Well, I've noticed that no one uses spears probably because there isn't any specialization for them, which is bad because they are cool weapons in my oppinion. So, why there isn't any specialization or skillset that lets you use them? You can forge them so why not?

The 4 types of weapons could be:
Halberd - damage
Poleblade - precision
Bardiche - balanced
Spear - speed

Now, concerning skills I thought about:

- Vault
Jump over obstacles, like ice walls or fire walls.

- Impale

- Arm artery and leg artery

- Slit throat

- RushImpale
Impale from adjacent rooms: Target in room X adjacent to room Y where you are. You start setting up the ability and after it's done (I don't know, 6 secs), you tun into room X and impale the target. If the target leaves the room you'll rush into room X and stab the air. Doing anything while the ability is setting up will stop it.

- Leg Sweep
Swing you weapon at target's legs, doing minor damage and knocking him down (also stun?)

- Spinning Defense
Spin the weapon around, doing minor damage to those who try to attack physically AND preventing part or even all of the damage. While in this state, you cannot perform anything else but speaking. To get out of this, do something other that it. This ability has a major endurance drain and if you stop it you will lose balance for some time (4 sec?)

The trans ability could be something like this:

- Double strike
Swing the weapon twice at the target, random bodyparts, increased damage and wounding but extremely slow. Good finishing move. I'd add blackout but it would be overpowered...

Maybe this abilities are overpowered, maybe because I kinda got exited about the idea...

Anyway, what do you think about it? I know that 5 specialization may be too much, but this sounds awesome.

I've always liked polearms better than blades or bludgeons. Having a specialization for them would be fantastic. Work on the idea more and post a whole skillset!

Yeah, I think so too. I'll work on that, I'll post something when I have. If you have ideas for abilities just post here, I'm open to suggestions.

It's a good idea but since it's a weapon specialization it needs to be symmetrical with the other four specializations. Mainly, you have the key abilities in every specialization such as...

Lancer - Mastery of the polearm weapons.

Maneuvers - Refine your attacks with more focus.

Pierce - A forceful strike/swing attack.

Also you have a parrying ability like Coule/Riposte or anti-parrying ability like Heftyaxe or Heftysword.

Then the specializations would need one non-wound abilities such as Shieldsmash (BC), Chop (AL), Furrow (PB), and I guess Rend (BM). I'm not sure what a good one would be but the Spinning idea sounded interesting.

You also get an instakill wound like Bashbrain/Behead depending on how you set up the skill.

You provided the trans skill.

When I was thinking about Polearms they could use the specialization as a two-handed one strike ability (bladed) OR a two-handed double strike ability by hitting with the bladed edge and the blunt end. This would allow different combinations of attacks and also disable others. For instance if you impale someone on your bladed end attack you wouldn't be able to hit with the blunt end, so if you were going for impale you'd want to hit them with the blunt end and then the bladed end. I prefer this method since it will add a bit of variation to the current specializations. Setting up the specialization this way would allow for the Gods to also release a sword and shield specialization so they'd be similar (like how the two-handed specializations were released). I'd imagine these two specializations would have a lot more abilities in them for wounds since you can only give one bladed and one blunt attack at a time but it would balance out in the end.

I would love that... It would make for a very fun skill set trying to figure out how to combo things in such a way to get the desired effect. I would SO give up pureblade if a polearms skill had something like that... even if it means begging for a person who has transed the skill in a guild to teach me.

I think we need to fix the specializations we already have. THEN we can worry about putting in another.

Vesar, you have a point. But, in the meantime we can work on this one! Who knows, maybe this turns out a really popular skillset and maybe the staff inserts it in the game. As I said, maybe. (PS: I loooove the staff! )

Raysicia, I'm with you. I won't even choose my specialization if this has a chance of becoming a specialization.

As for the name, Spearcraft doesn't sounds right. I mean, you'll have Halberds among others. Spearcraft sounds like a specialization that you ONLY use spears. So Poleblading sounds better. And to replace the Poleblade weapon for precision, maybe Naginata or Ahlspiess. Naginata is kinda samurai like, so I don't know. (if you want to know more about these weapons, check wikipedia)

Genos, my thoughts exacly. I have been thinking of hitting with the blunt end too, but what would it be like to hit twice with a 360 damage weapon? With runes? Overpowered, to say the least. But that would change the warrior combat a bit. If this blunt end thing works, the blunt end cannot afflict with toxins and have damage and wounding drastically reduced. And this can only work with certain abilities, you can't hit someone you have impaled with the blunt end, right? BUT you could hit someone else with the blunt end while someone is impaled. The impaled person can be "unimpaled" if this happens (50-50 chance?) for minor damage, no added wounding and no Disembowel like afflictions.

Now, for the instakill... Behead is old, and with a spear? Bashbrain with a spear? I don't think so. I was thinking of something new, some piercing ability, like Fully Impale the target in the chest and ripping the heart and the lungs. And it could give you the remains of the heart as a trophy! But, chest damage? I don't know... First thing that occured me was a rip crotch swing. It would, well... Rip it. Massive bleeding and intant death. But, if you were fighting a female... And that's so stupid, right?

About that Maneuvers ability, that would be cool but it would have to be associated with some drain, like willpower or mana. Not endurance because you are focusing you mind, not body. And there's that spin around ability I told you about. More accuracy and maybe more wounding (5% or 10%).

About the parry and counter, I was thinking of that too. Check this in real life: let's suppose someone hacks you down. You can put the spear horizontaly between you and the sword. Then, you could rotate you spear and step aside, the blade would follow the spin and so would the other warrior. After this, you can hit the back of the warrior without missing. So yes, why not? ( I don't know if I made myself clear, maybe I'll draw it)

Concerning skills:

Amputate skills? I don't know, what about you?

Cleave or Raze. Since the balance for Cleave is extremely slow, it could be Raze with that blunt end thing. And don't forget, blunt end = minor damage. It's more a stylish ability than a damaging one.

- Lunge
Why not? With a long weapon it shouldn't be that hard to bypass defenses with a jab, right?

- Disembowel
If you have Impale, you have to Disembowel! OR some other ability that did the same is Disembowel. Spear Twist: twists you spear in the innards of an unlucky target. Just the same as Disembowel, but with new name and new look.

- Slice ear

-Scalp

- Pinfoot
This would be cool and totally work with the blunt end thing. While the target has his foot pinned, you could pull the spear back and the release for a catapult whip effect and hit the target on the head.

- Something-that-is-not-overpowered-and-that-afflicts-with-blackout
Some kind of heavy head wounding. 7sec blackout, or just enough time to strike the target again in blackout once.

As you know, I am kinda new to Lusternia. So, I don't have much combat experience and that's why I'm asking you, experienced players, what abilities could work with a spear that are not overpowered. So please help me!

*insert comment about making really high jumps and other FF-Dragoon'y stuff*

If we had spears, I'd like to see them be used as they were at war - an "defensive offensive" weapon. Make use of their reach, and that enemies can't get near you because they'll get stabbed. Attacking with the blunt side seems kind of pointless for me, especially if the spear's longer than 2 meters (6 feet for you imperialistic measurement people) - not that feasible. Of course, there might be attacks when you hit the enemy with the pole, like when you spin around with the spear (it would give for example a chance to knockdown everyone in the room, but that's a bit overpowered), but it shouldn't be used in normal strikes.

Yes, it would be cool to make high jumping and stuff with them, that's why I thought about Vault (jump over obstacles), but I can't think of anything else that can be possible to do in real life. I want to make this as realistic as possible. So super high flying jumps when your characters stops in midair - out.



Yes, in Medieval times spears were the most effective defensive weapons (bows were considered offensive weapons, although they are really good for defense) and the most used. The blunt end thing... I think it would be kinda cool to be able to use in in some abilities, as I've said before. Now, about keeping your enemy away from you using the length I just thought of one ability, Spinning Defense (check previous posts) and I think that if there were more abilities like this, the skillset might be overpowered. That's why I think it should have a high endurance drain.

Speaking of blunt end again: it should only be possible to use when your spear is stuck (impaled, for example). BMs can impale with one sword and attack with the other, so this would balance a bit. And you can hit with the blunt end anyone in the room, but if it is someone that is not impaled by your spear, thare's a chance that the impaled person breaks free from it with minimal damage and no afflictions (40% of this happening, 50-50 would make it stupid to hit with the blunt end)

So, as always, I've been thinking of some more abilities:

- Long jump
Target in room X, you in room Y. You use the impulse of the spear to jump from one room to another, kicking the target, knocking him down with minimal stun (2sec).

- Tree Pierce
If there is someone above you, you can jab them from the forest floor. There's a small chance that you will make them fall from the trees and thus breaking a leg.

- Poke eyes
When at ?negligible? wound to the head, there's a chance of poking both eyes out, thus afflicting with blindness and bleeding.

I think I have enought head wounds, I'm still thinking of more wounds to other bodyparts. Suggestions?

Once again: as you know, I am kinda new to Lusternia. So, I don't have much combat experience and that's why I'm asking you, experienced players, what abilities could work with a spear that are not overpowered. So please help me!

I think they were used a lot in old times for anti-cavalry troops, so maybe some anti-riding skills, or extra damage to mounted people. I don't know much about combat yet though.

I've been doing some more research about all this, and I found the fighting style with polearms. Here's part of what I've found:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUhrCGnzQVM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riMEzgEeSrA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAHE0Af-Ix4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WOx4Uf2Nyw
(YouTube is good for video researching!)

Anyway, what do we have here:
-- Multiple piercing & stabbing
-- Massive swings
-- High flying (except for the last video, that's impossbile to do. Right? )
-- Swings complemented by hitting with the blunt end and kicks

So basically, fighting with spears is a fast fighting style. So we need double stabbing and things like it. Attacking twice with a weapon is, as I've said before, overpowered. So we need something to balance it, like making polearms 2h with 1h stats (wich would make things kinda... Weak?); make double stabbing abilities' damage and wounding decreased to make it with the damage, wounding and speed of a normal one swing attack OR make its balance high. I can't decide... The most viable way to me seems to be the second one. Help me here.

More abilities:

- Slit Wrists(I think there's an ability with this name but I'm not sure)
Slits the target's wrists, making him lose grip.

- Disarm (Once again, I think this already exists)
Swing you blade around you oponent's weapon, making him stop wielding it. Can be prevented with grip

And we need more abilities for the specialization. Original abilities, we don't need a 2h BM specialization.

Mounted combat in Lusternia is bad, because stances don't work and almost everything knocks you off the horse. No need to make it even weaker than it is (although it has some uses, for example in group combat).

Afflictions that require light or negligible damage should be weak, like cut arteries (not tendons). Good afflictions start at medium (well, some at medium), but most likely at heavy. Blindness at negligible is a bit overpowered. We could make it at medium, because it's a two-hander.

And one more thing. One big advantage of polearms is that I see most afflictions being caused by jabs, not swings, because they're, well, polearms. And jabs hit exactly the bodypart you want, which is not the case for swings. So this precision of sorts will probably be this skill's advantage.

I think we shouldn't think about mounted combat at all for now. Maybe later, when combat in Lusternia is more developed.



You're right, being a 2h specialization the Poke Eyes ability should be at least in medium, if not even heavy. And sice it's a 2h, choosing between cure the wounding or the damage is dificult. And I suppose most people choose health over wounding. So yes, small bleeding for negligible, rest for higher wounding status.



That's the point of using spears, making one-hit kills (real life, of course). Percision over anything else, exacly what I was trying to put here. The point is not choping the guy's limbs or head, it's to slash and stab them to a bloody mess.

I've thought of a defensive idea, but I don't really know how it could be implemented. (I'm not really concentrating on this) Sometimes, if a boar or something was charging at a soldier with a spear (the soldier had the spear, not the boar) The guy with a pike/spear.halberd/whatever would get down on one kneem and kind of bend over with the pointy bit on the polearm sticking towards the charging... thing. If the thing was smart, it would swerve away, but if not,... basically. Instant raw kebab.

Don't really kow how we could effectively put this into the mechanics

Me neither, although it is one of the main purposes of the spears. If there were an ability like that, it would simply replace aura of rebounding. It should be something like this:

- Charge Defense
If this ability is in use, when someone tries to physically attack you you'll drive your spear through them, resulting on instant impale.

Let's suppose then:
You in a room, prepare Charge Defense. Wait. Guy comes in the room. Guy sees you staring at the air. Guy attacks you. You impale him AND disembowel before he has time to regain balance. Instakill, or pretty close.

Rebounding - kicked and replaced by Charge Defense.

Although it is a very interesting idea Ytraelux, it's needless to say that it is overpowered.

And yes, I thought from the beggining adding something for defense with the spear, Spinning Defense.

- Spinning Defense
Spin the weapon around, doing minor damage and minor wounding to those who try to attack physically AND all of the damage. While in this state, you cannot perform anything else but speaking. To get out of this, do something other that it. This ability has a major endurance drain and if you stop it you will lose balance for some time (4 sec?)

I'm currently working on the whole skillset, with full info on the skills. I'll change lots of things that I said and even add some more. When it's done I'll post here and you tell me what you think.

Changing the subject a litle...
Poleblading could come in play as one of the specializations of the Dracnari or Lucidian when the two cities awake (I know, it's gonna take lotsa time). But then, the other faction would have to get a specialization of their own. So, Lucidians could have Poleblading and Dracnari some kind of 2h blunt weapon specialization like warhammers and such. This would explain the blunt damage weakness of the Lucidian. I don't know if there are going to be any specializations when the cities awake, but... Well, I suppose so. They have been sleeping for all this time, so when they appear let them do anything good: new skillsets, guilds, bashing areas and more.

No need to put the disembowel in there, just impale would be fine. It goes into them without moving. Unless they wriggle a LOT, it wouldn't take their guts out apart from a thin hole in the middle; you wouldn't be able to feasibly do any other moves while in that position; it would have a high endurance dran, your body would be tensed up all that time waiting for the impact. Finally, it would be kind of useless against non-warriors, because they wouldn't run at you and point their staff at you at the same time, would they?

Doesn't seem overpowered to me

Man, you impaled the guy. Why shouldn't you disembowel when you can?

Well you could just use the 2-H weapon and have it have 1-H stats, allowing you to almost always have two strikes. The idea would be you would be spinning the weapon around as to hit with both sides. I prefer this way instead of having a minor blunt end attack.



The Maneuvers ability is available to -every- current specialization and isn't a passive effect. Someone posted it's AB file on these forums before, essentially it allows you refine your combat more by deciding which wounds could be given from an attack instead of complete randomness. It was implemented in the last envoy changes to give warriors a little bit mroe control over their combat, however it is -still- random.


Also, you keep thinking of utility abilities, Weapon specializations only get -one- utility type ability and you've already listed way too many. The rest of the abilities (besides the ones I mentioned in my original post) are wounds. I said in my original post all Lusternia skills that end in multiple specializations have symmetry. I'd advise you to look at the LusterWiki to see the similarities in all specialized skills. For examples, Celestialism vs. Nihilism, Geomancy vs. Aquamancy, all the Weapon specializations, then the slight differences between the two Wicca's and Druidry's. So far you haven't given much symmetry between this skill and the other Weapon specializations.

If you've got him impaled why not do a coup de grâce? Makes sense to me. (Agreeing with Vladkir)

When I started to list the abilities, I noticed that. I have too many. I need to choose some.



I've been thinking of that too, the blunt end thing was getting too lame after all. But a 2h polearm with 1h sats but able to swing twice is a good idea. More realistic. I'll keep that in mind for future abilities.

Concerning Maneuvers, I realised that it is available to every specialization but I don't know exacly how it works. So, details about it are welcome.