So, another user on reddit told me I should post my suggestions here as well for greater dev visibility, and quite frankly I think these changes shouldn’t be tremendously hard to implement, but I’m no dev.
Getting right into it!
1: Throwing is bad redux: There is currently no situation in which throwing your javelin suits your needs, and at least in my experience it’s more of a “damn you muscle memory!” accident.
There is the ever popular request to make it cost durability, but I think that we may need to go a step further, and add a cripple on impact to that request, this would allow the weapon a solid place both in the PvP and PvE metas by allowing a savvy player to either shut down a runner, or utilize the slow to maintain distance from an enemy.
Suggestion: Make it cost durability and apply 1 stack of cripple on impact, but increase the throwing delay to create a moment of weakness for ill timed throw attempts. Possibly add a higher threat coefficient on hitting PvE enemies to act as a “taunt” type effect. to make it a better “tank” weapon(See below)
2: It doesn’t have much of a niche: Near as I can tell it’s intended as a “tank” weapon, to be paired inexorably with a shield, due to the almost immediate shield canceling of all moves in it’s attack chain.
I would therefore suggest doubling down on this theme, and make focus, and control of opponents a running theme of the weapon as well, adding cripple and sunder to the 3rd and 4th hits of it’s combo respectively, allowing a player to lock down and weaken an enemy for others. also, maybe take a look at changinf the 2nd attack animation as it rarely hits unless you’re standing inside an enemy, on flat ground.
Suggestion: Make it the “tank” weapon, by adding control and debuffs to it’s later combo hits(cripple on 3, sunder on 4 or the reverse of that, possibly stack both onto the last strike?) to give it a role in group content. Maybe look into changing the 2nd attack, because it rarely hits.
So, yeah, that’s my best ideas on how to improve the javelin, I’m trying to shoot for good, but not OP. if anyone has any other thoughts on how to improve it I’d love to hear!