Pikeman Archive

Well, I've decided to take a break from melee. Today's patch, and the previous ones have just further reinforced the thought that Brawlers aren't meant to be a primary profession, if a profession at all.

So as of now, I'm going to master the Marksman tree, and then decide my fate, since appearently ranged or CH is the only way you are meant to survive combat.

I won't dump my Pikeman skills just yet. Hell, ya know, I've really enjoyed it actually. Even with the horrible accuracy and defense, I liked it, it was rare. I've seen maybe a dozen other Pikeman on Scylla. I'll avoid dropping the skills incase the Devs ever come to realize what a mistake that was, and I might even master it still, but it won't be my primary profession now.

Ramsey Logan, Scylla

3/0/2/2 Retired Pikeman

You see, this is what troubles me, I think most people feel this way, that melee wasn't meant to be a stand alone class, and it's starting to seem like this is what the devs is trying to tell us. I just wish they would have made this clear from the begining when we were planning our characters, could have saved us a lot of time and frustration.

I really didn't want to be a marksmen, I've always been a fan of up close hand to hand and weapons combat. But it seems that is not my choice to make, unless I want my character to suck at combat of course.

SilverSurfer -

Please explain to me how you play the pikeman class. In PvP and PvE. Are you in group of 3+? Letting pets tank in PvE?

I have a bad feeling your play-style doesn't relate to the way I and others play the Pikeman class. In understand the recent changes might not effect you much, but your job should be to represent how they are effecting pikeman in total. Stating over and over how it doesn't effect you doesn't convey that you're trying to understand why other people are getting frustrated, and thereby relaying 'their' concerns to SoE.

silver,

you are correct, I am a Master and I dont use KD at all in pvp. So this effects ME in no way. Now, my concern is that the PVE KD is a MUST and this has hindered any solo abilities that we used to have.

I am in protest to have the KD timer in PVE untill they at least fix our Blocking abilities. I have fought over a dozen longhorn pikets now that I used to be able to take on. Now, noway! No block...KD is inneffective...WarCry rarely works....

Wish they would reconsider the KD Timer on PVE, period.

SilverSufer

This is 2 posts that make me think you are clueless to Pikeman.

Let explain to you a typical day in the life of a pikeman or should i say the way I play.

Pre-patch I have my stimp-b's on me and I go take lvl 16 missions that are handed out to me on the terminal that pay 2700c per run. Hidden daggers, humbabaa lairs, devil gulignaws. I walk out take my lvl 45 pet with me. I will usally get jumped by some meatlumps or swoopers on the way I will wade in headfirst on them let them surround me and use spinattack 1 and wipe them all out or polearmhit 2 if there is only 1 left standing. and hit a stimp b and keep on the mission run. At the mission I will take the animals on 1 by one never using my pet unless i get more than one on me when i am tapping the lair ( I want my polearm exp and the pet takes away from that), I use stimp b's inbetween the animals and go after another one unless my mind is low then I will rest or send the pet in if there is not much left on the lair to finish the mission. Go back to the terminals and go again.

Big hunts with my PA on Endor, I would use KD due to the fact I had to be in the creatures face to get ANY EXP and taking a HIT was not an option. We have a master doctor with us everyone else is ranged and guess who is ALWAYS HURT? Always has to have a doctor behind them pumping them full of stimp d's and e's ? But thats ok cause I get exp.

Post-Patch

I am now killed by swoopers if i have more than 2 on me at one time. Creatures now take me to 1/8 of my ham left 1 creature. I now have to send in my lvl 45 pet first let the animal get on the pet then attack and maybe i don't die or get incapped.

Big Hunts, well tried that last night I never, I repeat never got any exp from hunting in our group because I died, to Baz Nitches, Once I engaged one with 3 pets and 5 ranged people I would go down before our medic could heal me and I tried it 7 times last night and finally just logged due to furstration and lack of fun.

These issues don't have anything to do with KD and it being nerfed. People are leaving and quiting pikeman Now because they screwed up PVE with whatever they did. Dying to BLUE CONS IS WRONG! They screwed it up, there is not enough pikeman around to get some HUGE voice about it. And your DEAD wrong that people are spamming KD and that is what they are complaining about.

Well, most people don't even use the other skills in the pikeman class... just KD and PH3 (that is if they have even gotten there)...

He didn't even have the area attacks, and most people only go to that tree for master. I was just wondering if there were any other masters here who don't rely on KD to win their battles for them...

I guess I am being a little harsh, but the fact remains, I rarely use KD in battles, only when it is a need to win immediately. like a raid on an opposing faction of the GCW. Sometimes I just get the weaker ranged guys to follow me around, and they provide me with back up on Kiting foes. It works much faster if you work together with players to fight.

Now with just regular dueling, I go both ways with the KD skill, here is what the outcome is/was:

I use KD, they are incapped, and they whine.

They use KD, I don't, I get incapped, they boast that they are better then me.

It usually turns out as one of those two. Of course if we both use it, then it is just a contest of speed, and I usually have to switch back and forth between weapons, for the KD speed to be faster. Or neither uses KD, and it is a real test of who is the better fighter.

Meh, another lost before becoming a maser... We have such a high washout rate.

Khrim...

As a novice pikeman, I survive just fine without a KD attack. I am not sure why others are having a harder time with higher levels of skill...

When I play now, as I am a master, gaining exp is not a priority, as you all might have guessed. I spend a lot of time soloing or going out on hunts with a few people. Never more then five regurally, and usually only that many people when they are low level and they need a guide/bodyguard to protect them in battle verses (for them) big game.

I believe I have mentioned this in another post (though I do not remember it that well, so I do not expect anyone else to, haha), but when doing PVP like dueling now (post patch) I find that my average of about 7wins out of 10total duels goes up to about 8.5/10 (I know, it is actually like 17/20, but i wanted to keep it out of ten). Ok sorry too many side notes, I am getting tired... The kd feature evens out so that neither player can have an advantage, thus destroying my above post's "usual outcomes." I found that regardless of speed, both players can only use kd once every 30secs, and in that time, it becomes real fighting (sorry to anyone who is offended when I say that). As for PvE, yeah I can't take down the biggies like I used to, but it just makes it harder, and at master I am looking for something to challenge me. I would say that for a novice Pikeman to about halfway up to master, it is practically sweeping the main attack people use to level up (sorry, I know it was a lame joke, again I am tired... hehe).

So, back to Slistak2000's question, I guess I do play differently then other pikeman, but before really answering this question and adapting it to how I evolved from where you are, I have to know how far along you are. Please post up your current tree lvls, and you weapon of choce. Also, if you wear any armor, please add that in, along with any other questions you may have for me.

For Benwin's message, I completely agree with you on your post, block is messed up, but I added it to my last letter to SOE, and am awaiting their reply as I am sure all of you are. Soloing has been harder lately, a lot harder, but I find the challenge the most fun since I made master. I think it is a great dissadvantage to the others, but actually being chalenged on the battlefeild, and not having kd to rely on has given me an extra bit of enjoyment added to the game. So, good for masters looking for a way to continue in the class and not get bored. I have been a master of the artisan profession as well, and I got there, and I was like, "ok, what do I do now?" I'll tell you what I did, I surrendered half of the class and went on to the other elite classes, lol. Also, how do you fight? Area attacks, PH3 (hehe I love that attack), leghits? I am curious to see if we fight the same.

To Kanima: I am sorry if it seems I know nothing of the profession to you all on the board, it is just that I have been a master for a while now, and my playing style has changed. I suppose I have lost touch with the lower levels of our profession. Perhaps I will surrender my skills and start back at novice and work back up the tree, would that make you guys happy? No joke, I would do it, I had so much fun climbing up the ladder that I was thinking of jumping down and climing again for the ride.

Adressing GrendelsMother and BoneFrag, everyone has their different playing styles, some may play an hour a day or so, and some may play more then would be considered healthy, but it is all the same guys, please don't fight, we are all in the same profession here, and though we may not have the numbers, it is our sense of community that keeps us together, and makes us stronger. Imagine a fellow pikeman is being kited by a say rifleman (or something), and then four other pikeman comes to his aid and takes out the rifleman. That would say something to everyone about our chosen profession. Maybe I am just tired and thinking to utopian, but that would pleasing to know that you belong to a greater community beyond PA's or factions, like a "mutual respect amoung warriors." that would bring a /tear to my eye.

I hope I responded to everyone's posts after mine, I tried to give my thoughts on each post individually. I am sorry that we lose so many pikeman everyday. I wish I was a DEV, then I would try my best to adjust everything to benifit the overall gaming experiance. That is why I took this job in the first place, I wanted to make a difference and help out the members of our profession by being fairly represented. I hope I have accieved that in my two month term, or at least started us in that direction.

May you keep your pikes and chins held high, fellow pikemen!

Khrim.

SilverSurfer,

No, I didn't rely on using KD to win. When it came to PvP, I was 1-1, and didn't spam KD on either(nor did the heavy swordsman spam a posture change). My role on the few raids into Bestine I was apart of consisted of attacking ranged Imperials from behind, or defending my own snipers from melee users. Even then, I used KD, then polearmhit2, and by then the others had already begun attacking him.

In PvE, I couldn't rely on KD either. I rarely solo'd, and did so only for money, not for experience. The bulk of my time came from guild trips to Dantooine, where I fought as point man alongside our numerous pets. Could I have pulled out my combat staff and spammed KD? Yeah, but the minimal damage of a combat staff netted me little experience, especially if we were against a creature with armor. Instead, I used my LVA or VL(depending on resistances) to get my xp, in which I normally netted most or second most XP in our group. I couldn't spam the LVA or VL since we lacked a medic either.

My main problem with this nerf is the ever prevalent attitude by the Devs that we as melee users are to be inferior in all aspects. The most commonly accepted role of melee users, to be tanks, belongs to CH pets. Our weapons are horrible, and only get better 2 boxes into Polearm Support(alot of combat XP for the casual gamer). Beserk is completely useless after the Big Patch. This is just but a taste of the problems melee users have, and they are increasing.

What seems to be the reason for the KD nerf is both PvP and PvE spamming.

Ranged and melee KD in PvPshould have been treated completely differently. If you allow a melee user to get close enough to hit, you **edit** well deserve to be kd'd to oblivion. It wouldn't be such a problem for melee vs melee if resistances had worked. In PvE, the problem is more complex. Alot of people claim that high xp creatures(9k HAM+) are easily soloable by spamming KD. I don't know about the rest of you, but I for **edit** sure can't solo a creature with 9k HAM by spamming KD. I run out of HAM and then whammo, incap. The only way for me to spam KD and win is to either be a medic, or use stims. That's not a knockdown problem, that's a game problem, but the Devs and alot of people refuse to treat it as such.

Ok since my first message has somehow disappeared, next try:

I'm a 1/0/2/1 Pikeman on Ahazi, not master brawler. Dabbling a little in CH for the show effect of a nice pet (a GSP atm) plus some pistol and medic skills. Pikeman is my first and only love, so to speak.

Using a 3.9 speed, 89 to 288 unsliced VL, alternating with a rather bad RCS, I used to be able to solo PvE rather well, single mobs that is, with the KD / 3 hit / KD / 3 hits and so on sequence. The occasional miss or resist still wrecked my HAM pools, and it wasnt super fast experience on 4500+ HAM mobs, but it worked nicely.

Post-patch, obviously that doesnt work. Now instead of adding another "we need KD back" post, although I also agree that skill was the saving grace of the pikeman class, a rundown what and how I hunt. Those who dont rely on KD much, I'd be very interested how you routinely engage a mob, what moves etc.

I open with a Polearmstun1, then Intimidate1. course of the massive HAM costs, if Intimidate fails, I seem to take less damage not trying it 2 or 3 times, but just melee away then. During the fight, I try and keep the mob in the "stunned" state, through Polearmhit2 or Polearmstun1. Occasionally, when for example the mob has low HAM and lost a lot of action pool, I use leghits to finish quickly.

I wear a Chitin BP, gloves and boots, all of them 28 kinetic or so. I hunt scyks and mutant womp rats on tatooine, the missions give me around 2500 exp per mission...... each mob gives 422 or so. That means, at like 10 minutes per mission, I'd need 1000 minutes to get the next skillbox in polearm stances. With the fact that most of our skillboxes have little use beyond getting higher rank, cause their moves dont actually support my fighting style, I find this to be very slow and frustrating.

So, how do the people that dont need KD solo, and what do they hunt? very curious, I've tried berserk, warcry (broken, never works), spamming leghits, neither of that gave decent results. And even then, if I have to stick to 422 exp mobs cause the others eat me alive, thats slow progress.

heh, maybe a few of you all can rest a bit easier, now that I have surrendered all skills in pikeman except novice, and I get one skill because of the exp I got when I was a master.

Khrim Charan

Weilding a LVA is much MUCH harder as a novice... time to find a VL again.