Polearms are an after thought, I get it. Why can’t we stab/thrust unless locked on though? We can with swords.
I decided to see if I could kill the starting Cumans with a 1 str Henry on foot. I know it’s easy on horseback. I ran down the hill, and took a right. I crossed a bridge, and repeatedly stabbed a bow wielding Cuman before he could even get his sword out and attack. He also randomly ran around in a circle with pathing issues, so he somehow ended up with his back to me. Easy kill.
Next in line is the spear wielding Cuman with minimal armor. I get in so close to him that I can stab him before his spear animation completes. Just before he dies, he throws his spear away in disgust, but before he can take out his sword and do any damage, he is stabbed to death too. I now have a spear.
At this point there are Cumans coming from behind me on the bridge. I try to stab them, but I can’t do that unless I am locked on. I can’t lock on unless they’re so close the spear is now worthless. I sympathize with the previous Cuman, but before I can throw away the spear, I am dead.
So, the question is, why am I holding the spear left handed, and why is the only attack while unlocked a weird left handed vertical swing?
I also did this previously, on an earlier patch, and it was quite easy. I had power leveled though, so I wanted to see if I could do it with no leveling. I found I could attack with stab, including enemies I wasn’t locked on to, as long as I was locked on to someone. I even managed to kill all the enemies from the second wave while bleeding. I then trotted calmly to Talmberg.