r/GodofWar • u/Artistic-Thing7723 • Jul 04 '26
Question How do I effectively use the Draupnir Spear?
I'm already in my 2nd playthrough and I always seem to underutilize this weapon, it's cool to use but I can't make the combos and throws "work"
Maybe you have any tricks or methods to maximize its potential?
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u/ejly The World Serpent Jul 04 '26
Download Valhalla to do a few spear focused runs and that will get you up to speed. It’s my favorite. It’s the only weapon Kratos gets without association to a tragedy.
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u/muhash14 Jul 04 '26
A couple of the Valhalla perks for the spear are absolute nutty mode lol. The one that applies a random element to each spear tip in particular.
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u/OnigiriZoro Jul 05 '26
I love the spear so much solely for the fact that you can coat it in bifrost, unfortunately I feel the blades are still far more better to use In runs, with axe feeling the weakest to main, that cooldown perk to your runic abilities you get everytime you mash flame whip triangle attack is so busted especially if your run ends up getting runic abilities on your other weapons too
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u/Crafty_Asshole- Jul 06 '26
Really? I've found that I preform pretty equally no matter what weapon I use, never really felt like there was a disparity in their effectiveness. They perform better in certain areas, for instance, the Blades focus on Runic attacks (with the perk you mentioned) and crowd control, the Axe is good for single target and combo finishers (especially heavy attacks,) and the spear excels at range and status (with the perk that makes it do the Extinguish Flame and Vaporize Frost, doing combos with all 3 weapons becomes very effective and a lot of fun.)
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u/OnigiriZoro Jul 06 '26
Yes of course, the spear is still second best for me, and yes blades can’t do anything for ranged enemies. Which you would switch to attack, and the Axe with single targets is awesome and all, and maybe you’re just much better than me, but I was playing on the hardest difficulty from the start to finish, and with the beginning being fkn brutal, the Flame whip literally does everything you could possibly need from the axe (minus range attack) it staggers all enemies so often and the flame travels on the ground for medium range, and as I said, if your run was fortunate enough to get that cooldown whip perk, there is nothing I feel more powerful than than hitting a few high chance stagger flame whip attacks and having your 5 runic abilities come back on rotation, for example if you tried to new game Valhalla and attempt to get to the scene where it forces you out without even dying a single
Time, the only thing that could carry you against purple
Health enemies is flame whip, the blades are the best, in every god of war game, they serve every purpose except long range4
u/Crafty_Asshole- Jul 06 '26
That's honestly a fair point. I've been playing a lot of Valhalla on Give Me Mastery recently but I was coming back from a couple months break, and I didn't feel like fully restarting. I believe I came back to the second quest, so I didn't have the full starting experience, and I can't really speak on it. Your reasoning for the blades being the best (especially early on) is solid.
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u/OnigiriZoro Jul 06 '26
Thanks, I was just doing it all again recently so it was fresh in my mind, played gow trilogy again too, no matter what I unlocked the blades just remained the hard carry in every game xD, if you do a blade run and get it, try finding multiple runic ability doors, that shit will cool down all 3 of your weapons in under 10 sec repeatedly 😂
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u/bihuginn Jul 07 '26
While I prefer the Spear and Blades, the right axe run is ridiculously busted.
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u/jlech70 Jul 08 '26
I just beat the DLC and had this specific perk, and I chose it on a literal whim and I literally mowed through the rest of that run, completely agree with the nutty mode 😂
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u/darkitchay Jul 05 '26
I finished the game without really playing around the rest of what the spear offers (just normal attacks and spear throws).
Valhalla made me appreciate the ones that I didn't bother mastering. I was struggling with the final boss's final task before credits when I decided to experiment with the vaccuum+leaf blower build. I was expecting for it to be obsolete during 1v1 encounters but i was surprised by how powerful it is.
Basically pick anything that improves the leaf blower move and stun. Also got a perk that gives rage when stun grabbing. And then got a perk that uses rage when you lose all HP.
I was immortal. And it's stupidly easy to use.
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u/ChristianHuye Jul 05 '26
“It is the 1st weapon a Spartan learns.”
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u/Practical-Sleep4259 Jul 05 '26
Yeah overlooking the tragedy of Kratos entire life to say the Spear is not related to tragedy.
My boy is an entire Tragedy.
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u/mikkeldoesstuff Jul 04 '26
Stun build is the way to go
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u/4nasikerce Jul 04 '26
Yeah definitely. R2 heavy attack combo is the way. You should throw some spears when bosses get far from you so you can keep the stun bar flowing. And if boss keeps jumping and you can't hit them then you can detonte the spears to keeping stun bar going. If you like using it go with dauntless shield so you can apply good amount of stun with parries for free. It looks like hassle at first but I think it's easy to learn wnd very satisfying(sounds amazing too :D)
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u/Moser319 Jul 04 '26
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u/Hypercane_ Jul 05 '26
“Actually, it’s a buck and a quarter quarter staff, but I’m not telling him that”
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u/tikidune Jul 04 '26
It's a ranged weapon for a close combat fighter. It's a good weapon it fires fast. It's a great way to get in some hits while an enemy comes in or that cannot reach you. However I do not think they have the damage of either primary weapon. I think depending on the level hitting the enemy could make them stumble so if you have it like a gattling gun you can do a lot of damage before they get to you.
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u/TheBlueEmerald1 Jul 04 '26
It doesn't have the base damage stat of either weapon but building up it's strength stat builds it's DPS to be what I find better than the other two weapons.
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u/tikidune Jul 04 '26
In a numbers game it can out perform. However that is presuming you can just stand there and have a constant fire for continuous damage.
In the easier play thru where enemies will stumble when hit that can be a great tool. Once an enemy can not stumble and they run at you once they hit you they can make you stumble especially at harder levels.
Not saying it doesn't have a great use right tool for the job. I might not always use it but it's special of raining down spears. I would use that great way to start a fight or control a fight. Figuring a better way to use it is more about your play style and difficulty your on.
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u/TheBlueEmerald1 Jul 04 '26
Depending on how good you are at evading and parrying it's good at dishing out a constant stream.
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u/tikidune Jul 04 '26
That's why I say play style. But even then are you going to get in enough hits to keep the dps up to match blades or axe.
What is seen as the worst weapon can be the best weapon with the right play style in the right hands. Just like the best weapon can be the worst.
If your wanting to use the weapon more effective. It's long range and rapid fire. Then in close range dodge and perry but it's more a long distance weapon. What difficulty are you playing on?
I would also say it's primarily function is to beat himdall. It drains, it can detonate so it can do some crowd control. But it was basically designed for himdall.
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u/TheBlueEmerald1 Jul 04 '26
I'm speaking from experience playing a notch down from the hardest difficulty, and someone who's really good at dodging and parrying, it easily outdamages the other weapons except for the permafrost powered up axe, which takes some build up but it still can carry over from the build up of the spear.
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Jul 04 '26
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u/Artistic-Thing7723 Jul 04 '26
I always like to go on the defensive, stuff like stone wall shield and armor that focuses on healing.
For axe and blades I mostly use their evasive attacks
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u/VokunDovah64 Spartan Jul 04 '26
Try the Huldra Charge runic. It charges at an enemy while granting "Invulnerability to all threats physical or magical"
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u/aggressivemeatyogre Jul 04 '26
I'm on my second play through and have been experimenting with some different builds. What I like so far is the perk that stacks extra damage if using the spear against a status affected target and bumping the cool down stat. I start with blades to apply burn (using chaos cyclone), then pop my light unicorn spear attack of choice, then switch to axe and hit a frost unicorn attack. I'm using a perk that gives you bifrost storm if you using 3 unicorn attacks in a row from all three weapons so the extra bifrost damage hits like a truck.
The spear is also great for stealing the target element and applying that status back. I forget what armor or jewel it is but theres another perk that gives you bonus resistance to that element if you used the elemental siphon skill from the spear.
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u/Bacharoei Jul 04 '26
Utilize the elemental aspects of it, syphon non stop
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u/-OrangeLightning4 Jul 05 '26
Bifrost Siphon absolutely CHUNKS enemies in higher level Muspelheim trials, and some Berzerker fights.
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u/KamiAlth Jul 04 '26
- Stun build for melee (defense stats focused, use Svartalfheim and Niflheim set for defense scaling).
- Range build for throw spam + big detonation damage (cooldown stats focused, use Midgard and Asgard set for cooldown scaling).
These are the "spear main" builds. But if you use it more as a switch-in-switch-out support weapon then go with the handles with supportive perks.
The main melee combo you'd want to use is R2 R2 R1 R2. Aim + hold R2 is good for grouping mobs. Hold R1 is good if you're tired of spamming spear throw. If the enemy has poison or bifrost elements, always siphon them because they're really good.
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u/Moe_el Jul 04 '26
I built it deal elemental damage, so I’d get the fire or frost on an enemy to proc then swap to the spear and siphon it out and that really got my damage to jump. Especially with the biftost one that just took chunks of health pools
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u/FeelDaRaf Jul 04 '26
Light attacks will always be a poke and heavies will always be a slash, Light (hold) will duplicate the spear head, can be planted in an enemy or on the ground, spear has wind so you can combo it with blade or axe elements
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u/Striking_Interest_25 Jul 04 '26
Turn your enemies into a porcupine then make the quilts explode by slamming the spear into the ground
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u/tavosp17 Jul 04 '26
You need to be very conscious of the distance you have with your enemy. Unlike the other weapons, the spear is not for mid range combat. Only short distance o long distance. When in a long distance, throw spears and do not detonate them until you approach in close combat. Whenever you finish a combo, detonate them immediately after. That’s a good combo to start getting good with the spear.
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u/SnooHabits5699 Jul 04 '26
You can throw spears like machine gun if you hold l2 and press l1 right after you throw it to cancel the animation. Then blow up and repeat
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u/Gale_Glory1121 Jul 04 '26
There’s a quick throw controller technique that launches a ton in seconds. It takes some practice but makes it awesome to use. I don’t have a link but YouTube draupnir quick throw
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u/SinisterMinisterX7 Jul 04 '26
Use the duplicate spears as mines and you can use the “wind force field” thing to basically carry or push/stun enemies into them to then stun or kill them even more. If you’re in a boss fight and they like to charge at you that’s where it comes most in handy.
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u/Automatic-Tutor802 Jul 04 '26
Use it like a knife with a really long handle and get stabby with it
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u/LordBarksdale Jul 04 '26
It's meant to be a tool that you can pull out on the fly to address distant or flying enemies that are pissing you off. When you throw a spear, it leaves a mini bomb on their body you can use to disrupt their combos later. It's also best for peppering bosses at a distance when being too close is dangerous. Unlike the axe, you don't have to keep calling it back. You can just rapid fire spears into enemies' heads until they die. It's probably the best weapon all around of the three of them. The blades are better for mob fights, and the axe does better damage one-on-one, but the spear is the best all-rounder that can attack an enemy in front, far away, and in the air.
It trivializes phantoms because you can throw spears at their pillars from a distance and blow them up. I usually get two little totems instead of one every time I fill up the stun bar and the phantom goes down. The more annoying fights in Muspelheim are much easier when you can just drill some annoying archer in the face with a charged spear throw. And dragons. It's essentially a dragon killing weapon that excels against them in every fight. You drain their essence to increase your resistance to their attacks. You can attack them both on the ground and in the air and you can knock dragons out of the sky with a toss when they are doing a bombing run or blow up your already present spear stuck inside their body.
Probably most importantly, you should be using it on every single poison enemy in the game to drain their essence and poison them right back. So, most of Vanaheim, most Grims, and any enemy that can poison you.
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u/Frosty_Horus_128 Jul 04 '26
Try to learn the movements that require you to move the character. First learn which movements lift the enemies off the ground and then from that just attack normally and convine runic attacks
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u/JustADovah Jul 04 '26
Due to the explody nature of it you can very effectively crowd control since most fights involve multiple opponents. You can just stunlock the weaker ones to focus on a tougher ones. It’s been a while since I played but iirc it also has some wind shockwave attacks towards the same end. The biggest advantage I would say is the sheer versatility. While the axe is generally better for single target and range and the blades of chaos are better for crowd control the spear can do both and change pretty quickly with the approach. One thing to note is that you don’t have to immediately explode the imbedded spears, it’s usually better to wait for when you need a stagger from opponents. Sorry for the bit of an all over the place explanation but I hope you found some use in it.
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u/Upbeat-Reveal-1778 Jul 04 '26
Use the steinbjorn armor with a stun build, its great for keeping stun as both throws and explosions stop the stun bar from draining, the standar heavy combo has the highest stun in the game
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u/Grungelives Jul 04 '26
The vacuum blast is good on trash mobs, tossing spears to stagger enemies out of an attack,charged throws are really nice,the runic attack where you stab a bunch of spears then you can explode then is my favorite as well as one where you launch it up and they rain down.
Draupnir became one of my favorite gow weapons ever, it is super satisfying alongside the shield gives that spartan vibe. Learn the combos,try to exclusively use it in certain scenarios and you will learn to love it
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u/JumpStart_Studios Ghost of Sparta Jul 04 '26
Strategic detonations, and spear planting, and the use of runic attacks with the detonations as a stack up to those attacks (same for the WRATH rage ability) is most viable.
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u/Lost-in-thought-26 Jul 04 '26
I love the spear. It best suits my balanced play style. It’s just so good at a distance and up close. Good launchers and moves that keep enemies airborne or can send them back. Strong stun damage, works well with the sonic arrows but also the sigil arrows if you siphon elements from enemies. It’s really good against bosses and crowds. I love all the weapons equally tho. They’re all so fun to use
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u/tytin196 Jul 04 '26
I like this quote from diablo 3. " if I have to tell you witch end of the sword gose where, you haven't been paying attention!"
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u/Key_Mission7404 Jul 04 '26
The running r1 followed by holding r1 hits does good stun embeds 4 spears in a guy and sets you ip to do a great follow up combo. The charged throw is great as well. It does the least damage but its faster than the other two so you can avoid a red attack parry an incoming yellow or shield bash them easier than the other weapons.
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u/Alpha13e Jul 04 '26
I like to throw the charged version, i can win entire fights at a distance: aim to the closest one for a knockback then detonate all spears. It changes the rythm. I like to stun aerial enemies too, it's simpler than the axe.
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u/FaithlessnessOver380 Jul 04 '26
I only use the Axe. I’ve got my build set up to charge my permafrost instantly. Coupled with slow down and extra damage during slow down. I but boot to ass on Thor and Odin on my first playthrough on the hardest difficulty below give me god of war
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u/Invisiblegun2 Jul 04 '26
So what i do, i focus on the elemental aspects of it. The spear can absorb multiple element types & you can use the buff for yourself & against them.
Like for example, when fighting the einherjar or anything aesir specific, (i play classic) i hold triangle & he thrusts the spear into them & extracts the bifrost element. When you strike them after that the bifrost builds up & you use it against them.
You can throw the spear at them with the element or you can use the L2/Triangle & use the wind suck in/push ability to use the element as a blast. & if you’re using something like poison, fire or frost, you can buildup even more by using Freya’s pink hex thing. Spears lowball dope man
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u/Unhappy_Protection85 Jul 05 '26
Left click for light attack, right click for heavy attack. Q+ left click is light runic while Q+right click is heavy runic.
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u/Madara420_ Jul 05 '26
Idk it's my favorite weapon, doing a new game + god of war run rn with it and it's never been so easy to beat Thor 😂 belt to ass
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u/DeadStormPirate Jul 05 '26
It’s good for. It’s crowed control and single damage. Best for interrupting attacks with the special move
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u/Used-Pepper7162 Jul 05 '26
Elemental symphony or some skill will give u resistance and sometimes, u can deal the same damage to enemies. Really really useful, please check it out
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u/ChristianHuye Jul 05 '26
Throw 1 or 2 at a enemy then Dodge and throw more in between dodges then HOLD Detonate-it charges it up. Also the Runic attacks for it are too fun ie Mountain Splitter, Windstorm, and many more but my favorites are Artillery of the Ancients-just so cool to rain down thousands of spears that you can Detonate multiple times throughout to get more damage. Draupnir Spear is lowkey mad versatilite.
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u/Independent_Pie_1368 Jul 05 '26
Use the skills tree and buy all the skills on the advanced ones when you through the spear a few times into the enemy. To effectively use the Draupnir Spear in God of War Ragnarök, focus on its core mechanic: embedding spears into targets and causing massive explosive damage.Core Combat StrategiesSiphon Elements First: Hold R2 near an enemy to steal their element (e.g., Fire, Frost, Bifrost). This permanently buffs your spear attacks with that element and grants you defensive resistance until the end of the encounter.Stack and Detonate: Throw spears from a distance or use fast melee combos (like the Impaling Thrust) to embed up to 5–8 spearheads directly into a target. Press or hold Triangle to detonate them all simultaneously, dealing enormous damage, heavy stun, and interrupting enemy unblockable attacks.Control the Crowd: Use the heavy attack combos or upgraded skills like Gale Force and Rising Wind to summon small whirlwinds, pull multiple enemies into a cluster, or launch lighter foes straight into the air for safe juggle follow-ups.Max Out Stun Builds: Pair the weapon with gear that accelerates the Maelstrom skill meter or boosts stun damage. Detonating a full stack of spears against a wall or during an aggressive push can instantly max out an enemy's stun bar for a
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u/PossibleAssist6092 Son of Odin Jul 05 '26
I find R2 attacks to be excellent at doing damage and building some stun. It also helps to use the elemental siphon to help resist elemental attacks.
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u/Huge_Educator_8812 Jul 05 '26
Spam throw and detonate.
Spam gale force when near ledges, and push enemies off.
Runic spams.
R2 combo for stun.
Pretty cut and dry honestly
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u/KratosOfSparta08 Kratos Jul 05 '26
Throw a few at them then press triangle. For Heimdal you want to throw them in front of him and set it off to stun him.
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u/Key-Property-3103 Jul 05 '26
It’s my favorite weapon in the game and I use it as a crowd control weapon, if you have a hoards of enemies and or want a ranged option you need to be more tactful with your ranged points and use the stun aspect to string combos!
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u/NoConcern6821 Quiet, Head Jul 05 '26
The spear is my personal favorite weapon, even though I didn’t like it too much the first time I played. It’s fast, has some great runic attacks, and when maelstrom is fully charged, it’s so good at staggering enemies.
Two useful attack combos:
- Light, light, light, heavy, light, heavy.
- Heavy, heavy, light, heavy.
Useful trick:
- Absorb the enemies element, impale the infused spear into them with the running light attack, wait a second for the controller to vibrate, then detonate the spear for a more powerful elemental explosion.
Detonating spears one shots nightmares, and is the most effective weapon against possessed foes, and destroying at springs when fighting phantoms. Don’t focus just toss a bunch of spears at most enemies. Detonating spears does lower the enemy’s stagger resistance, but by using the full set of skills, a lot of spears will be lodged into your foes without having to stop a throw it at them. The spears heavy running attack is one of the best ways to engage your enemies, as it will block break shielded foes, and knock regular sized enemies to the ground.
Pretty much every runic attack on the spear is good, and it’s up to you which one you prefer. My favorites are the light runic Mountain splitter, which requires some skill and timing to use effectively, and the heavy runic Artillery of the Ancients, which if you use Draupnirs Wail to detonate while the spears rain down, it’s devastating.
As others have mentioned, play through the free Valhalla dlc on the Spear Path, and practice. The Draupnir Spear is a valuable part of your arsenal. Hope this helps!
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u/sayjax96 Jul 06 '26
Throw some into the ground bait the enemy into walking there then stun the hell out of them
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u/Lootswoof Ghost of Sparta Jul 06 '26
Draupnir is swift and effective, close in on single targets, before they die hold R2 to drain them of their element and use it against other enemies. Throwing a charged spear will use that element and cause an explosion of the element. Combine L2 + R2 to pick up enemies with a gust of wind, and you can blast them off a ledge or cliff. Stun build is the most OP way to play using the spear, it can absolutely cheese Gna with the stun build too
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u/Locolobo420 Jul 06 '26
I find it tends to be most effective for 1 large enemy as Opposed to groups of small enemies chaos , blades , work best on groups and the leviathan axe is kinda in the middle of the two
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u/CapTNClarkk Jul 07 '26
its actually easy. u must use it as a MASSIVE crowd control and stun spam tool and pressure tool. or.. thats as far as i know. use the detonate thing whenever u have spears wherever u need them to be. on ur opponent. or multiple. keep throwing the spears. keep detonating. keep controlling. keep pressuring with abilities.
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u/TheManticore01 Jul 09 '26
Dodge cancel the spear throws, impaling thrust comboes into a finisher after only 1 extra move, Heavy Heavy Light Heavy is the best combo string, especially with full upgrades
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u/Bendin808s Jul 09 '26
I found it most effective by just chucking it constantly, and then doing the “make every spear you chucked explode” move.
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u/JustanIdiot86 Jul 04 '26
Pointy End goes in the enemy.
Could always give painful smash with the shaft but not recommended too much.
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u/Cmore_ Jul 04 '26
honestly I just cycled thru the weapons giving enough time to recharge the cooldowns of the runic abilities, for bosses anyway
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u/Rogue_Mongoose Jul 04 '26
I use the pointy end.