## Core Goals
* Expand the variety of melee weapons to hopefully not be completely overshadowed by guns
* Give factions more interesting and unique weapons which gives players a reason to play them
* Implement replacements for bone weapons, the only viable melee weapons despite not really having the right vibe and being far too strong for how easy they are to craft.
* Minor buffs to certain melee weapons, primarly tools that currently are pointless to use in a fight
* Highly reusable components for creating cool weapons
* Minor rework to two-handed weapons
* Transforming
* Charged
* Concussive/Bone Shattering (might end up as a generic "apply trait" component)
* Duel wielded
* Parrying (with riposting)
* Reloading/Blasting (uses ammo)
* Reagent Fueled? (Had this in mind for welding fuel)

Need to format my thoughts on this

my main goal is to develop enough new mechanics that i can add melee and have them feel diffrent from existing ones with mechanics alone
while i agree stuff like sound design is important, the only real distinction between melee rn is size and force with the option for it to be in a slightly better form factor while trading off some or all damage
trickweapons i am  to be very mechanicly diffrent from any existing weapon with a very strong focus on swapping between the diffrent forms
I want sabers and the pedang to have a strong play into good timing or parrying
weapons with better niches like blunt weapons with better bone breaking potential and weapons with more utility like breaching weapons
Ive also latched onto the concept of more melee weapons with "resources" that allow them to be closer to power of a gun
one of the key balancing factors keeping melee so far below guns is that you can recharge or reload one
so i want to have more melee with resources with the idea that unlike a gun, a melee still retains alot of power even when out of juice.
also the we just have SO many more guns, while you really cant buy a single decent melee from cargo, and the only player facing high tier melee is like e halberds and those are only ert i think.
I dont plan on adding every weapon on that list of cargo ones, i didnt acctually write all of that, but was writing down ideas of stuff that could fit in cargo.

**in need of sprites for everything besides trick weapons**

### Cargo Melee
These should be the most common melee you see. Cheap but get the job done – currently, these are just survival knives.

#### Stamped Steel Machete
The choice weapon for the independent crew on a budget. A machete should aim to be a middle ground weapon priced affordibly due to having a shoddy durability. A perfect choice for the start of a round when you don't have enough guns to fill hands.

#### Sledgehammer
This weapons aims to have a similar effectiveness to the fireaxe with the key difference of having incredible armour pen. While a fireaxe or spear might be better against a goliath, this would be the perfect mechbuster or counter to a heavily armoured modsuit or flak vest wearer.

#### Hatchet
A basic work tool, emergency weapon, or sidearm depending on your point of view. A hatchet is a light one-handed axe that can chop wood or hide with the same efficiency.

#### War Pick
A two-handed variation on the hammer, where instead of being a flat bludgeoning surface, a spike is present. This spike is better at penetrating armor, but requires being wielded to effectively leverage – and may present issues if embedded in tough armor.

#### Boarding Axe
An alternative to the fireaxe – where a fireaxe is a tool, a boarding axe is a purpose-built weapon often used in boarding actions. It does not require being wielded but can deal more damage when it is (usually by penetrating the armor better). Bloody and scary if used effectively (LoGH Rosenritter).

#### Cutlass
A short cutting blade with naval history. Good against lightly armored foes or animals, but entirely lacking against armored targets. More expensive than a stamped steel machete due to better durability.

#### Real Spear:tm:
A spear made with proper manufacturing techniques. More effective than a glass or bone spear, and a little more weighty too.
Potential ways to differentiate:
* Piston spear - the spear's first attack (and any after if it is 'reloaded') does more damage due to the spear tip being thrust forward.
* Shockspear - the spear contains a cell, and conducts a light electrical charge, shocking a foe for light burn around the site it impacts

#### Long Blades
Swords and sword accessories. Deal some damage unwielded, deal more wielded. Moderate effectiveness against armor (up to a point).

#### Brass Knuckles
And spiked brass knuckles. Punch people Gooder.

### Scrap Melee
We already have plently of extreamly cheap melee options, glass spears and shivs, stunprods, bone weapons.
I plan on adding new weapons focused less around the scraps of fauna and instead around rare thropies and loot from ruins
Heavily inspired by abotic factors weapons
These would drop from some hermits

#### Roadsign Axe
Most signs drop a salvaged signs, similar to scrap metal in which they can be turned into sheets
This aims to compete for the spot the bone axe did

#### Knuckleblasters
Find *most* of a shotgun, but not enough to have a whole shotgun? Have a reinforced glove of some sort? Combine the two to get an extremely obvious weapon that discharges multiple shotgun shells on a punch. And probably breaks your arm.

### Bladeatheon
Themed around https://hackmd.io/@shiptest/Hkhlk7F6C
Weapons intented for sport but in the frontier you do what you must
#### The Pedang
This would also add a stunprod alternative, an electrically-charged fencing sword that focuses on disabling specific points on a person rewarding carful targeting of limbs
Examples of how this would work:
Targeting a hand to disable it for short moment and force someone to drop or unwield a weapon
Hitting out a leg to slow a target
Targeting the chest for a weak paralize
I honestly think more interesting rewards for targeting limbs could apply to most melee

"Other, more niche variants of Bladeatheon see the use of other types of weapons, including designs mimicking that of handaxes, daggers and, most popularly, polearms such as spears or halberds."

### Trickweapons
Aim to be a unqiue set of melee for the SRM, these guys are probally the least in need of cool new content so I might get to them last
The core premis is a set of weapons that transform between two states, inspired by trickwines.
Each weapon will have a unqiue bonus for swapping between modes quickly similar to how the cleaving saw currently halfs the cooldown of your next attack when you switch


#### The Hunter's Axe
A one-handed axe weapon that is stronger than a hatchet can be transformed into a two-handed axe weapon that may have damage on-par with a bone axe. It's main advantage is portability. A must-have for any hunter.

#### The Rifle Spear
A spear that can unfurl the spearhead to reveal a rifle barrel that can shoot bullets. Ammo capacity and bullet caliber to-be-discussed.

#### Blast Zweihander
a Zweihander with the trick function of shooting shotgun shells (usually two shots).

#### Clerical Hammer
When unsheathed from the hammer, it's a regular sword that has the potential to parry, but when sheathed, it becomes a big fuckoff hammer that can send people flying, though it's slow.

#### ~~The Twin Blades~~ no sprite yet
A one-handed gladius-like weapon with a good block chance that can be separated into two small knives. The sword mode deals decent damage, but when separated into knives, they can hit targets simultaneously when dual-wielded, despite the somewhat lower damage, making them very good weapons for blitzing purposes. Used by Hunter Doctors.

#### ~~The Threaded Cane~~ no sprite yet
A classic cane sword that can be transformed into a bladed whip. The bladed whip mode acts like a whip, but has properties akin to that of a sword, with a potential to cause slashing wounds and even delimb if possible, although its damage is weaker in that state. Probably a Montagne signature.

#### ~~The Kagutsuchi~~ no sprite yet
A design supposedly coming from when the Ashen Huntsman made contact with the Far Eastern Tribes after the Night of Fire. A seemingly simple one-handed steel katana that was quenched using hearthwine, giving it the unique property of being able to awaken into a two-handed flaming Odachi capable of setting alight whoever is dumb enough to get into melee range. It hurts!

#### ~~The Firestarter~~ no sprite yet
Another design, this one being mythologically associated as being the Ashen Huntsman's very own personal weapon. A one-handed mace that can turn into a devastating two-handed Morning Star of absolute pain. If the Kagutsuchi could slice people, the Firestarter crushes them (and their bones) under its sheer might.