Tips for using spear?

[Ancient Snek]

For context: I have a bit over 100 hours in the game, have got all the achievements, and have sort of come around to all the weapons. There are favorites, but I can generally work with any of them...

... except the spear. Now, it's not *unusable*, but it feels a lot more clunky than the other weapons, and a lot more reliant on the Daedalus hammer upgrades (like, I know it can be strong with the triple dash strike, or with the sweep buff), but does anyone have pointers for how to make it work more consistently?

Spear lovers, pls respond.

[meiam]

I dunno about more reliant on upgrade, I feel like the sword is way more reliant on getting upgrade to be viable. Spear is about flexibility, you need range? You got the special. You need room clear? You got spin to win.

[aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa]

Guan Yu is the only aspect I like to use with the spear, if you're good at evading and not taking damage then it's one of the strongest weapons in the game. If you manage to get Charged Skewer then it's pretty much GG no matter the heat.

[Ancient Snek]

Originally posted by meiam:

I dunno about more reliant on upgrade, I feel like the sword is way more reliant on getting upgrade to be viable. Spear is about flexibility, you need range? You got the special. You need room clear? You got spin to win.

I take whichever weapon has the +20% darkness/gem bonus, to keep it fresh, and whenever I get the sword, I use the aspect of Arthur - doesn't feel reliant on upgrades at all, imo. Very easy to get it to hit like a truck.

I've heard that the spear is more flexible, like you said, but the spin to win is heavily reliant on one of the two daedalus hammers (either sturdy or faster charge). Nice when you get it, but charging it to max takes way too long without them. You could say I don't have to charge it to max, but the smaller range is underwhelming.

[Nibbie]

As a spear main, by far my biggest tip for the spear is knowing that you can dash while charging a spin to massively extend the range (think of what Theseus and Hades does with their spins). I use Aspect of Hades, and with the dash it is super easy to land the powerful debuff and it lasts a long time.

[Ancient Snek]

Originally posted by Nibbie:

As a spear main, by far my biggest tip for the spear is knowing that you can dash while charging a spin to massively extend the range (think of what Theseus and Hades does with their spins). I use Aspect of Hades, and with the dash it is super easy to land the powerful debuff and it lasts a long time.

I'm aware, but fully charging often leaves you exposed, unless you have one of the two Daedalus hammer upgrades that modify the spin attack.

As a spear main, what are your thoughts on aspects and boon combinations?

[Darth Bokeh]

If I use Achilles aspect, I plan for a cast build from the start, which means Ares and Artemis, aiming for Hunting Blades; Poseidon and Demeter, aiming for Blizzard Shot; Dionysus and Zeus, aiming for Scintillating Feast.

[Ancient Snek]

Originally posted by 1sot0pe:

If I use Achilles aspect, I plan for a cast build from the start, which means Ares and Artemis, aiming for Hunting Blades; Poseidon and Demeter, aiming for Blizzard Shot; Dionysus and Zeus, aiming for Scintillating Feast.

Good point. Was too focused on the fact that Achilles boosts attack to think about using it for a cast build. Could be worth a shot.

[Nibbie]

Originally posted by Ancient Snek:

Originally posted by Nibbie:

As a spear main, by far my biggest tip for the spear is knowing that you can dash while charging a spin to massively extend the range (think of what Theseus and Hades does with their spins). I use Aspect of Hades, and with the dash it is super easy to land the powerful debuff and it lasts a long time.

I'm aware, but fully charging often leaves you exposed, unless you have one of the two Daedalus hammer upgrades that modify the spin attack.

As a spear main, what are your thoughts on aspects and boon combinations?

I rarely full charge, mainly only when they are on the other side of a wall or spawning in or something, half charge does solid damage applies the debuff just fine, and it only takes about half a second to use, similar to a bow shot. The spin dash still has the avoidance properties of a dash, so I can, for example, charge a spin while Hades is going to phase 2, and dash over the ring he instantly summons to give a big hit and apply the debuff right away.

I use almost exclusively Aspect of Hades. Achilles doesn't feel like it does enough, and while it can be used to dodge, and double up on backstabs in some situations, it denies you backstabs in others, and it often has you charging into danger if you want to activate it. Guan Yu is ok, but I'm not a fan of reducing my hp by so much, and the spin doesn't really feel good enough to offset it. The debuff from Hades lasts super long so you don't need to constantly apply it, and is a large boost, giving me solid DPS throughout. For what its worth, I don't think it is the best weapon by any means (Rail Aspect of Eris exists), I just enjoy it the most.

I'm pretty open on boons. Basic attack can stack well (Dionysus and Demeter) and high damage works well with the spin/debuff (Aphrodite, Artemis), though I'll take pretty much anything other than Zeus or Ares (and Ares can get a pass with doom stacking). I use the special boon primarily as a debuff applier (Aphrodite, Ares, Demeter). It doesn't stack very quickly, so I usually don't want Dionysus, but Demeter lasts long enough for use as the second curse for Privileged Status. Cast and dash are used mainly to either apply curses or keep safe (Demeter, Athena, Poseidon, Dionysus, Zeus). For calls I prefer ones that do good damage, but don't require you to stay close without invincibility (Ares, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Artemis).

For hammers the two spin buffs (charge speed and extra damage/range) are auto takes (with speed over range if both show up), after which I go for things like extended attack, triple dash strike, and special damage upgrades. I avoid chain special since it screws with the pullback, and the sturdy pulsing spin since it rarely does anything (though they did buff it recently, haven't tried it since that).

[Tumalu]

Achilles is good for 150% cast damage up. Take a cast that doesn't lodge into enemies, and focus mainly on that. Achilles hunting blade runs feel amazing. I'd never use it over Hades for a build that isn't mostly focused on Cast though.

Why does it feel so impossible to get Curse of Drowning duo!

Hades, the dashing on spin for range up is the big thing. Zeus or Ares on special makes it hit well enough as a ranged weapon (Zeus hits twice unless it's exploding hammer) when you aren't stabbing away. Special base damage is eh so you want the static damage boons for sure, unless you get Charged Skewer.

[meiam]

Originally posted by Ancient Snek:

Originally posted by meiam:

I dunno about more reliant on upgrade, I feel like the sword is way more reliant on getting upgrade to be viable. Spear is about flexibility, you need range? You got the special. You need room clear? You got spin to win.

I take whichever weapon has the +20% darkness/gem bonus, to keep it fresh, and whenever I get the sword, I use the aspect of Arthur - doesn't feel reliant on upgrades at all, imo. Very easy to get it to hit like a truck.

I've heard that the spear is more flexible, like you said, but the spin to win is heavily reliant on one of the two daedalus hammers (either sturdy or faster charge). Nice when you get it, but charging it to max takes way too long without them. You could say I don't have to charge it to max, but the smaller range is underwhelming.

Spear basic attack hit for more than sword, nova smash takes about as much time to use as half charge spin and has less range for same damage, dash strike is weaker but has more range. You can use the spear pretty much the same way you use sword (with more range), just with the extra throw attack and possibility for stronger AoE spin.

[Ancient Snek]

Originally posted by Tumalu:

Achilles is good for 150% cast damage up. Take a cast that doesn't lodge into enemies, and focus mainly on that. Achilles hunting blade runs feel amazing. I'd never use it over Hades for a build that isn't mostly focused on Cast though.

Why does it feel so impossible to get Curse of Drowning duo!

Hades, the dashing on spin for range up is the big thing. Zeus or Ares on special makes it hit well enough as a ranged weapon (Zeus hits twice unless it's exploding hammer) when you aren't stabbing away. Special base damage is eh so you want the static damage boons for sure, unless you get Charged Skewer.

Ooookay, I just finished a run with aspect of Achilles where I got my hands on Seeking Blades. The kill speed on Hades was disgustingly quick.

[azureailuren]

Spear sucks; wait until they buff it I guess

[Blue Nerolee]

Varatha is one of my favorite weapons. It's versatile and satisfying as it can target both distant and close enemies.

This may be surprising but I think Zeus is a fantastic option for the spear. I had a combination of Daedalus' Flurry Jab and Triple Jab + Zeus' Thunder Flourish, Double Strike, Static Discharge in one of my latest Achilles builds (best aspect btw) and the damage and the speed were INSANE. There was also some Demeter, Artemis and little bit Athena in the mix.

The Guan Yu aspect on the other hand is absolutely horrible. It's like the cursed version of Cursed Slash. Just bad, bad, BAD.

[Towerdepths]

Originally posted by Blue Nerolee:

Varatha is one of my favorite weapons. It's versatile and satisfying as it can target both distant and close enemies.

This may be surprising but I think Zeus is a fantastic option for the spear. I had a combination of Daedalus' Flurry Jab and Triple Jab + Zeus' Thunder Flourish, Double Strike, Static Discharge in one of my latest Achilles builds (best aspect btw) and the damage and the speed were INSANE. There was also some Demeter, Artemis and little bit Athena in the mix.

The Guan Yu aspect on the other hand is absolutely horrible. It's like the cursed version of Cursed Slash. Just bad, bad, BAD.

I'm actually a big fan of the Guan Yu aspect myself; I have two completed runs with Varatha, and both were using Guan Yu. Is the HP horrendous? Oh ho ho, god yes its bad, but the damage it can deal is quite frankly incredible, and even the bad HP can be offset by good evasion abilities and judicious use of the charge spin. That being said, you do want defense boons like Divine Dash when you can get them.