Ever wondered JUST how impractical and silly the buster sword really is?

Aris Khandr

New member
Oct 6, 2010
2,353
0
0
I read the thread title as "bustier sword". And I kind of wanted to see how that would work.
 

ScrabbitRabbit

Elite Member
Mar 27, 2012
1,545
0
41
Gender
Female
renegade7 said:
Now, given that there are also guns in the FF7 world I don't really see the point of a sword
I think it's because SOLDIER operatives can use magic. They can just cast spells for their ranged attacks and a sword is a lot more useful than a gun in close combat.

At least, that's how I've always justified it :']
 

The Artificially Prolonged

Random Semi-Frequent Poster
Jul 15, 2008
2,755
0
0
So if you used this in a actual battle situation I take you would have to make sure your first hit makes contact otherwise you aren't getting a chance at a second swing with the weight of the thing.
 

JokerboyJordan

New member
Sep 6, 2009
1,034
0
0
Well it's practical use can be handwaved by either Cloud having superhuman strength being a SOLDIER, magic, or space-age metal that's significantly lighter than our own.

Personally I'd like to see how he goes about making a katana, as I doubt it will be traditional forging methods. Yamato from DMC3 would be good.
 

Owyn_Merrilin

New member
May 22, 2010
7,370
0
0
JokerboyJordan said:
Well it's practical use can be handwaved by either Cloud having superhuman strength being a SOLDIER, magic, or space-age metal that's significantly lighter than our own.

Personally I'd like to see how he goes about making a katana, as I doubt it will be traditional forging methods. Yamato from DMC3 would be good.
That's what I'm thinking -- the Jenova cells gave him some sort of super strength, enough to be able to use that thing the way a real person can use, say, a broadsword. After watching the kind of damage that thing did just by having two people lift it and then drop it, letting gravity do most of the work, I know I' be terrified if I ran into a swordsman who had one of those and was strong enough to twirl it around like a baton.

Also, that is an absolutely beautiful piece of workmanship. I'd love to have it up on my wall. Of course I'm not sure my walls would do a good job of supporting it, even if it was attached to the studs...
 

Leemaster777

New member
Feb 25, 2010
3,311
0
0
renegade7 said:
Now, given that there are also guns in the FF7 world I don't really see the point of a sword, but if for whatever reason you felt like using a buster sword those are the advantages you'll have.
Well, apparently, gunsmiths in JRPGs suck, since guns in those games never seem to do more than a small amount of damage, unless it's like a minigun or something.

Maybe they load all their guns with BBs?
 

Kolby Jack

Come at me scrublord, I'm ripped
Apr 29, 2011
2,519
0
0
Wow... If I ever become superhuman (which, if everything goes according to my plan, I will), I'm stealing that.
 

Zythrone

New member
May 31, 2013
5
0
0

Add this to the fact that cloud is sort of a super soldier, the sword isn't that impractical.
 

omegaweopon

New member
Aug 25, 2009
149
0
0
So, a few years ago I was part of a group called WATS (Way of the sword) it was a free form swordfighting group that played around at my local campus. We were using foam swords and the like. One of the swords that we used was in fact a buster sword named "Muffins". It was big enough to simply power through your defenses, even though it was padded. But here's something you don't consider about the buster sword.

It isn't aerodynamic at all

Have you ever swung a sword through water? Swinging that thing is akin to that. The wind WILL catch the blade, and no matter how heavy it is, it WILL wobble. Making an accurate swing is damn near impossible.
 

Maxtro

New member
Feb 13, 2011
940
0
0
That was really cool. Now lets see if he could make the Masamune.



Which is around 7-7.5 feet long.
 

Eclectic Dreck

New member
Sep 3, 2008
6,662
0
0
Amethyst Wind said:
The cutting part at the end was pretty demonstrative that it's bloody useless as an actual sword. None of the items were actually cut by the blade's edge, they were simply smashed by the descending weight of the sword itself.

It's essentially a club.
A better comparison is the axe, really. Axes crush at a point rather than slice. What makes it worse is the overwhelming mass offers little advantage in this case. A better result would be had by an axe.
 

TehCookie

Elite Member
Sep 16, 2008
3,923
0
41
Does he even lift? What a weakling, Cloud twirls that around no sweat. I've always found Cloud's monster strength weirder than his large sword.
 

Owyn_Merrilin

New member
May 22, 2010
7,370
0
0
Eclectic Dreck said:
Amethyst Wind said:
The cutting part at the end was pretty demonstrative that it's bloody useless as an actual sword. None of the items were actually cut by the blade's edge, they were simply smashed by the descending weight of the sword itself.

It's essentially a club.
A better comparison is the axe, really. Axes crush at a point rather than slice. What makes it worse is the overwhelming mass offers little advantage in this case. A better result would be had by an axe.
Not necessarily. If you're using an axe properly (either in battle, or to chop wood) you're not using your own strength so much as momentum and the weight of the axe. Assuming you were a superhuman capable of handling it just as well as a normal human could handle a normal axe, there would be definite advantages to it weighing 70 pounds or more.
 

Eclectic Dreck

New member
Sep 3, 2008
6,662
0
0
Owyn_Merrilin said:
Eclectic Dreck said:
Amethyst Wind said:
The cutting part at the end was pretty demonstrative that it's bloody useless as an actual sword. None of the items were actually cut by the blade's edge, they were simply smashed by the descending weight of the sword itself.

It's essentially a club.
A better comparison is the axe, really. Axes crush at a point rather than slice. What makes it worse is the overwhelming mass offers little advantage in this case. A better result would be had by an axe.
Not necessarily. If you're using an axe properly (either in battle, or to chop wood) you're not using your own strength so much as momentum and the weight of the axe. Assuming you were a superhuman capable of handling it just as well as a normal human could handle a normal axe, there would be definite advantages to it weighing 70 pounds or more.
By concentrating mass at the outer edge of the lever, and by further implementing a curve to the blade (both common features of axes) you maximize momentum, minimize surface area contact (leading to more force being applied to a location), minimize weapon weight and minimize manufacturing complexity.

For the vast increase in mass the buster sword offers, aside from certain overhead cuts, you would gain nothing when it comes to force applied to the target. In exchange, you get a weapon that is nearly impossible to transition from one line of attack to another, would be so heavy as to cause fatigue simply by carrying it to battle and only offers a tangible advantage with a single type of cut and even then only under specific circumstances. You also lose tremendous utility in the weapon when it comes to dealing with shields and the like.
 

Owyn_Merrilin

New member
May 22, 2010
7,370
0
0
Eclectic Dreck said:
Owyn_Merrilin said:
Eclectic Dreck said:
Amethyst Wind said:
The cutting part at the end was pretty demonstrative that it's bloody useless as an actual sword. None of the items were actually cut by the blade's edge, they were simply smashed by the descending weight of the sword itself.

It's essentially a club.
A better comparison is the axe, really. Axes crush at a point rather than slice. What makes it worse is the overwhelming mass offers little advantage in this case. A better result would be had by an axe.
Not necessarily. If you're using an axe properly (either in battle, or to chop wood) you're not using your own strength so much as momentum and the weight of the axe. Assuming you were a superhuman capable of handling it just as well as a normal human could handle a normal axe, there would be definite advantages to it weighing 70 pounds or more.
By concentrating mass at the outer edge of the lever, and by further implementing a curve to the blade (both common features of axes) you maximize momentum, minimize surface area contact (leading to more force being applied to a location), minimize weapon weight and minimize manufacturing complexity.

For the vast increase in mass the buster sword offers, aside from certain overhead cuts, you would gain nothing when it comes to force applied to the target. In exchange, you get a weapon that is nearly impossible to transition from one line of attack to another, would be so heavy as to cause fatigue simply by carrying it to battle and only offers a tangible advantage with a single type of cut and even then only under specific circumstances. You also lose tremendous utility in the weapon when it comes to dealing with shields and the like.
All true, but that's ignoring the fact that the user is apparently able to twirl it around like a baton. It's a sword for superheroes, basically.
 

FalloutJack

Bah weep grah nah neep ninny bom
Nov 20, 2008
15,489
0
0
*Sigh*

People, use your heads. The folks that wield these weapons effectively have actual superhuman strength backing them up. OF COURSE a normal human being can't wield it. It's scary not because it's big hunk of sharpened metal, but because it's that big and in the hands of someone who can use it. It's an Oh Shit quality in regards to the fact that it means the owner and operator of such a weapon must be super-dangerous...and he IS.
 

Something Amyss

Aswyng and Amyss
Dec 3, 2008
24,759
0
0
imahobbit4062 said:
I'm pretty sure people have been going on about how impractical it was since it was first shown in whatever FF game it was.
Yeah, but now it's MEASURABLY impractical!

or something. I don't know, seemed silly to begin with, so....