Greatest Weapons of All Time
Bit of fun, this.
Two questions, 3 categories - answer any/all as you wish. Discussion/Lively engagement encouraged.
Weapons must be real/historical not fantasy/sci-fi or 'possible'.
Where applicable, weapons must be portable and usable by a single individual, ammunition is limited to as much as the individual can reasonably carry.
Remote devices aren't permitted.
Assume combat will take place in/on a previously undisclosed area/terrain.
Combatants are guaranteed to begin at least 10m from one another but other than that distance and placement will be random.
Maximum starting distance 1 mile.
End goal is victory by rendering one's opponent incapacitated in any way while surviving yourself. A disarmed opponent is considered incapacitated unless the argument is being made that unarmed combat is superior.
An All-Round answer must be given. However, terrain categories are available if you also wish to provide an answer where you feel that a specific weapon would be the absolute best in that environment.
Category 1 - All Time, Melee Weapons only
What is the all-time best weapon for duelling?
All-Round:
Urban:
Open Ground:
Jungle:
Mountainous/Hilly:
What is the all-time best weapon for battlefield combat?
All-Round:
Urban
Open Ground
Jungle
Mountainous/Hilly
Category 2 - All Time, Ranged Weapons only
What is the all-time best weapon for duelling?
All-Round:
Urban
Open Ground
Jungle
Mountainous/Hilly
What is the all-time best weapon for battlefield combat?
All-Round:
Urban
Open Ground
Jungle
Mountainous/Hilly
Category 3 - Pre-Firearm, All Weapons
What is the all-time best weapon for duelling?
All-Round:
Urban
Open Ground
Jungle
Mountainous/Hilly
What is the all-time best weapon for battlefield combat?
All-Round
Urban
Open Ground
Jungle
Mountainous/Hilly
Re: Greatest Weapons of All Time
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Galant
End goal is victory by rendering one's opponent incapacitated in any way.
In that case, kittens.
http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/cat_proximity.png
Re: Greatest Weapons of All Time
Re: Greatest Weapons of All Time
Quote:
Originally Posted by
kalniel
Their affect seems to be proximity-based so I assume you're entering kittens in category 1 only?
Re: Greatest Weapons of All Time
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Galant
Their affect seems to be proximity-based so I assume you're entering kittens in category 1 only?
Well it depends on the opponents viewing abilities. I think they have a stealth role at further distances too.
Re: Greatest Weapons of All Time
1: Duel: Chainsaw.
Battlefield: Horses.
2: Thermonuclear Bomb.
3: Duel: Longbow.
Battlefield: Yersinia pestis.
Re: Greatest Weapons of All Time
Alllright. New addition. You also have to be able to survive yourself, and remote devices aren't permitted.
Re: Greatest Weapons of All Time
Quote:
Originally Posted by
kalniel
Well it depends on the opponents viewing abilities. I think they have a stealth role at further distances too.
But will they be capable of rendering one's opponent incapacitated at range or does the user need to plan a way to get up close and purrsonal?
Also, are we talking both in a duel and on the battlefield?
Re: Greatest Weapons of All Time
Quote:
Originally Posted by
TeePee
1: Duel: Chainsaw.
Battlefield: Horses.
Chainsaw suffers from being a short weapon, heavy, and can run out of fuel. On the other hand it could slice through wooden weapons. How would it fair against something metal? If it breaks or is knocked out of one's hands it's useless and fight over.
Just a horse? Nothing else? You'd be aiming to trample you're opponent I suppose?
Quote:
2: Thermonuclear Bomb.
Disallowed due to 'must survive' rule and 'no remote devices' rule. :)
Quote:
3: Duel: Longbow.
Battlefield: Yersinia pestis.
Why the long bow?
Yersinia disallowed due to 'must survive' rule.
Re: Greatest Weapons of All Time
Quote:
Originally Posted by
OilSheikh
Cat 2
AK47 ?
Quite specific. Why that over any other assault rifle or rifle?
Re: Greatest Weapons of All Time
English longbow. Light weight, hight rate of fire, long range, high lethality. Very simple with very few moving parts.
Re: Greatest Weapons of All Time
Quote:
Originally Posted by
peterb
English longbow. Light weight, hight rate of fire, long range, high lethality. Very simple with very few moving parts.
It takes a long time to produce though - you need the wood of a slow growing tree like yew. Handy if you've got some, but otherwise the lead time is probably longer than the conflict you're using it for ;)
Also the training period for passable use is measured in years.
Re: Greatest Weapons of All Time
Quote:
Originally Posted by
kalniel
It takes a long time to produce though - you need the wood of a slow growing tree like yew. Handy if you've got some, but otherwise the lead time is probably longer than the conflict you're using it for ;)
Also the training period for passable use is measured in years.
For the purpose of this though all weapons can be assumed to be available and users proficient.
Having said that, peterb, for which category(ies) are you suggesting the good old longbow? Category 3 (Pre-firearm), and Battlefield rather than duelling?
Re: Greatest Weapons of All Time
I think chemical warfare fits most of those categories, can be personal or ranged and you get to keep infrastructure intact.
Not nice but most effective.
Re: Greatest Weapons of All Time
Assault Moose...also know as a Moose.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/2007/03...ter-in-alaska/
Quote:
Angry Moose Brings Down Helicopter in Alaska
Re: Greatest Weapons of All Time
Quote:
Originally Posted by
CAT-THE-FIFTH
"Neither the pilot nor the biologist was injured, but the moose was maimed by the spinning rotor and had to be euthanized."
Looks like Moose vs Copter = Draw.
Were you suggesting the moose in a one on one melee duel or for general pre-firearm battlefield use?