Despite the user being limited to medium armour, the Spear is a formidable duelling weapon. If well supported by units and other warlords, the Spear-wielding hero can be sustained for long battles. However, for most encounters, it is wiser to maintain a discrete distance, advancing only to deliver decisive damage before retreating to the periphery. For this reason, Spear warlords should remain mobile, ready to mount up and search for targets of opportunity rather than wait for a target to come to them.

Attributes

Speed is a key part of what makes the Spear an exciting weapon class. Together with the fact that it delivers high levels of Piercing Damage, it should be obvious that Agility will be, for most, the primary Attribute to focus on. However, the Spear can also be an effective Slashing weapon, so to invest in Strength can also be very effective, especially if you wish to switch out to other melee classes - most of which of course favour the Strength Attribute.

If you want to turn your Spear towards frontline survivability, Toughness will augment your armour capability. Given how relatively poor the class is at dealing with heavily-armoured units (shielded units especially), increasing Toughness should be low on your list of priorities.

Weapon Skills

Spear Weapon Skills are all about delivering as much damage as possible in the shortest possible time. Where speed is less important, timing will invariably make the difference. Getting that timing consistently right, however, only comes with practice, or an obscene amount of luck.

A good general build will include Lugh’s March and Hurricane’s Edge, while those that see themselves as the archetypal frontline assassin might favour Procris’s Gift and Gungnir’s Greeting. There are certainly plenty of options for Spear players to play around with at all levels.

  • Lugh’s March: An unspectacular skill, but one that should be standard issue for all but the most specialist character builds. Most players wouldn’t want to go into battle without it.
  • Overhead Strike: If you have a chain of attacks ready to go, an Overhead Strike is a great opener, especially at Rank III when a double attack can reduce enemy Armour by 30% for four very damaging seconds.
  • Procris’s Gift: In reality the spear can be a devastating ranged weapon, despite the fact its range is short and most warriors will only have one spear to hand. This skill provides you with a limitless supply, even if you have to wait 20 seconds (Rank I) before another can be launched.
  • Return of Janger: A potentially devastating overhead strike that is offset by a short-range and the fact that most opponents will see you gearing up for it seconds before it’s completed. Best used when your enemy is facing the other way.
  • Hurricane’s Edge: If you’re surrounded by enemy units, this is the skill to use to hopefully create a bit of space so you can escape with your life. On a crowded battlefield, the other option is to always stay outside of any scrum.
  • Gungnir’s Greeting: A difficult skill to pull off to benefit from its extra effects, especially as it can be interrupted by a well-timed counter. Nevertheless, Gungnir’s Greeting is a skill that is often as devastating as it is spectacular.

Ultimate Skills

At first glance, the Spear’s Ultimate Skills appear very similar. Both deliver high damage very quickly at very specific points, underscoring the class as a kind of medieval tank destroyer.

  • Dragon’s Roar: Like most Ultimate Skills, Dragon’s Roar has a lengthy cooldown period, but it can be a great opener when faced with multiple warlord enemies; devastating the first target then recharging just in time for you to ravage a second.
  • Heaven’s Fury: A hard skill to land correctly and consistently, but when it does hit home it will leave any opponent reeling from the damaging effects. In a sense, it’s Lugh’s March turned up to 11, but where that skill can be utilised well by even the most unpractised warrior, Heaven’s Fury is very much the opposite.

Armour

The Carnifex Armour Set is the standard-issue armour option for players limited to wearing Medium Armour. It offers a 150-increase across all three damage types (2 pieces) or a 10-point boost to all basic attributes (Strength, Agility, Armour and Toughness). Beyond that, players should aim to acquire the Sargeant’s Armour Set. As well as offering increased Endurance, Heath and Defense stats, having two pieces of Sargent’s Armour equipped doubles your armour-piercing bonus after landing blows using Lugh’s March, Hurricane’s Edge or Heaven’s Fury. With a full set, you can enjoy a six-second 20% buff/debuff to damage/incoming damage when you land blows against seven consecutive enemies.