Master the Spear in SAO: Hollow Realization. Longest melee reach, wide sweeping attacks, excellent crowd control, and safe positioning against dangerous enemies.
Spear Playstyle Overview
Spears occupy a unique middle ground in SAO: Hollow Realization's weapon roster. They have the longest reach of any melee weapon, letting you stab enemies from distances where other melee weapons cannot connect. They also have wide sweeping attacks that hit multiple enemies at once, making them exceptional for crowd control when you are facing groups. If you like melee combat but hate being right in an enemy's face where every counterattack can hit you, spears are an excellent choice.
Spears reward spacing and positioning more than raw aggression. You stay just outside an enemy's attack range, poke them with thrusts, and sweep away groups when they get too close. It is a more defensive, tactical melee style than the in-your-face intensity of daggers or the trading-blows approach of maces.
Spear Strengths
• Longest melee range -- You can hit enemies before they can hit you with most melee attacks. Learning the exact range of your spear thrusts lets you poke safely.
• Excellent crowd control -- Sweeping spear attacks hit wide arcs, striking multiple enemies clustered together. You can keep entire groups at bay.
• Thrust damage -- Spear thrusts target weak points effectively, similar to rapiers but with better range.
• Knockback and launch -- Many spear skills knock enemies backward or launch them into the air, creating space and setting up aerial combos or Switch opportunities.
• Safe hit-and-run -- Dash-thrust skills let you dart in, land a hit, and retreat before enemies can respond.
Player Tip: The spear's range advantage only works if you manage spacing. Do not let enemies get so close that your range advantage disappears, and do not overcommit to forward-moving skills that carry you into the middle of an enemy group. Poke, back off, reposition, and poke again.
Key Spear Skills
Focus on unlocking these categories of spear skills:
• Long-range thrust skills for safe single-target damage from maximum distance.
• Wide sweeping attacks for when groups of enemies get close.
• Dash-thrust skills for closing in on ranged enemies or retreating enemies who try to flee.
• Knockback/launch skills for creating breathing room when you get surrounded.
• Jumping/airborne thrusts for following up on launched enemies and continuing combos.
Spear in Parties and SSC
Spears work well in parties because they can focus on single targets without being as vulnerable as dagger users, or they can control adds (additional weaker enemies) while the rest of the party focuses on the main threat. Use sweep attacks to keep groups staggered and prevent them from swarming your healer or ranged DPS.
For SSC chaining, spears have a good rhythm: thrust into sweep into launch into air combo. Thrust skills have solid damage and long range, sweeps reposition you and hit crowds, launch skills set up big finishers, and airborne skills let you continue the chain while enemies are helpless. The chaining window on spear skills is comfortable -- not as fast as daggers, not as slow as two-handed swords -- making spears a good weapon for players who want to practice SSC without the unforgiving timing of faster weapons.
Against bosses, use your range to stay just outside of dangerous swipe attacks while continuing to deal damage. Watch for openings after boss attacks, then move in slightly to land skills before backing out of range again.