this post was submitted on 21 Dec 2024
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[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 hours ago

hasn't the halberd been confirmed to be the meta weapon in medieval times?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago)

pointy end faces the enemy

[–] [email protected] 81 points 1 day ago (4 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 8 points 18 hours ago

Us pointy stick fanciers have some words

[–] [email protected] 21 points 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.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 21 hours ago (2 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 20 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.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 21 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.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

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

Spears are awesome

[–] [email protected] 13 points 20 hours ago (3 children)

Idk man I quite like the simplicity of the goedendag

[–] [email protected] 7 points 12 hours ago

A good day to you too

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 hours ago

yeah it's pretty light and meaty in comparison. I myself prefer the crunchwrap supreme

[–] [email protected] 6 points 20 hours ago

Based and Flanders-pilled.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

If you think about it, a halberd is just a defective, meaty trebuchet

[–] [email protected] 6 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

Gonna need some help working out that one.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 12 hours ago
[–] [email protected] 30 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 33 points 1 day ago (1 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 27 points 1 day ago (2 children)

So what you're saying is it's not the size of the spear but it's how you thrust it?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 12 hours ago

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° )

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 hours ago

well, bullets are very small and girthy in comparison, so yes.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

Imagine thinking a self bow is a suitable weapon of war. Laughs in turkic, Mongolian, and Magyar

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

These shoot through armor yours don't

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago) (1 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago) (1 children)

, 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.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 57 minutes ago (1 children)

It has nothing to do with modern recurve bows. There is no functional limitation to the draw weight of a composite bow. They had plenty of examples that could hit 70 kg. Composite bow archers can and did produce the same exact results as longbow archers. They often flat out exceeded them with inordinately high draw weight bows. And that makes intuitive sense. Look at a crossbow: a small composite bow with a draw weight so high that humans needed mechanical advantage just to draw them. If you think the English were somehow more professional as archers and stronger than everybody else, you're vastly mistaken.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 40 minutes ago

Look dude. I'm not trying to get overly analytical and in a life and death debate but no that's factually incorrect.

The reason I said modern recurve was because if you try to put excess strain on traditional recurve bows most of them will shatter or delaminate as they are laminate technology.

Yes, both types of bow will fire the same types of arrow. The key difference is the English longbow Men can put a lot more oomph behind his shots than a recurve bow man. I am not saying that the English would draw to 180 ft lb for every pullback I am saying that their artillery pieces could do that.

To put it another way, the theoretical maximum range was much higher on a longbow than the theoretical max range on a recurve bow because you can use double or triple the maximum draw weight on the same arrow.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

This is a billhook. It hooks Bill.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 13 hours ago

Bill and his hookers again?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 9 points 20 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.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Why should If ight you? You are absolutely correct.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 12 hours ago

They never said you have to disagree to fight them.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Well, you might be able to win if you are able to afford and equip, say, 1,000 pike maidens to his one halberd harlot.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago

There's harlots and maidens? Where's this halbert place you speak of?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

Maybe. But halberd harlot 🥵🥵🥵

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Not goinna fight you while you pleasure yourself on your halberd like the picture.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 23 hours ago

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

[–] [email protected] 10 points 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.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago

Then we shall fite in the shade