The Great Spear Problem

Why can't games in general, and M&B in particular, accurately depict spears, the dominant primary weapon system on the battlefield for the vast majority of human history?

1. Games require balance whereas real life does not. The lance is already the best weapon from horseback and the pike already the best anti-cavalry weapon. If the spear was also the primary weapon of infantrymen, gamers would complain of a lack of balance between types. This leads into...

2. The game mechanics are not sophisticated enough to replicate the advantages and disadvantages of spears. Lindybeige and SG have done some great videos on what circumstances impact the performance of spears, and most of these are not captured in gameplay. A. Spears are extremely effective in formation fighting and less so in a 1v1 duel. This is because there are angles available to the duelist to close the distance that do not exist when one is in range of multiple spears. This is not reflected in the game. B. Shields greatly impact the performance of spears, both from the standpoint of the spearman but more so from the standpoint of his opponent. It is extremely difficult to close with a spearman without a shield. With one, the odds are evened up considerably. To be fair, this aspect is depicted in the game fairly well. C. Spears are depicted in M&B as having an extremely limited array of attack angles. In WB it was 1; BL at least increased it to 2 with the overhead thrust. In reality, a great advantage of the spear is that the tip can be moved very quickly and strike anywhere on an opponent from the forehead to the foot in rapid succession. D. Virtually every spearman in history carried a secondary weapon such as a short sword in case he found himself in a situation unfavorable to spear use. Yet for some reason in M&B the AI is not programmed to make this switch in tight quarters or out of formation. As an aside, for some reason in M&B you have to drop your defenses to switch weapons. In reality you could drop a spear and draw your sidearm with your shield up. So, if the spear could be represented accurately, its weaknesses would still provide an important role for other weapons.

3. Popular culture has glorified the sword and demeaned the spear as a peasant's weapon. This causes game developers to portray these weapons inaccurately to appeal to their customers.

submitted by /u/vurbil
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