Pikeman Guide. V1.0 � 30 March 2004
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Brawler Skills & Abilities
3.0 Pikeman Skills & Abilities
4.0 Weapons
5.0 Armour, Buffs & Power-ups.
6.0 Progression / Tactics
7.0 PvP
8.0 Master Pikeman
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Pikeman. The least popular combat profession, according to SoE�s Astrometric Stats (0.25% of people have novice pikeman). Also Pikeman is the least Understood of all the combat professions. Pikeman is touted as being broken, and useless, and this to an extent is true, however Pikeman is also exciting, and powerful when used right. The reason the Pike has such a bad reputation is due to the early levels being extremely difficult, which I�m sure leads to many aspiring Pikemen to give up and join the TKA band wagon.
Of that 0.25% I estimate 4/5ths to be Holo grinders, who will drop Pikeman as soon as hitting master. Of the remaining, probably less than 25% have made it to Master, and go Career Pikeman. Theoretically therefore assuming a server population of 10,000 that makes a dozen Career Master Pikemen per server� Only Jedi are rarer than Pikemen.
The root of the Pike starts with the Brawler profession. Novice Pikeman only needs 0-0-0-4 (polearms) in brawler to train, making master Pikeman a snip at 92 Skill Points.
2.0 BRAWLER SKILLS & ABILITIES
Novice Brawler (15 Skill Points)
Skill Mods
Polearm Accuracy +10 � A passive skill that increases your chances of hitting your opponent
Polearm Speed +5 � A Passive skill that reduces the time between your attacks
Taunt +10 � Taunt allows you to increase the chances of a target hitting you rather than your group members.
Abilities
Warcry 1 � Warcry will slow the frequency of your opponent�s attacks
Berserk 1 � Will Increase the damage you do to opponents, and the damage they do to you.
Intimidate 1 � Intimidate will make your opponent less likely to hit you in combat.
Centre of Being � CoB will make your character more likely to evade an opponents attack
Polearm Lunge 1 � PL1 has a chance to lower the posture of your target, in addition is deals slightly higher damage than a standard attack.
Polearm 1 � Long Hafted Weaponary (2 Skill Points) � 1,000 Polearm Experience
Skill Mods
Polearm Accuracy +10
Polearm Centre of Being Duration +2
Polearm Centre of Being Efficacy +10
Polearm Speed +5
Abilities
Polearm Hit 1 � Typically this attack causes twice the damage of a standard attack.
At Polearm 1 you get the metal staff and reinforced combat staff certification. Get yourself a reinforced combat staff from a master artisan, and your good to go. Acceptable Speed and Damage, that will last you until you get the basic lance certification
Polearm 2 � Form and Balance (3 Skill Points) � 5,000 Polearm Experience
Skill Mods
Polearm Accuracy +10
Polearm Centre of Being Duration +2
Polearm Centre of Being Efficacy +10
Polearm Speed +5
Abilities
Polearm Leg Hit 1 � This attack causes increased damage and targets the opponents Action pool
At Polearm 2 you get the Basic Lance certification. A Master Weaponsmith can craft a very good basic lance that will see you right through until Novice Pikeman.
Polearm 3 � Power Strikes (4 Skill Points) � 15,000 Polearm Experience
Skill Mods
Polearm Accuracy +10
Polearm Centre of Being Duration +2
Polearm Centre of Being Efficacy +10
Polearm Speed +5
Polearm Toughness + 4 � Polearm toughness is a passive ability that will reduce the damage you take in melee combat.
Abilities
Polearm Stun 1 � This attack causes increased damage and can stun the target
At Polearm 3 you get the Long Vibro Axe certification. The LVA as it�s commonly referred is one of the best weapons. (Don�t confuse a Long Vibro Axe with a Vibro Axe, they are different)
Polearm 4 � Overwhelming Assault (4 Skill Points) � 70,000 Polearm Experience
(Grants the title Apprentice Pikeman)
Skill Mods
Polearm Accuracy +10
Polearm Centre of Being Duration +1
Polearm Centre of Being Efficacy +10
Polearm Speed +5
Polearm Toughness + 4
Abilities
Polearm Stun 1 � This attack causes increased damage and can stun the target
3.0 PIKEMAN SKILLS & ABILITIES
Novice Pikeman � (6 Skill Points) � 125,000 Polearm Experience
(Grants the title Novice Pikeman)
Skill Mods
Block +5 � A passive skill that reduces the chance of being hit in melee combat
Melee Defence +5 � A passive skill that reduces the chance of being hit in melee combat
Polearm Accuracy +10
Polearm Speed +5
Polearm Toughness + 4
Abilities
Polearm Hit 2 � This attack causes a large amount of damage to a single target
At Novice Pikeman you gain the ability to use a Vibro Lance
Intermediate Polearm Stances � (5 Skill Points) � 175,000 Polearm Experience
Skill Mods
None
Abilities
Polearm Spin Attack 1� This attack can attack multiple targets at once
Advanced Polearm Stances � (4 Skill Points) �250,000 Polearm Experience
Skill Mods
Polearm Speed +15
Abilities
None
Expert Polearm Stances � (3 Skill Points) � 350,000 Polearm Experience
Skill Mods
Polearm Speed +15
Abilities
Polearm Spin Attack 2 � This attack can attack and dizzy multiple targets at once.
Master Polearm Stances � (2 Skill Points) � 450,000 Polearm Experience
(Grants the Title � Heavy Cleaver)
Skill Mods
Polearm Speed +15
Abilities
None
Intermediate Polearm Offensive Techniques � (5 Skill Points) � 175,000 Polearm Experience
Skill Mods
None
Abilities
Polearm Leg Hit 2 � This attack can cause large damage to a targets action pool
Advanced Polearm Offensive Techniques � (4 Skill Points) �250,000 Polearm Experience
Skill Mods
None
Abilities
Polearm Area Attack 1 � This attack can damage multiple targets at once.
Expert Polearm Offensive Techniques � (3 Skill Points) � 350,000 Polearm Experience
Skill Mods
None
Abilities
Polearm Leg Hit 3 � This attack can cause massive damage to a targets action pool.
Master Polearm Offensive Techniques � (2 Skill Points) � 450,000 Polearm Experience
(Grants the Title � Pike Weaver)
Skill Mods
None
Abilities
Polearm Area Attack 2 � This attack can damage, dizzy and stun multiple targets at once.
Intermediate Polearm Defensive Techniques � (5 Skill Points) � 175,000 Polearm Experience
Skill Mods
None
Abilities
Polearm Sweep 1 � This attack can knockdown a single target
Advanced Polearm Defensive Techniques � (4 Skill Points) �250,000 Polearm Experience
Skill Mods
Defence Vs Blind +10 � A passive Skill that decreases the chance of you being made blind
Defence Vs Dizzy +10 � A passive Skill that decreases the chance of you being made dizzy
Defence Vs Knockdown + 10 - A passive Skill that decreases the chance of you being knocked down
Defence Vs Posture Change +10 - A passive Skill that decreases the chance of you being forced to kneeling or prone
Defence Vs Stun + 10 - A passive Skill that decreases the chance of you being stunned
Melee Defence + 5 - A passive skill the reduces the chances of being hit from melee attacks
Ranged Defence + 5 - A passive skill the reduces the chances of being hit from ranged attacks
Abilities
None
Expert Polearm Defensive Techniques � (3 Skill Points) � 350,000 Polearm Experience
Skill Mods
None
Abilities
Polearm Sweep 1 � This attack can knockdown multiple targets
Master Polearm Defensive Techniques � (2 Skill Points) � 450,000 Polearm Experience
(Grants the Title � Foot Soldier)
Skill Mods
Block + 5
Defence Vs Blind +10
Defence Vs Dizzy +10
Defence Vs Knockdown + 10
Defence Vs Posture Change +10
Defence Vs Stun + 10
Melee Defence + 5
Polearm Toughness +4
Ranged Defence + 5
Abilities
None
Intermediate Polearm Support Abilities � (5 Skill Points) � 175,000 Polearm Experience
Skill Mods
Polearm Toughness +4
Abilities
Polearm Action Hit 1 � This attack can damage and wound a targets action pool.
Advanced Polearm Support Abilities � (4 Skill Points) �85,000 Combat Experience
Skill Mods
Polearm Speed +20
Abilities
None
Expert Polearm Support Abilities � (3 Skill Points) � 120,000 Combat Experience
Skill Mods
None
Abilities
Polearm Action Hit 2 � This attack can damage and wound a targets action pool.
Master Polearm Support Abilities � (2 Skill Points) � 150,000 Combat Experience
(Grants the Title � Expert Pikeman)
Skill Mods
Polearm Accuracy +20
Abilities
None
Master Pikeman � (1 Skill Point) � 620 Apprenticeship Experience
Skill Mods
Block + 10
Defence Vs Dizzy +20
Defence Vs Posture Change +10
Defence Vs Stun + 20
Polearm Accuracy +10
Polearm Speed +10
Ranged Defence + 5
Abilities
Polearm Hit 3 � Very powerful single target attack
4.0 WEAPONS
Ok a Pikemans Weapons are rather limited.
The three that really shine are the: -
Basic Lance (Brawler Polearm 2)
Long Vibro Axe (Brawler Polearm 3)
Vibro Lance (Novice Pikeman)
Each Weapon Has it�s Pro�s and Con�s and should be considered separately.
Reinforced Combat Staff
The RCS is an early weapon from the brawler tree, but you will want to have one for your whole Pikeman career � see the tactics section for the reason.
Basic Lance (Kinetic Damage)
The basic lance is a good weapon to use until you reach novice pikeman and can pick up the Vibro version. Decent damage and speed, with acceptable range and HAM costs, this weapon will be your mainstay through until Novice Pikeman. � A Speed Slice can work wonders on this weapon.
Long Vibro Axe (Kinetic Damage)
The LVA as it�s commonly refered to is the damage dealer of the group. A well made LVA from a Master Weaponsmith can achieve 4.4 Speed and 100-400ish Damage. Add a damage slice to this and you can top 500 Max damage. The LVA has medium Armour piercing too, which means even heavily armoured opponents will still feel its bite. The downfall of the LVA is that is has the WORST range modifiers and HAM costs of any weapon I�ve seen. A well-made LVA will have range modifiers of �30 to �40 to hit, and HAM costs for specials in the order of 85/65/45. This makes this weapon for low level pikeman inefficient and costly to use for specials.
Vibro Lance (Electrical Damage)
The Vibro Lance (or VL) is the all-rounder, decent damage with light armour piercing, acceptable range modifiers and slightly lower, (although still bad) HAM costs than the LVA. A better choice weapon to start Novice Pikeman with until you can progress to use the LVA efficiently. In addition certain opponents are vulnerable to electrical damage, which can increase your damage output.
Slicing Weapons
Slicing weapons is a personal choice, but is well advised for the pikeman. In the greater scheme of things our weapons aren�t the quickest out there, and it�s not until Expert Polearm Stances until you really see your speed modifiers kick in. Therefore the most useful to you is the speed slice. I would personally recommend getting your RCS, Basic Lance, and Vibro Lance Speed Sliced, and your LVA damage sliced. � The LVA really comes into its own as you climb higher up the pikeman tree, at which point your natural speed modifiers are sufficient that the extra damage is useful.
5.0 ARMOUR BUFFS AND POWER UPS
Armour
A Pikeman just can�t survive without a good set of armour � period. Unless you want a slow and painful climb up the tree with a huge amount of downtime, get a decent set of composite armour. You want a set with stats approaching 80% Kinetic, and 70% to all others. � Get them Effectiveness sliced, and your ready to take on allcomers.
To put on your armour you will need to find doctor buffs, and obtain some mind enhancing drugs and/or food. See the buffs below.
Buffs
Buffs are a huge help to any melee character and the Pikeman is no exception. First you will need a full set of doctor buffs to assist with putting on your armour. You will also need Muon Gold Spice from a smuggler, and Vasarian Brandy from a Chef.
Muon Gold adds 500 to your mind primary AND secondary stats for 10 minutes, as with all spice watch out for the downer though�Vasarian Brandy adds approximately 400 to your mind and secondary mind stats too, and has no downer. It can typically last for up to 45 minutes, and if made properly 2 can be consumed at once before you are full.
Buffs will allow you to take on and kill multiple opponents that you wouldn�t be able to kill 1 on 1 without. They are expensive but highly highly recommended.
Getting Doctor Buffs will typically add 1500-2000 to your health and action primary and secondary stats. These are essential, in combination with the mind spice and foods if you want to use multiple special moves, and wear a full set of composite armour.
Power Ups
Power ups are optional. Melee power ups can be dragged and dropped on your weapon, and last for 100 swings with your weapon. They come in various different forms, and usually comprise a 30% bonus to one attribute, and a 15% bonus to a second. For example.
+31.5% Health Move Cost, +15.5% Max Damage
This powerup would REDUCE the Health cost of your special moves by 30%, and INCREASE your maximum damage by 15%.
Once you have dragged and dropped the powerup onto your weapon, you can examine the effect by examining the weapon in question.
Various attributes are possible, including Health, Action and Mind Special Move Costs, Min/Max range modifiers, Min/Max damage modifiers, and Speed modifiers.
Your personal choice is up to you, however I would recommend Health/Max Damage powerups to your LVA, and Action/Max Damage to your VL. At lower levels you might want to consider a speed power up too.
6.0 PROGRESSION & TACTICS
The road to Master Pikeman is a long one compared to other combat professions, but the Pikeman is graceful, rare, and respected for that.
The route to Novice Pikeman is simple. Use your RCS as soon as you can, swap to the Basic Lance at Polearm 2 and ride your way up to Novice. Only thing to note is to be wary of using too many special moves, as you will deplete your health quicker than the creature attacking you is.
Get Novice medic, and carry some Stim B�s with you. This is essential if you are fighting without doctor buffs. Create a Macro to heal in the middle of combat, similar to the one below, and you can�t go wrong.
Macro: Healself
/peace
/pause 2
/healself
When you reach Novice Pikeman, you are presented with 4 different routes of progression for the first time. Each one has it�s uses.
Polearm Stances.
Polearm Stances give you your speed upgrades and some very useful attacks, Polearm Spin 1 lets you damage multiple targets around you at once, while Polearm Spin 2 damages, and dizzy�s opponents. It�s really the speed upgrades at tiers 2, and 4 that are the most useful in this tree
Polearm Offensive Techniques
Polearm Offensive Techniques has the area, and pool specific attacks, which can be useful. However if you attack slow, and have low accuracy they are pretty useless. This line is often the last taken by Pikemen after they have obtained all the defensive and stances trees.
Polearm Defensive Techniques
Polearm Defensive Techniques beefs you up and lets you take a lot more damage, It is also the home of your Knockdown attacks which are some of the most powerful. The defensive modifiers here will keep you alive a lot longer in combat.
Polearm Support Abilities
The only tree to require Combat Experience rather than Polearm, it�s a slow progression, however the coveted Accuracy mods are here as well as some damaging specials.
The route you take is entirely up to you, however getting the speed increases of the Stances line allows you to effectively use the LVA to its fullest potential as early as possible, and the accuracy bonuses from the Support line, really help increase your damage output, However don�t overlook the defensive line and its damage mitigation ability, along with the KD attacks.
Personally I would recommend getting Stances 2 (at which point the LVA becomes efficient), then Defense 3 (for the Area KD), then Stances 4 (Further Speed Increase and Dizzy), Defence 4, and finally the Offensive Line. Get the Support as and when Combat XP will allow.
Tactics
Everyone will have their own style of play, however I have highlighted some of the do�s and don�ts below.
Be Very Wary of Spamming Specials. The inherent High Specials Costs of our weapons will really tear into your Ham unless you have full Doctor Buffs,
Think About combining specials in a macro. When faced with multiple opponents in melee range Area KD (Defence 3) and Dizzy (Stances3) make a powerful combo. As does Sweep 1 (Defence 1) and any high damage single hit against single targets.
If low on health, squeeze of an area KD to give you time to heal, or at worst get a head start on running away.
You remember earlier I told you to keep hold of your RCS, well here�s why. An excellent trick for your Knockdown attacks is to use the RCS (or other suitable low level weapon). Get a RCS made with as low speed (get it speed sliced) and low HAM costs as you can (damage doesn�t matter) � also try and get a speed / accuracy powerup for it too. When you use a KD attack always switch to this weapon, with a KD attack the damage is not important, what IS important is landing the KD, and not depleting your HAM too much. A good tip is to make a macro specifically for KD attacks
/ui action toolbarSlotxx (where xx is the toolbar button with your RCS in)
/polearmsweep1 (or 2)
/ui action toolbarSlotyy (where yy is the toolbar button with your LVA in)
The increased accuracy of the RCS is great in making sure your KD lands consistently, also the delay between the KD attack and your next attack will be reduced as the speed of the weapon is less.
An example of this was when I was 2-0-3-2 in Pikeman, I would use my Area KD with my LVA, but by the time I could use another attack, the opponents had got back up again. When I learnt to swap to a minimal speed weapon I could get an additional hit or two in with my LVA whilst they were still on the ground for vastly increased damage.
Create your own Power Combo Macro�s
My Favourite is an Area Stun/Dizzy, followed by an Area KD. This is especially great against NPC�s who will then keep falling down when they try and stand up, allowing you to land a massive amount of damage. Don�t forget to program your macro to swap weapons as necessary to maximise your KD potential.
Sweep1 and Polearm hit 3 causes massive damage to a single opponent, again swap to your low speed, high accuracy weapon for the initial KD, and back to your damage dealer for the hit 3 � When your hitting someone lying on the ground for 4k+ damage a hit, you wont mind having lost 3-400 damage on the KD.
7.0 PVP
Don�t get excited Pikemen are just NOT suited to PvP � Even at master we have the lowest defensive modifiers of all the melee classes, we are inaccurate, especially against other PC�s with high melee defence modifiers, and the HAM costs to use our specials tend to kill us quicker than the opponent. PvP is possible, it�s just difficult, unless you can get all you opponents into a tight circle around you and manage to avoid a KD yourself�
If you can get the jump on someone, and are certain to land the first hit, then a Master Pikeman can be all but unstoppable in a 1 on 1 situation.
8.0 MASTER PIKEMAN
Wearing the title of Master Pikeman is rarety, and a privilege, enjoy it. You will instantly gain the respect of all other Pikemen, and will be a rarety on your server.
Display your moves to people in Cantina�s and cities. Pikemen have some of the most gracious moves in the game, and some of the best looking weapons.
At master pike, you will be able to solo some of the most dangerous creatures in the game, and give them a good hiding. The pikeman isn�t drastically broken (although improvements could certainly be made), they just take time to mature and come into their own
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