Everyone already knows that spears suck on the battlefield. Unless you're on horseback, you either get a short weapon or a 2 hander and that's it. But, as many of the forumites and the other weird medieval fans that lurk around here know, the spear was, in reality, the single most used weapon on the battlefield since antiquity, a queen of the battlefields everywhere. Clearly, the discrepancy between reality and the game is quite severe, and does affect gameplay negatively. What is it, really, that's hampering the spear's effectiveness?
A SMALL DIGRESSION ON CAVALRY
While a polearm on horseback is absolutely not useless, I can't help but notice that the AI is straight up BAD at aiming their spear thrusts, as well as their timing. Now, it's not like the AI should be flawless in their fighting abilities, but I can't stand seeing so-called ELITE Cataphracts wholly missing the falxman right in front of them and getting absolutely owned as a result. It is fine if low tier cavalries are bad at doing this, the same cannot be said for the shiniest knights of the realm.
IN WARBAND
While not absolutely brilliant in combat, the spear in Warband was still decently effective in combat, with it's usefulness multiplying in formations (as it should). In a narrow passage, up to three spearmen could poke at you at the same time, basically pushing you off. Mods that made use of pikes could appreciate the extreme effectiveness of a compact formation of pikemen. Perisno players might remember the fear they'd feel when confronting any number of Zann Spearmen above 1. Those who played any Invasion gamemode mod might remember the effectiveness of one guy "shielding" and the other behind him stabbing and slashing away. Why did this happen? On close inspection, the game was, simply put, very forgiving with the hitboxes: it would simply let spears pass through, provided the user and the ally were very close.
IN BANNERLORD
Bannerlord just isn't that generous. Shieldwall formation seems to be the worst offender, as there just isn't enough space for the spear to even thrust fully. If the spear barely touches the back of the shield of your ally, that's it! It won't pass through and reach the enemy! This doesn't only apply to spears, but to 2-handers too. So, yes, your Elite Menavliatons, when they're behind the Legionaries, do absolutely nothing to help the infantry fight.
SUGGESTION
For spears (and pikes, and halberds, and greataxes...) to be effective in formations, there doesn't seem other solution than allowing a certain "grey zone", in the back of the shields, for allied hits to pass through. Perhaps, a different mode for the spear (pressing X) to adopt in formation that allow a higher overhead thrust and a faster, short range normal thrust (video thumbnail) should be considered as well
A SMALL DIGRESSION ON CAVALRY
While a polearm on horseback is absolutely not useless, I can't help but notice that the AI is straight up BAD at aiming their spear thrusts, as well as their timing. Now, it's not like the AI should be flawless in their fighting abilities, but I can't stand seeing so-called ELITE Cataphracts wholly missing the falxman right in front of them and getting absolutely owned as a result. It is fine if low tier cavalries are bad at doing this, the same cannot be said for the shiniest knights of the realm.
IN WARBAND
While not absolutely brilliant in combat, the spear in Warband was still decently effective in combat, with it's usefulness multiplying in formations (as it should). In a narrow passage, up to three spearmen could poke at you at the same time, basically pushing you off. Mods that made use of pikes could appreciate the extreme effectiveness of a compact formation of pikemen. Perisno players might remember the fear they'd feel when confronting any number of Zann Spearmen above 1. Those who played any Invasion gamemode mod might remember the effectiveness of one guy "shielding" and the other behind him stabbing and slashing away. Why did this happen? On close inspection, the game was, simply put, very forgiving with the hitboxes: it would simply let spears pass through, provided the user and the ally were very close.
IN BANNERLORD
Bannerlord just isn't that generous. Shieldwall formation seems to be the worst offender, as there just isn't enough space for the spear to even thrust fully. If the spear barely touches the back of the shield of your ally, that's it! It won't pass through and reach the enemy! This doesn't only apply to spears, but to 2-handers too. So, yes, your Elite Menavliatons, when they're behind the Legionaries, do absolutely nothing to help the infantry fight.
SUGGESTION
For spears (and pikes, and halberds, and greataxes...) to be effective in formations, there doesn't seem other solution than allowing a certain "grey zone", in the back of the shields, for allied hits to pass through. Perhaps, a different mode for the spear (pressing X) to adopt in formation that allow a higher overhead thrust and a faster, short range normal thrust (video thumbnail) should be considered as well
