distraction

Elite cav is best if you want a round shield, the knightly shields with 100 speed are superior.

If by meaning hoplite as a build and not as a quixotic idea.

[Doppel]

which build would you recommend?

[Zanze]

Elite Cav, it allows you to feint. Yes, feinting somehow works when you have only one direction you can possibly use...

18/18 build is very nice, but you can do 15/21 for more support based and 21/15 for more I'm gonna kill shit.Though, without 6 shield skill the elite cav feels a lot more fragile then with.

[Phew]

With polestagger, I could see the role of hoplites (staggering people for teammates to get free kills). Without polestagger, I guess their niche is an anti-cavalry that is immune to archers? You could also "trick" cav with a sheathable spear that you pull out at the last moment.

For any other role, another class does your job better. A thrower, for instance, is better at close melee support, thanks to shieldbreaking+greater range+more damage. Throwers are often better at anti-cav also.

I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've been killed by a hoplite in 1v1 while they had their shield equipped, and I'm not even very good at this game. The only hoplites I fear are the ones with a War Spear that put away their shield in a 1v1.

[Turkhammer]

I plan a hoplite (notice only one i  ) 15/21 with 7 shield.  I'm level 26 presently.  1v1 is next to impossible with the shield but I'm interested in the support role anyway.  I often get kills in the melee or stun/distract so team mates get kills.  It'll be a hybrid with 146 wpp in 1h and 100wpp in polearms.

[Zerran]

With polestagger, I could see the role of hoplites (staggering people for teammates to get free kills). Without polestagger, I guess their niche is an anti-cavalry that is immune to archers? You could also "trick" cav with a sheathable spear that you pull out at the last moment.

For any other role, another class does your job better. A thrower, for instance, is better at close melee support, thanks to shieldbreaking+greater range+more damage. Throwers are often better at anti-cav also.

I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've been killed by a hoplite in 1v1 while they had their shield equipped, and I'm not even very good at this game. The only hoplites I fear are the ones with a War Spear that put away their shield in a 1v1.

Even without the special polestagger, all melee weapons stagger opponents for a brief time and break blocks (assuming the wrong block was held or they were hit in the back).

Essentially hoplites are a shorter range (unless using bamboo spear mind you), lower damage version of Pike/Longspears with the ability to block multiple incoming attacks and ward off archers. Still a rather underpowered class unless in the hands of someone very good with it, but certainly not without its uses.

[Turkhammer]

What do the HP on the shield refer to?  Is it the damage it can take before breaking?  The Brown Lion Heater has 381 HP and 96 spd while the Elite Cavalry has 250 HP and 100 spd.  It seems the extra 4 spd is not worth giving up the 131 HP.

[Zerran]

It's not just about HP, shields also have armor. The brown lion shield has 8 armor while Elite Cav has 21. That has a big impact on what the shield is useful for.

The Elite Cav is also lighter weight, which means it doesn't slow the user down as much, however it's easier to crush through it.

[Phew]

Shield width is the most important stat, as that affects your ability to block oblique attacks/arrows. The Elite Cavalry Shield is popular because it has good width (32) and speed, enough armor to stop most bolts, and it's fast and has a nice texture. The Heavy Round Shield adds more durability and coverage, at the expense of some speed, but it's also very popular. The Kite/Heater shields require you to face more directly at your enemy to block their attacks, so that's why round shields are more popular.

The shield speed stat mostly affects your ability to feint (block in the middle of an attack), which is important for 1h, but probably less so for hoplites.

[Turkhammer]

Very helpful info on the shields.  Thanks for that.

[Sarpton]

Elite cav shield is my personal favorite shield.  I find with 5 shield it last long enough but you really don't want to go lower.  The jump in durability from 4-5 is very noticeable.   Plus it wont slow you down as much and with a hoplite your already at a disadvantage on that with the long weapon.  Any edge you can get with your movement speed is nothing but a bonus.

[Zanze]

I haven't experimented too much with other shields, but think of it this way.

+0 Heavy Round is inoperable.
+0 Elite Cav is great.

I don't know the sweet spot of shield speed, but I can feint and pull some trickery with the elite cav that I cannot do with the heavy round. As a support class you don't necessarily need trickery, but it is nice to be able to 1v1 people as a hoplite for the added lols.

[oohillac]

Hopliting is fun BUT:

speaking as a 4+ generation hoplite (pre- and post-turnspeednerf), I have to say, if you have smart teammates, going for a pokey Longspear without a shield is MUCH more efficient and effective.  If you want just kills, wins, and hate, Longspear is a good choice, but if you want fun, hoplite is still "viable."

tl dr  everything is viable if you enjoy it.

avatar pic related!