when the ashwood pike hits you its like a bomb explodes in your face, I don't know what it is but the only hoplite weapon i'm having troubles with is the ashwood pike, others just lack the bit of reach that makes the ashwood OP, combined with killer damage ofcourse. with a shield they're tricky if operated by a proper user, alot of the no-shield user just jump around and run around you instead of really making use of the instant stab and wait patiently for an opening to nuke your face but if someone knows how to do it it can be seriously annoying, if not in facehug range it will pretty much hit you before you hit him, but only a few players really use it to its full extent, players like Knitler, Krillex(something like that) and oberyn really do well with it but half of the users are just a laugh and can easily be eliminated. it is hard to say if it needs a nerf, cause it also enables better solo abilitys for hoplites and i have dueled some as a hoplite and I must say its doable but it requires atleast some ath.