Dear Bethesda,

One of the best things that sets the Elder Scrolls games apart from other RPGs is the flexibility in real time combat rooted in an engine with physics. While I was disappointed that polearms disappeared in Oblivion I am glad they are returning to Skyrim. Alas, I don't see one combination of arms on this list
http://i.imgur.com/aXa9D.jpg
That would be pole arm and shield.

Combat in past ages has often shown that a shield and polearm were effective and practical. Be it Zulu or Roman Phalanx, the combination has shown itself before.

I can understand combat balancing; however, instead of trying to block a weapon/projectile with the shaft of your polearm or dodging it why not afford a shield with the disadvantage of lessened mobility and damage modifier? This would still keep 2-handing a polearm viable and attractive. If we can have a shield in each hand as depicted by the demo image, I wish for a shield and polearm at the same time. Options and its consequences, after all, are the one of the factors that makes Elder Scrolls shine.

That's it, thanks for the consideration.

pointless spam post deleted

I thought polearms weren't coming back :huh:


I think The Romans(I don't mean conscripts from the empire) stopped using spears after a military reform... and they usually beat Phalanxes.

I woud like polearms because it's always good to have more options.

I believe polearms like halberds are in, spears are not.

i read the OP, what it comes down to is he wants spear like weapons

what i imagine is the problem with spears is the stabbing motion, halberds are in (i dont remember its been confirmed but people act like it has) because they use slashing

so to have a shield and a polearm, the polearm would have to be a spear and not a halberd, because polearms used for slashing cant be used with just one hand

One thing I noticed was that the chart mentions "two-handed polearms." I wonder if that means there could be one-handed ones. Perhaps pikes and whatnot. Would be close enough to a spear for people to stop whining about spears.

I'm pretty sure the article is just wrong. With "polearms" they might have simply meant axes. They are - very short - polearms too, in a way.

One-Handed pole-arms are an impossibility due to balancing.
To have a one-handed pole-arm..
The blade would have to be perfectly balanced on the entire end of the pole (kind of like the Drewmer Poleaxe in my mod preview).. and there would need to be a counterbalance on the opposite end..
Even then.. The weapon would still be near impossible to wield with only one hand.

The only attacks you can do while holding a Spear one handed is stabbing and throwing. Thus using a pole-arm one-handed would be useless anyways.

have you never seen 300? lol

Yes.. and all they really did was stab and throw.. hence my last statement.. as well as they used spears.. not pole-arms.

Thats why we need spears... To stab the Dragons...

The obvious weapon when fighting such a beast is a long spear. A sword would be my last choice....

A polearm is a two-handed weapon. You'd need to grow a third hand to have a shield.

Are you just making this stuff up off the spot?

Using a spear in one hand and a shield in the other is very possible, and also very effective. The weapon's own length leads it to counterbalance itself. The whole point of polearms or pole weapons (which includes spears) is the superior reach they provide.

Edit: And yes I would love to see a one-handed pole-and-shield combo.

Put polearm over shield and charge? Possible and awesome.

hes not making stuff up, i think he just doesnt consider spear a polearm

of course you can use spears as 1handed weapons, he said that, what you cant do is use polearms such as for example halberds for slashing just with one hand

well, you can use it but youd be spinning like a dervish

come on give up on complaining about no spears already... i mean i can promise you one thing and almost 2 things.
i can promise you that modders will add spears to the game, if they wont i will personally learn 3d modelling, scripting and texturemaking, and do it myself! this is why i can promise it.
i can almost promise bethesda will add them in a DLC or Expansion. :brokencomputer:

shield & spear was common in ancient armies (if Total War games are to be believed)

Yeaaaaaaahhhh.... spears aren't polearms. Polearms have heavy weapon heads (axes / beaks / hooks / hammers / etc) on the end of a long pole. They're not terribly balanced and need two hands for the leverage.

Spears are a completely different thing. (And the short spears / javelins that you'd use with a shield are, similarly, completely different from say, Pikes. Again, way too long to use 1-handed.)

Sorry about that. Yes, it's true I don't consider spears to be pole-arm weapons like pole-axes and halberds.. as they both require different techniques to use them.
Pole-arms requiring two hands to swing and slice while spears require one hand to stab and throw.

I am making sure that pole arms and spears will make it into the PC version of the game, and that both are used the way they are designed.

Not a true dragonborn... the shame...





Polearms are a catagory of weaponry INCLUDING spears.

Google that... stuff...

"A pole weapon or polearm is a close combat weapon in which the main fighting part of the weapon is placed on the end of a long shaft, typically of wood, thereby extending the user's effective range. Spears, glaives, poleaxes, halberds, and bardiches are all varieties of polearm."

Haha. I care about realism even less than I care about lore. I just want it because it'll look pretty awesome. I would also like the option of punching a dragon to death. WITH MY BEAR HANDS.




*puts on bear hands*

If its on the internet, it must be true, hmm?

Just try to use a pole-arm weapon like a spear..
You would get cut down in seconds as you wouldn't have the leverage to use it and the blade would be scraping on the ground.

In terms of gameplay, a polearm is a spear that can also slash. That's probably why they chose to include polearms but not spears.




I have to kill fast, and shock spells too slow. :toughninja:

No [censored]... You wouldn't use a glaive like a halberd, nor a halberd like a spear, nor a spear like a glaive.

The term polearm refers to weapons with some sort of blade at the end of a shaft. Not all polearmes are created equal, thus they should not be used the same.

Perhaps.

But that still doesn't mean that they're all used the same way. Very different fighting styles.