PC Spear focused book set?

[Synvastian]

I haven't played much of A18 yet, but I am loving the new weapons and expansion on old weapons, but I decided to take spears as my main (I mean, a solid melee with long range capabilities? yes please!) and I noticed none of the book bonuses affected spear weapons (I may be wrong, for instance Spears may be classed as bladed for book purposes)

The books we do have are Magnum Enforcer (Magnums) Batter up (Clubs/bats) Ranger's guide to Archery (Crossbows/bows) Pistol Pete (Pistols/SMG) Shotgun Messiah (Shotguns) Sniper (Marksman rifle/Hunting rifle) Automatic Weapons Handbook (AK/M60) and Nightstalker (Shiv/Hunting Knife/Machete) {Nightstalker could be contested but does add 200% damage to sneak hit with knives while unnoticed}

I would love to see something simple, maybe a set dedicated to minimalist living?(by simple I don't mean non-complex, as anything to do with making a set of bonuses in a game is probably challenging to balance...I mean simple as in maybe based around older living (cave people as maybe a gimmick, adds chance for extra meat/fat or harvested plants in the wild may harvest twice as much, making foraging more rewarding etc.)

Or spears as a direct bonus (my idea is based off the Batter up set)

1- 10% flat damage boost to spear class weapons

2- Craft pelt boots and tunics (Overcoat) take 5% less damage while wearing them

3- Thrown spears have higher chance to knock down impacted foe

4- Spears degrade 20% slower

5- Thrown spears have higher velocity (less drop)

6- Can craft a Halberd (spear/axe) has slightly more reach than spears but no throwing ability (damage boost over steel spear, but not brokenly so)

7- Create Coating mods for spears (poison/acid) which causes DoT damage similar to fire mods but maybe lesser or more {or...dissolves a percentage of armor? idk, spitballing here)

8/Bonus- Thrown spear kills refill stamina

constructive criticism appreciated, toxicity unnecessary

this was just something I noticed and thought would be cool for the future/ or maybe I might try a hand at modding and just add it...but for now, I'm just putting it out there

 

[Limdood]

spear as implemented so far is pretty dang strong. It has longer range than any other melee weapon, still has multi-hit capability (i figured when they added the swing arc's ability to hit multiple zombies, spear would be exempt for common sense reasons, but it can multi-hit as well), has a relatively low stamina cost for it's power, and throw-grab-throw-grab spamming is crazy effective.

It really doesn't need book perks as it is already a MORE versatile weapon than almost any other, and it seems most of the book perks (the ones that aren't just some minor 5-10% boost to damage in X situation) are about minimizing weaknesses or expanding versatility or gameplay preferences with said weapons - and the spear arguably fits into any gameplay style with few, if any weaknesses

 

[Ghostlight]

I don't rate the Spear versus large numbers of harder enemies. If you prod them with it they do not stagger like they do if you hit with a club or a sledge. This makes it useless to my fighting style. Also there seems to be a Spear related bug. If I throw a Spear into a target such that it is now sticking out of it, then that target can longer be hit by arrows until the Spear is removed. It's as if it simply isn't there as far as the arrows were concerned. I wasn't missing, btw, there were a few of us and none of us could it hit it with arrows -even from from point-blank - once it had a Spear in it.

 

[Lemmiwinks]

The spear is pretty useless on higher difficulty settings. I agree that there should be a book set which covers the spear. I'm in the process of making a modlet to do this now. It'll be primitive/spear oriented.

I like some of your ideas so am leaning towards the following so far, based on what is easy to implement:

1- Deep Thrusts: 10% increased range on spear melee attack (assuming this isn't tied up in animation data - otherwise dmg increase)

2- Tribal Garb: Plant fibre clothing provides 30% more protection from attacks and the elements

3- Arm Like a Cannon: Spears thrown at the torso have a 20% higher chance to knock down impacted foe

4- Keto Diet: Can cook special food out of raw meat and fat without cooking utensils (reuse charred meat graphic but more filling)

5- Neanderthal Roots: Spears degrage 20% slower

6- Primitive But Effective: Can craft Taza's Stone Axe (superior stone axe which already exists in game)

7- Hunter: Spears do 30% more damage to animals (living or undead)

8/Bonus- Eye Poker: Melee attacks to the head with spears have a 20% higher chance to cause the target to stagger

Given that by the time you finish a book series you probably have decent gear, several of these will only help if you happen to lose your gear.