Hastae[a] are one-handed melee weapons that are similar to spears with slightly lower stats. Hastae can be obtained either by trading with another player or using the Smithing skill. Most hastae (excluding the Zamorakian hasta, Gilded hasta, and Dragon hunter lance) can be poisoned with either normal weapon poisons or karambwan paste. They can only be wielded and created by those who have completed the Smithing portion of Otto Godblessed's Barbarian Training.
Due to their one-handed aspect and design hastae are similar to, but should not be confused with, the mjolnirs.
Hastae are similar to spears, except that they are one-handed, allowing for use of a shield or defender for extra bonuses. This helps cover the negative defence bonuses most give upon wielding; the exceptions being the Zamorakian hasta which still retains the defensive bonuses that its spear variant has, and the Dragon hunter lance which lacks any negative or positive defence bonuses.
Although they can only be used to train controlled and defensive attacks, hastae are still arguably the most flexible weapons in the game, as they are the only weapon besides the spear to use Stab, Crush, and Slash attack styles, and their speed gives them damage per second close to that of scimitars. However, they do not excel in any particular style. Their flexibility can be useful for saving inventory space during the Spirits of the Elid quest which requires that all three melee attack types be used.
Each attack style of the hasta, except for Defensive, is Controlled and gives shared melee experience (Attack, Strength, and Defence). All styles also give Hitpoints experience.
|
|
 | Lunge | Stab | Controlled |     | +1 Attack, Strength, Defence |
 | Swipe | Slash | Controlled | | +1 Attack, Strength, Defence |
 | Pound | Crush | Controlled | | +1 Attack, Strength, Defence |
 | Block | Stab | Defensive | | +3 Defence |
| Date
|
Changes
|
21 April 2021
(Update)
|
The attack speed of hastae has been decreased from 5 (every 3.0 seconds) to 4 (every 2.4 seconds), excluding the Zamorakian hasta, Dragon hasta, and Dragon hunter lance, which already have an attack speed of 4.
|
- ^ The plural form used in the game is "hastae", which follows the Latin grammar of first declension nouns, which display an -ae ending in the nominative plural.[1]
