• Omnipitaph@reddthat.com
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    1 day ago

    I know this is a meme… buuuuuuut the halberd is a specialized weapon that excels in its role and almost no where else. The spear, however, is versatile and useful in most combat situations.

    Obviously the Poleaxe is the superior weapon.

    • Zagorath
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      21 hours ago

      The glaive is the coolest polearm and I will brook no disagreement.

    • Aielman15@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      Also, you can craft a perfectly serviceable spear with a wooden stick and a sharp stone.

      Good luck crafting a halberd without some dope blacksmithing skills.

    • humanspiral@lemmy.ca
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      20 hours ago

      What is specialized role of halberd?

      Seems a weapon that long should be thrusted, and being a bit lighter would help with aim/retraction and retrusts. Using a super long axe seems impractical, hence my first question.

      • PugJesus@lemmy.worldOPM
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        19 hours ago

        Halberd is a kind of specialized multitool. It’s for fighting in formation, looser than pikes, but still fairly close-order. The point allows it to stab and repel riders, the hook for dismounting any riders who feel like lingering too long, and the axehead for the killing blow on infantry or dismounted cavalry.

        Think of it as the difference between a Swiss Army Knife and an everyday survival knife. The Swiss Army Knife will do some things better than the survival knife, but the survival knife has more universal versatility, is hardy, and easy to handle.

        That being said, the halberd is more useful than the original commenter gives it credit for, the disadvantages compared to a two-handed spear mostly relate to a less-optimal weight and wieldiness (the axe head being rather large and heavy compared to a spearhead) rather than an essential inability to mimic the usage of a spear in most cases. The halberd is more useful against armored targets, or with some room to maneuver in formation. The spear is more useful in extremely tight formations and is more nimble.

      • Dragon Rider (drag)@lemmy.nz
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        20 hours ago

        Halberds can hook onto a guy with armour and knock them down so you can get out the baby knife and stabby stab.

    • TachyonTele@lemm.ee
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      1 day ago

      I was just going to not say any of that because im not a nerd! Nerd!

      Spears are awesome

    • Keegen@lemmy.zip
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      24 hours ago

      That’s just miniature spears with a fancy propelling mechanism! More proof long stick with pointy end is the superior weapon!

        • ✺roguetrick✺@lemmy.world
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          1 hour ago

          Yeah, tell that to the capharacts in the byzantine/Persian and Byzantine/Avar wars. You know, the ones more heavily armored than French knights ever were and have holes shot in them. Or the samurai that met Korean composite infantry archers.

          Draw weight on any composite bow can match or beat a self bow, since bone and horn beat wood. The bow part of a crossbow is composite after all.

          • Forester@yiffit.net
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            6 minutes ago

            , the maximum draw weight of an English longbow was significantly higher than a typical recurve bow, with the best longbows reaching draw weights between 150 and 180 pounds, while most high-quality recurves would max out around 60-70 pounds depending on the design and archer’s ability; essentially, a historical English longbow could reach considerably higher draw weights than a modern recurve bow. So while you can penetrate some armor while riding around on your pony an Englishman will just knock you off the horse your on from farther than your maximum range with his longbow.

  • Mango@lemmy.world
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    19 hours ago

    As long as the halberd is designed such that it can stab as well as a spear, then yes, it’s strictly better IMO.

    • PugJesus@lemmy.worldOPM
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      19 hours ago

      Well, it’s still heavier, and in extremely tight formations the halberd-heads can be more likely to get caught up on one another.

    • 4am@lemm.ee
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      22 hours ago

      “Always wait until your enemy as fully committed to lovemaking with their weaponry.” - Sun Tzu

  • j4k3@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    I coded my own simple spear sling in JSON to carry my halberd around as a cooking utensil in Cataclysm DDA–enjoyer verified.