Hardlight Sledge

Hardlight Sledge is a powerful end-game two-handed blunt weapon. Its main attack is a slow, high-damage Blunt Melee strike, making it best suited for deliberate close-range fighting rather than rapid combos. Because it is a two-handed weapon, it fills the role of a heavy melee option for players who want strong single hits and a defensive secondary ability.

Its secondary action creates a hardlight projection shield that deflects most projectiles, but only while the weapon still has Laser charge remaining. This gives the Hardlight Sledge a rare mix of offense and defense, letting it punish enemies up close while also offering a way to block incoming fire in a pinch. The weapon’s main attack can also benefit from Blunt Melee’s battle charge, allowing a sprinting power attack for a faster opening hit.

A few interaction details make it unusual:

• It uses a unique damage type that counts as both Plasma and Laser.
• Unlike true Plasma damage, it does not gain the 2.5x bonus against body shields and instead uses the Laser damage modifier of 0.65x.
• Unlike true Plasma damage, it cannot ignite targets.
• Even though it does not deal Blunt damage, it still grants experience for the Blunt Melee skill.
• Crusher does not apply to it, since the weapon is not subject to Blunt resistance.
• It also does not gain a damage bonus from Blunt Melee’s Crusher effect, likely because of its non-physical damage type.