Calling all spear masters

I have had this game for a year.I am somewhat of a PVP and PVE veteran and am now stumped.How the hell do you use a spear?Is it supposed to do abysmal damage per stamina bar or are counters vital?I've never really used a spear and am finding it horrible,even against burg hollows.

Basically,I'm asking for any tips so I can do more than block and/or poke.

Block and poke, stay out of range and poke is pretty much it. never really use them in PVE. you can use the leo for boosted counter damage.

As a former spear user (both in PVE and PVP) I can tell you, that to use a spear properly, you will have to two hand it. With a spear, you do minimal damage, but you will be able to keep a long distance from your opponent, giving you the upper-hand in most situations.
It does require a bit of patience in combat, but it will get the job done efficiently.

It is, however, in PVP where a spear shine the most. It is a deadly weapon against your foes, as it can reach them from a distance where they are unable to land as much as a single hit. A spear also greatly eat away your opponents stamina, while saving you enough stamina yourself, to damage him or her.

It is advised that you keep a smaller blade on you, in case you should be trapped within close quarters.

Keep distance + poke + flip away -> repeat. occasinally if your opponent is completely retarted, you can also spam R1 like there's no tomorrow.

Easiest weapons in the game to be "good" with.

The basic spear is useless, it's only the longer ones (pike, moonlight butterfly, demons, and dragonslayer) that are powerful, amazing weapons.

Not a spear master at all but the topic interests me.
The first time I ever used a spear was.... yesterday.
I used it against a couple of gankers in a fight that lasted at least
30min. It was one of the funniest experience I ever had in my Dark Souls
carrier. I wouldn't have lasted more than 2min without the spear.
It was in the PW of Ariamis with a 40str/40dex build, the weapon was Demon's Spear.
I eventually died after the host decided to summon a second phantom. But I made him use his 20 estus and a bunch of purple and white moss.
From this first experience, I noticed that spaming R1 can work, but it's a bit dangerous. Just one poke and retreat works perfectly

^^ What Werdax said. Also, make sure you keep attacking. When using a spear, you want to be quick because of its lesser damage compared to other weapons. If your not already, try to get used to wearing light armor so you can fast roll. You want to be able to avoid your opponants attacks as much as possible, but when you have the chance, two hand the spear and consistantly attack your opponant. Make sure to leave enough stamina for yourself to roll out of danger and recharge your stamina. When other players start to use magic, your rolling speed and ability to poke and run will come in handy, especially against pyro users.

So basically, be quick, know when to back off, be consistant, know how to dodge magic, and efficiently use the poke and run method. Do NOT use the poke and run method all the time because your fights will take longer and most likely end in failure.

Juutas wrote:
Easiest weapons in the game to be "good" with.

Not for me it isn't.I started a new character to make an elemental build with the winged spear.I find a caestus easier to use.I may have to scrap my build.
I'll try some PVP with a spear on one of my higher level saves and see if I just can't use it in PVE.

Edit:Just realised why I'm having problems,the winged spear is like 3/5ths the length of the demon and dragonslayer spears.I was unable to outrange even the basic hollows with it.

As the self-appointed spear expert here, let me share my knowledge with you.

There are TWO ways to use a spear: 100% offensive, or 100% defensive. There's no middle-ground. If you half-*** it with your stance then you're going to lose.

Defensive spear: Commonly known as the turtle. Grab a big shield and keep your guard up and poke every time your opponent swings. Anticipate backstab fishing and prepared to handle that; counter-bs, switch to an anti backstab-weapon, or spam R1. Surprisingly, the spear is a good anti-bs weapon when the other person is just strafing around you. As long as you spam R1, you'll always hit him and he'll never be able to backstab you. You might suffer phantom backstabs though(the ones where you go through the animation without taking damage). The only thing you have to keep in mind is that spears consume more stamina when you block and attack, make sure you always have enough stamina.
Fun fact: spears and dead angle.

Offensive turtle: Double-hand the spear and spam R1. Know your range so that you can always hit with the very tip of the spear and still be out of your enemy's range. Remember to add in ALOT of kicks, otherwise you'll start to get parried. Stamina boosts are your friend. NEVER back off completely. Even if you roll you should try to be close enough to hit your opponent with the recovery attack.


Best spears:
Demon Spear: Long range. Highest AR at 40/40. Damage is split with lightning.

Dragon slayer spear: 2nd highest AR. 1 handed special is a projectile. Damage is split with lightning, but it has more physical damage than Demon's spear.

Silver knight spear: Long range. One-handed Heavy attack is the easiest move in the game to dead angle with.

Pike: Long range. Highest physical damage only AR.

Winged spear: Lightweight. High physical damage. Low stamina depletion.


Leo Ring
The leo ring increases damage from thrust attacks when you attack while your opponent is in an attack animation. It only increases the physical damage of a spear(making it work best with Silver Knight Spear or Pike rather than Demon Spear or Dragonslayer spear). If you have trouble landing the counter damage, use the turtle method, or spam R1 and a few will hit.


Spear complimentary weapons

Shotel/bleed weapon: Sometimes people resort to turtling. If they have a greatshield, then a spear won't be able to break through it.

2-handed curved swords: If you're still worried about bs fishers then the wide swing arc and quick swings of 2-handing the curved sword should help. Just swing away and if your lucky the other person will even get stunlocked for a while.

Whips: They're unparriable. Great for throwing in to cause damage without having to worry about parries.

I define myself as a spear main. I use it pretty much 100% in PvE and the sorry SOBs who invade me best be prepared. A great deal of players see your spear and expect a turtle, but I enjoy throwing them off with a good jump thrust. I encourage high endurance, light armor, and a medium shield.

IDK who these turtles are, but the spear is a boss aggressive weapon. It uses little stamina for R1 so i just keep the pressure on. Sometimes they get the best of me, but most people are caught off guard by my aggressive style. Counter blows are best, but you'll get hate mail for them.

Yeah I've always tended to keep any opponent at tip range and poked and prodded constantly until they get impatient enough with the chipping to make a huge mistake (then punish it hard) I've never really "spammed" the poke-behind-shield It's useful on occasion (trading with katana running r1s) but it's not something I'd spend too long on as it eats stamina so bad.

If you wanna try something different in pvp try using it in your left hand. Its not like you lose the moveset...it still "pokes".

KrazykevS10 wrote:Is it supposed to do abysmal damage per stamina bar

DPS: Damage per stamina.

And yeah, spears are supposed to have terrible damage. They have two things going for them: huge range, and shieldpoke.

Also, here is some spear gameplay from the point of view of a true Spearmaster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNc4AsUpLFc

Spear combat is basically a game of keep away. Don't get too **** with them or you'll get a bum rush parry. Greatshields are a pain, and you are bound to run into a couple of them, so bring a backup plan. If you have an elemental/DS/MLBH, you can get quite a bit of chip damage on fellows turtling with a smaller shield. Try not to attack too much unless you have a clear opening, or far enough away from roll bs/parry attempts.

2hand it and stay at max range.. i.. what? why are people actually using this thing with a shield most of the time? i dont even. you know the 1h r1 behind the shield is totally rollstab material right guys? that things so slow..

Juutas wrote: occasinally if your opponent is completely retarted, you can also spam R1 like there's no tomorrow.

lool

+1 for this

Rifter7 wrote:2hand it and stay at max range.. i.. what? why are people actually using this thing with a shield most of the time? i dont even. you know the 1h r1 behind the shield is totally rollstab material right guys? that things so slow..

A good shieldpoker is a lot more difficult to deal with than a good 2H player, IMO. 2H is too easy to running attack and win trades with. Shieldpoke from near max range can't get roll BS'd.

Saturday-Saint wrote:

Rifter7 wrote:2hand it and stay at max range.. i.. what? why are people actually using this thing with a shield most of the time? i dont even. you know the 1h r1 behind the shield is totally rollstab material right guys? that things so slow..

A good shieldpoker is a lot more difficult to deal with than a good 2H player, IMO. 2H is too easy to running attack and win trades with. Shieldpoke from near max range can't get roll BS'd.

are you considering a dwgr as well?

I rarely use DWGR, but the extra distance covered by flipping is pretty small.

its probably enough to rollstab a spear user that predictably 1h r1 pokes behind a shield... i havent played in something like 2 months tho so i can't remember, 2s with friends aside.

most of my builds use a dwgr.

Use the leo ring and put a shotel in your of hand the spear is used to intimidate and pick at there help when you start spamming thrust whether hiting them or not they put their shield up as soon as the do swith power attack with shotel stay close to them rather than away the point is to intimidate the enemy make them feel helpless then overwhelm

Moonlight Butterfly Horn in your right hand, with a Catalyst in your left. Poke them until they come in close, then cast Dark Bead. Repeat.