Editing Gladius

{{Infobox main|weapon
| name = Gladius
| image = Gladius.png
| type = Equipment
| type2 = Weapons
| description = A short sword of ancient design. Good for stabbing or slashing. It's light and nimble, which sometimes lets it beat bigger, heavier weapons.
| tech level = Medieval
| class = Medieval
| meleeattack1dmg = 9
| meleeattack1type = blunt
| meleeattack1part = handle
| meleeattack1cool = 2
| meleeattack1ap = 13
| meleeattack2dmg = 16
| meleeattack2type = stab
| meleeattack2part = point
| meleeattack2cool = 2
| meleeattack2ap = 24
| meleeattack3dmg = 16
| meleeattack3type = cut
| meleeattack3part = edge
| meleeattack3cool = 2
| meleeattack3ap = 24
| MeleeWeaponAverageDPS = 7.52
| MeleeWeaponAverageAP = 23
| damage type = Sharp
| mode = Melee
| production facility 1 = Fueled smithy
| production facility 2 = Electric smithy
| research = Smithing
| resource 1 = Stuff
| resource 1 amount = 50
| stuff tags = Metallic, Woody
| skill 1 = Crafting
| skill 1 level = 3
| mass base = 0.85
| work to make = 12000
| has quality = True
| weaponTags = MedievalMeleeDecent
}}
The '''gladius''' is a [[Weapon|melee weapon]] in RimWorld that does a moderate amount of [[damage]], has a moderate cooldown, and deals sharp damage.

== Acquisition ==
Gladii can be crafted at either a [[fueled smithy]] or an [[electric smithy]] once the [[research#Smithing|Smithing]] research has been completed with {{Required Resources}} and {{Ticks|{{P|Work To Make}}}} of work. It requires a [[Skills#Crafting|crafting skill]] of 3 to craft.

Gladii can also be purchased from any [[outlander]] and orbital combat suppliers, or obtained from outlander and pirate [[raider]]s.

== Analysis ==
Surprisingly enough, gladii are worse for {{DPS}} than a [[knife]] of the same quality and material, despite the game stating otherwise. Knives are cheaper and don't require Smithing research. Why is this?
* '''The [[melee verb selection]] system''', introduced in 1.1. Each weapon has multiple attacks, or ''verbs'', with some better than others. The game's infobox incorrectly calculates the likelihood of each attack (it uses RimWorld 1.0 values). For example, the knife is assumed to use "Bad" attacks more often than it does in practice. With this in mind, knives have a "true" {{DPS}} of 7.23, rather than the gladius' 7.13.
* '''The impact of [[Damage types#Cut|''Cut'']] damage type.''' A gladius is half as likely to do a Cut attack as a knife. Whenever a Cut attack is rolled, it has a chance to ''cleave''. When a weapon cleaves, it deals 140% damage, spread throughout body parts. 

: While cleaving reduces the chance to destroy body parts, it deals more [[pain]], which gets enemies into [[pain shock]] faster. Pain shock is the most common way to disable enemies in combat, ''much'' more likely than body part destruction. Even mechanoids, who don't feel pain, can only lose so much HP before dying in combat. 

:''Stab'' has the advantage of superior damage to internal body parts. However, gladii won't instakill the heart at most reasonable qualities, and the chance of hitting the same organ 2 times in a row is miniscule. Cut is a more reliable way to disable enemies in combat.

The gladius does have +5% more {{AP}}, but this is a tiny value, insignificant in practice. The knife comes out ahead against any realistic enemy you'll fight. Knives also have the advantage of attacking faster, which can train melee skill, and is slightly better for low-accuracy attackers in general.

The [[plasteel]] knife you get at the start of the [[scenario system#Crashlanded|Crashlanded]] [[scenario]] is better than an excellent steel gladius (and below).

=== Trivia ===
A gladius is the classic Roman centurion's shortsword. Along with the ranged [[pilum]], it is one of two Roman weapons in the game.

{{Weapon Stats Table}}

== Version history ==
* [[Version/0.7.581|0.7.581]] - Added as the '''Short Sword'''.
* ? - Renamed to '''Gladius''' from '''Short Sword'''.
* ? - Buffed from 15 point and edge damage to 16.
* Beta 19/1.0 - Damage buffed, cooldown slightly increased.. 

<gallery>
ShortSword1.png|Original Short Sword sprite
</gallery>

{{Nav|weapon|wide}}
[[Category:Equipment]] [[Category:Weapons]] [[Category:Medieval Weapons]]
[[Category:Melee Weapons]] [[Category:Sharp Weapons]] [[Category:Swords]]