Piercing Weapons

Overview

One of the most basic and earliest types of weapons, piercing weapons are easy to manufacture and wield. Generally used in a stabbing or thrusting fashion, these weapons tend to be effective against armoured targets. Piercing weapons comes in many different forms but the two most common designs include:

• Dagger/Knife: A short blade measuring roughly between 12 inches or less. They are easy to wield and conceal making them a popular choice for stealthy characters. In most video games, backstabbing an opponent with a dagger usually incurs a high bonus damage normally resulting in insta-death. Often used as a secondary weapon in first-person-shooters. Some daggers only exist for aesthetic or religious reasons such as ceremonial daggers.

• Spears: Usually consisting of a sharp point stuck to the end of a wooden pole (of about two metres or more), spears are primitive but effective weapons against cavalry or other aggressive opponents thanks to it's length. Easy to manufacture and use, spears make excellent defensive and aggressive weapons as the phalanges of Ancient Greece has proven. With proper training and understanding, the spear is a simple but deadly weapon in the right hands.

Considering the simple design of piercing weapons they can be even combined with other weapons such as the halberd which is hybrid of an axe and spear or even the bayonet attached to the end of a rifle making it into a makeshift spear in close combat.