Reasons why pikes suck:
- Too slow to block or attack. Sure you can say they are not meant to be 1v1 weapons, and that's fair, but they suck at everything else too.
- Bad as anti-cav. They are too slow to attack. It's too easy for cav to come around a corner and tag you before you can get an attack off. You need to see them coming from a mile a way. Not to mention that you shouldn't even need to attack with a pike to make it effective against cav. It would be cool to be able to set your spear into the ground to meet incoming cav. It would be a good counter point to the lance couch.
- Because of it's lack of speed, it's near impossible to make contact in the "sweet spot" where the weapon actually does damage. It glances more times then not.
- The damage appears to be crap. I don't know if this is it's stats or just due to the constant glancing as stated above. I'm sure they try to balance the damage due to the added damage which is done against charging cav due to the relative speed but it makes it utter crap in melee.
- Increase its attack speed.
- Slightly increase its block speed.
- Increase it's damage if the increased attack speed doesn't work on its own to increase damage.
- Balance the increased damage with a corresponding decrease added damage due to relative speed.
- Increase its "sweet spot" for damage if attack speed doesn't do enough.
- Weak but slow overhead attacks. Don't know how they would do this being that they have overhand and underhand stabs already.
- Be able to set your pike against charging cav.
- Make pikes effective against cav without attacking. Very similar to setting against a charge, if you are holding a heavy pointed object and proving some resistance it will still be partially effective against charging cav.
- Carrying pikes, or any weapons on your back, is stupid. Make it better and make it drop when you pull out a side arm.