Pikeman Archive

After mastering Bounty Hunter and Pistoleer I'm now working on Pikeman. Presently I'm 0/1/2/2

One HUGE descrepency I have noted is our HAM cost for special moves, and our HAM cost on our weapons.

The major difference I see is that its very very mind intensive.

It's so intensive in fact, that there is an inequality that pikemen have over every other class, that inequality is downtime.

I'm confident that my downtime as a pikeman is a minimum of twice that of any other class (maybe rifleman is close). I know this first hand from playing other classes, but also from simply taking note in groups as we recover after big fights. This is not because I'm spamming specials either, I use maybe 2-3 styles per creature to get in bleed, knockdown, and a stun.

The HAM cost for Mind is of particular concern. I've not seen this as high on any other weapon except for maybe rifleman. There is simply no justifiable reason for this.

My opinion is any Mind damage from weapon use / style use should be removed. If a Pistoleer/Smuggler can spam last ditch all day long for 1000+ pvp damage and receive no mind damage, or a Bounty Hunter spamming eyeshot for little mind damage, or a MTK spamming his moves for no mind damage, then most certainly a pikeman should be able to at least use each of his effect styles in a fight without losing that much mind.

Yes - I'm fully migrated to my mind and I'm human.

Pikemen have a lot of inequalities, one of which you see now - horrendous HAM costs. You really cannot be effective at all without food/drink or buffs. The mind cost is large, it's true, and it's deadly.

antares
master pikeman

If anything, the best and most important lesson than Pikeman can teach is how to manage your specials/HAM cost.

I haven't noticed much of a mind cost. I have a high health cost. My mind usually only gets really drained from using stims. If I use spice and spam specials then yes my mind goes down, but not nearly as much as my health does unspiced.

What race are you and how do you have your secondary stats set up? I have my secondaries on health and mind all the way up. I am a rodain.

Eede

I'm human and my mind is 1075/450/450

I always have full master doc buffs

Vibro Lanceis my weapon and i can watch my mind go down as i use styles with it.

Heh, feel bad for me. I'm dosh. A spice feind I have become. And I'll tell ya, I firmly belive the AI will target your weakest pool. Unfortunately I just don't have the head room, even after a muon I have to be very careful with my specials. Ryshcate (sp?) helps out tho.

If you get doc buffs, but can't find entertainer buffs, don't rely on muon. Fishak (drink) gives a 500 mind boost, Glazed glucose (food) gives a 300 mind and focus boost and Fried Ice Cream (food) gives a 400 focus boost (All assuming good master chef products).
If you don't have doc buffs, Ryshcate can be taken 2 at a time (300+ each to Strength, Quickness and Focus) along with 1 Breath of Heaven (500+ to Strength, Quickness and Focus).

Of course, all this food gets expensive, but I myself walk around with crates of each all the time.

antares
master pikeman

I don't mind the muon. I pop one if I get right down to it and go. When the muon runs out and its downer time then I pop a fishak to curb it back.

I find this cheaper then buying food for all M/F/W.

I always fight on ten minutes intervalls, then my boost and muon fades, and i snack some food n drinks to sustain my mind as I seek cover

2 Ryshcates + 1 Breath of heaven: specials moves cost=0

even if i wear my armor.

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Axe_Grinder wrote:

I'm human and my mind is 1075/450/450

I always have full master doc buffs

Vibro Lanceis my weapon and i can watch my mind go down as i use styles with it.

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I think my secondaries are more like 500 for mind. I use a LVA. Maybe you should get Ent buffs instead of doc if your having mind trouble. Also get a new VL one that has lower costs in mind.

Antares,

Not to get off subject - but find yourself a better chef. I can't help you (I'm starsider), but my glucose and ice cream are also in the 500s.

Misterie

Yeah, those were estimates, I typed them when I was not in-game. I was off in the numbers. I've seen those with values of 500+.

antares
master pikeman