polearms - are any of them decent in close combat and on foot?

[minmaster]

i seem to do decent damage with practice staff (which is a polearm i think) but everytime i'm forced to use polearm in tournaments and lose my horse have to go on foot, i find these to do practically no damage.  are there some polearms that are better in melee than in others?  i admit i haven't used them much outside of training and tournaments but which ones are better?  i see there are spears, pikes, staffs, lances - which one can you at least use during melee combat?  for example, i have built up all my companions polearm efficiency up and gave them each a nice polearm.  but are these useless in castle sieges because we're not on horses anymore?  or are certain polearms okay to use in melee combat? 

 

[The Elusive Mr. Hunt]

I think certain polearms can only be used for certain attacks.

ie a Quarter staff can be used to swing backhand/forehand/overhead and to jab. Whereas a jousting lance can only stab (this is on foot).

If you want something like a quarter staff, there's an iron pole sold somewhere which is the exact same but, you guessed it, iron.

If you're giving your companions lances to be used in mounted combat, then yeah, I imagine theyre useless in sieges. But I think they have the sense to draw their back-up weapon in that situation (if you gave them one, that is  ). Something like a War Spear could be used to couch, and also to swing back and forehand, and also to stab iirc.

 

[Venitius]

Lances, especially the long, one handed jousting ones are bad. Glaives, military scythes, light lances, halberds if there are any are decent, with the bladed polearms being better than the lances. Pikes are good at range, but almost useless once they're inside the point.

 

[Scyrius]

If you use a shield then most will only stab straight forward on foot but a good tactic for that is to constently move backwards and to the side so that the enemy stays within range

 

[Swagg3r]

I'm partial to the military scythe and the war spear. Both very versatile weapons.

Suppress the instinct to backpedal. Instead always advance when thrusting.

 

[rhalle]

Balanced Glaive.  Nasty, especially if you want to batter up on some cavalry.

Balanced Awlpike is awesome (one of-- if not the-- the best weapon in the game when riding).  Looks funny swinging it overhand while on foot, but it's nasty too.

Quarterstaff aint bad either.  Fast and long.

 

[fragonard]

If you're giving your companions lances to be used in mounted combat, then yeah, I imagine theyre useless in sieges. But I think they have the sense to draw their back-up weapon in that situation (if you gave them one, that is  )

But NOT if you put the polearm in the top slot.

 

[The Elusive Mr. Hunt]

Really? If you put it in the second slot, do they have the sense to use the polearm in the charge?

 

[fragonard]

Yes, the first slot is the default melee weapon when stopped or dismounted. When mounted, troops will use a polearm if moving or a ranged weapon if far away.

edit: actually it's more complicated than that but the general hierarchy.

 

[ComradeZoolander]

Poleaxes. Most. Epic. Weapon. Ever. (MEWE)

Think of it like a giant military scythe (2nd ranked MEWE), except that the fact that when you ride a horse, it turns into a freaking spear. Jump off, and you can swing it at huge distances. Not to mention, it's got a huge range, too. When you swing it, instead of it hitting mostly on the right and hitting 0's on the front, it swings all the way to the front and to the left after swinging from your back right. This makes it have a huge range too.

Then, when facing cavalry, since it's a polearm, the majority of the power is at the end (hence it being an axe). When a horse charges you, just swing to the side and let go. You should be able to topple him off the horse in one or two goes. Then finish him off!

 

[minmaster]

really?  i didn't know the 1st slot is for melee dismounted weapon preference.  can you tell us what the other slots are also?

 

[fragonard]

Well, as I said, it's more complicated than that. The first slot is the default slot that a troop will always start with. If it's a polearm,  a mounted troop will start with it and stay with it when stopped or dismounted. However, if equipped with a ranged weapon, they will use that at a great distance to the enemy and switch when closer. If it's a ranged weapon, they'll start with that and switch to a  melee weapon when closing. If it's a melee weapon, they'll start there and switch to ranged or polearm based on the distance; the most versatile.
For heroes with only four slots, usually you won't give them all three: bow, sword and polearm.

Here are some observations:
The main problem is that if you give your hero a sword and a polearm, and the sword is in a lower slot than the polearm, he will never use it.
Also if you give your hero a shield and a 1H/2H sword, he will never use the sword 2 handed.
Similarly, if you give him a polearm and a shield, he will always use the shield if he can so he will never use the polearm 2 handed even on foot. (unless, of course, it's a no-shield polearm)

 

[minmaster]

yeah, in most recent game, i configured most of my companions to be polearm efficient and gave them all nice polearms.  i made sure i didn't give them a shield because i read giving them a shield will take away couching ability.  but i realized that polarms are useless once my guys on horseback run into a wall of infantry and come to a stop so i wanted to give them a melee weapon for this situation.  and since my guys are shieldless, i said might as well give them a two handed weapon.  figured it would come in handy during seiges since we're not on horseback to use the polearms. 

after all this, i don't think i've seen my companions use the two handed weapon i gave them for use when their horse comes to a stop.  and during seiges i figured it'd be a better idea just to remove the polearm from their inventory so they go straight to their two handed weapons.

oh and another thing i noticed was although i gave all my companions bow/arrows and made them proficient in archery, some of them pull out the polearm during the initial charge while some start with the bow/arrow.

i don't think the AI knows to distinguish polearms and one handed/two handed weapons in knowing which to use in which situation.  the polearm should be used making a charge but once you're stuck in a sea of infantry, you ought to pull out your sword and start slashing and stabbing.

 

[Morrigan]

Great info!
So someone help a noob out here...

The 4 slot weapon limit on my character has me a bit indecisive. I very much enjoy using a long lance to ride down my enemies, but I also enjoy using a bow on horseback. However, when I enter a village and get ambushed, I want to have a sword and shield ready. That's 5 weapon slots though.

Do you recommend:
a) Lance, Shield, Bow, Arrows
b) Lance, Bastard Sword, Bow, Arrows
c) something else?

I've noticed during ambushes I have better luck with my lance if I just drop my shield and wield the lance two handed, using it like a quarterstaff.

Thanks for your insights!

 

[Fry]

Great info!
So someone help a noob out here...

The 4 slot weapon limit on my character has me a bit indecisive. I very much enjoy using a long lance to ride down my enemies, but I also enjoy using a bow on horseback. However, when I enter a village and get ambushed, I want to have a sword and shield ready. That's 5 weapon slots though.

Do you recommend:
a) Lance, Shield, Bow, Arrows
b) Lance, Bastard Sword, Bow, Arrows
c) something else?

I've noticed during ambushes I have better luck with my lance if I just drop my shield and wield the lance two handed, using it like a quarterstaff.

Thanks for your insights!

I'd suggest loadout b. Since the bastard sword is one-handed or two-handed, you won't lose any effectiveness by using it without a shield (unless you have low two-handed proficiency). Just make sure, if you do this, to change your loadout during sieges - if you don't have a shield, you'll be force to take cover behind an object and you won't be able to help your units.

 

[minmaster]

i don't know if shields are really necessary for sieges.  i just use my bow/arrow most of the time to pick off heads of archers and only use shield for a bit to get into a position.

 

[guilder30]

glaive poleaxe for native halberd for eagle and radiant cross