Weapons in Anvil Empires fall into a handful of broad families. Each family is tied to a damage type and to a tier ladder that runs from improvised flint or stone tools through bronze, iron, and superior variants. Higher-tier weapons of the same family roll consistently higher damage on hit, but the family's role and damage type stays the same across tiers. Sample damage values shown below are taken from the most recent pre-alpha build and are subject to balance changes between tests.
Melee Families
Family | Damage Type | Examples (sample damage) |
|---|---|---|
Sword | Slashing | Crude Short Sword (24), Bronze Sword (30), Iron Sword (35), Superior Short Sword (45) |
Longsword | Piercing | Iron Longsword (60), Fine Longsword (65), Superior Longsword (70); two-handed, cannot pair with a shield |
Mace | Crushing | Iron Mace (28) |
Axe (combat) | Cleaving | Iron Broadax (28, with seven-and-a-half-times armour multiplier) |
Axe (tool) | Slashing | Bronze Axe (8), Iron Axe (8) |
Knife | Slashing | Flint Knife (15), Bronze Knife (20), Iron Knife (25) |
Tool weapons | Varies | Pickaxes, hammers, scythe, fists when unarmed |
Maces deal Crushing damage that hurts stability, making them the standard answer to heavily armoured infantry. Combat Axes (Broadax line) deal Cleaving damage that also damages siege weapons, which makes them a critical part of any anti-siege team. Tool axes have low combat damage and are used primarily for logging.
Hybrid Family: Spears
Spears straddle the melee and ranged line. The family runs Flint Spear (15 impaling), Bronze Spear (28 impaling), Iron Spear (33 impaling), Superior Spear (38 impaling), and the Javelin variant. They can be used as a thrusting melee weapon or thrown for ranged damage at a closer range than a bow. The Iron Spear requires Melee Combat rank 3 and Ranged Combat rank 2; the Superior Spear requires Melee Combat 5 and Ranged Combat 3.
The Javelin sits in the same family and deals 28 damage in melee and roughly 150 missile damage on a thrown hit, which is the highest single-strike output among hand-thrown weapons.
Ranged Family: Bows
Bow | Damage | Range | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
Crude Short Bow | 40 missile | Short-bow range | Baseline |
Short Bow | 78 missile | 16 m | Baseline |
Long Bow | 131 missile | 32 m | Ranged Combat 5 |
Superior Short Bow | 96 missile | Short-bow range | Ranged Combat 8, Hunting 4 |
All bows deal Missile damage. Damage rolls within a tier-defined range, so the same bow can land different damage values from one shot to the next. The Superior Short Bow is the strongest short-bow option and requires both Ranged Combat and Hunting investment on a named Avatar; see the Avatar System article for attribute progression.
Throwables
Throwable | Damage | Effect |
|---|---|---|
Burning Oil | 50 burning | Applies fire damage over time to ground areas and siege engines; thrown by defenders from fort walls |
Oil Flask | 12 siege | Smaller throwable variant of Burning Oil |
Rock Slab | 150 crushing | Stuns; deals roughly half its damage as stability damage to siege engines and structures |
Water Bucket | 100 water | Extinguishes burning effects on structures and players |
Torch | 10 melee / 4 siege | Light source and burning damage tool; useful in the Underworld |
Crude Throwing Axe | 15 slashing | Light throwable for harassment |
Quality Throwing Axe | 25 slashing | Stronger throwable variant |
Siege Ammunition and Specialized Items
Arrows and Scorpion Arrows for ranged volume; the latter fired from emplaced Scorpions on town walls.
Catapult Boulders for the Catapult and similar siege artillery; see Sieges.
Traps placed in chokepoints to slow attackers.
Superior Tier
The Superior tier is the current peak weapon ladder for high-attribute Avatars and consumes both deep Underworld resources and rotating trade goods. Confirmed Superior weapons in the most recent build are the Superior Short Sword (Melee Combat 8), the Superior Longsword (two-handed), the Superior Spear (Melee Combat 5, Ranged Combat 3), the Superior Short Bow (Ranged Combat 8, Hunting 4), and the faction-specific Superior shields covered on the Armours page.
Heavy Armour Restriction
Bows and Spears cannot be armed while wearing Reinforced or Heavy Armours. Skirmisher and archer roles must commit to light armour to keep their weapon up. A heavy-plated infantry line with a hidden bow in their pack will simply find that the bow refuses to draw.
Tier Progression
Most families progress through Crude (improvised) into Bronze, into Iron, and finally Superior. Each tier shifts the weapon's damage range upward; tier improvements come from the Forge and Furnace pipeline. See the Crafting and Resources article for the Furnace-to-Forge ingot flow and the Trade and Economy article for the trade goods that gate Superior production.
Two-Handed Longswords
The two-handed Longsword family landed in the live build as a melee answer to heavily plated infantry. A Longsword deals Piercing damage with good reach, but it occupies both hands and cannot be paired with a shield, so a swordsman trades defence for reach and damage. The family runs through Iron, Fine, and Superior tiers (60, 65, and 70 sample damage), and the Superior Longsword sits alongside the other Superior weapons as a top-tier option.
Announced Weapon | Type | Status |
|---|---|---|
Crossbow | Ranged | Previewed in a development update but not yet in the live roster. Must be reloaded as a separate step and fires Bolts rather than Arrows. Positioned as the ranged counter to Heavy Armour, which is being reworked to deflect ordinary arrow fire. |
The Crossbow and the Heavy Armour arrow-deflection rework remain previews of an upcoming balance pass rather than current build behaviour. Once the deflection change lands, the Crossbow is intended to give ranged lines a way to threaten heavily plated infantry the way the Longsword now does for melee. Treat the Crossbow stats as unconfirmed until a test ships them.
Related Pages
Armours
Sieges
Crafting and Resources
Avatar System