Maybe for you personally but the spear alone made A18 incredibly exciting. For 6 years the community had been asking for a spear and we got it in A18. There is nothing meh about that.
And that doesn't even include the other new weapons that were added.
I'm betting that most consumers were both very excited to get their hands on A18 and happy about what they got from A18 in the weapons department. The trick in speaking for general consumers is to not let your own personal preferences get in the way. Look at the history and the results. Historically, no other alpha delivered as many new and unique weapons as A18 did and the huge number of consumer requests for a spear which was fulfilled in A18 point to a different picture than you are painting. The results are an Alpha that is not only the most popular but is going to be the most popular for the longest period of time. Seeing as how new weapons were a big part of this alpha it is hard to dismiss them as simply meh in the minds of consumers.
My only gripe is that I wish you could have multiple spears on your belt and the game would remember the slots for all of them instead of just the first one. If I want to be an Aiel I should be allowed to be an Aiel.