Why not halberds ?

[Zape]

why do darkeyed soldiers use spears instead of halberds ?

[Calderis he/him]

6 minutes ago, Zape said:

why do darkeyed soldiers use spears instead of halberds ?

Most likely cost of training. Halberds are an unwieldy and difficult weapon to use effectively, requiring more training. 

Their also much more specialized in application, where is a spear is more flexible between short range and polearm style combat. 

[Zape]

49 minutes ago, Calderis said:

Their also much more specialized in application, where is a spear is more flexible between short range and polearm style combat. 

that is simply untrue halberds indeed require slightly more training but they are much more effective and versatile due to them essentially being an axe + a spear optionally + a warhammer there is a reason spears went out of fashion in the late middle ages which is where alethkar is when it comes to war technology

Edited March 24, 2018 by Zape

[Yezrien]

The Alethi spears are probably a little different from many real-world spears. They're seen as universally inferior to the sword, which tells us that they probably don't have a huge length advantage. Based on the amount of skill that goes into wielding one (consider Kaladin's "kata"), I'd guess it's a short spear with a long blade, and at least some slashing potential. The Alethi have an obsession with swords, and I think their "spearman" is engineered to emulate the functions of a swordsman. So the Alethi spearman's combat style, as well as the spear itself, just aren't part of the lineage that eventually gives rise to halberds. Maybe Azish troops, with a completely different military tradition, will have something more halberd-like.

That's my theory, anyway.

[Zelly]

Well I poked around on the internet and apparently weapon fanatics like to argue about halberds vs spears a lot.  With favoritism.

Some things that I read include that they were very effective against mounted units.  While Roshar does have calvary units, horses are very valuable and much rarer than on Earth, which would explain the lack of need for halberds.

 

But from a non-weapons expert approach: Easier writing. More people know what a spear looks like compared to a halberd.

 

[Zape]

On 3/25/2018 at 2:36 AM, Belzedar said:

Maybe Azish troops, with a completely different military tradition, will have something more halberd-like

right on the money WoR page 104 "Lift edged sideways until she could look around the curve of the wall to spot the guard patrol: men in patterned vests and caps with long halberds"

[Yezrien]

5 hours ago, Zape said:

right on the money WoR page 104 "Lift edged sideways until she could look around the curve of the wall to spot the guard patrol: men in patterned vests and caps with long halberds"

Good catch! The culture I associate most with halberds is imperial China, which used them centuries before Europe did. And Azir, with its expertise in bureaucracy and civil service, is a decenty close analogue, especially compared to the more feudal society in Alethkar.

It might be appropriate to say that the halberd is a weapon of full-time professional soldiers, which the centralized Azish government would have a lot of. In Alethkar, the professional soldiers are mostly lighteyes, who prefer swords because of their cultural cache. The darkeyed troops, being more of an ad hoc militia than a proper standing army, just don't match the historical profile of the typical halberdier.

[Zape]

also just asking here im assuming edgedancer is about Lift ?

Edited March 27, 2018 by Zape

[Yezrien]

4 minutes ago, Zape said:

also just asking here im assuming edgedancer is about Lift ?

That is correct.

[Zape]

42 minutes ago, Belzedar said:

That is correct.

yeah she seemed to have too much "screen time" and be developed a bit too well for a throwaway charter

Edited March 27, 2018 by Zape

[Yezrien]

She's going to be one of the main characters in the latter half of the series, but Brandon doesn't want her to come out of nowhere in book 5. He's easing her into the spotlight and building anticipation for her flashback story.

[The One Who Connects he/him]

10 minutes ago, Zape said:

yeah she seemed to have too much "screen time" and be devolved a bit too well for a throwaway charter

Unless Brandon majorly changes the plan, Lift is gonna be the Flashback Character for Book 6, with Jasnah/Shalash as 8/10(though he hasn't nailed down who's 8 and who's 10)

That said, I'm curious who the main character for Wandersail is gonna be, and what connection to the story they'll have.

[Zape]

29 minutes ago, The One Who Connects said:

That said, I'm curious who the main character for Wandersail is gonna be, and what connection to the story they'll have.

maybe that saltlaker guy ? he seemed like such a bizarre inclusion to the point i suspect he might play some big role

[Calderis he/him]

4 hours ago, The One Who Connects said:

That said, I'm curious who the main character for Wandersail is gonna be, and what connection to the story they'll have.

Pretty sure we have an answer to that, but it involves OB spoilers. 

[Zape]

On 3/27/2018 at 6:52 PM, Belzedar said:

Good catch! The culture I associate most with halberds is imperial China, which used them centuries before Europe did. And Azir, with its expertise in bureaucracy and civil service, is a decenty close analogue, especially compared to the more feudal society in Alethkar.

It might be appropriate to say that the halberd is a weapon of full-time professional soldiers, which the centralized Azish government would have a lot of. In Alethkar, the professional soldiers are mostly lighteyes, who prefer swords because of their cultural cache. The darkeyed troops, being more of an ad hoc militia than a proper standing army, just don't match the historical profile of the typical halberdier.

actually this seems to be reopened alethi do know what a halberd is WoR part 2 page 504 "Syl formed a axehead halberd"

[Yezrien]

I'm not surprised that the Alethi know about halberds. They probably encountered a lot of them when Sunmaker invaded Azir, and experimented with them in the subsequent years. But the prevailing Alethi military tradition just prefer swords and spears.