Is the Forrester Greatsword a good weapon?
As much as I like the Greatsword and how cool it is, I have to wonder if its weaknesses outweight the benefits. The good thing about the Greatsword that Rodrik/Asher can hit harder and they have a longer reach. But the Greatsword is also heavier, forcing them to use both hands and thus they can barely defend themselves very well with it. I think that both Asher/Rodrik could have lasted much longer if they used a longsword and a shield.
What do you think?
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It would take strength to wield, no doubt, but yes it would be a good weapon. Ice (The House Stark Greatsword) was also wielded in battle by Ned Stark in Robert's Rebellion. It would probably also be a primal instinct to use your family's ancestral greatsword if you're the lord.
In the hands of someone like Gared it wouldn't be very good but it's well suited for Rodrik and Asher. I've always loved Greatswords.
Gared is horrible with two handed weapons but is awesome with everything else.
I found asher wielding of the sword hampered his athleticism and dexterity. It's better to use a light sword and a shield,so you can evade attacks and produce quick strikes to your opponent. Rather than use a heavy great sword that produces more power but causes your movements to become sluggish and clumsier. Notice Asher became off balanced every time his sword classed with Harys. If he was using a lighter sword and shield he could of evaded all of his strikes and basically take him down via quick stabs at his tendons and vital organs.
So be Achille's is all I'm saying...
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I felt like for Asher it was a poor weapon choice- he seems like the type of fighter who prefers lighter weapons, like that Essos style saber and dual wielding it with his Forrester axe. Doesn't seem like much of a shield guy either. With the Forrester greatsword, he felt out of practice. His swings were slow and clumsy. I reckon he would have fared much batter against Harys and the final battle in general if he didn't pick up the sword before the final charge. Rodrik, however, is another matter. He feels right at home with a greatsword, seeing how he chose to carry one into Asher's ambush as well. And in his battle with Gryff he wields the sword like a boss. Hell, he even one hands it at times, which is a rather ridiculous thing to do, but still. I suppose it's fitting how the firstborn son who was trained to be the Lord feels right with the family's ancestral sword, while Asher, the unlikely lord, feels clumsy with it. I guess it's entirely possible that of all his children, Lord Gregor taught only Rodrik how to wield that sword. Asher even admits, when presented the sword, that it was always meant to be Rodrik's. No surprise he doesn't quite feel comfortable with wielding it.
Wow, that's exactly what I thought, when I finished playing both Asher and Rodrik's fight scenes in the Ice Dragon.
As cool as it was having them use it, I--like you--felt they'd have fared far better, with just a regular sword, and perhaps a shield. The Forrester Greatsword just seemed to make them both fight sluggishly. Especially when it came to blocking attacks. And even more especially when they got wounded--as it's basically impossible to use a sword like that effectively, when you're as wounded as they were.
It may be a heavy weapon, but it deals more damage and almost acts as a shield ( if Asher/Rodrik didn't have the Great Sword while they were down on the ground when Harys hit them, they would've died or at least been hit..). The weakness just being if you're not quick enough you're dead. It would have been cool if Rodrik used the Great sword and Asher used his swords he used in earlier episodes against Harys, but both of them using the Forrester Great Sword makes sense.
Hang on. If Rodrik was using the Forrester sword when he died in episode 5, then how does Asher have it in episode 6? Wouldn't it be in the hands of the Whitehills? Using a Great Sword has various pros and cons, but I'm more curious about the fact that Asher apparently also has access to the Sorting Hat and can summon the sword to him at will.
It wasn't the Forrester sword. If you look back to EP5 it doesn't have the Forrester sigil.
A greatsword isn't a bad weapon, if you're wearing a full set of plate you wouldn't need a shield anyway. I'd take a pollaxe over it though.
Yeah...
The problem is that greatswords would never actually be used against other swordsmen. Greatswords are intended for chopping the legs out from under charging horses. Dealing more damage is great RPG logic, but in a realistic fight scene one good poke from a short sword will kill you. And even if you've been swinging one your entire life, there's just no way anybody under eight feet tall is going to swing a greatsword one-handed.
They look impressive to brandish, or when you are sitting on horseback behind your charging men (like a proper lord). But anybody who actually expects to go into a melee will be carrying a shield or an off-hand weapon. Heck, I'd rather take a good knife into a melee than a greatsword.
All depends on who is wielding it.
I have a buddy that is 6'6 and weighs 295, he is incredible with a greatsword.
Im 5'9 165 and ill take a katana any day.
Not particularly. Every house in Westeros (greater and smaller) have Valyrian great swords. It does seem big and clunky but I don't believe Gared is all that big.
If only Rodrik carried automatic fire cross bow.
It certainly isn't bad for things like one on one fights like Rodrik vs. Harys or Rodrik vs. Gryff or Rodrik vs. Ludd, but for the last stand in Ironrath an arming sword with a shield would've been much better, especially for Asher. Greatswords were meant to be used by armoured soldiers to fight horses and long spears, not other people with swords. Though they certainly could be used for that.
It didn't suit Asher at all on account of his light armour and his more athletic fighting style.
It depends of the guy.I don't think Asher was familiar with greatswords, but Rodrik probably was.I assume that Gregor>Rodrik=Asher=Harys in terms of fightinh
No. Not even close. XD
Valyrian steel is rare, and even rarer are Houses that have them. Rarest of all are blacksmiths that can actually use the metal, which is why you see Tywin having Ice (Ned Stark's Valryian Steel greatsword) melted down in Season 4, Episode 1 of the show to make Oathkeeper and Widow's Wail.
Why are you pretending to know so much about real life swordsmanship when you know nothing about it? Want to know about it for real? It's mind-blowing. In actuality, the nerd wins out, not the 8 foot tall brute. Why? Physics & Biometrics. For example, if the brute uses his sword on the wrong side or at the wrong location against the weak nerd's sword, he will lose because physics rule. (You can even see this arm-to-arm. Try moving someone's arm by holding close to their elbow. Then try moving it close to their hand. There is a tremendous difference in leverage.)
Real life sword fighting is nothing like what you see in movies, video games, etc.
Battles are literally about knowledge, not strength. It's about physics and biometrics. It's literally more of a ballet or dance or brutal wrestling / UFC than anything else. Swords don't clash, they simply meet, slide around and turn, until the irrefutable physics results in one sword touching a part of their body (commonly the neck) and then like a steak knife, cutting their throat open as it simply slides in one direction. No thrusting, no slashing, just placing on the skin and then sliding across resulting in death. Well, sometimes you slide the sword forward to stab through the person (ex. slide point of sword into their neck).
Here's how they used a two handed sword in real life.
Notice how the fight ends in only a few moments.
Game of Thrones is a bit more realistic than most games and movies in SOME fights. For example, when any Lord / Blue Blood ends the life of some random soldier in one swing or in one cling and a swing.
Blue blooded Nobility were taught their entire lives with master's technique and training. This means that a single knight was worth 10 men at arms (regular soldiers). Regular soldiers were probably worth many many non-soldiers. Each could cut the other down incredibly easily. So Asher and his legendary pit fighters would probably be able to slaughter the entire Ludd ambush pretty easily. (We can ignore that plot hole, along with the plot hole of the beast pitfighter's actions and death, along with the entire ambush scene and incredible black-hole plot-hole of the traitor).
Weapons were all equally great, because they all had strengths and weaknesses. Each weapon was invented to beat other weapons. Non-nobility who had little training would be given spears, knights would use lances in war, etc. Having a ton of long spears poking at you was pretty intimidating when a large group of peasants or men at arms had them and were all one unit.
In the end, if you were wearing full plate armor you were a walking tank and nothing could touch you. Fighting consisted more of a fight between The Hound & Brian of Tarth, but with more brutality. You had to cut straps, rip off pieces of armor, find weaknesses in a helmet, or otherwise find a tiny place to stab the person and then simply stab them to death. It would be infinitely easier to simply knock down, hold down, and capture a full armored knight than to actually kill one. (You'd only have to them if you wanted to. Otherwise you could just hold them down and carry them off, assuming he was alone and you had many men.)
Anyway, read this article:
Sword Fighting is NOT what you think it is!
Watch this video.
A video on biometrics and physics, and how all that matters is knowledge, not strength.
In war, it's all different. You have sieges, famines, disease, spears, calvary, lances, catapults, etc.
In sword fights, you have technique and knowledge. Blue Bloods had this while peasants had none of it. Those inbetween had some. That is why ONE knight was such a big deal. In the ambush scene, Rodrik, Asher, the Beast, and any other pitfighters would be able to decimate the enemy and probably even survive. Just as long as the crossbows didn't kill most of them first. Which is another thing all together, as the fight wouldn't have them simply standing still waiting to get bolted.
OP, see my comment here.
https://www.telltalegames.com/community/discussion/comment/2355197/#Comment_2355197
No one in this thread seems to know what they're talking about. Not even close.
Technique & Knowledge > All.
Weapons are designed to kill, exploit weaknesses, etc. Every weapon has its strength and weaknesses against other weapons, armors, etc.
Swords were not different than any other technology. Just as a new type of sword would be invented or used, new types of computer exploits are invented and used in cyber-warfare. It's all the same. Knowledge is king.
I'd rather use daggers. A weapon as big as a great sword would be alot heavier and slower to use because of its weight.
There's nothing wrong about the greatsword in the right hands. It's just the wrong choice for Asher with his style of fighting.
Not every house has Valyrian steel sword and yes they are very rare on a big scale. However, many seem to confuse that the swords GRRM has named would be the only remaining Valyrian steel weaponry in Westeros, but that is not true. There are still hundreds of Valyrian steel weapons in Westeros. Even many smaller houses have their own, and the situation would have to be very dire for them to sell those family treasures.
However I don't think the Forrester's greatsword is Valyrian steel, at least it wasn't mentioned to be, right?
So, Sir, in how many swordfights have you been in?
It looks like a normal greatsword, maybe a good quality one. A weapon doesn't have to be Valyrian steel to be a family heirloom.
But Ice is a Valyrian steel sword , which means it's lighter and stronger than normal swords
I don't think the Forrester Great sword would be that good in combat
Yeah I know, I just wanted to point out that IIRC it's mentioned in the books that there are still hundreds of Valyrian steel weapons in Westeros - not just the ones that everyone knows like Ice (or now Widow's Wail and Oathkeeper), Heartsbane, Dark Sister, Blackfyre etc. I think it was explained around when Tywin reforged Ice. In one of the Tyrion chapters. It's said that Tywin had tried to buy a Valyrian steel sword from several smaller houses, but no matter how poor the house none of them wanted to sell their sword.
A sword has more reach. You have to get closer to your enemy to stab them with a dagger, that's really risky.
Castle-forged probably.
Well the more you know.
Sorry Clemenem. I'm the dumbass here.
And why are you being a pretentious asshole? Do you know him? Have you asked for his knowledge on the subject? No. You seemly go out on a limb and assume he knows nothing.
Geez you need to chill and not be so sensitive.
Sorry mate, but he's insulted everyone on here, so I'm just finding out what makes him better then everyone.
I believe the german two handers - zweihanders - were designed for dealing with pikes
there is quiet a major advantage to using any sword with two hands rather than one
in Kendo you hold the bottom end of the sword firmly and swing it and hold the top end more loosely as a kind of guide