Pikeman Archive

Just had to post this. Been way too many negative posts on Pikeman, and I thought it was time for a postive one. Course here is a little negative to start off.

First off. We are broken. Accept it for now. There isn't much we can do about it with the numbers we possess. Heck, if they kill the pikeman class entirely, then that is one less profession they need to worry about. Less professions = less bugs. So they are probably trying to nudge us down the path of destruction. Play the class for the pain and excitement of being a total underdog profession. Also, if you are even more sadistic (or is it masochistic) then join a faction and start going PvP. Personally I won't do a faction until PvP is fixed a bit. PvP + Pikeman = omg....the pain!!! more....frustration.....please!!!

There is hope and things you can do. I know that Creature Handler is one of the "hated" classes, but it actually works well with Pikeman. I don't have any range abilities except for the racial Bowcaster which I use very rarely. I can't heal except for what I buy from vendors/players in the form of pet stims. I can solo things just fine though, even though groups are preferrable. The pets are good for playing tank until they fix all melee.Yes, I am not happy with the death at a distance that seems prevalent in SWG. If you watch your range and allow your pet to "latch" onto the creature you are pulling, then you shouldn't have too much problem with dying. The best pets for "latching" are those that have a range attack. The less damage you do when pulling, the better. To pull a mob takes a bit of playing with positioning and enticing. Enticing could be anything from getting their attention with a range attack (Even if it is a range weapon you can't really use), or just distance aggro. Be very careful of social mobs. It takes a lot more time to pull these, and if you are impatient, then you will have a quick trip to the cloning facility. When playing this way with a creature, you are just backup. Use your 30 sec KD to keep the damage done to your pet to a minimum.....follow up KDs that connect AND actually KD a mob with PolearmHit1,2,3 or actionHit1,2. You will do more dmg on this 2nd hit if it connects. Also, if your KD doesn't knock them down, then you can do another KD til it does knock them down. Help your pet by intimidating the mob and bleeding the mob when you can. Try to keep as many dizzy's, stuns, blinds, anything on the mob as is feasible. Also, carry an LVA(Kinetic) and a VL(Electricity) on you. Usually mobs aren't totally resistant to both. If they are, then bleeds are your friend. Hopefully you have a tough enough pet to tank these mobs.

Be wary of mobs which are kiters. I am sure most of you have run into these(My most hated are desert Marksmen and their higher level cousins). There is one way to fight them, but it depends on terrain. Look for rocks, the bigger the better. Sometimes, these are enough to block all shots fired at you. When this happens, they will come into range for a short period of time. Your only hope is to bleed them and let them run. Anything else is suicide. This even goes for most pets. These kiters never seem to run out of speed, and can always stay ahead of you and your pet while pot shotting you.

Also, that other underdog profession the chef is extremely useful. Look for any type of food that adds to your regen of health and action. Tatooine Sunburns are worth the price. They will keep your action pool up and running. I still haven't found a superb one for Health or mind that is worth it, but you can't go wrong with Sunburns.

Other than this, hang in there. Pikemen are just going through extremely rough and turbulent waters with nothing to float with except our weapons which don't seem to connect. Also, if I ever see another another reference to pikemen being wielders of long and blunt weapons, then I will get sick. That would explain why our damage is much lower than everyone else. Not many people would be dumb enough to try to kill something like an elephant with a long, blunt stick. Oh well....sometimes dumb is good.

Hang in there everyone!!

since when things kite you they move strait back, i usually try to get them to walk backwards into a building or tree or something so that they will stop walking and get tangled up in the clipping. Unfortunatly when they hit the building or what have you, they teleport to where ever they wan't....so that dosen't work.

but you are correct. if you hide they will slowly walk around the object you arehiding behind untill they can see you then they start kiting again.

another problem i have with kiting is that some creatures that requre a distance of over 5M before they feel comfortable with stopping. Tortur Bulls are like that. You can chase them for ever sometimes. In the end you hvae to run backwards so they chase you then switch back and fourth real fast and you might get a hit in once in a while...but the whole time they are attacking you.YAY!!! lets throw a parade.