It is if it leads people to wreck melee damage upon you.

but we are talking about direct-effect melee here

im puting the pen cause it is effective to poke your enemy eye's with.

but i guess your reason is okay.

Quote from Yalazer

but we are talking about direct-effect melee here

im puting the pen cause it is effective to poke your enemy eye's with.

but i guess your reason is okay.

is the spear we're talking about made of wood or metal? If it's made out of wood, I'm changing the weapon I want.


Also, there should've been a whip on the list.

Quote from TheMasterFez

Spear. Absolutely no competition.

A 6-foot spear is the optimal choice simply because of the reach. How is anyone going to harm you if you have a spear?
Suppose you have the machete, the tied-for-best weapon. How will you take out a spear user? If you charge, the spearman can retreat while jabbing the spear at you. If you make a single mistake at that point, your failure can be exploited to kill you. If you knock the spear to the side, which is a much harder task than you think, the spearman can lunge back and regain his composure. If you manage to somehow get in close, the shaft of the spear can be used to block and the butt of the weapon can still be lethal.

Besides, the spear is the only one, other than possibly the katana, which could be used well against a group. Outnumbered with a machete? Approach one, get killed by the rest. Outnumbered with a spear? Play defensive, kill them one by one.

There is a very good reason that the spear has been so widely used from the dawn of humanity to the modern day.

They're going to come at you. 6 feet isn't very far. You can't play defensive with a spear as the fucking handle is easy to grab and break.

Quote from Person McPerson

is the spear we're talking about made of wood or metal? If it's made out of wood, I'm changing the weapon I want.


Also, there should've been a whip on the list.

whatever you want , metal or wood , you decide.

and also , that is why i added the "add yourself" option

Quote from TheMasterFez

A 6-foot spear is the optimal choice simply because of the reach. How is anyone going to harm you if you have a spear?
Suppose you have the machete, the tied-for-best weapon. How will you take out a spear user? If you charge, the spearman can retreat while jabbing the spear at you. If you make a single mistake at that point, your failure can be exploited to kill you. If you knock the spear to the side, which is a much harder task than you think, the spearman can lunge back and regain his composure. If you manage to somehow get in close, the shaft of the spear can be used to block and the butt of the weapon can still be lethal.

I'm sure you see the problem with using a weapon that longer than the average person. Of course, charging a spearman is straight retarded because spears are designed to repel charges. Getting around the tip of a single spear can be done if the spearman jabs out at you and you approach his side.

Besides, the spear is the only one, other than possibly the katana, which could be used well against a group. Outnumbered with a machete? Approach one, get killed by the rest. Outnumbered with a spear? Play defensive, kill them one by one.

I don't understand how a katana would be good against a group. The downward slicing motion that is the basis of their technique looks like it could fuck a nigga up but not really excel against a group. Not to mention being outnumbered even 2v1 usually ends a loss for the loner regardless of what they're holding.

Anyway, to the point here, playing defensive and killing them one by one as a lone spearman is definitely not easy, I'd say near impossible without a shield. You could use the spear to keep them at a distance while you backpedal and wait for help but once you jab your spearhead into one of them, the others are gonna come in lop your arms off.

You say that approaching one with a machete will get you killed by the rest. No shit. Approaching one with a spear or anything else really will yield the same result. You're outnumbered. In this case, you're comparing tactics and not weapons. Naturally, different weapons are used in different ways but the comparison is still flawed because nobody in their right mind would find themselves outnumbered and think that stepping right up to them won't put your happy ass in a casket. If you get approached and swing a machete, the arc of the swing could at least be used to keep them all away at the same time and maybe even hit one. Not to mention that a machete is much less prone to breaking than a spear or katana, and a more sturdy weapon in general.

There is a very good reason that the spear has been so widely used from the dawn of humanity to the modern day.

that's not even a spear but k den

And spears were used by the military because, again, they work best when you're large group, like these guys: http://www.g-unleashed.com/files/34_egypt_infantry_nubian_screen.jpg so that it's near impossible to approach the line of sharp objects.

What about a shield? I mean, it can be pretty damn effective on it's own if you use it right.

Quote from Root

What about a shield? I mean, it can be pretty damn effective on it's own if you use it right.

Depends on what type of shield.

anybody had think about the 3 sectional staff?
is fast and you can use it for close or large range

If we get to master the given weapon, of course a spear would be superior to every other for obvious reasons. If we are totally new to the weapons and have no idea how to properly use them nor do we know any fighting styles, a broadsword should be ideal. Fast, not too heavy, ideal lenght and amazing slashing power.

Why do you guys think the Samurai would use the Katana as a sidearm, while carrying (often) more than 1 spear with them (using as a main weapon).

It'd be a bit of suicidal to go into a melee combat with a spear if you have near to no experience with spear whatsoever. A stupid miss would result in death. In the contray tho, it doesn't take a lot of training to master a spear, but still if you are required to immediately pick a weapon and fight (with no previous experience) I'd choose, as I said above, the broadsword.

Edit: you guys know that you can slash with spears, right? It's not only their tip that it's sharp, there's a good 20-30 cm blade.








OR you can be a bitch and just choose this >

You don't have a lot of weapon experience, huh?

Also, why you talking smack about chakrams?

Quote from Azure

You don't have a lot of weapon experience, huh?

Also, why you talking smack about chakrams?

Never said anything bad about them.

+ Please, define what you mean by 'you odn't have a lot of weapon experience'. No I don't, but even so I know that the spear is superior to all other melee weapons (at least to the start of the 20th century).


Actually I will change my final choice, I wouldn't use a broadsword. When I think about it the Gladius, man wasn't that sword impossible to stop..

Quote from WafflesMgee

Spears are magnificent weapons. They're good for melee, especially in groups (and let's face it, in war, you're gonna be in groups.) You can make formations that repel against charges, you can throw them for some further range and then you can just go and pick it right back up again. Their length has some intimidation factor to them, too. I mean one guy may have a shortsword but then there's you smiling like a motherfucker, the only thing leaving your lips being "Mine's bigger~!" before you impale them so hard Vlad needs a change of his Romanian pantaloons.

They have very long reach, extended further only by being perfectly throwable. Going one-on-one against a spear-wielder may give you an advantage but, hell, in groups it's a beautifully efficient weapon.

And another huge upside to them is how easy they are to make! Get long thing of wood, slap on sharp metal thing on end, there you go. Or even just strap a pointy rock on the end. Easy to make AND easy to use.

Also let's not forget the Trident, a badass version of the spear wielded by the god of two-thirds of the fuckin' Earth himself, Poseidon.

you are right. in fact , spearmen should form a really close formation to apply its spear effectivenes , but you know what is terrible about that?
not like normal length sword or machete , spear is only good in one direction attack

the persians , use their horse archer to distract roman phalanx (if im not mistaken) formation , if they stick close to formation , they getting shoted by the archer
if they break the formation and after the horsemen they'll get rekt by persian infantry.

so , spear is used almost all the time because of their easy to make and cheap production , some elite unit use lance , sword and shield , and even a bow.

Quote from Yalazer

you are right. in fact , spearmen should form a really close formation to apply its spear effectivenes , but you know what is terrible about that?
not like normal length sword or machete , spear is only good in one direction attack

the persians , use their horse archer to distract roman phalanx (if im not mistaken) formation , if they stick close to formation , they getting shoted by the archer
if they break the formation and after the horsemen they'll get rekt by persian infantry.

so , spear is used almost all the time because of their easy to make and cheap production , some elite unit use lance , sword and shield , and even a bow.

hold on a sec... you never said what kind of spear! Which means I could wield a trident if I wanted to! Hell yeah, that would be awesome. Now all you need is to have fire at the very tips of the points of the trident and everyone will be scared of you! Unless they're totally nuts or if they have an AK47.