Posted by We’re back with our “Let’s Talk About…” series! Check out the previous chats here.
Let’s Talk About…: your favorite game weapon.
Sorry for the punny title. I didn’t want to put “Let’s Talk About Guns” in the title and then get a whole bunch of disappointed, angry people here.
Anyway, for those of you who might not know, I really enjoy stealth and ranged weapons. I’ve always really enjoyed finding a strategic spot and pulling out my favorite…
…for some nice, ranged combat. Imagine my delight when I saw that was the primary weapon in Horizon: Zero Dawn! And it’s so powerful, making other bows seem like they shoot spitballs at people.
Even outside of the video game world, I’ve always wanted to learn archery. Maybe, also, I have relatives who hunt using a crossbow, and they are adamant that that’s the only way to hunt, as it gives the animal a chance and, as they say, takes more skill than a gun. I don’t know if that’s true, but I grew up hearing that and I suppose it stuck. For my own interpretation, it does take quite a bit of skill, and I’m always so impressed by people who have that control. Lucky for me I can at least pretend on a screen, right?
If we need to be in a post-industrial time period, well obviously I’d go with the post-industrial version of a longbow…
I’m of course not above running in with a sword/handgun/other close range weapon when I have to, but the ranged weapons give me time to think and plan out my strategy all from a safe distance. My best friend is brute-force melee all day, so it makes for some interesting conversations, especially when she and I were playing through the Dragon Age and Mass Effect series…
What about you? Do you have a preferred weapon/fighting style? Let me know in the comments!
Thanks for stopping by, and I’ll see you soon!
~ Athena
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I’ve always preferred ranged combat, favorite spell-slinging over just about anything. If magic isn’t an option, then bows or guns it is (hopefully the former). I think it’s the safety of attacking from a distance, but it’s also about having a better viewpoint of the action. I like being able to view my surroundings, which feels impossible when I’m up in someone’s face swinging a giant axe around. It’s also the thrill of being a glass cannon, where it becomes more about blowing something up before it destroys me in one or two hits.
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The tactical aspect is definitely a draw, and I really love the “glass cannon” analogy. Adds a little more “good stress” (or bad stress, maybe haha) when you know you can only take a few hits, so you better be really good at what you do! I surprisingly don’t usually have a handle on mage-type classes, and so I definitely salute you for that!
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I’m right there with you, I love bows in video games. My first playthrough of Skyrim was a stealth archer, and I absolutely wrecked everything once I leveled enough. Taking out dudes with one shot from a distance felt awesome.
The Super Shotgun from DOOM 2016 is the best sounding, most satisfying gun I’ve ever used in a video game. Running around and blasting demons with a WHUMP is viscerally satisfying.
Last but definitely not least, the Hand Cannons in Destiny are my gun of choice for that game. I like to be slow and methodical with my shooting, clearly, and pulling off headshots with a Hand Cannon makes me feel like a cyber cowboy. It never gets old, especially since the gunplay in Destiny is some of the best I’ve ever felt.
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That’s excellent. It’s very satisfying to quietly clear the field, either for yourself or a teammate, using very few shots of your own.
Haha I bet those guns definitely give you the right bang for your buck! I’m a fan of hand cannons if I’m not hiding in the bushes somewhere, so I’m with you for that.
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I used to be all about the FPS and the usual weaponry, but now I’m all over the place. The bow in The Last of Us was where I started to get a taste for other weapons and styles, which continued with Tomb Raider (2013) doing excellent stuff with a bow.
Playing through Borderlands 2 with someone telling (and showing) all the joy of close range melee combat as the “Psycho” axe wielding character, I went through Battleborn with a melee focussed character… I was hooked on the punchy stuff now. Left 4 Dead gave me an appreciated for shotguns.
Now? I love it all, third person too. Playing Doom (2016) was a treat though, cycling through every gun as I ran out of ammo. BAM BAM BAM!
My style now incorporates everything. Start with long range, sniping, bow or whatever, then start moving onto grenades and assault rifles, just getting closer and closer until you’re right up in the action.
If I had to pick a single weapon from a single game, it would have to be the legendary Vladof sniper rifle, the “Lyuda” from Borderlands 2. With the right character skills that thing is awesome.
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Nice! I think it’s great that you have such a varied playing style. I bet that comes in handy for a lot of different games! I’ve sadly never played Borderlands 2 but that sounds like an awesome rifle.
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If you like chewing through ammunition fast it’s perfect, the fire rate is so high it’s basically a machine gun lol. It does high critical hit damage and a few characters can skill to increase that, along with fire rate. Best used against large enemies with large critical spots 😉
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I love a good shotgun in a game, but crucially it has to sound powerful. The one in DOOM 2016 was great, and the ones in RUINER looked good in action. Both felt, looked, and sounded powerful.
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I need to get better with my shotgun game. But I agree that no matter what, the sound effect needs to sell the experience!
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I often enjoy anything with a trajectory, it makes that occasionally pulled off long shot feel that much better. It doesn’t get much sweeter than with a bow as you mention. It’s what makes the early game of Skyrim for me, walking around and trying to hit anything that moves.
Outside of that I’d have to mention the injector gun from the Timesplitters series (heck, anything from the Timesplitters series). The injector gun inflated people until they exploded – fun and practical.
The other would be that gun from destroy all humans that shot the hoops/discs and made stuff fly about. Classic.
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Dual Tommy Guns
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I’m looking forward to playing Skyrim next year. I also love a good trajectory mechanic.
Ah, the injector gun. Yes, very practical, indeed! haha
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One of the first online experiences I ever had as a kid, back in the late-90s, was playing Quake 2 over the slowest internet connection imaginable. Even on those 3-4 second pings, I owned people with the Railgun in 1-hit-kill rail arena levels. Still the most satisfying kills to date – seeing a player across the map and in 1 click turning them into a fine, red mist. Nothing beats that for me!
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I see a lot of people here put the Super Shotgun from DOOM 2016, well I personally think it felt better Quake 2… BUT I’ll also vote for the Chaingun. Fantastic fun! I’m all about that precision long range.
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I was mystified by the visual swirl effect of firing this weapon. Blue dots right?!
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Yes! It spiraled around the main beam before fizzling out, if I’m not mistaken.
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Living up to the nostalgia trigger name haha. Gotta play it now, relive my youth! It made a satisfying noise too.
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Wow I forgot about those graphics, and how the bad guys just… evaporated sometimes. There’s something really great about those powerful ranged weapons, isn’t there?
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Team shotgun. High power, close range, better hit your mark the first time or you’re dead. Fun times.
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I find I tend to prefer melee combat over ranged combat in medieval themed games. Indeed, in Dark Souls, I more or less played as a pure fighter. For modern settings, it tends to be the other way around because if guns feature heavily, melee attacks tend to be a fallback if you’re out of ammunition (which is to say, they’re not very good).
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I usually wind up as melee combat in medieval games, because there is just so much backpedaling you can do haha. But seriously, for me there is also something comforting about being able to go in and personally bop an enemy on the head with a sword (yes, “bop” is a technical term, I swear). But if I can pull it off, my heart belongs to ranged. I agree about the modern settings – melee is usually the last thing I think about and is only used in dire emergencies.
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Basically, the long and short of it is that I tend to pick whichever option is the most practical for the game in question. I don’t get the idea behind specializing in unarmed or melee weapons in Fallout, for instance.
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That’s probably the best way to be. Don’t bring a bow and arrow to a submachine gun fight, right?
I can’t speak for Fallout but I always appreciate being able to build a character with diverse abilities, compared to one ability bring great at the detriment of others.
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Now that I think about it, it’s usually pretty annoying whenever bows are used in first person shooters because they usually don’t meld well with the rest of your arsenal or the game’s engine. It’s especially annoying if the game forces you to use bows for some arbitrary reason.
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I agree. Any sort of forced-anything in a game (forced stealth, anyone?) is just annoying.
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Now that you mention it, it’s also really annoying whenever a game takes all your gear away to make the next section more difficult.
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OMG yes. *glares at MGS2* Seriously.. all that practicing you did just goes out the window? Or I love when there’s a random ice level and suddenly none of the controls work the way they’ve been doing, but – surprise – the bosses require precision movement! haha Oh man, this is turning into a fun list.
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I was thinking of Skyward Sword when I typed that, but that moment in MGS2 was pretty dire as well. Unless they’re poorly designed, I generally don’t mind ice levels. It’s when the entire game controls as though the character is on ice that it becomes a problem.
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My favorite gun in video games is probably the Mattock from Mass Effect 2. It is a single shot rifle with an amazing damage output. It would fire as fast as your finger could pull the trigger, and it would desimate everything in your way.
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Yes that’s a great one! Like the Black Widow sniper rifle… that one’s not fast but man does it pack a punch! I did have fun with the Mattock though, not going to lie.
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Having spent 70+ hours with Aloy, yeah her bow is freaking awesome! Especially the exploding arrows & stuff 😀 Hunting with bows IRL is definitely more humane-ish, But the real brave heroes need high-powered rifles that can blast through defenseless woodland creatures with ease… *rolls eyes harder than Lightning* Sorry, those “big shot” hunter idiots irk me a lot…. sigh.
Where was I? Oh, right! Why choose between ranged or close quarter combat when you have an almighty gunblade? Definitely my favourite weapon! I feel like I could write a sales pitch for it… 🤔
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Yeah I get you…. haha glad to know Aloy’s weapon lives up to the hype!
If you do write a sales pitch, I’m sure it would win in a competition.
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I bet I could! Depends on how judgey the little punks are though… 🤔
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I’m a big strong person in real life, so when I’m playing my games, which I often use for escapism, I like to mix it up and put myself in different shoes by choosing… all the big strong characters and fighting styles.
I’m like Red Metal, I’ll play whatever I find most effective, but if all else is equal, I’m usually a lot more for melee than I am for ranged combat, magic, whatever. I do like to keep things well-rounded so I’ll often have my characters dabble in a bit of everything, but their focus is generally on damage output through melee. I did a Dark Souls LP a few years back where I had a warrior heavily focused on the classic sword and shield combat but was still decently nimble, a fair archer, and a considerable pyromancer on top of that, I think that’s a pretty good example of how I usually play.
As far as weapon of choice goes, I’m big into swords. Because the heroes always use swords. Big swords, small swords, double swords, triple swords, straight swords, curved swords, swords all day.
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Ah, yes. I can see a big strong person needing a big strong weapon that can handle all that big, strong-ness.
I do think being well-rounded is always the best, especially if it’s not to the detriment of gameplay. And I’m impressed Dark Souls lets you build such a diverse character. That’s neat.
Swords for days, sir. Swords for days…. haha
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Reblogged this on DDOCentral.
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Coming at you with my ultra late comment!
For me, I’d probably go with a bow. I’ve more recently gravitate towards it, especially in games like Tomb Raider that let you use guns along with the bow. There’s something satisfying about taking your time and carefully aiming. Nothing feels as good as a headshot using a bow.
Another favourite for me would be any form of hand cannon, like something Samus or Megaman would use. Although I’m not so big on guns, I can’t help but feels it’s a more elegant and civilized form of a regular gun. It also feels more personal because it’s attached to the user.
A side note, and can’t think of any video games that have this, but if you ever watched Beast Wars, many of those characters had eye laser weapons they didn’t need cannons, they just shot devasting lasers out of their eyes… So rad! If there’s a game you know that has this, sign me up!
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