Hello. If you start the game now, you'll probably meet the equipment problem: not many of the players are doing assignments, dungeons or something else to get stable income. But don't be sad! There's a solution: spears!
Well, basically, only type of the spear: serrated spear.
Yays:
+ There's no hit chance for spear: it's always 100%. Take Fast Shot.
+ Your maximum range is >45 hexes (I believe virtually unlimited). It's more than average PKS range! (although it works only if target doesn't move / move in line with you, which happens pretty often)
+ Your average damage is 110 HP per 48 AP on full tank character. 2 spearmen working together will kill anyone in around a second if he doesn't move. 220 HP average per second!
+ Even if you miss, you will cause enemy to lag, so he shuffles couple of hexes back and decrease movement speed. Great time to use 2nd spear, you won't miss anymore!
+ You don't need to spend many points for primary skills: throwing is capped at 200. You'll be able to be a perfect medic in the same time! At level ~45 you'll also can have 200 of sneak! Forget primaries, they are for noobs only!
+ Full tank in Scavenged Power Armor? use unaimed for 32 AP and hit it for 60+ HP each time! It's not worse than any other anti-PA weapon, and it's just a standard tier 1 spear! Technology is for weak!
+ You can aim! And there's no aim time! This is the only weapon which is so cool and ranged in the same time in the game!
+ You can crit with spears! Cripples, bypasses, winded and disoriented, knockdowns and knockback - you'll do it all!
+ You'll laugh at stupid grenadiers! Thousands years of evolution, and they still drop grenades out of the hand and utility slots each throw! There's no grenade which can compare its damage output to your spears! Evolution is a lie! Actually, not even antimaterial sniper rifles will be able to make so much damage!
+ I even believe it's the only weapon without Area Of Effect which you can hex shoot. Isn't it the property of chosen by Gods weapons!
+ No weapon condition! All those crap: power armors, gatlings, avengers: they all get broken in the end. Your spears will remain forever and never jam!
+ You look sexy when have a spear equipped
+ And, of course, spears are cheap!
Nays:
"- Really, there's just no for such price"
But wait, it's not over yet. Wanna be real cool? There's an answer for this if you're spearman: a plasma spear. It cost around 170, it takes 10 SEC per throw, they do not stack so you can't throw two from one slot instantly... but... who cares if you can do 200+ damage with 1 on full tank character? And you can throw 2 instantly, just use utility slot or second hand! 400+ damage per 1 sec, and next one could be 200+ again as soon as you regen your 48 AP! And not need to care, nobody will pick up your bloody spear, they don't know which one hit them!
Also they cost no AP to reload!
Best tactics and applications of the spears: spears will always hit in close range except when the target is running perpendicular to throw line. Remember, no chance to hit! Take 2 spearmen inside the room, equip plasma spears and insta kill everyone who's trying to enter with 400+ damage! They have no time to hit you, so run all your aggressive modules like -weapon AP cose (less than 48 AP now!), +AP regen, +15 AP for killing and you can hold the whole v-tec swarm outside of 1 door with just 2 people!
And again, about v-tec. Do you remember those blue-colored dumb asses, which run around with gatlings and turbo plasmas? Just imagine, even the ZC legend suff is going to run as Forrest Gump, as soon as he see your spear. And now, even if v-tec swarm manages to overcome you 10vs1, they will get NOTHING? Your Metal Armor and 20 spears? They'll be pissed up as fuck, they just have spent more money on drugs and ammo, than they get from you!
Also don't forget to take your super sledge, to make it insured
Now, why do I say that spears are cheap?
Very easy: people don't really bother to collect them. And NPCs use them a lot. Just an example:
Don't forget: each spear can be stacked on the ground, so it's more than just one in one pile.
Now for all others, what do if you meet a spearman in game? Just run. Really. there's no way you can win this. There's no sense to try and risk everything you have to get 20 spears.
But, oh, wait, don't run in line, you just can't. Spear will reach reach you anyway.
Probably, the best you can do is to start sciencing your equipment. At least, I'm going to do exactly this.
Now being serious:
Such weapon characteristics make game aggressively unrealistic and not intuitive. Linked to broken economy balance, very frustrating. If I would be a new player and would meet a spearman while equipped with my assault rifle, obviously dying without a chance, I'd probably not play the game after it.
I really don't like to see before-human-history weapons to be competitive with last and best technological weapons and often be much better them.