Why is the spear so bad?

[Walter]

Of all the weapons in the game I find the spear to be absolutely awful, no matter which aspect I am using. I have yet to find a viable build for it, but this weapon is just so sluggish and painful to use lmao. The spin attack is too slow, even with the charge speed upgrade. The special is next to useless and.... thats all it has going for it really. Every other weapon has better damage output by default.

Am I missing something here or is that generally how most people feel about the spear?

[Suzaku]

Some people swear it kicks butt, but I feel like it's the weakest of the weapons, and by a large margin. It, and all its aspects, hold the bottom 4 places as worst weapon to me.

[Bobywan]

I have troubles beating the final boss with spear as well. I got it last time thanks to a cast build, barely using the spear itself not to take risk.
I mostly use the spin attack when more mobs are spawning or if I m hidden behind a pillar.

[Octopuses]

What? Spear hidden aspect is OP. Infinite healing. Not to mention, almost all hammer upgrades are really nice on it.

[Suzaku]

Originally posted by Octopuses:

What? Spear hidden aspect is OP. Infinite healing. Not to mention, almost all hammer upgrades are really nice on it.

That's the one I actually find the worst. Your health and healing received is cut in half at least, and your only "reward" is a clunky, weak charge attack that heals for like 2-3 damage per use.

I thought aspects were meant to make you stronger, or change up how you play, not be a complete punishment.

[estehmanis]

It takes a while for me to get to use it too, i keep forgetting it has really long range. The -20 dash and 3 times dash-strike daedalus hammer is fantastic, esp if you use ares/zeus attack on it.

[Alex_x86]

Yeah, default special and charge attacks are not good on it, however regular attack is quite good and allows to keep range from the enemies. Also all hammer upgrades make a huge difference. Especially all upgrades on special, the upgrade that turns your regular attack into 3 spears and the one that turn dash-strike into 3 strikes with lesser dash range. Combine that with lighting attack (Zeus) + Jolted Damage (Zeus) and the game becomes challenging only on the heat levels closer to 10.

[Psyringe]

I had the most success with a maxed-out Aspect of Zagreus and the Chain Skewer upgrade with damage boons for the special. I could basically just stay back and throw the spear, which then kept bouncing between enemies.

The Aspect of Hades might work even better for this - you can crank the damage bonus up to +150%. You'd have to do a sweep to get the 10-second bonus, then throw the spear and let it bounce, then repeat.

That said, I would still recommend a strong cast for the final boss. I find the sweep too slow to be useful in this fight, and the special is of limited use as well (though Chain Skewer can help destroying the summons). With range bonuses (Aspect of Zagreus, Extending Jab) you may be able to beet him with regular melee attacks while running away, but it'll probably be a long fight.

[LT2483]

All down to preference. Everyone has their worst, everyone their best. Spear was the weapon I first beat the game with. Now that I'm more experienced, I would say it's around the middle for me. I find it works without a specific build, or even targeting specific gods, so it's useful.

[Minneyar]

It's funny how it seems like somebody makes a new topic about this every few weeks.

It's not my favorite weapon, but Aspect of Hades plus Ares' special is incredibly good, especially if you get the hammer that increases the size of your charged attack. You can clear most rooms in second with a couple of charged dashes.

I do agree that the hidden aspect is probably the worst aspect in the game, though. The tiny amount of regen it gives you is worthless when you die in just one or two hits anyway.

[waliwali]

spear bad lol

[Nibbie]

Aspect of Hades is my favorite weapon of all, beat my heat 32 run first try with it. Being "ranged" without needing charge or reload time is really nice, and it has both wide and long AOE abilities. You can throw the spear through shield enemies to get free damage on the return, and it is an excellent applier of doom (or other status effects). The biggest difference maker for me was learning that you can dash while charging a spin to extend the range, the same thing both Theseus and Hades do. This allows you charge from a safer distance, and avoid attacks, all while delivering a large AOE that gives a large and long lasting debuff.

[⭕TheSodaman]

Originally posted by Nibbie:

Aspect of Hades is my favorite weapon of all, beat my heat 32 run first try with it. Being "ranged" without needing charge or reload time is really nice, and it has both wide and long AOE abilities. You can throw the spear through shield enemies to get free damage on the return, and it is an excellent applier of doom (or other status effects). The biggest difference maker for me was learning that you can dash while charging a spin to extend the range, the same thing both Theseus and Hades do. This allows you charge from a safer distance, and avoid attacks, all while delivering a large AOE that gives a large and long lasting debuff.

Same with Aspect of Hades and heat 32 run.

Spear with Hades is the only weapon I trust to consistently do a high heat run without relying on RNG toward boons, hammer, Chaos, shop, etc.

Originally posted by Walter:

Of all the weapons in the game I find the spear to be absolutely awful, no matter which aspect I am using. I have yet to find a viable build for it, but this weapon is just so sluggish and painful to use lmao. The spin attack is too slow, even with the charge speed upgrade. The special is next to useless and.... thats all it has going for it really. Every other weapon has better damage output by default.

Am I missing something here or is that generally how most people feel about the spear?

I think each of us have one or more favored weapons. While there is a weapon that we don't like or connect with. One big thing for me is the spin attack -> dash toward the enemies you want to hit as they're spawning or approaching.

For me, Spear > Railgun > Bow > Sword > Shield > Fists. (Close range issues)

Aspect of Achilles can work well with a caster build and favors keeping mobile to bring out the most offense. If you don't like cast lodging, then Demeter and Dionysus casts work well with multiple shards. The Achilles rush also lets you charge two spin attacks in preparation for a spawning enemy wave to get a first, strong hit on them. So it pairs nicely with an Attack boon like Demeter, Athena, Artemis, or Poseidon and anything that helps with damage vs. undamaged foes. Does not pair well with the heat that gives enemies one or more shields.

Worse case, you can also retrieve your javelin / spear throw by pressing Attack after Special. You also narrow down the Daedalus Hammers you get, so you might get one that helps with Attack or Spin Attack sooner.

Aspect of Zagreus to me is too dependent on boons and Hammers coming together. I love the Poseidon Special + Exploding Launcher hammer, coupled with anything that helps the knockback effect do more damage (rupture, Zeus duo, etc.) And I love Zeus Attack + Flurry Jab + Triple Jab, bonus if you get the lightning bounce.

Aspect of Guan Yu is the spear I dislike the most. For me, does not pair well with the heat that gives enemies more shields or the heat that causes enemies to move faster. My favorite build with this is getting a hammer for the Dash Strike even if I dash slower, coupled with Artemis Dash (3 dash strikes from hammer, +dash strike damage from Artemis, Guan Yu's dash strike does more damage than other spears). I tend to like Demeter or Aphrodite with Guan Yu to compensate for the lower health, slower attack speed, and losing the spear's spin attack. The life drain is neat, but it can also create a careless play style where you're okay with getting hit, because you know you can life steal your way back to full. Except on bosses, their hits will hit so hard and you'll have narrower windows to life steal that you're better off dodging.

[Tim]

My main complaint with spear is how often range backfires at high heat. Taking advantage of your maximum range=attacking enemies you can barely see, often with your back against a wall. There are many instances where holes, rocks, and columns block the ideal line of fire with the special. And every time I had to dodge an attack from Hades and return a spear without a hit, it feels awful.

Also, survivability from Guan Yu is pretty trash at high heat. You often die from a lot of intersecting damage at once, not from cuts and blows. And Hades doesn't provide many milking opportunities.

I think spears are a lotta fun, but I find myself struggling more with them at the back-end of a run more than other weapons.

[Anderson]

Spear is quite solid. Aspect of Achilles + Hunting Blades = easy run. Flurry Jab is also quite insane.

[Document]

My opinion. 1.Sword 2.Fist 3.bow 4.shield 5.gun 6.spear
Yea, spear is the worst