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Underappreciated weapons and armor in games

JoenSoJoenSo Member Posts: 910
A thread for types of weapons and armor that you want to see more of in video games - or want to see depicted in a different way. Longbows that are actually longbows, spears that can be used together with shields and so on.

Personally, I think it's a pity that slings so seldom make an appearance in games. NWN and the IE games being an exception of course. Though I always found missile weapons in general to be pretty useless in Neverwinter nights, unfortunately.
[Deleted User]JuliusBorisovSkatanProont
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Comments

  • JoenSoJoenSo Member Posts: 910
    Well, I didn't mean that composite bows are useless in moist climates. Just that I've heard people theorize that it was one of several factors why it didn't become popular in parts of the world, even before crossbows and firearms.

    And clubs remind me that I always find it unfair that the lizardmen in Icewind dale seem to be wielding kanabōs. Why can't I, the player, have two-handed clubs?
    DrHappyAngryJuliusBorisovProont
  • DrHappyAngryDrHappyAngry Member Posts: 1,577
    You're right, there are other factors. The biggest might be access to leisure in both the East and West. A lot of historians blame the longbow falling out of favor on the rise of trade, regular markets and fairs in Western Europe (obviously getting to Wales). Once people had more entertaining things to do all the time, practicing your bow everyday didn't seem to be as big of a priority, even if the King required it by law. In the East, Kublai Khan is regarded as the last of effective Great Khans, being the last one that still had a foot in the steps and the other in the civilized world. Most of his predecessors are known for their drinking or infighting with other Mongols, with many of the Mongols that had born in the more civilized lands not learning as much about the traditional ways of Mongol fighting and instead absorbing more Chinese culture. I'm not saying this is 100% the reason, but a lot of historians do put a lot of the blame for those fighting styles falling out of favor on access to leisure.

    Crossbows were in use as early as the 10th century in France. They were also used at the Battle of Hastings by the Normans in 1066. So they had been around for a bit before the long bow started to die out, and even had been around well before their peak usage at The Battle of Agincourt in 1415.
    JuliusBorisovProont
  • SkatanSkatan Member, Moderator Posts: 5,352
    Give me a throng of polearms please! D2 actually had many good ones and even though they of course re-used the artwork for the normal, exceptional and elite versions, they still managed to squeeze in at least the names of a whole smorgasbord of them.

    And real spears that function like spears, whenever I see a spear being held like some kind of baseball bat it makes me cringe.

    Swordstaff would be cool too! another polearm, but unusual. I have no idea how prevalent it was, but the genius idea of putting a sword on staff is too good to pass up on, hehe. This would be one of the few more unusual and perhaps "fantasy" like ones I'd actually appreciate.

    Also swords that actually are like real swords, a longsword actually being like a longsword (like in Witcher), a great sword being as big and unweildy as the real version. And kriegsmessers! Kriegsmessers are the coolest looking swords of all time (except the handles ofc). I think the dueling swords of PKM might be based on kriegsmessers.

    I'd trade this for ridiculous "mauls" or "warhammers" with 500 pound tops any day of the week. Real warhammers are so much cooler than putting a blob the size of a small elephant on top of a often too short stick.

    Oh yes, another D2 reference, the falchion! The real kind I mean, not the "machete" chopper that have been in a few games.

    Sabres that are not scimitars and cutlasses, hangers and other similar more navy oriented blades would be cool. China had a couple of cool blades as well.

    Oh, and the Falx! I don't think I ever seen that in a RPG or similar game. I'd take that over a sickle please.

    OK, I'll stop now before I bore you all to death, hehe :D i could go on and on.

    DrHappyAngryJuliusBorisovkansasbarbarianProont
  • DrHappyAngryDrHappyAngry Member Posts: 1,577
    Skatan wrote: »
    Oh, and the Falx! I don't think I ever seen that in a RPG or similar game. I'd take that over a sickle please.
    Yes! I think Tyranny was the only game I've ever seen a falx in. The Greeks hated fighting Anatolians that used them, since the 2 handed version could cut right through a shield.
    Skatanbob_veng
  • SkatanSkatan Member, Moderator Posts: 5,352
    I did play Tyranny many years ago, but I can't remember there were Falx in there :) Thanks for the tip.
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    Skatan wrote: »
    whenever I see a spear being held like some kind of baseball bat it makes me cringe.



    Introducing the Goedendag: the spear-bat of choice for any Flemish footsoldier.
    SkatanProont
  • SkatanSkatan Member, Moderator Posts: 5,352
    Haha true, I have seen that video before. A weapon dealing crush/pierce damage would be cool. Overall, more utility weapons could be cool in games. Like, you get a massive CHA penalty walking around in a town with a huge cleaver, but if you wear a simple sidearm or a peasant's tool, you could get away with it yet still being armed if the shit hits the fan.
  • bob_vengbob_veng Member Posts: 2,308
    the pointed end of a warhammer, which was extensively used
    kansasbarbarianProont
  • DrHappyAngryDrHappyAngry Member Posts: 1,577
    What I adored about Tyranny, was that it was set during a time period where the new iron weapons and armor weren't better than the bronze stuff that had been around, but they were cheaper and easier to get materials for, so they might be better for your price range. As a fan of the Peloponnesian war, the Anabasis and Plutarch in general, this sat well with me.

    What about skirts? The Roman legion wore them, generally made of leather, but could be made of metal.

    Why does nobody use hardened linen as a stage of armor? The Greek hoplites that couldn't afford a solid bronze breast plate would wear a breast plate made of hardened linen. Makes way more sense than having glass or ebony armor as stages in your armor progression.

    This might be a little out of the scope of the thread, but what about chariots? It might be hard to believe, but they predate mounted warriors. It makes more sense when you realize horses were originally much smaller and had to be selectively bred to be large enough to ride. Plus, nobody had really thought to get up there and just ride on top of one. Hooking up a horse to a chariot or cart was a logical progression from using oxen for carts and plows, figuring out that you could just ride right on top of the horse was actually a real innovation. Most people also don't realize bronze working predates the wheel. Wrapping the wheel in bronze and making it with spokes made it light, plus you really needed metal to secure the axle to chariot/cart. The scythed chariots never worked out well whenever the Persians tried to use them, but as mounted platforms for archers and spear men they did pretty well up until people started doing the same from horseback.

    We got into this in another thread awhile back, but flails could get more love, especially as a peasant's weapon. They're totally the nunchaku of the West. In fact they were originally 2 sticks with a joint between them used to beat wheat. For a weapon, it could be 2 sticks or any other heavy object lashed to a long handle with rope, leather or a hinge. They weren't necessarily the expensive balls chained to a handle. A rock or whatever heavy object you could get, lashed to a handle with a rope or leather would make a perfectly good peasant's weapon.
    SkatanThacoBellProont
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    edited November 2019
    Skirts are fun, just ask any Gaelic Scots! Their great kilt could even be used as a cloak to protect against the relentless elements of the Scottish Highlands. And don't mind the breeze down there, as it's far more important to keep the upper half warm and cosy. In that case it had far more practical use than the Roman's leathery mini skirts.
    ZaghoulProont
  • DragonKingDragonKing Member Posts: 1,977
    You want to talk daggers, I throw out there the mambele.
    Balrog99
  • Balrog99Balrog99 Member Posts: 7,367
    edited November 2019
    DragonKing wrote: »
    You want to talk daggers, I throw out there the mambele.

    5kn7aka5bki8.jpg
    I think I would just hurt myself trying to use one of those!
    It looks like the Swiss Army Knife of melee weapons...
    Proont
  • DragonKingDragonKing Member Posts: 1,977
    @Balrog99
    It kind of is, it can be used as a throwing weapon, it can hook onto people, slice, stab, be used like an axe while all looking so freaking impractical lmao.
    Balrog99Proont
  • DrHappyAngryDrHappyAngry Member Posts: 1,577
    edited November 2019
    Reminds me of the Mambele AKA the Hunga-Munga
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mambele
    Tibbu-waffen.JPG
    Kinda the pole arm equivalent.

    Boomerangs (asides from Zelda, obviously). The Celts in Gaul reportedly had returning throwing sticks by Roman accounts and some have been found Egypt. They weren't exclusive to Australia, they just had fallen out of usage for so long that they were unique by the time Europeans finally got there.
    Proont
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    Another very underappreciated weapon is the bolas. I actually can't think of a single game where players were able to use them. Which is a damn shame, since it's a rather efficient weapon in battle: entangling the opponent and crushung their bones at the same time. The Inca especally used them daily throughout their warfare.
    Balrog99JoenSoProont
  • JoenSoJoenSo Member Posts: 910
    I have this vague memory that I years ago read about a mod for Baldur's Gate 2 that added more weapon types, including bolas and javelins. Have no idea which mod or if it was even completed though. And you can have units with bolas in Age of Empires 3 if you ally with the Incas. I've almost only read or heard about bolas in a hunting context, so I wondered how much it was ever used as a weapon.

    Actually, I think there are also mambeles in Age of Empires. The Malians' unique unit throws them in the second game.
  • DragonKingDragonKing Member Posts: 1,977
    @DrHappyAngry
    That's because it is a mambele
  • DrHappyAngryDrHappyAngry Member Posts: 1,577
    DragonKing wrote: »
    @DrHappyAngry
    That's because it is a mambele

    Oh right, derp, always think of it as hunga munga. Gotta stop drunk posting ;)

    So bayonets rarely get love in games, I think fallout 4 was the only game I can think of where they were really around. They're not as useful when you have weapons that can hold lots of ammo and reload fast, though. They were definitely a big deal when you only had one shot before having to reload.
    SkatanJoenSo
  • JoenSoJoenSo Member Posts: 910
    It would be nice to see more weapons and armor that are suitable for the classic wandering lifestyle of a fantasy adventurer. With things like the jō and the shillelagh (not the worthless spell), which are basically walking sticks that you can defend yourself with.
    Proont
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    I wouldn't mind seeing shields used as weapons more often. Not just for the occasional shield bashing either. But as true weapons. Bucklers in the past for instant were used similarly to brass knuckles. The pointy end of kite shields also saw some gory action when embedded into an enemy's throat.
    SkatanProont
  • DrHappyAngryDrHappyAngry Member Posts: 1,577
    There are some weird firearms that don't get as much love as they should.

    Early hand cannons from 13th century China.
    Yuan_chinese_gun.jpg?download

    Pepperbox Revolvers from the 16th century.
    flintlock-pepperbox.jpg

    A gun powder launched spear thrower from China
    %E8%BF%85%E9%9B%B7%E9%8A%83%E5%85%A8%E5%BD%A2.png
    Grond0ThacoBellSkatanProont
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    Kinda continuing my last post concerning weaponized shields here. But I really, really, really want to have lantern shields in games: the spikey sword gauntlet with a shield attached to it, as well as having a handy lantern within said shield apparatus. Made In Italy.

    ?u=https%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-vaK2bi2Ja2g%2FWHKH3bGex_I%2FAAAAAAAADqE%2Fi8cqB6_Fyuwg1ESCRmh88gxIK2mJlSAZACLcB%2Fs1600%2Flantern%252Bshield.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

    It saw some limelight in PnP Pathfinder. As well as being featured in very few mods (noteably Blade & Sorcery). But beyond that? Nothing. Both Conan Exiles and FFXVI had shields named "latern shield". But they were just mundane shields with "lantern" in their name. Bah!
    ThacoBellSkatanDrHappyAngryProont
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