Long weapon

The Spear and Halberd were long weapons carried by guards. Though they were commonly wielded by Seekers, certain Brutes and Papal Guards could be seen carrying one as well.

Long weapons were uncommonly used by Assassins, due to the difficultly in carrying them while freerunning. With this in mind, they would usually make use of one that they had disarmed from a guard.

Combat
The length of a long weapon's shaft was effective for keeping enemies at a distance, and made it very difficult for them to evade. Long weapons could only be countered by a heavy weapon, another long weapon, or the Hidden Blade.

Should he manage to disarm a long weapon from a guard, Ezio Auditore da Firenze would often discard it once combat was over, or upon sprinting away. This was likely since, whether the weapon was intact or broken, it would be too difficult to carry while moving freely across streets and rooftops.

Special techniques
The Sweep attack was a special technique performed with a long weapon. Any Seeker could perform this technique, and Ezio in turn learned it from the fight instructor at Monteriggioni.

Though it could be interrupted, the sweep could be executed with either a short or long preparation time; the more force placed behind a sweep, the wider the arc it would affect. The maneuver was, however, impossible to perform without standing still in an open fight.

Upon being executed, those caught in the sweep would trip and fall to the ground, while those behind were knocked over by a blow to the head. However, sweeping more than three times with the same long weapon would cause it to break.

After the siege of Monteriggioni, Ezio's proficiency with a long weapon improved. His sweep attack would no longer trip guards, but would instead slit the throats of all enemies within range.

Additionally, Ezio learned a second special technique, which allowed him to throw a long weapon into an enemy from a distance.

Fragility
Though it would generally break through the guard of any other weapon, the heavy weapon's smash attack could be blocked with a long weapon. The defender would avoid all damage, but the parrying weapon would shatter into two.

When a long weapon was broken, the owner could still continue to wield the remaining half as either a bladed or blunt medium weapon; depending on whether the top or bottom segment was used.

Alternatively, Ezio could counter as soon as the weapon broke, upon which he would stab both pieces into the attacker.

Trivia

 * Combat
 * Spears and halberds had the longest reach of any melee weapon in Assassin's Creed II, and were the most difficult to counter.
 * The maximum combo length for long weapons was 3 hits.


 * Use
 * An individual half of a long weapon could be kept in an empty weapon sheath for later use, however, it would vanish upon a save and reload.
 * Seekers could more commonly be found wielding the spear than the halberd.
 * The Papal Staff was the only weapon, aside from the Sword of Altaïr, to have the Damage, Speed, and Deflect stats maxed out in Assassin's Creed II.
 * It was possible to wield the Papal Staff by either poisoning Rodrigo Borgia, or by taking a heavy weapon from a Brute outside the Sistine Chapel, and performing the smash move on Rodrigo.
 * During the Bonfire of the Vanities, one of Girolamo Savonarola's lieutenants, the Farmer, carried a unique long weapon, the Pitchfork. However, once he had been killed, it turned into a halberd.


 * Other
 * The "Sweeper" achievement could be earned in Assassin's Creed II by sweeping five guards at once using a long weapon.
 * It was possible to carry a spear onto the rooftops in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood by using a lift, ladder, or by throwing it at a rooftop guard.
 * The "Strong Arm" achievement could be earned by throwing a heavy weapon, a long weapon, and a smoke bomb more than 10 meters at a guard.
 * In Assassin's Creed II, two of the patrolling guards on the western side of the Cannaregio District carried halberds.
 * In the co-op gameplay demo for Assassin's Creed: Unity, one version of Arno Dorian can be seen wielding a spear as his primary weapon.
 * Furthermore, unique spears are available as pre-order bonuses for Assassin's Creed: Unity, suggesting it may be possible to permanently carry spears.