Positives and negatives of a renaissance mace?

Answer 1

Renaissance maces were heavy wooden stocks tipped with (often elaborate) metal warheads, designed to crush opponents while inside their armor. Some maces were simple metal balls, others had metal extremities (called Flanges) which added edges to the blunt weapon.

The advantage of a mace is that its weight while in full swing is sufficient to dent in even heavy armor, and causes foes to be knocked to the ground. It was also not a very expensive weapon to produce, and learning its use was easy as well.

The downsides of a mace are that its weight means that it is more difficult to wield than an equivalent-sized sword, and it places greater stress on the Human body. It also leaves the wielder vulnerable while swinging, which is why it was most often used in combination with a shield. Lastly, making any sort of defensive move with a mace is hard, since it has no ability to block or catch an enemy's weapon other than blocking it on the haft.

Its last disadvantage has more to do with the era, and not the weapon inherently. In the later renaissance, the advent of firearms meant that the use of armor as a protective measure became less useful. This led to a new way of warfare, leaving the mace without its most vital function.