10-07-2012, 10:52 PM
Having played pikeman for a fair while I can give you a few tips off the top of my head, though i'm sure there are more experienced players out there with better ideas
First off, you CAN actually 1 hit kill alot of enemies on hard mode with the awlpike... The trick is to get distance between yourself an the opponent and then maximize your speed bonus by moving forwards and stabbing before they have the chance to stop/move back, aiming for the head also gives you a nice damage bonus aswell
Unfortunately hard mode isn't too kind on awlpikes as currently you cannot stab through a shieldwall effectively leaving you either slashing with a bardiche or throwing jarids. Even if you can stab through a shieldwall you need momentum to really deal damage which will usually lead to you getting in the way of ranged attackers/etc. Basically this means that if you want to use a non slashing polearm you should probably stick to normal.
One of the biggest problems I see pikemen in hard mode having is not carrying a shield. You may think it reduces the damage you deal with your awlpike or takes up slots better used for throwing weapons but I can tell you now it is one of your most valuable assets. Don't forget that you can hold your shield up while throwing weapons which is a real lifesaver considering how little armour you get. Alongside being able to use it with throwing weapons you can use a shield to approach or retreat from a group of ranged attackers such as the ever present rangers. Once you get close enough to a ranger, swap out your shield at the same time that they change weapon and you can use him as a meat shield to stop the others shooting you.
I would suggest that you don't actually equip one of the shields you have access to and instead fill your support slot with a board shield (Basically the best of anti arrow cover) and use it only for blocking projectiles.
Since spears don't really suit hard mode currently I'll give a few tips on general fighting with a polearm instead:
Your awlpike actually has a decent amount of range to it, though you can always use the long awlpike which is essentially just as good minus a bit of speed.
When thinking about range on a spear any range beyond the opponent's weapon reach is near negligable as unless you're in an open field with no obstacles around you, a long weapon reach will often have you hitting nearbye scenery or even allies behind you rather than the nord you're aiming for. Not only this but with a stab attack you gain a range bonus which usually allows you to beat enemies to the hit.
One of the other things I've noticed with the pikeman is that if you keep up with the flow of battle you can easily carve through a horde of enemies much faster than any other class, you just need to get the timing down for when you step forwards or backwards and when the opportune moments to strike are.
A good thing to do is to learn what you can and what you can't take out in a single hit. If you know that you're going to kill an enemy you can potentially block/avoid the attack from the next nord in line. Not only this but you can also use it to easily create escape routes from hordes by charging an enemy blocking your path and killing him without stopping.
In answer to some of your queries I think one of the main reasons that there isn't a guide to pikemen already is that everyone I've come across has a different way of playing the pikeman, probably due to the fact that it's such a versatile class. Not to mention that we pikemen are (were, i've seen alot of red-shirts with spears lately) a rare bunch.
I could probably give a more indepth guide but unfortunately I've been stuck in shieldwalls for a long while with little spear experience in the past few weeks :-*
First off, you CAN actually 1 hit kill alot of enemies on hard mode with the awlpike... The trick is to get distance between yourself an the opponent and then maximize your speed bonus by moving forwards and stabbing before they have the chance to stop/move back, aiming for the head also gives you a nice damage bonus aswell
Unfortunately hard mode isn't too kind on awlpikes as currently you cannot stab through a shieldwall effectively leaving you either slashing with a bardiche or throwing jarids. Even if you can stab through a shieldwall you need momentum to really deal damage which will usually lead to you getting in the way of ranged attackers/etc. Basically this means that if you want to use a non slashing polearm you should probably stick to normal.
One of the biggest problems I see pikemen in hard mode having is not carrying a shield. You may think it reduces the damage you deal with your awlpike or takes up slots better used for throwing weapons but I can tell you now it is one of your most valuable assets. Don't forget that you can hold your shield up while throwing weapons which is a real lifesaver considering how little armour you get. Alongside being able to use it with throwing weapons you can use a shield to approach or retreat from a group of ranged attackers such as the ever present rangers. Once you get close enough to a ranger, swap out your shield at the same time that they change weapon and you can use him as a meat shield to stop the others shooting you.
I would suggest that you don't actually equip one of the shields you have access to and instead fill your support slot with a board shield (Basically the best of anti arrow cover) and use it only for blocking projectiles.
Since spears don't really suit hard mode currently I'll give a few tips on general fighting with a polearm instead:
Your awlpike actually has a decent amount of range to it, though you can always use the long awlpike which is essentially just as good minus a bit of speed.
When thinking about range on a spear any range beyond the opponent's weapon reach is near negligable as unless you're in an open field with no obstacles around you, a long weapon reach will often have you hitting nearbye scenery or even allies behind you rather than the nord you're aiming for. Not only this but with a stab attack you gain a range bonus which usually allows you to beat enemies to the hit.
One of the other things I've noticed with the pikeman is that if you keep up with the flow of battle you can easily carve through a horde of enemies much faster than any other class, you just need to get the timing down for when you step forwards or backwards and when the opportune moments to strike are.
A good thing to do is to learn what you can and what you can't take out in a single hit. If you know that you're going to kill an enemy you can potentially block/avoid the attack from the next nord in line. Not only this but you can also use it to easily create escape routes from hordes by charging an enemy blocking your path and killing him without stopping.
In answer to some of your queries I think one of the main reasons that there isn't a guide to pikemen already is that everyone I've come across has a different way of playing the pikeman, probably due to the fact that it's such a versatile class. Not to mention that we pikemen are (were, i've seen alot of red-shirts with spears lately) a rare bunch.
Quote:I can sort of grasp the idea that you can trick the artificial intelligence into thinking you're about to attack, so they raise their shield or weapon to block, but then you block to cancel your attack, causing their weapon to go down, giving you an opening for an attack.What you are talking about here is feinting, a commonly used tactic to confuse an enemy by pretending to attack in one direction but actually attacking in another. There are plenty of guides around on how to do this and the much less common chambering if you want to look up how to do these.
I could probably give a more indepth guide but unfortunately I've been stuck in shieldwalls for a long while with little spear experience in the past few weeks :-*