Selecting The Right Weapon For You

In this article, I will be discussing the importance of selecting the right weapon for you. This is geared towards new fighters who are ready to make their first weapon or are in the process of choosing, as well as unit and realm leaders to assist them.


Selecting A Weapon Type

When starting out, new fighters tend to choose a weapon based on what they see and like on the field without the proper knowledge of the weapon, and often times also without the proper fighting foundation and fundamentals...

New Fighters

I know that Red weapons and spears and even bow and arrows offer a high appeal, but unless you're a cross gamer with prior fighting experience, your first weapon should always be a blue sword. It's vital for new fighters to understand the importance of learning and training single blue. It's the most commonly encountered weapon on the battlefield: a Two Stick fighter has 2 blues, a Sword/Board fighter has a shield and a blue, a Red weapon is just a long blue if two hands aren't used, a lot of Spear fighters carry a side weapon(usually a blue weapon), and some archers also carry a side weapon. And if a Florentine, Sword/Board, or Red fighter loses an arm, they only have one weapon. Situations like these are where single blue training are very important and come in handy. Sure, single blue may be boring and unappealing, but it will teach you the most. Since you only have 1 weapon, it serves as both your offense and defense and careful planning is often required to know the right moments to attack and when you should be on the defensive. You'll often be outclassed by the other weapon types, but single blue is a valuable learning tool that not everyone pays enough attention to. See my first article here for training drills to improve your single blue fighting.


Unit/Realm Leaders

I realize most of you probably already know this, I'm just emphasizing the importance. When a new inexperienced fighter chooses a weapon type other than a blue, don't discourage them, but rather stress the importance of building up to that weapon type. Yes, the basics can be boring, but ignoring them can prove costly. Whenever there are new fighters present at practice, try and run a few Single Blue battles so the focus will be on single blue fighting and they'll be able to learn and won't feel so outmatched and overwhelmed on their first day. If everybody is fighting single blue, the new fighters will most likely feel more comfortable, and the more comfortable they feel, the more they will likely learn.

(Note: It is not advised to head onto the battlefield armed only with a blue sword. Single Blue is meant as a training tool and should be limited to personal training sessions and practices)

Also, unless yours is a specialized unit fighting with specific weapons, don't force a specific weapon on a new fighter, let them choose for themselves. And even if yours is a specialized unit, but the new fighter doesn't want to fight with the specific weapon of the unit, it may still be worth your while to try and fit them into your plans anyway because you never know, you just may be turning away an awesome fighter in the making over a specific weapon type, or just an awesome person in general. Plus, fitting them into your units plans and strategy will make them feel important, and stepping out of the norm may greatly benefit your unit and add more options in your strategies.


Things To Consider

As a new fighter, you don't want to choose a weapon simply because it looks cool or because other people fight with it. You want to choose a weapon that's best suited for you, so there are some things to consider when choosing the right weapon for you:

Your Body Type: Are you a small fighter? A large fighter? As a small fighter that isn't the strongest, I favor lighter, quicker weapons as they best suit my physical build. You should always strive fight with weapons that complement your physical build, not work against it.

Fighting Style: Are you an aggressive fighter or do you prefer ranged fighting? Are you an agile, mobile fighter or a stay at home type? These kinds of questions will take some time to answer if you're a new fighter starting out, so it will come down to personal preference and trial and error. But these questions must be considered because they will help ensure that you get the most out of the weapon in your hands and don't end up frustrated because you're not seeing the results you would like.

Weapon Size: The size of your weapon can make a very big difference. Make sure that you are fighting with weapons that you can wield safely, comfortably, and effectively. Safety is more important than cool/flashy. If someone in your local unit or realm has a weapon that appeals to you, ask them if you can test it out. Chances are, you'll need to adjust the length and weight of the weapon or shield to fit your body type. Remember, YOU should be controlling the weapon, NOT the other way around. If it's controlling you, then it's too heavy and you need a lighter weapon. You don't need to prove yourself to anyone by wielding a big heavy weapon that you can't safely wield. Again, this will come down to trial and error and personal preference.

Environment: Different environments/scenarios require different weapons. Once you've been to a larger event(100+ fighters) and have experienced different scenarios, you'll see what I mean. That's why you should strive to make varying sizes of your chosen weapon type to accommodate for different environments, specifically with Reds and Spears, but also blues. Tight quarters can make fighting with large weapons difficult. This is also why you should learn to fight with more than one weapon type as certain weapon types are at a disadvantage in certain scenarios.

A lot of this is common knowledge, but I want to do my part to help new fighters excel. I hope this article was helpful.

Until next time, thanks for reading!

Durrok Thunderaxe