Melee Weapon

Melee weapons are weapons designed for hand-to-hand combat.

Overview
For most societies, melee weapons played a pivotal role in warfare up until the development of firearms, which saw melee weapons gradually fall out of use until they more or less disappeared entirely from the battlefield. While ranged weapons remain the cornerstone of a modern army, advanced in technology have seen melee weapons make a resurgence on the battlefield as effective tools, particularly in urban combat and ship-boarding operations.

Bladed Weapons
Main page: Bladed Weapons

Bladed weapons are designed to cut, puncture, and/or dismember their targets. They can be broadly divided into slashing weapons, which are effective against numerous lightly-armored opponents, and pointed weapons, which are generally better against individual armored targets.

Blunt Weapons
Main page: Blunt Weapons

Blunt weapons rely on blunt-force trauma to shatter a target's bones, cause internal bleeding, and dent the target's armor, which can impair their mobility and breathing.

Hybrid Weapons
Hybrid weapons combine a melee weapon with that of a ranged weapon, sometimes by having the weapon transition from one form to another. Hybrid weapons are a rare sight on the battlefield due in part to their cost and complexity compared to most other weapons.