primary weapon switch

[xhuggels]

So i was just thinking, there should be a way to choose your primary hand or weapon. Say your character is carrying a wakizashe at his side and a frag axe on his back, right now he will use the frag axe until one of his arms go bad and then he would pull out the wakizashe. Wouldnt it make much more sense to be able to choose which weapon is to be used first? for instance it could be amazing if you could use the wakizashe, and then somewhere along the fight pull out the frag axe and change the way you fight.

Why would the biggest weapon be used first? i find this especially unreal to see when a samurai pulls the katana from his back...that never ever happened in the history of japan(probably did, but it was a real rarity because it quite literally halved the power of the katana, which is the scariest when it is still sheathed)
You could always put the katana at his side, true enough, but then he would use the wakizashe first, which isnt realistic either. The only way to wear it realistically is to only wear a katana, but samurai rarely did that too. The katana alongside the wakizashe was the symbol that one was a samurai and not a ronin.

[Chinsei]

um one word, research. Samurai always wore two swords, the Wakizahi, and the Katana, both on the side. they also carried a tanto , which is basically a smaller dagger. they usually didn't use the Katana in most situations they used the Wakizashi instead. the Katana while used in battle was mostly reserved or ceremonies. such as Seppuku .

if you place two weapons in the primary weapon slot(1) you'll get the appearance of two swords on the back which i find cool.

It would be nice to say which to use first.

but also. switching from a lighter faster weapon , to a heavier slower weapon would take more time and in a real fight would have you killed.

it might work in video games but it doesn't work in reality.

[swillo]

Really need to be able to select which weapon you want to have them use.
Just a selector next to the weapon slots so they know which one to draw would be easy.

[philthymcnasty]

I agree.

It would be useful. Like when you see a bounty, but your main weapon is a fragment axe. You do not want to kill the guy with one hit, so you would switch to a less damage dealing weapon, like "the stick of beatings" so you can collect that reward money.

[Chinsei]

on an unrelated note i think it'd be nice if some bounties were 'dead or alive' >.> using medkits on bounties seems like a waste when they'd probably end up executed anyway. Kenshi's world doesn't seem like one with 'trials' by anything other then combat.

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if dual wielding becomes a thing , perhaps we'll see more draw techniques too. though hopefully its not as unrealistic as dual wielding is in most games. it takes alot of practice and arm strength to be good at fighting with both hands. and your primary skill would be dodging/deflecting not 'blocking' >.>

in which case draw speed/weapon switch speed would be a big deal breaker in what weapons we use.

[xhuggels]

the Katana while used in battle was mostly reserved or ceremonies. such as Seppuku .

if you place two weapons in the primary weapon slot(1) you'll get the appearance of two swords on the back which i find cool.

Good luck trying to commit sepukko with a 36 inch blade...i believe you have it mixed up there. The katana was definately the main weapon used since the whole power of it is the draw, which was the battle starter. There is no way a wakizashe would stand up to a katana in a real fight since its reach is shorter, hence there is no reason to use it first.

but also. switching from a lighter faster weapon , to a heavier slower weapon would take more time and in a real fight would have you killed.

it might work in video games but it doesn't work in reality.

I wasnt talking about doing that mid battle, but when you see a sand ninja jounin or a samurai lord coming at you, anyone wit sense would want to use something like a light katana or a wakizashe instead of the huge frag axe you have on your back. Ive tested this against a samurai lord, unless you have double his stats you cant go against him with a frag axe in a 1v1 situation...his weapon is simply too fast.

[Chinsei]

Sigh. again research.

Seppuku , was ritual suicide, you would draw the Katana, the person commiting Seppuku would use the tanto to slice open their stomach they would then lean forward and their friend/vassal/subordinate would cut their head off.

it was a way to redeem their honour after something they felt was extremely shameful.

Second the Katana is a long sword. it wasn't used for anything other then ceremonies and wasn't really all that commonly used in battles.

Also the average Katana was around 27 to 28 inches in length atleast according to Bings web searchness. personally i thought they were longer. but either way.

And 'no way it'd stand up cause its shorter" seriously? shorter means its lighter, and faster. it means that you can move easier, the Katana is heavier. an there for slower. a Wakizashi can therefore have an easier time re-acting an deflecting the Katana than vice versa. as shown in Kenshi. the Sand Ninja use a Ninjato, if you try to use a bigger sword your generally going to lose. cause at the end of the day.

Its speed that determines who wins in a sword fight. much like the quick draws of the wild west. if you can't get your sword out of the holster the other dude could just cut you down with little to no effort.

Drawing a long weapon can be quite difficult especially if the blade is longer than your arm :p Katana is a general word to mean sword anymore. but generally they refer to long swords. Wakizashi are shorter but they tend to be a bit more balanced and can be used alot quicker.

if a fight was all about length, then they would use a nodachi , or a taichi type sword which are longer then a Katana.

Swordsmenship isn't about length. its about speed and precision somthing the Wakizashi gives alot more of.

[philthymcnasty]

You guys do know, that the oldschool samuari, were proud of their archery, not their sword use?

IT was only after unification, when the swords became a symbol of public office that swordsmanship became a big deal.

Sigh, i wish i could remember useful stuff, like i remember this useless crap.

[xhuggels]

You guys do know, that the oldschool samuari, were proud of their archery, not their sword use?

IT was only after unification, when the swords became a symbol of public office that swordsmanship became a big deal.

Sigh, i wish i could remember useful stuff, like i remember this useless crap.

You are right there and lol i wish i could remember useful stuff too!

Also the average Katana was around 27 to 28 inches in length atleast according to Bings web searchness. personally i thought they were longer. but either way.

Bing is wrong here, sorry. A perfect katana was regarded as 36 inches exact to a mathematical formula. A Nodachi had a much longer hilt to make two handed combat much more powerful when you had the muscle to overpower your opponent, but the blade was round about the same length. The wakizashe was around 27-28 inches, that is true enough.
Katanas werent like you see in in kenshi at all. They were the sharpest blades around, true enough, but they were the sharpest because they were the thinnest. They cracked a lot and many times after a battle samurai would have to replace their katanas because it would be beyond fixable. Sometimes they would even break during battle. The wakizashe was made for that specific purpose since the draw is quicker. You could draw it fast enough to block an incoming blow. Both blades however were mathematically invented for their most powerful use; that is the initial draw, or Iaijutsu technique. It was meant for instant kill situations since katanas suck at swordplay. If two opponents ran at one another and drew their weapons for a slash, the katana user could get a few inches on the wakizashe user, and that meant that either swords would clash (something they would avoid if they could because of the frailness of the weapon) or you would get cut down before your wakizashe even got in range to touch your opponent. In the initial draw length was VERY important. Why not use nodachi? cause they didnt add that much length, and the long hilt meant a very slow draw as they were not made for this purpose.
The wakizashe is a much better second weapon to have than a second katana because if your katana did end up breaking it was quicker to draw, and by that stage if you or your opponent havent died yet you are probably fighting up close and personal, since Samurai Bujutsu contains intensive training in hand combat as well.

Drawing a long weapon can be quite difficult especially if the blade is longer than your arm

Well that is why it cant be longer than 36 inches, it was mathematically designed to be the longest possible without becoming a hindrance.
As to research, i dont use bing true enough, that is because ive been there and ive seen katanas displayed in shrines and stuff. Im pretty sure what is reliable enough.

But anywho we are going off topic again lol.
Switching weapons...yes, that is a good idea i think, many agree