I'm currently making a faction with which I have taken Heroism > Heroes Blade (Armory) > Advanced Weapon > Common Wpn +1 Threat Range
The goal was to give soldiers a 1-handed weapon with an extra range, that could still be wielded together with a shield (or be made into a 2-handed weapon to provide an extra strength next to the range increase).
Reading the entry on the Shield item, it says:
Spears, Polearms and weapons with a Threat Range +1 or
higher may not be used in conjunction with a Shield without
an ability that allows it.
Now I know the common weapon I made is +1 T.R., but I guessed the description was mostly intended for two-handed weapons (since spears and polearms are called out in particular). I'm already paying an increased price for the threat range increase (which is about equivalent as to what the shield wall trait would cost?), so that the price for wielding a normal long spear + shield would be about equivalent (or less, in some cases, depending on one's 'advanced weapon x' trait they picked) as when using a 'Common Advanced +1 T.R.' weapon + Shield.
Does this make taking +1 T.R. on a common weapon just plain useless? Since it can't be paired with a shield, and normal long spears are cheaper, or can it be used with a shield and is it an exception to the Shield item description?
Taking an advanced weapon gives you flexibility but for a shield you will still need to get a trait for it to grant you both +1 threat range and using a shield. There are cheaper ways to do it than going advanced. However, what you could do is take a spear, a trait allowing spear and shield, and then your trait to grant an additional threat range. This would give your a threat range of +2.
Advanced Weapon allows you flexibility to customize, but there are sometimes a cheaper option if you select a weapon type.