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Thread: Spears are very unbalanced

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  1. #7

    Default Re: Spears are very unbalanced

    Quote Originally Posted by Baba Ga'on
    Swords were a weapon for the elite -- the few. Only the best and richest warriors of a Celtic clan or tribe had one. They were prestige weapons, and thusly designed for the best of the best, be that in society circles or among warriors.

    Meanwhile, spears, because they were far cheaper (took less metal to forge, and involved little to no balancing work while forging, either) and easier to make as well as easier to learn to use (unless we're talking exceptions like Shao Lin spear styles), were the weapon for the masses, the plebs, the common man. In fact, if you look past appearances, you could easily argue that a Roman maniple or cohort was (far) more a phalanx with really tiny spears than it was a formation of sword-wielding muscle men from the Atlantic seaboard.

    So, yeah, the majority of units used spears, and one of the most disctinct military formations of the period functioned as one that did. I haven't had the chance to play EB 1.0 yet, but what I can say is that if spear-wielding infantry is effective, that isn't unrealistic.
    That swords were weapon for the few, and the elite, I can't deny. However virtually every Roman carried a gladius with himself, and the Principes even switched to swords in the 3rd Century B.C. We're not talking about Elites, we're talking about a massive citizen army wielding short blades. Shorter blades were also less expensive than their Celtic Longsword counterparts.

    In fact, if you look past appearances, you could easily argue that a Roman maniple or cohort was (far) more a phalanx with really tiny spears than it was a formation of sword-wielding muscle men from the Atlantic seaboard.
    Yes, the Roman military was very effective, but then they still carried the short Gladius sword. They stabbed a lot with them, yet it was still a sword... And with the Gladius, they managed to defeat a myriad of enemies who valued Spearmen a lot.

    Just know that the stats can be missleading. Spear units get an attack penalty against other infantry
    Yet, stats are too high.

    I'm not saying spears are weaker than swords. I think EB 0.81 had a fine balance in armour and attack stats; if an increase in the stats of spearmen is ever needed, then it shouldn't be as high as in the present EB version. Massed spears were an effective weapon, but it was much more than just sticking it to the front. A spear has to be maneuvered so that the enemy doesn't cut it in pieces, and a sword can be better maneuvered than a spear.
    Last edited by A Terribly Harmful Name; 10-15-2007 at 17:06.

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