God pikeman suck

[dashavingo]

Such consistently low damage. Any suggestions? (Yes, I'm striking from maximum distance).

[Vermin Supreme]

Pikemen do alot of damage? The problem u got is u not using a correct pike/spear and play style. Use the one you can make that have the Impale skill. (when not adjacent to target) stay like a single part away so ur not amble to "engage" them. Impale: When attacking from a distance do double damage. the point of pikeman is to not "Engage" the enemy. You want to use it as hit and run. My pikeman is only lvl 5 using impale skill does usually doing 56-64 damage non crit. I have the pikeman hit em for heavy damage, then use wrath upclose to finish em off so I get the point back then move him behind my frontliners. But spear units in general one of the best single unit damage units.

[watcherzero]

Have them guard units so they retaliate when their attacked, standing behind and hitting. A few of their weapons do full 360 degree swings as well meaning they can go into an enemy cluster and really mess them up.

[The Konrad]

In early game I used them to push units into position for my two-hander-roundhouse kickers.
In mid game I used Phalanx Spearwall thing to stop targets I couldn't reach.
In late game I put them next to a bear.
Bear gets attacked, Pikegirl gets free retaliation.
Bear gets attacked again, Pikegirl murders next enemy.

[dashavingo]

Thanks all. I am hitting from stand off, just not getting results like Arizona. Might need to spend more attention upgrading from Iron to higher level weapons.

[Jelerak]

I like to get the point when they kill, then put them next to any ally for support attacks to engaged enemies. I like the back up, and ether if needed for prisoners.

[Chara H Dreemurr]

Pikeman as support is excellent.

[ItachiDeltaForce]

Originally posted by Chara H Dreemurr:

Pikeman as support is excellent.

yup sure are ..have them just behind ur engaged ally and have attack of opportunity bonuses
from different sources, take skills that enhance their support like team spirit or the other one give them a decent pole arm build crit, my pikeman is a beast, hes also my camp watchman/guard. they are brilliant if u build them right

[Ninth Hour]

Pikeman are quite good. They just have to be used properly, which is to support and defend certain units, not be the main attacker.

They work best when given skills that benefit from proximity to others: e.g. Valorous Support (+1 VP by ending turn next to an ally) and Team Spirit (Level 5 skill. Brutality to both pikeman and ally when next to each other). For Level 8, I like Preparedness (Fury and Riposte when not engaged- the Riposte part is not essential as the Pikeman shouldn't be hit in the first place but Fury is great, as the Pikeman, used properly, should never be engaged).

Here is what a level 11 Pikeman might look like- and it's not even a min-maxed build. Equipment is not maximized either. Food buffs make a huge difference late game. Culture Shock is probably one of the best meals.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2975638899

[Tanyon]

LMAO I mean a lot of people use shield wall and that's cool but I like to use the spearman with the throw ability and they make everyone bleed.. and when they are next to an ally both units get 30% more damage dude.. my spearmen are DPS machines.. they usually finish off and kill a dude every round..

[Vermin Supreme]

Originally posted by dashavingo:

Thanks all. I am hitting from stand off, just not getting results like Arizona. Might need to spend more attention upgrading from Iron to higher level weapons.

If you do things right you can have a pretty deadly spearman at lvl 5. Like for me at lvl 5 spearman is 46 strength. This is for a multitude of factors.

The tech tree the one called career planning is amazing, you can force whichever stat you want up to max during level up using influence so u can force +2 strength a level. and by lvl 5 get around 8 from that plus whatever thier base stat is if its good.

Gear is a big factor sometimes to. I get alot of bonuses from gear. I went for upgrading blacksmithing early. With 3 slot ghost brigantine armor with all 3 slots Layer of the stag. The stats of the lvl 6 armor are Guard +19, Armor +73, Strength+6. Also the ghost pike for another + 15 strength (can get higher amount of strength/stats on perfect crafts (hit it during those animations where a circle pops up, you know u got it when the metal turns gold) and getting lucky for quality stars). Thats a whole +21 Strength from just the gear. Helps alot with damage and the setup ghost pike does. Which is Impale for double damage when used from distance.

Also Traits are good thing to get. From doing certain actions in combat or in the open world you can get extra traits that help. Like Brave and Giant. Both give =5% strength and dex so another 10% strength twords the spearman (if you can earn them) (I only got brave atm on mine).

The lastt hing I can think to give bonus is thier trade. If you level up blacksmithing on that character you can get them extra strength. Im working on my swordsman first and im going to work on my spearman next but u can get alot from it like my swordsman is journeyman in blackmsithing and gets another +7 strength.

But in General (weapons/armor/armor layers) gear can give HUGE boosts if you know what your going for and earned traits/trades can give more big boosts



Also ghost gear may be lvl 6 gear but can be equipped at lvl 5 so go crazy :)