The most versatile medieval melee weapon is the halberd

[NeutralDrow]

-If someone gets in close, youre screwed. Even if you push them with the staff you have arms length, they have arms length and the length of thier sword or axe.

Can't really fault the other criticisms (except maybe the "visibility" part), but this one's a bit off. You can't talk about "up close" fighting while ignoring the fact that you really can fight with the haft. Arm's-length fighting removes most of the advantages of the halberd head (barring some fancy hooking from behind), but you're still <url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTVC25hYJaY&feature=related>left with a staff, which is <url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmNTKy8LJiY&feature=related>hardly an ineffective weapon in short range.

If you're at a genuinely short enough range where it's a problem for a competent halberdier, the swordsman is in similar trouble, and both have likely already resorted to grappling or knife-fighting.

 

[beniki]

Yes, and it is criminally under used in games.

... Except in Neverwinter Nights 2 where my little drow ranger dual wielded them. Until he upgraded to dual wielding scythes.

 

[gigastar]

Can't really fault the other criticisms (except maybe the "visibility" part)

I shall elaborate.

This may be an exxagerated example but it can happen.

Say a group of archers were told simply to 'shoot that one' and thier commander is pointing at a group of otherwise ordinary soldiers on the opposing side, with one man with a plume in his helmet leading them at the front. Now the archers cannot make out exactly who he means so they just go for the most discint guy in the group.

As far as i know halberds were not a weapon for the rank-and-file because they originally evolved from large headed spears or lances with the purpose of a general being able to quickly find where his officers were.

Arm's-length fighting removes most of the advantages of the halberd head (barring some fancy hooking from behind), but you're still with a staff...

A very heavy staff, but granted.

Also both of those videos you linked were for polearm to polearm combat. Any idiot could deflect an incoming blow with a shield then go for the kill before the halberdier recovers

 

[NeutralDrow]

Can't really fault the other criticisms (except maybe the "visibility" part)

I shall elaborate.

This may be an exxagerated example but it can happen.

It's still not significant enough to count as a flaw for the weapon itself.

Arm's-length fighting removes most of the advantages of the halberd head (barring some fancy hooking from behind), but you're still with a staff...

A very heavy staff, but granted.

Also both of those videos you linked were for polearm to polearm combat.

No. They both featured polearm to polearm combat. The techniques (especially those close-quarter grappling techniques) are applicable far beyond that.

Any idiot could deflect an incoming blow with a shield then go for the kill before the halberdier recovers

While we're in thought experiment mode, any idiot could dodge a sword stroke and stab him with a knife while he recovers. Or <url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqiSZjj-HR8&feature=related>this could happen (since we're on shields now, all of a sudden).

But really, it's not all that clear-cut. Shields are great advantages, but not gamebreakers, and halberds and poleaxes can still be used against them to good effect (not to mention they still have the attack range advantage), and were <url=http://www.myarmoury.com/feature_spot_poleaxe.html>the non-prestige weapon of choice for a few centuries.

For that matter, an idiot could only do what you describe if he's fighting another idiot. Someone in a weapon fight who attacks with no thought to defense or balance deserves a sword in the kidney. The shield (specifically, a larger shield, not a buckler or similar) doesn't have an advantage because of parrying, but because <url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnezTM2UA_k>it can be used to not only close in, but shut down the pole weapon. Like the video uploader (the sword'n'boarder) points out, his main aim in those fights was to keep his shield on the spearman's hands; the latter wouldn't need all that much torque to attack or trip, otherwise.

 

[Veylon]

The Halberd is a fine weapon, but it really depends on having a lot of them together. A careful swordsman can push past the end of a halberd with a shield, but several ranks of halberders can reinforce one another, something swordsmen can't do due to the short-range nature of their weapons. Halberds require teamwork and discipline.

 

[NeutralDrow]

The Halberd is a fine weapon, but it really depends on having a lot of them together.

<url=http://www.myarmoury.com/feature_spot_poleaxe.html>Halberds and poleaxes were dueling weapons, as well. Especially after advances in armor made large shields less popular among the knighthood.

 

[Kazturkey]

Striking points does not equal versatility. For one thing, its really, really long and if the guy who you're trying to chop up gets close enough, he'll run you through. To be honest, no medieval weapon is truly versatile because if you're using a short weapon, a cavalryman will ride you down and if you're using a pike you're rather dead if someone angry starts running at you with an axe.

 

[Levi93]

Sure, it's got a lot of pointy parts, but it seems like it would be terrible at close-combat.

Took the words straight out of my mouth, swinging a long pointy stick at close range isn't as nearly effective as swinging a small pointy stick

 

[Jabberwock xeno]

Except it';s lengths and weight, if Someone is right next to you, you can't swing it to hit them.

 

[Silversheath]

Halberds, historically, were quite powerfull, but the level of training necessary to make competent use of the weapon in the manner described (making use of all fighting points) is beyond most conscript armies. They were oft used, however, in the back ranks of the large swiss pike formation, where the wielder would deliver the death blow by decapitation (often enemies would remain alive but slightly stambeded, and thus would be on the ground, vulnerable to a relatively easy to deliver axe strike) to any surviving enemies as well as form a more versatile rear guard to protect against any possible flanking.

 

[NeutralDrow]

Striking points does not equal versatility. For one thing, its really, really long and if the guy who you're trying to chop up gets close enough, he'll run you through.

Took the words straight out of my mouth, swinging a long pointy stick at close range isn't as nearly effective as swinging a small pointy stick

Except it';s lengths and weight, if Someone is right next to you, you can't swing it to hit them.

Halberds aren't nearly as long as pikes. Later halberds, the ones that evolved into poleaxes, usually have hafts only slightly taller than their wielder. They're not much different from quarterstaves in that regard.

They also have something else in common with staves: the "staff" part.

<url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJuNgXUi-Bk>You can use them in close quarters.