Sure, the GLB has a trash stab, but it's better than no stab at all. Is there something else you've forgotten to mention here?
I'd rather have no stab than a 19 cut one, to be honest. However, at one point it did lose its pierce stab while not receiving a buff to compensate. I believe that buffing its stab should be considered, as it's basically a gimmick with that damage. Having cut stab makes sense, but the damage is laughable at best. Like mentioned by Rand0, changing the stab to cut while not adjusting damage value must've been an oversight by the balancers, surely? If a stab buff won't be considered, it could be possible to get cRPG's first 3D polearm (which would be good for diversity as 1h and 2h has 3D weapons) by removing its stab. As it was nerfed earlier with no compensation, a slight swing damage buff could be considered at that point?
I'd like to hear more about these weird feints, because from what I've seen in 8 years of playing in and watching scrims/duel tournaments, all Warband's best feint fuckery is based around stabs, and I thought that was widely accepted. Pretty much all the trickiest animation morphs involve a stab to side swing, hence why you see so many native players "abuse" it. I get that some people are confused by the curved models, but it's not something that you can't adapt to quickly. I'm sure I remember someone tweaking the scim model anyway, to more accurately represent its reach.
Both the stab and the curved model has its uses when trying to breach an opponent's defense. We seem to prefer differently, at least for battles, but I do share your view that the 4th direction can make a big difference. As for adapting to the curved models, that's certainly a possibility for parts of the playerbase, but in mass melee you'll always kill off the ones who haven't. I'll definitely agree that when facing a good player, a 4th direction is worth more than a curved model.
A lot of people act like duel skills are non-transferable to battle, which makes little sense to me, but mentalities aside, a thrust is an extremely useful animation to have in both game modes. Perhaps it's just a difference with the EU meta, because you'll regularly see NA, Oceania and CHN all use 1h stab with great success in battle. If anything, the stab feels more relevant in battle. I'll still use the best feints I can (which involve stabs), feel a bit safer around enemy cav, and have another useful tool for group fights. 3-D weapons give up all of that, is the extra 1 or 2 speed or damage really enough to compensate? I'm not so sure, but I'd really like to hear from current balancers about what they consider the loss of a stab to be worth in stats.
Dueling skills are useful in battles, but awareness, decision-making and ability to down enemies quickly with use of reliable techniques are even more important for mass melee. I'd take a 1h weapon with a stab if I was to flank, hunt archers or similar, as you'd expect several smaller encounters. In the thick of the brawl I'd usually prefer a swinging 1h like the curved swords or maces, as, at least from my experience, they're better at killing enemies quickly. This often leads to numerical advantage, which can be the deciding factor.
Again, I shouldn't have made the thread about the elite scimitar specifically. More of a broad question about what an animation is worth outside of its raw stats, on which i'm sure opinions will vary a lot as different play styles rely on feints more than others and whatnot.
It's a nice topic for discussion actually, as it can't be compared directly to raw stats. We might not agree on all points, but I understand your point of view. The stab is certainly a benefit in some situations, but I feel the curved models has their benefits too.
