I tried to remain positive after an initial post before they demonstrated spears on stream, but both the presentation and now testing, confirmed more or less what I was expecting from spears, as far as warrior is concerned.
A couple of clarifications before I share my thoughts and opinions
I'd also like to say that I'm examining the weapon in a vacuum; As such, I'll be ignoring any arguements absolving the spear of its flaws, based solely on the fact that the class has no viable ranged options... Save perhaps for the bow as Condi Zerker or WVW/PVP rifle.
In fact, it's worth stating that I'll only be talking about PVE.
I'll also be ignoring any arguements in the vein of "But it's Fantasy/Magical" and "That weapon already does so and so and no one bats an eye". I can suspend my disbelief and I can swallow certain things but both only to a degree, even in a fantasy setting. Specifically only up to the point where things start looking like Looney Tunes, being outright silly or unintentionally comedic. More on that down below.
One last thing- Anything I've left out or don't talk about here, I either didn't notice or probably actually like, in which case I have no reason to mention it. I'm weird like that.
Function
I feel making spears ranged on warrior specifically is a waste, because all they have to offer could easily be adapted for the rifle and bow, making these options more appealing and viable. The abilities on spears seem to fit the other weapons much better, the rifle in particular, including visually and thematically.
My ambitious hope was that we would get an acrobatic melee tool kit, based partially on FFXIV's Dragoon, revolving around opening or closing distance quickly by dashing in and out which would change how abilities work, depending on that- Perhaps even dictate whether they'd be ranged or melee, based on distance. I was also hoping blocking would change abilities similarly, allowing perhaps for counter strikes or utility.
I initially imagined(And hoped beyond hope) that the core game play would consist of utilizing either a back dash or a gap close, which then transform the rest of the tool kit accordingly. A separate block would also change abilities into a couple of defensive follow up options such as CC and perhaps a heavy hitting counter depending on the circ*mstance.
This game play would be true to the warrior theme, exhibit martial prowess and athleticism, as well as heavy hitting landings after an impressive leap and it would provide spectacle through animation, sound and feeling more than visual effects as per the established identity of the class, at least as I understand it or perceive it if you will.
Which brings us to...
Poor Visuals
I don't expect warrior weapons and abilities to be like the 4th of July in terms of spectacle, in my mind they're likely meant to impress through the weight of their animation, sound and feeling when used, as well as the effect they have on a target. Spears, and in particular used at range, are too bare from any distinct effects that would quickly and easily identify them as warrior weapons.
This is a good opportunity to touch on a relevant matter, that of projectiles not sharing the same model and effects as the weapon wielded- As an example, one may be wielding any non Legendary GS, yet the projectile GS thrown is a plain basic GS. It's one of those little things I'd like to see changed along with hair working with hats, cosmetics for kits(By which in this case I mean the Gun-Saber, the Engineer Grenade Launcher or Flamer models and so on)... But to bring it back to the spear, the issue is exponentially worse as the projectile model is heavily featured.
Poor Animations
Whilst one or two throwing animations would have a place as part of a more diverse pool of abilities, the limited ways in which one can throw a spear definitely hold the weapon back. The whole kit being comprised of throwing animations definitely challenged ANet because of that, and they didn't overcome that challenge in any interesting way if at all, save for some quite ridiculous looking animations. Take for example the Primal Burst for it; I can't suspend my disbelief when I see that go off, especially.
Making a bare minimum effort where animations would adapt to distance from a target, even if only visually, could have alleviated this issue a little but even that is absent- And "A little" won't cut it any more, if ANet wants to put their best foot forward with SOTO and beyond.
Poor Audio
Throughout my testing, I barely noticed any distinct or interesting sound effect. There's nothing unique about the spear in that regard, there's a distinct lack of On-Hit sound effects that would indicate any significant impact excepting perhaps 1 or 2 abilities- The names of which I can't bother to learn since the weapon is forgettable in every way. I don't have much to add specifically about sound, criticizing it for being as good as absent should suffice.
This isn't to say that the effects are of bad quality or that they don't work, but rather that they don't stand out at all, giving us one less reason to care for this weapon in its current iteration.
Uniqueness/Identity
Disappointingly, nothing in particular screams "Warrior" about spears. There's not much else to say, except perhaps that the most distinctive or memorable ability that could save spears from being pointless(No pun intended) is Primal Burst- And Primal Burst, looks horrible in every single way and is the main culprit for how comically poor spears are. The animation, the way the projectiles form almost a beam of brown wood fired at a target... I'm not a fan and that's sadly the most original and innovative ability in the tool kit... Which speaks volumes in regards to the whole matter.
Numbers, DPS, Complexity ETC
At the moment, spears realistically only fit Zerker or Spell Breaker, in my opinion Zerker would be the better fit. As such, they compete with GS.
GS on warrior, especially Zerker, works well enough to not warrant considering spears save for the novelty of them being ranged(Which as I've made clear, I personally find redundant as there are rifles and bows which would benefit from inheriting current spear abilities and function)... To which, I have to once more say that I feel they shouldn't be, not strictly at least.
As mentioned earlier, there are only so many ways one can throw a spear and still have them be distinct and interesting. ANet in their effort to combat that, have made some of the abilities function much less optimally. As such, when using a spear, at least a couple of its abilities can't really be used as part of any solid rotation which in turn means less time spent on the weapon, bland game play and perhaps not really competitive results, considering the alternatives.
GS suffers from the same problem to a degree, as only Primal Burst, 100 Blades and BladeTrail are optimal. The difference lies in that GS's other abilities are in fact fun to use and do offer utility in the form of movement. They also are interesting to see and definitely sound as they should. Spears have no such saving grace, for all the aforementioned reasons. That 2.5" Primal Burst is also not really ideal, all things considered...
Fun Factor/Moment to Moment/Feel
I'm biased- I like GW2's combat a lot, and as long as something works to the degree that I can tell, I'll be OK with it.Spears aren't broken, you press buttons and things happen. That's not much of a praise though... Nor a saving grace or redeemable quality.
The concept could work, perhaps on another more fitting class... The abilities could work, perhaps on a more fitting weapon that needs them. But... As it is, spear on warrior, as a ranged option specifically and with the present tool kit, is... Nothing. Or to be more accurate, it just is.
It exists, you'd be able to use it if it comes out and this is its final form(ANet please, don't do this), and while I'm not a fan of it being ranged I can't really do much else than state my dislike on the choice and grudgingly admit that it's yet another weapon, it works, and you can go Pew-Pew with it. So in that regard, it feels like literally EVERY other weapon, and is as fun to use(So barely), as using a weapon that has no identity can be.
If you've played any FPS, you can compare it to bland starting weapons in those, which you want to like but literally can't, and in your head you inadvertently speculate how it could have been viable or fun to use if some changes were made. In the case of spears on warrior, if they scrapped it and started over.
In Closing
I give spears on warriors a solid 2/10, which would have been 0/10 but they get 1 point for actually not being horribly broken(Not as in being OP or not, but literally working)... And another 1 point for demonstrating how rifle should have been. That said I'm also giving it -100 points for not being a melee or at least a hybrid weapon because that would have been my preference and I'd like to pound stuff to pulp after a mighty leap and fly through my enemies like a living plasma beam, kitten it. Final score, -98/10!
Thank you for reading if you did, if you're working for ANet and are responsible for spears on warrior, then please listento the many good ideas people have put on the table for spears, including mine(I swear I'm not biased at all)... Or you'll be stabbing your self in the foot with a spear. #MeleeSpears! ;3
Edited by Kunavi.2407
A minor correction...
![Janthir Wilds Spear Beta Event Feedback: Warrior [Merged] (2024)](data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mP8/h8AAvMB+NzmkbcAAAAASUVORK5CYII=)