Pikeman Archive

First things first: Yes, I was told by a holocron to Master Pikeman, but please hear me out. I was *very* happy to get Pikeman from my holo because I was thinking about trying it out anyway - for the uniqueness, challenge, and change of pace.

I was a Master Bounty Hunter when I received my first Holo that told me to master Pikeman. If holocrons didn't exist, or changing professions didn't count toward Jedi, I still would have dropped MBH. I really just needed a change and have found the BH community is not my style - it's all about being uber l33t and pwng ppl in PVP. I never saw it that way and thought BH was a lot of fun - super buggy and time consuming - but fun. For the record, I was not a real Eyeshot spammer... I preferred to use the carbine specials (more of an inside joke with my guild -sry).

Anyway, after using the Holo I decided to first try Commando before pursing Pikeman - as it uses the Master Marksman skill and it requires Unarmed I-IV. I figured Unarmed I-IV would introduce me to mele combat before jumping into Pikeman. That would be an added benefit, as I had never done any mele combat prior to this. Additionally, I wanted to put the whole "MBH vs. Master Commando" debate to bed. Having mastered both, I can tell you they are equally powerful in completely different ways. One thing is for certain, it you hate AT-STs, Master Commando will allow you to eradicate them with ease - in some ways that's nice, but it takes the awe out of them that I used to have.

I honestly don't consider myself a super power-gamer. I play smart and efficiently and enjoy finding ways to advance skills quickly while still having fun and interacting with people in game. Needless to say, mastering Commando took me 8 days. It didn't feel like grinding, and I had a lot of fun doing it. I held onto Master Commando for awhile to keep the accuracy bonuses and help my guild in raids (Sliced Rocket Launchers are so nice against turrets). Master Commando with a nice low level pet and Novice Medic is a real sweet PVE killing class as well - which I enjoy, being more PVE than PVP oriented.

Our guild has a few Pikemen and a previous Master that I spent some time talking to about the profession. The discussion made me even more excited to start the journey toward Master. Since using my holo, I've been reading the Pikeman forum and I must say I like it a lot.

The Pikeman forum is by far the most laid back and mature profession forum I have spent time on - you all know how to keep things in perspective and are dedicated to helping people in the profession. No doubt you all complain about fixes (what profession does not), but they seem awfully warranted. I like the tone and style of the forum a lot. If you think I'm goofy for saying this, check out the BH forum.... I'm not bashing them (I was a Master BH) I'm just saying they generally have a much different style and tone that's not my favorite.

I have digressed - sorry. So, I just wanted to say hello - and thank everyone for the great information on this forum that I have read thus far. I am currently finishing up Polearms IV tonight and will hit Novice Pikeman tomorrow. I bought a few regular Lances and had them sliced (got one nice speed slice and one nice damage slice). I get buffed by doctors regularly and I bought a nice set of 73% Ubesse (got that sliced also with nice results). So far, so good. I really like Pikeman actually. I realize things are going to get tougher, but I've been through the Investigation line before it was "improved", so I know a thing or two about patience, frustration, and making things fun by keeping them varied. It’s the journey, not the destination.

Look for my posts in the future - I'd like to add to this forum and make a positive contribution to the profession. You may have noticed that this is my first post, so sorry it was so long

Ghosthawk

Ahazi

Hello, and welcome! You're off to a very good start with the 73% Ubese and nice lances. Once you get to novice pike, pick up a Vibro Lance and give it a shot, you'll be very happy, then once you get Support II, pick up a good Long Vibro Axe and you'll be amazed, just be prepared for some missing. You know that if you've known anything about Pikeman, though.

antares
master pikeman

hi

welcome to Pikeman! ... i myself have np with Holo Pikeman just as long as thy dont run around saying im only here cus my Holo said so ... please enjoy Pikeman ... i find it to be a long slow profession, but i enjoy the chalange ...

btw what server r u on?

Jadzya

How d. Love your handle.

Oh hey, I just noticed yer on the ahazi server. Look me up for training when you need it 346209403 or whomever you are.

Oh Jebus. I just got it. Sorry I'm a little slow on the uptake tonite. Should have got that in a second the number of times I've heard that. WTG Tommy Tutone.

Welcome

Thanks for the welcome everyone - great to be part fo the Pikeman community

I'm loving pikeman - I'm at 0/0/2/2 - and getting smarter on my tactics. It's definitely a big change from my previous professions, but I like it.

I'm working on the defense line right now because I want to stop having to use a pet (although I plan to master CH eventually just to experience the thrill of taming of a rancor). Plus, the new CH format that is coming will severely limit the level of pets you can have with a comparable amount of CH skill, so I may as well get more CH XP while it is "easy".

Quick question: How is the amount of bleed damage calculated in thebleed attacks (I have the first one now)? So, in other words, if I hit for 100 damage using Polarm Action Hit 1, how much bleed damage will the MOB incurr? When I was Master Commando, the fire DOTS were just sick - they passed through the MOBs resistances and armor as well (so a MOB that is 100% immune to fire would not take the inital damage, but they would take 100% of the DOT damage). Just wounding how this works for Pikeman and how generally useful the bleed attacks are.

Thanks,

Ghosthawk

I to had a holo say Pikeman.

"I'm only here cus my holo said so", but I have enjoyed it very much. I'm trying to hold on to it if at all possable and even if not I am planning on coming back. I've met several people lately with the same feelings on my server. So its between pikeman and CH and i'm looking more towards dropping CH now. Took me awhile to decide since I am very fond of my pets, but I'm equally fond of pikeman now too.

I've read all the helpful tips in here to get through my grind and the folks here are awsome and very helpful. Follow the tips they give and you can't go wrong.

Currently i'm 4/0/4/3 Pikeman and Master CH.

The bleeds are incredibly importaint. I'm not too far along, I move slow. But I wouldn't be able to do half the things I do without my bleeds. If you can manage to get a bleed off with your LVA, your in better standing. Better yet, sweep then bleed. @ 1/0/2/1 I can run up to 4 st's bleed em all run away and heal up with some food and after about a min it's enuf to waltz back in and finish the job.

Might not find that to be too uber but I have a ball doin it. Dunno bout the actual numbers but the bleeds are heavy. Again try sweep then bleed and if possible land it with the LVA.

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8675309 wrote:

Quick question: How is the amount of bleed damage calculated in the bleed attacks (I have the first one now)? So, in other words, if I hit for 100 damage using Polarm Action Hit 1, how much bleed damage will the MOB incurr? When I was Master Commando, the fire DOTS were just sick - they passed through the MOBs resistances and armor as well (so a MOB that is 100% immune to fire would not take the inital damage, but they would take 100% of the DOT damage). Just wounding how this works for Pikeman and how generally useful the bleed attacks are.

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It's my understanding (someone correct me if I'm wrong) that all DoT's ignore armor and resistances entirely, but that the initial attack does no damage itself. I lack the visual acuity to actually figure out if that's true, but I've had nothing disprove it so far.

Regardless, the bleeds are very useful. With actionhit1 and actionhit2 stacked on top of each other you can pretty easily do about 3k of damage a tick (give or take a couple k's depending on the quality of the bleeds). My first offensive priority in any fight against a single tough enemy is to get decent bleeds applied. Then it's just a matter of staying alive long enough to kick it in the shin.