I would never call crescent good. If you are using crescent, you are doing something wrong because there is always a better choice--pugil does nearly twice as much damage once you're proficient.

Misdirect isn't basically Pincer, because unlike pincer, you can't open with it. Also, you're lagging them, but you're not dual wielding axes and dealing massive melee damage while lagging them, so if you're hoping to lag someone out to kill them with misdirect you'll be sadly disappointed.

Pierce, thrust, leverage, crescent, legsweep are skills you should probably never use, unless all you have is a spear and you are ranking and the tiny bit of extra damage crescent/pierce/thrust do is your only option to make it seem like you're more worthwhile for your group. You should probably be using those opportunities to work on kick/elbow/knee anyways to get brawling. You should never use crescent/leverage/pierce/thrust in PK. I don't even bother practicing any of those skills.

You take spear/staff for impale and spin. If you need to lag or do damage, pick another spec. If you do take spear/staff, PUGIL is always, without any doubt, your most damaging option. Plus you can take edges to break bones/make them bleed on some pugils.