Editing Spear

{{About|a specific weapon called '''spear'''}}
{{Infobox main|weapon
| name = Spear
| image = Spear.png
| type = Equipment
| type2 = Weapons
| description = A polearm tipped with a sharp point for stabbing opponents.
| tech level = Neolithic
| class = Neolithic
| mode = Melee
| meleeattack1dmg = 13
| meleeattack1type = blunt
| meleeattack1part = shaft
| meleeattack1cool = 2.6
| meleeattack1ap = 20
| meleeattack2dmg = 13
| meleeattack2type = poke
| meleeattack2part = shaft
| meleeattack2cool = 2.6
| meleeattack2ap = 20
| meleeattack3dmg = 23
| meleeattack3type = stab
| meleeattack3part = point
| meleeattack3cool = 2.6
| meleeattack3ap = 50
| MeleeWeaponAverageDPS = 7.35
| MeleeWeaponAverageAP = 38
| production facility 1 = Fueled smithy
| production facility 2 = Electric smithy
| research = Long blades
| resource 1 = Stuff
| resource 1 amount = 75
| stuff tags = Metallic, Woody
| skill 1 = Crafting
| skill 1 level = 4
| damage type = Sharp
| mass base = 2
| has quality = True
| work to make = 12000
| weaponTags = NeolithicMeleeAdvanced, MedievalMeleeAdvanced
}}
The '''spear''' is a [[Weapons#Melee Weapons|melee weapon]] that does a large amount of sharp [[damage]] with high {{AP}}.

== Acquisition ==
Spears can be crafted at [[fueled smithy|any]] [[electric smithy|smithy]] once the [[Research#Long blades|Long Blades]] research has been completed, from {{Required Resources}} and {{Ticks|{{P|Work To Make}} }} of work.

Spears can be purchased from any combat supplier or war merchant, or obtained from several kinds of melee [[raider]]s.

Metallic spears can be smelted for scrap at an [[electric smelter]]. They yield exactly one quarter (25%) of the stuff required to craft the weapon, regardless of item quality or HP.

== Analysis ==
The spear is a sharp weapon with a ''very'' similar damage output to the [[longsword]], despite the in-game tooltips stating otherwise. This is because the game does not account for the [[Weapons#Melee formulas|melee verb selection]] mechanic introduced in 1.1. 

Spears and/or longswords are the best sharp melee weapons that colonists can craft. They compete with [[mace]]s and [[warhammer]]s{{RoyaltyIcon}} for best overall craftable weapon. In-depth comparison can be seen in the below section.

== Comparisons ==
=== Comparison to longswords ===
<!-- Cut v Stab sources: https://steamcommunity.com/app/294100/discussions/0/3042732243097084212 & https://steamcommunity.com/app/294100/discussions/0/3111394035968026504 . You can test the x1.4 damage multi by going into devmode and hitting things with a plasteel knife. -->
Spears have very slightly less {{DPS}}. The longsword is {{+|{{%| (7.96 / 7.88) - 1 round 3}} }} stronger in ''raw'' DPS than the spear, after considering [[melee verb selection]]. In exchange, the spear has noticeably more {{AP}} ({{+|14%}}) and costs {{Icon Small|stuff}} 25 materials less. This makes the spear numerically superior, but that is not the full story.

Longswords can either ''[[Damage types#Cut|Cut]]'' or ''[[Damage types#Stab|Stab]]'', while spears can only ''Stab''. Cut damage has a chance to "cleave" through body parts. This increases damage per swing by 140%, but its damage is split between body parts. The spear can only stab: its damage is weaker, but always concentrated on one body part. The cleave will cause [[pain shock]] faster, due to increased damage. Generally, pain shock is much more likely than body part destruction.

If a cut happens to reduce a body part to 0 HP, it is more likely to be destroyed. But since cleaving will spread out damage in the first place, Cut remains less likely to destroy larger limbs (like the arms and legs). Also, stabs are more likely to hit internal organs. However, both of these factors tend to be less important than the aforementioned cleaving.

Overall, which option is better depends on expected targets:
* At normal to excellent qualities, longswords are often better (definitely more consistent) for fighting against unarmored humans, lightly armored humans, and light mechs like [[scyther]]s and [[lancer]]s. This is due to the increased damage from cleaving. Spears would be better for fighting against armored enemies, like [[centipede]]s, due to the higher {{AP}}.

* A masterwork [[plasteel]] spear / sword is able to one-shot body parts like head and neck, though not the torso. The masterwork spear will more consistently one-shot human enemies, as the damage won't be spread out. Empirical testing suggests that the longsword remains better against unarmored targets.{{Check Tag|More testing needed|At legendary, when sword killed 100 adult pawns, spear killed 92 - 97. This was done 3x, in all 3 sword was better}} Spears still have more {{AP}}, so are better against armored enemies.

It's worth noting that the spear faces competition with the [[mace]] as a cheaper, anti-armor weapon.

=== Comparison to maces ===
The spear is actually closer to the [[mace]] in their niche, as both are better than the longsword against armor. Maces are cheaper, is best used with [[uranium]] rather than [[plasteel]], and unlocked in Smithing rather than Long Blades. Before armor, spears deal {{+|{{%| 7.88/7.01 -1 round 2}} }} more damage than a mace of equal quality. Maces are good against armor, despite having lower AP, since most enemies have practically no Blunt armor.

At normal quality, a [[plasteel]] spear deals more damage than a [[uranium]] mace until fighting enemies with {{%| (9.56/10.55 -1)/(-0.75) + 0.55 round 2}} <!-- 
We are solving for 1 / (Spear DPS Improvement%) = (Armor Reduction%). We can get DPS Improvement using (DPS Spear / DPS Mace). For armor, we know that 1% AP reduces 1% of armor, and 1% of armor equals -0.75% damage, which is subtracted from 100% damage. Since spear's only Sharp attack has 55% AP, we use that instead of spear's avg AP. 

Sub variables in and you get (9.56 / 10.55) = (100 - 0.75(x - 55))%. Solve for x and we get (9.56 / 10.55 - 1) / -0.75 = (x - 0.55), after converting percents into decimals. ---> Sharp armor. This is before considering quality; at higher quality, the spear only gets better. For example, if both weapons are excellent, then the mace only starts to become better at {{%| (11.48/12.63 -1)/(-0.75) + 0.66 round 2}} armor. For reference, [[centipede]]s have 72% armor.

The mace still would be better against [[flak vest]]s (when hitting the vest) and [[power armor]]. Meanwhile, spears are noticeably better against unarmored foes, and roughly equal/better against armored foes up to centipedes. Note that enemies with power armor are quite rare. 

This assumes plasteel vs. uranium. If both weapons are made out of [[steel]], then the mace becomes relatively better against centipedes and plate armor and the like. Also remember that maces are cheaper, and that uranium is generally used less than plasteel.

'''Notes:'''
* Once you reach masterwork quality, the plasteel spear's AP gets very high. No enemy, short of the [[empire]]'s absolute best soldiers{{RoyaltyIcon}}, has enough armor to justify using the mace. The spear is roughly equal against most power armor (a few % DPS worse), but can ignore all of a centipede's armor for the full 112%-of-mace damage.
* This comparison does not account for the strong melee damage [[gene]].{{BiotechIcon}} With strong melee damage, the mace comes out ahead due to overkill mechanics (see below).

=== With strong melee gene ===
With the [[Genes#Strong melee damage|strong melee ''damage'']] [[gene]],{{BiotechIcon}} the comparisons change.

# High quality longswords can now one-shot the torso. Legendary plasteel swords can one-shot the torso even in a cleave attack, assuming it split between 2 parts.
# When an excellent plasteel longsword (or better) does a ''cleave'' attack, its damage so high that it causes [[pain shock]] in a single swing. 
# Meanwhile, the spear can only ever hit a single body part. If a 62 damage spear hits a 25 damage arm, the arm is destroyed and 37 damage (over {{%|1-(25/62) round 2}} of the attack) is wasted. If a sword cleaves, much less damage is wasted. Blunt weapons like [[mace]]s and [[warhammer]]s{{RoyaltyIcon}} will hit the parent part if it would overkill (e.g. destroying the arm will damage the shoulder for remaining HP).
# Strong melee damage also boosts the {{AP}} of longswords. But due to the quirks of the game, it does ''not'' boost the AP of spears. Longsword AP becomes nearly identical to the spear.

This results in high quality swords ''with the damage gene'' being virtually better against all targets, short of [[tough]] pawns. Against humanoids, a sword can either (1-shot torso/head or cleave to pain shock), while a spear can ''only'' (1-shot torso/head). Against mechanoids, the cleave damage results in the sword coming out ahead regardless.
<!-- Gene + Sword > Gene + Spear should be clear for humans. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXpLrQR7jI4 , 9:50 in particular is empirical proof that sword > spear for big mechs w/o pain shock -->

The masterwork steel longsword given at the start of the [[Scenario_system#The_Sanguophage|The Sanguophage]] scenario reaches both relevant thresholds. With your [[sanguophage]], it can one-shot through a torso stab and one-shot through cleaving pain. This longsword is actually stronger per-hit than an excellent plasteel longsword, and likely better than any weapon you'll be seeing for a while.

{{Weapon Stats Table}}

== Version history ==
* [[Version/0.7.581|0.7.581]] - Added
* [[Version/1.1.2610|1.1.2610]] - Implementation of new melee verb system. Previously, spears were more likely to use their shaft rather than their point. This now results in spears having higher DPS than what the game's infobox states. 

{{Nav|weapon|wide}}
[[Category:Equipment]] [[Category:Weapons]] [[Category:Neolithic Weapons]]
[[Category:Melee Weapons]] [[Category:Sharp Weapons]] [[Category:Spears]]