Gladius

The gladius is a 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 Smithing research has been completed with 50 Stuff (Metallic/Woody, 500 for SMVs) and 12,000 ticks (3.33 mins) of work. It requires a crafting skill of 3 to craft.

Gladii can also be purchased from any outlander and orbital combat suppliers, or obtained from outlander and pirate raiders.

Analysis

The gladius is stronger than a knife or ikwa, but weaker than a spear or longsword, of the same materials and quality. For melee weapons unlocked with Smithing, it is the strongest one against unarmored opponents. If you can hold out until the Long Blades research, you can start crafting the numerically superior, but more expensive, spear and longsword.

As a sharp weapon, its attacks can cause bleeding, but most armor has a higher Sharp% rating. The mace starts to become stronger when fighting against mid-tier armor, like flak jackets, for the same research and material cost. Against flak vests and recon armor, a steel gladius is even worse than a wooden club. Gladii are relatively better if you have plasteel readily available, and maces are better if you have uranium.

A steel gladius of excellent quality or worse is inferior to a normal plasteel knife, such as the one given at the start of the Crashlanded scenario. Knives also have the advantage of attacking faster, which can train melee skill, and is slightly better for low-accuracy attackers in general.

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.

Material table

Material	DPS^[1]	AP^[1]	Handle (Blunt)					Point (Stab)					Edge (Cut)					HP	Value [ExpandCollapse]
Material	DPS^[1]	AP^[1]	Dam.	Cool.	AP	DPS	Chance^[2]	Dam.	Cool.	AP	DPS	Chance^[2]	Dam.	Cool.	AP	DPS	Chance^[2]	HP	Value [ExpandCollapse]
Wooden Gladius	3.84	11.18%	8.1	2s	11.7%	4.05	75%	6.4	2s	9.6%	3.2	12.5%	6.4	2s	9.6%	3.2	12.5%	65	90
Bioferrite Gladius	8.81	26.33%	8.1	2s	11.7%	4.05	25%	20.8	2s	31.2%	10.4	37.5%	20.8	2s	31.2%	10.4	37.5%	200	146
Golden Gladius	5.63	16.75%	9	2s	13%	4.5	25%	12	2s	18%	6	37.5%	12	2s	18%	6	37.5%	60	5040
Plasteel Gladius	9.52	22.73%	8.1	1.28s	11.7%	6.33	25%	17.6	1.28s	26.4%	13.75	37.5%	17.6	1.28s	26.4%	13.75	37.5%	280	545
Silver Gladius	6.23	18.55%	9	2s	13%	4.5	25%	13.6	2s	20.4%	6.8	37.5%	13.6	2s	20.4%	6.8	37.5%	70	545
Steel Gladius	7.13	21.25%	9	2s	13%	4.5	25%	16	2s	24%	8	37.5%	16	2s	24%	8	37.5%	100	138
Uranium Gladius	7.53	24.68%	13.5	2.42s	19.5%	5.58	25%	17.6	2.42s	26.4%	7.27	37.5%	17.6	2.42s	26.4%	7.27	37.5%	250	380

^{Assuming Normal quality, for the effect of other qualities, see Quality.}

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Note: This is the actual base average derived from the melee verb system updated in 1.1.2610, it may sometimes disagree with the listed value in the in-game infobox.
It may also change depending on the stats and the melee verbs available to the wielder
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 Chance for attack to be selected, assuming only the weapon's attack verbs are considered. It may change depending on the melee verbs available to the wielder