Medieval BATTLEFIELD weapons RANKED! Best to worst
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- Опубликовано: 26 сен 2024
- Let's make a tier list of medieval weapons for how good they would be on the historical BATTLEFIELD!
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Shad: "A poleaxe can offend someone wearing full plate armour quite effectively"
Poleaxe: "bitch"
Poleaxe : You think you look so Cool wearing that plate armour? Let me pierce that Plate and SHANK YOU, YOU ABSOLUTE TWAT!
Cuirass: FUCK DAD I'M SORRY!
I love this
poleaxe "look at this crab wannabe mofo. he clank when he run and he needs help to pee"
Pike "tho mother sucketh me off"
Was expecting nunchucks at F tier. Not disappointed. Also STICK should be at S+ tier
The memes alone get it there. Any legitimate weapony qualities are a bonus.
But what if you attach a flail to every stick of the nunchucks? I'd expect a straight S tier weapon.
Nah, there is a clear upgrade, the olive branch used by a upset italian housewife.
And a rock is S+ teir
@@Nelsathis That is a weapon of mass destruction right there.
Please do another tier list, these are so fun to watch and do. If you could though, have a bigger photo of the weapon you are suggesting. The pictures on the tier are a little small to see. I know you reviewed all to most of these weapons already, but I still need a reminder on what they look like X.x
Early ballistic weapon tier or cannon tier
Bigger photos pls! totally agree
Do a their list for armor.
There should be a tier list for armor and one for sci-fi weapons.
Tier list of sticks and their derivatives.
I think the hunting bow icon should have a simple d-shape but just shorter than the longbow, this would avoid confusion with military composite bows
Ay
Best weapons are war scythe, giant two hand mallet, and that five sided thing from Krull.
Opinions:
1. Fine points for stabbing
It's generally a misconception that a finer point is always better at stabbing. During the World Wars but especially in WW1, it was found that fine points and spikes while they could penetrate deep, often had 2 main issues: a) they didn't do enough internal damage to kill because of their low volume, b) durability; they would often bend or break. As a result, most stabbing implements designed for penetrating tough material or for general durability (such as awls, rondel daggers, dirks, and tantos) often had reinforced points.
This chains in to point designs on Japanese swords. Most Japanese swords (even going back to what is considered medieval in Japanese history [the 12th-16th centuries] being the muromachi, nara, and kamakura periods. Periods when the tachi [a katana like sword but with a length and distal taper contemporary to longswords) have reinforced points. They were like that so that a) they would be durable enough to not break or bend, and b) so that they could pry apart links of maille armor.
2. The glaive
I believe the glaive should have been in S-tier. Primarily because I believe you mischaracterized the glaive as being good slashing only and being as good as the Dane axe at slashing. Most glaive heads had more material in them than a Dane axe and were about as long as halberds to start with. The added mass, and finer edges of a glaive but not even mentioning the added leverage and lack of obstruction from the haft itself, would mean that glaives would cut better than Dane axes. Furthermore, you also forgot or just didn't know that glaives were about as cheap to make as halberds and billhooks, could also and often did have hooks on their backs just like a halberd or billhook, could stab just as well as spears, and also had variations that were made for knights to be used in lieu of a poleax (these versions shown in art were about the same length as a poleaxe and had languets reinforcing the shaft). As the halberd was for Germans, the billhook for the English and Italians, the glaive was for the French.
3. The rapier
While rapiers (as we know them: long bladed singlehanded thrusting swords with complex hilts) were taken to the battlefield, they were taken for the same reasons that officers in the 18th and early 19th centuries would take smallswords to combat; they were badges of office meant to denote rank, not intended for actual combat use. On your belief that rapiers would be good for stabbing against armor, as applied to rapiers as are generally understood, their blades are too flexible for stabbing in gaps of armor. Only a specific type of rapier called a tuck (a variant of rapier largely popular in France, Spain, and England with its name originating in England) would have been good for stabbing in gaps of armor because its blade was constructed as a triangular or square spike similar to the earlier estoc. There is a certain caveat though which is that in the early modern period, the swords that we sword enthusiasts refer to today as sideswords (swords with blades resembling medieval arming swords, and complex hilts that incentivize a similar point forwards grip as rapiers) were referred to in period as rapiers too. The distinction between sideswords and rapiers as differing types of swords is a largely modern convention as in period, the term "rapier" and "sidesword" were largely interchangeable.
4. The bardiche
The bardiche as you said is largely an early modern weapon. Most bardiches though were poleax length weapons and their blades, while very broad, were very thin, about as thin as a sword blade. Their most famous usage was by a type of Russian soldiers called streltsi who would wield them as a secondary weapon to their musket in case they needed to charge into melee although accounts of them using their bardiches to fend off cavalry charges do exist. While I do agree with where you put the bardiche, I believe it's a low S-tier weapon.
Extras for a possible future video:
1. The yari
Yari, while commonly and accurately stated to mean spear, also includes items that we in the west would consider as forms of halberd, pike, and poleaxe. While the most common type of yari is a stereotypical spearhead (this variation is called a su-yari), the second most common form of yari features a projection similar in form to a japanese sickle called a kama which allows it to function in a similar way to a halberd or billhook (this version was called a kama-yari). There were also countless other variations that featured things like hooks, and axe like blades projecting from them. Lastly, there were also variations of yari that were poleaxe length; these yari usually featured a kama-yari or other similar type of head, but on a shaft that was often poleaxe or Dane axe length.
2. The kama
These usually refer today to agricultural sickles that are still used and even sold in Japanese hardware stores even today but in the past, these were used as weapons by peasants, ashigaru, and even samurai. unlike most sickles, kama usually have robust blades that as such, made them very similar to warpicks but lighter. Where they shined the most though was as a projection on a yari.
3. The naginata
Naginata were glaive like weapons that featured a blade between 1.5-3 feet long on a shaft that was commonly about spear length, with some being poleaxe length (these versions were the ones that often had longer blades). They were good at cutting and stabbing, and with their ability to fend off cavalry charges, throughout most of medieval Japanese history before the rise of the ashigaru in the 17th century, this was the most common polearm used by both samurai and their retainers, and Japanese warrior monks called sohei.
Very interesting, I appreciate your comment
I, personally, would as well change bare hands to the WildCard tier for there are situations when it is mandatory to change to the hand-to-hand and there are when you can't do a thing if barehanded.
A bible, but in a good way
I haven't fully gotten through this comment yet, but I just want to say thank you not being afraid to leave a big comment just for a handful of people like me to appreciate the added insight.
@@bus3957 thanks bruh. I at least separated it into sections just in case people wouldn’t be interested in all of it.
I like where the katana was placed in the tier list. During the war eras of Japan, katanas were mainly used as a secondary weapon. This was because Samurais mainly fought on horseback and used bows and spears. They would only used their katana when they were knocked off their horse, lost their bow or spear, or for self defense when why are not on the battlefield. The time where the katana did see the most "action" was during the Edo period, the time period in Japan where there were no wars, where they were used as personal carry weapons and as a status symbol to show that they were samurai.
Well this whole comment is also mostly true for europeans swords too
@@cernunnos8344 Yes, because they were both sidearms. No one in their right mind would go to battle armed with only a katana or arming sword.
@@Immopimmo well you'd always have one by your side but yeah your main weapon is either a pole weapon, bow/ crossbow if you're in a ranged unit, or some kind of two handed weapon, and spears, spears are prominent main weapons in many cultures
Wasn't it used primarily to exploit the exposed straps holding the armor together? How useful would it be against mail?
Indeed, Miyamoto Musashi wrote his Book of Five Rings treatise on the way of the sword because he found it ridiculous that samurai were carrying around two swords at their hip that they never used. The quote from my copy goes “When you put your life on the line, you want all your weapons to be of use. Your real intent should not be to die with weapons uselessly worn at your waist.”
The best wild card castle defense weapon: French taunt. It is extremely effective, with huge amount of emotional damage.
They will go away before being taunted a second time.
EMOTIONAL DAMAGE!
"I vomit in your general direction!"
Also, as demonstrated in the same fight: The cow.
Great banter! The background character should become a permanent sidekick.
Completely agree! Mabey he could have a cam on him that shows up in the corner when he talks, so we can see our barrel riding buddy :)
Check out their other channel knights watch; Oz is arguably the main character there
@@josephfarrell7155 I shall!
@@josephfarrell7155 I don't know about main, although I'm sure he'd like to be haha
Amazing vid, really like it. One suggestion: could you put up a big image of the weapon when you introduce it? Would make it easier to visualize. Thanks!
I definetely loved it. The only things I guess were missing were the training time for the weapon to be used effectively and its cost. Both really important constrains when thinking about war campaigns...
Shad, you're completely missing the most devastating battlefield weapon, and I'm disappointed that you forgot it.
*_The Lute._*
Nice 😂
The drum and the horn are both better battlefield instruments than the lute. Honorable mention to whistling/screaming arrows and similar projectiles
@@havokmusicinc it was a joke about the game Mordhau cause Shad was referencing it
Never underestimate the destructive power of the lute!
As the saying goes, "make love, not war", and soon the enemy's will is tested against the soothing serenades of the War Bard. One moment, they're in the battlefield; the next, in bed.
Truly, the most devastating weapon to have ever graced the world.
It's because he didn't have a God-tier to put it into.
Hey, Shad. I’ve started my second book. I’m really hoping my intended series does well. Also, in your true medieval fantasy novel, I’m curious about something: will there be monsters in it? Monsters are one of my favorite parts of fantasy.
Yep, few to begin with but more as the series progresses.
Awesome!! I can’t wait for your story already!
@@shadiversity two handed flail should just be wildcard.
@@shadiversity But what about dragons? (With hollow bones and napalm fire a la Silverthorn?)
@@BilboniousBagODonuts made whole report on biologically viable dragons.
Theres a bacteria that produces an organic hydrogen compound
Great vid Shad. I was in a medieval combat club for 5 years .. talking with clubmates we concluded the best set up for a infantryman in random situations is : Gambeson with mail overlay . steel helm , large shield slinged over back to protect , primary weapon 6 ft bull spear and a sharp side arm perhaps a short sword
An interesting ranking / context could be: best weapons for nefarious activities. Highwaymen, thieves, assassins, etc.
im not sure if thats a shadiversity thing but thatd be cool
Oooohhhh. Border Rievers used Latchet Bows. Excellent for riding a horse and reloading one handed.
I think doing a pole arm tier list could be really cool as well to differentiate from all the s tier pole arms
Shad speaking french to a french viewer is pure gold.
The bardiche (as far as I know) was often used in a combo with early firearms. You would use it as a gunrest for a musket or an arquebuse, giving you one or two shots before your enemies are in melee range for the bardiche.
At least the Streltsy a russian guards unit formed by Ivan the Terrible used it that way.
The List is pretty top heavy... But I imagine the "bad" weapons wouldn't have been around for long! Except the nunchucks... since they're still here even with all your attemts to eliminate them.
And come your war-darts with an atlatl or without?
PLEASE do a follow up about personal defense! I'd love to see how an individual's needs might differ from a group, especially in a less formal setting
"Wow, I didn't even know you could read."
And now Shad just did a Skeletor.
"NYAH!"
I would definitely be interested in seeing other tier lists for weapons:
- for castle assault/defense
- for self-defense/everyday carry
- for adventuring (fantasy) *although this is a broad one*
- for when you have to deal with dragons because... What about them!
Maybe even the same with armour perhaps?
But of course, I love your regular content as well so these would be a treat to see intermixed with your usual uploads.
Flail is a great weapon in siege defense. You can hit without hesitation behind battlement. It's a great combo with spear.
Another obvious category would be dueling, because I suspect that a lot of things change when you're fighting half-a-dozen people versus when you only have to worry about one.
@@thexalondueling is a tough one. If we speak of the judicial duel, often the combatants would be armed with the same weapon.
But of course, 1 vs 1 where the combatants bring their own choice of weapon... It's still tough to say and might be the cause of much debate but it would be interesting to listen to.
I thought an interesting category too could be what weapons are best for assassination?
@@875unknownpole arms would be the only option
Would definitely love to see that ranking video for weapons for castle defense
Dragon, that is your top choice for castle defense.
Hey shad, Where would nunchucks, but they’re 2 small dragons with there tails tied together that breath fire be?
Can the dragons also breathe fire on you while you operate this
@@SchnookieC it wouldn't be a Nunchuck if it wasn't also stupid
Animal-Cruelty-Tier probably.
If Nunchucks are in the so bad they just might hurt you tier
2 Firebreathing dragons are in the _They will team up to kill, roast, and eat you_ tier
So a flamethrower that spins around uncontrollably? That don't sound safe
The banter you 2 have, makes it great. More please. Lists and banter.
I am so happy that the mace, my favourite weapon on this list, and in general, is in A tier!!
Spending 50 mins of my life watching something that will never help me in my life is tight!
BTW love you shad
This is a matter of great importance in your life, for if you find yourself in a judicial duel and choose your weapon poorly against an opponent who has watched more youtube videos than you, then he may laugh at your terribly uninformed choice, adding great shame to your defeat ( o.o)
In terms of modern days non lethal, easy to transport weapons are the best
@Indrick Boreale *non lethal. Ehhh not so much. A stick/rock/pipe can be a lethal weapon. A pepper spray can be a useful tool to distract while you escape. Not always an option though. Everyone should be prepared to defend with lethal force.
I like the reference
An arming sword would be a C. I am sure I could defeat a clone of myself if I used a pitchfork and the clone used an arming sword by itself.
@@keskace9510 Ah yes. The unbeatable pommel attack.
I would make sure my pitchfork has a pommel also.
This is like the Endgame movie for Shadiversity weapon rants.
I was expecting all or most S tier weapons were going to be the varient evolutions of the spear. As Tierzoo said, it's the best in-slot two handed weapon until the development of the modern rifle.
Absolutely. Before rifles the spear was king. And what was a rifle if not a spear that shoots bullets.
@@Doncroft1 Then we decided to turn our guns into spears by way of bayonets.
Just want to add, i appreciate that you took the time to line up those 2 swords with the back of the chair
Shad has his serious face on, they better watch out
"you're a bar-douche"
lmao Ozz killing it off camera
2:44 Poor Shad, he's getting ready to run for office. He sure talks like a politician now.
Great Video Shad and a lot of fun. I'd love to see your rankings for your S-tier choices! As always you've entertained and educated me, thanks!
"I didn't even know you could read" I absolutely lost it there XD.
I feel like cost and ease of production should be something that is considered a bit more. Since logistics and finances are such important things in war.
In german ,Thirty Years War' imperial german commander Wallenstein was not famous for introducing new weapons or tactics, in military view he was a slightly overaverage commander. But in case of finance, logistic and supplies he did a very good job with rather modern ideas. An army commanded by swedish king Gustav Adolf with modern ideas in tactics and weaponry, suported by a finance and logistic expert Wallenstein would have been dangerous to every enemy.
Sort of agree, but Spears would be S+ by themselves and many of the other ratings would be similar.
Great video! I've got a suggestion for another tier list - mounted battlefield weaponry
That actually sounds awesome. Another cool one would be maybe a self defense weapon tierlist or a dnd monster tierlist
I'd love to see this list for dueling and potentially adventuring (fictional combat with a small group against varied foes in varied environments).
A few times you mention that there should be a "tier within a tier" so you can place a bunch of weapons there. In a way there is: A-tier.
A bunch of stuff you placed into A-tier could be put into B-tier and A-tier becomes the stuff that's "high in A or low in S". In effect B-tier is the new A, and A is the "in between A and S".
In my mind, you simply divide tiers in three sub-tiers à la A+ (aka high A tier), straight A and A- (aka low A tier) and do the same thing with all tiers.
Imagine a world, where every country’s military is equipped with standard issue nunchucks.
and then the country was destroyed by unarmed attackers after the defenders knock them selves out
@@akarobertpain4517 must've been very strong warriors, to have enough strength to knock someone out with such a weapon
@@sssargon8569 yes they would be
As for Glaives, I practice naginata myself. Which is basically a katana with a prolonged shaft. Essentially a very light and thin glaive, long reach and able to stab inbetween openings of armor. It can be used for stab like moves, though Tsuki, the stab just past and then slice of the neck is one of the more difficult techniques to pull off. Which makes clear it's predominently a slashing weapon. It was the most commonly used weapon in Japan for both samurai and common foot soldiers until the introduction of fire arms because it was affordable, effective and not too difficult to use or learn. I'd say it's a bit better than heavier glaives but not as effective as pole axes. I'd say mid to high A.
I thought that glaives can be S-tier, but only when the enemy is lightly armored, or wears only armor on the torso and head. It's a similar story with Flammberge, Kriegsmesser, sabers, Falchions, rapiers, Jumonji-yari and so many more.
PS: if I had to prepare for battle as a footsoldier, I would likely pick something similar to a glaive or naginata, but with at least a hook added. The point is that I would want to keep the weapon light and not too top-heavy, but add something for hitting and hooking.
I agree with your ratings!
I would indeed find quite interesting a tierlist in sieges, both in castle defense and in an offensive scenario, as well as skirmishes or ambushes/surprise atacks. The more versatile weapons would most certainly appear in high tiers again, be it in the same category or in a higher/lower one by a notch, but things could be different by virtue of context.
Really puts into perspective why soldiers carried a main weapon and a sidearm, and it would link itself well with previous videos such as the best weapons for adventurers.
Edit: as another comment pointed out, I would also suggest splitting categories into upper and lower levels of the same tier for a more accurate scale, but I understand it would take up all the screen so it works well enough as it is. Maybe adding an upwards/downwards pointing arrow to the pictures while editing would be a fine solution.
i'd be interested to see where some more non-european weapons would fit on this list, like a punch dagger or that cool aztec sword thing
The macuahuitl.
@@Belphegorite that's the one
I'm not sure Dane axe should really go in S rather than A or even B. Given that it really does one thing well and doesn't have the reach out things like poleaxes and halberds. One of the advantages of the other polearms is that you can cut, thrust, impale, bash, etc. Lots of options.
Dane axes do have points for thrusting (granted, not the most effective one but it has some limited thrusting capability) and the other end acts as a hammer. It is also lighter and faster than bardiche, also better at hooking and controlling your enemy or his weapons, so i would say its better than a bardiche, with one weakness, the single point where it is shafted from can break more easily.
You forgot about the greatest medieval weapon of all; sideways glock.
parry this you casual
"Sayeth thine greetings to myne little companion"
Tried it, and it was surprisingly not as terrible as I expected. Still much worse than normal Glock.
Just some suggestions for categories off the top of my head. Self-defense, castle defense, sieging (Both siege weapons and 'small arms'), 'hottest/most exotic weapons, ... Also you could go also start doing stuff like most innovative battlefield/figthing techniques on the battlefield. For instance I think of things like the comparing the first introduction of a technique like say siege warfare vs the shield wall and then rank them based on prominence, usefullness, cultural influence, ...
Most multi-purpose weapons, best shields, hardest to make weapons/shields/armor, most protective armor, most encumbering armor, best soldier kit from history, easiest defended castle, and most underrated weapon/shield/armor/clothes.
He was rating them on how good they would be in a battlefield
"______ and shield" is common in S-tier. Does S stand for "Shield"
Yeah, he probably should have just had an entry for "Shield" tbh
40:02 Frying pan is a Wildcard because it's perfect for cooking things and saving the world, but not for a standard battle
Honestly in a battlefield I believe that a poleaxe or any other polearm that can’t efficiently be used with a shield would not be a great weapon because while in melee it may be S+ tier you completely lose the ability to defend yourself from archers or crossbows which puts you on a HUGE disadvantage because what use is your weapon in melee if you’ve already been killed by archers or crossbows! I honestly think the best battlefield choices are either a spear and shield (as it gives great reach and defensive abilities to the user), an arming sword and shield (as it gives a large amount of flexibility and utility to the user), or a morning star and shield (as it would give defensive abilities and an excellent weapon against armor) would be the most optimal choices for a battlefield!
Bows and crossbows are very effective when you need to force a knight to dismount, but if a knight swaps to poleaxe - he has enough armor to come and stick your bow in your very own asshole with content smile on his face, by the way he has two comrades on both sides to cover him with their shields.
I go with Skall on the flail. The big advantage is it eliminates hand shock. Which is an especially big deal on horseback.
For ground combat on the other hand... Depends mostly if it's a "chain" flail or a "staff" flail
Hard pass on trying to use a non-ridgid weapon while bouncing on a horse.
@@jonh8790 A Horse is a lot more stable than you realize, if that's your concern. At worst you'd rib your thigh, but if you're wearing armour no real worries. By laws of physics, all it's momentum would be lost on the next bounce, denying any real force of impact against an equal force such as yourself, sense you are both traveling along the same horseback.
Why? If you are good horsemen you shouldn’t be getting in a slugfest in the first place so the flails lack of defensive utility shouldn’t matter.
@Zazi not my concern. Just from a practicality point of view. I want to have full control over the weapon. Being able to present point, and perform swings without reducing accuracy with a chained flail or risk hurting my person or mount.
I will be honest , including unarmed doesn't really make senes if you think that the other combatant will always have an advantage. The fact you don't have a weapon doesn't mean the enemy is not allowed to grapple you as well before plunging a dagger in your belly. Not to mention that an estoc which was placed below unarmed would be almost incapable of losing against an unarmored opponent while still having better chances against a heavily armored one due to having a solid grip which can be used to pummel someone. So basically, every weapon can be considered unarmed but with a better.
unarmed should have probably been a WC
unarmed wiled card maybe
Especially describing it as "fists" as if punching with your bare knuckles is going to be useful on a medieval battlefield
For greater visual clarity and organization you could organize the weapons in the same tier from the left to the right based on their rank of effectiveness in comparison to the other weapons on the same tier. Fun video :)
I need to get me a Kaftan, Shad yours looks amazing!
Every time Oz shouts in it is either the most insightful or dumb thing ever and its perfect
I miss the fantasy rearmed series, but I can't think of any more good monsters/races to suggest
Unless.... fantasy refortified? What would a classic fantasy fortification, that plays off the strengths of the race, look like?
Shad pls!
Has he done spider-people?
Awesome idea
Maybe fantasy creature tierlist
I've been thinking about videos about what fantasy races cultures would realistically be like - and which ones would be allied - based on the descriptions of their physiologies and social structures. Ex, kobolds should really be close allies with humans; they can't compete over territory (kobolds are hurt by sun, humans can't fit in their warrens), and they're both highly social creatures. On top of that, kobolds must have some kind of agriculture to support their populations, and because they're subterranean, that agriculture isn't seasonal!
There is classes and races yet 🦉
There's accounts of the Romans absolutely gettin wrecked by triangular shaped wooden hand clubs in the Tutebourg forest which helped the Germans far better than either side anticipated
In the classic adventure game NetHack, the bullwhip is one of many weapons in the game. (If your class is Archaeologist, you start out equipped with a bullwhip, leather jacket, and a fedora, because of course you do.) As a weapon, it's entirely useless against tougher monsters because it can't penetrate heavier hide or armor. F-tier indeed!
Solidly outperformed by the Caveman's starting gear of a club and a sling with rocks to fling.
Loving the long sleeves you're wearing here, Shad.
KnightSquire, Ninja Eugene surely has to put out his own Tier list
I love how Shad just ha to mention how bad the nunchuck is in every video.
yah if people would just stop saying otherwise he might stop HAHA
Before watching, I'm betting Stick is S-tier and I will not accept it in any other tier
Nunchucks belong in the wild card category. They’re perfect for threshing rice.
"I didn't even know you could read!"
Damn Shad, shots fired.
Can you do ancient weapons too? This was cool, & it looks like you and techno-wizard of Oz had fun doing it.
Yeah ,
Slings would imo absolutely wreck armour , just by being essentially long range clubs
Love the premise here. Id love to see the next their list evaluate best weapons for single combat/dueling
and for adventuring :)
You forgot to mention SPEAR + SHIELD
Probably high tier honestly, especially for formation strategies
as an axe and shield wielder, i'm happy to see the combo up there
Once again, another quality video of chad shad starting it off with berrating nunchucks. Always a great running gag
You know what I love about Shadiversity/Knight's Watch? You can listen to them while you're doing something else. It's so nice having these awesome videos that don't necessarily need to be watched, but you can have it play in the background and still get the same content from it. I love it so much! Keep up the good work!
Sadly it's too small to really see the weapons in the list.
I'm a bit shocked Maul is A tier here, i thought it wasn't used for combat.. maybe there are some instances but it seems so very unwieldy to me.
They are made of wood, so they arent as heavy as they seem to be
they are. warhammers are usually better, but mauls are way cheaper
Archers often had them after banging in stakes. and if a horse has reared after getting to your stakes and thrown the rider, walking up and smacking him with a giant Maul that is sitting around probably works solidly well.
@@Scuzzlebutt142 I would love to see Shad test a wooden maul, unlike a club the maul have a very large flat surface, so it should have a lot worse force destribution when compared to all the other blunt weapons on the list. I could be completely wrong, but it seems unlikely to me that it would be S tier or even high / low A tier since it seems to be designed as a tool to bonk down fences and not damage them in the process.
you are forgetting, that the maul is also very top-heavy in comparison to other blunt weapons, which should negate the larger surface area, with which it hits a target.
Just used this as a creative tool to help add some flavor to a knight character I was writing, so thank you!
"I didn't know you could read"
Shad's words->S tier
Crossbows should be S+ tier. You could train someone on it in like 4 weeks and have them taking down knights. Also, they could be wall guns/defensive positions. They were also direct fire and pretty damn accurate.
Also a good argument in its favor is that there attempts at arms control treaties about crossbows specifically, mostly because they were mad that important rich guys in plate armor could get taken out by any random peasant with a crossbow.
the chain and ball flail is F absolutely.
the two handed one with that single link, the threshing flail with spikes. though I'd say wild card as it was VERY effective used by the hussites in the war wagons and situations like that where there where awkward angles you had to deal with. (like this one ruclips.net/video/MpIPX30v62c/видео.html )
At Last! A tierlist! As timely as a medieval enthusiast should be!
best part of this is the banter with the off camera crew. please make that a common element in future videos lol
I've seen illustrations of steppe light riders, whether Huns, Turks, or Mongols, utilizing lassoes (does that count as bullwhips?) to catch and drag down heavy cavalry. Not sure how historically acurate those illustrations are but it's an interesting topic to talk about maybe.
Early cannons are very interesting , especially the lighter variants as they were breechloaded and as such had a much higher rate of fire than expected (theoretical , in reality medieval armies did not bring nowhere near the amount of ammunition required to keep the rate of fire)
Honestly it blew my mind when I learnt about some of those early breach loaders. They'd essentially have pre-loaded breaches that they'd just swap out to quickly reload which is kind of awesome lol. Instead of ramming a shell into the breach, you just reload the...breach ^^
@@tommeakin1732 they are basically revolvers, but with human crew instead of a revolving mechanism.
They had issues with the gunpowder. It was just mixed together like stirred. So it separated easily leading to very variable strength and more volatility (as in ignited by friction with itself). Milled powder - wetted then dried and crushed to powder was so much more stable.
@@Michael-jx9bh True but it aerosolized more easily, which is what caused no small number of unintended explosions when the gunpowder dust came into contact with light sources.
Speaking of early cannons what about the "fire lance", Huolongjing, the proto gun. it counts as a late medieval weapon .
I feel that the pitchfork depends on if the end is made of metal or wood, and if the points are blunted or sharp. A blunted, wooden pitchfork is an incredibly awkward stick with reach.
I'd personally put the baseline as unaltered or minimally altered natural tools. So your big stick from before, heavy rocks for bashing or throwing, etc.
But then there's no tier left for the nunchucks...! He's gotta have somewhere to put them!
@@glasletter3111 who says there can't be a 6 feet under tier?
Shad in begining: Look at my new gambezon, peasant
Shad in end: Like this video. I'm starving!
This video was awesome, and Oz's commentary made it hilarious.
Shad I’m very disappointed, no sling? Remarkably versatile, can do major damage to lightly armored foes and quite possibly do quite a lot to someone in armor if you are using lead bullets to bash someone’s helmet or arms in, has around the same range as a bow albeit with less accuracy though as it gets closer it can be fairly accurate, can be used all day long, and can even be used as a backup melee weapon. Main issue is that it required lots of training so had fallen out of favor by middle to late medieval but likely still some limited use depending on the region you where in. I’d place it a solid B+ or A tier.
Given that one of the only 'chronographed' results (Outside of an Israeli medical journal on damage potential from slings) was with a 200 gram stone at 52 m/s, that's ~270J... most Warbow arrows hover around ~70J. If you have the right ammunition and the right user, slings are goddamned terrifying.
The slinger in the test was Luis Pons Livermore. Unsurprisingly, he is from the Balearic islands.
Edit: I would also highly recommend watching this video, it is very illuminating. ruclips.net/video/mMMebwEdAaE/видео.html
@@thejackinati2759 I do a decent amount of slinging myself and with my short braided slings and just a random rock I can get a ton of power out of it. A long sling used full force with lead bullets is probably about the same as being hit by a decent sized pistol round. Only reason I wouldn’t rate it super high against armor isn’t so much the metal as the padding under it. The metal would initially slow it upon penetration then the mail would hopefully catch it and slow it down enough for the gambeson beneath to take the rest of the impact. Anything short of that sort of protection though is going to have an extremely bad time.
@@Tarnfalk I love slinging, it's great to have in the pocket when out on walks. I used to sling fairly often but have stopped doing it. Lead is some scary stuff, I almost hit someone's house that was roughly ~260 metres away from me once so you have to find very open areas to go throwing with lead!
If you ever get the opportunity to try out lead with the sling, I highly recommend it. It feels almost like cheating with how 'flat' and well they fly!
I would love to see a tier list like this for a medieval fantasy adventurer!
This should have its own offshoot for cavalry because it would be very different.
The swords hanging behind Shads chair are so perfectly aligned. Its ao beautiful.
Would always think things like Halberds or any polarm that can slash, pierce and smash all in one plus reach is always a need.
The list seems a bit top heavy. While I don't disagree with the rankings, I think you could go more in depth to split them up bit more and while pushing all the trash ones down together to make room.
I do agree, problem is, the battlefield weapons where called that because the excelled in just that, and then we had country variations, called different things. I mean just because an army was filled with people with longbows and pole weapon, it didnt mean they could just win over a farmerarmy, we have several cases where the professionel army, lost to the farmerarmy.
Arming sword should've been placed in C tier. Would've balanced things out better.
If a weapon didn't work on the battlefield it wasn't used on the battlefield. The transitions were fast too. Swords became secondary weapons as soon as full plate armor became a thing. Spears were largely maybe even completely replaced by polearms with axehead(like) things and spikes at the same time. Also some weapons were NOT used in tight formations - like flails - because there just wasn't room. It had to be largely pull/push/chop and supporting the guys beside you. Tight formation were very common on the battlefield too.
@@Michael-jx9bh Spear where mostly replaced with pikes, simply because they where more effective against cavalry charge by knights, that became very dominant in the late medieval. Also pikes are just very long spears. I mean yari kept the name even after it grew longer, not sure why it didnt in europa.
@@Michael-jx9bh Exactly - technically the exercise is nebulous because every weapon is top tier in some way (or it wouldn't exist). As a backup weapon a poleaxe would be terrible - as a primary weapon a knife would be a similarly poor choice. If you couldn't afford a polearm, a spear would be a top choice.
I would've done the list as: If I put everyone in an arena in a full brigandine setup and they all had one weapon from this list - how would they perform? In that setup, formations wouldn't play a role - most combatants wouldn't have shields, no backup melee options for ranged weapons, etc. It's more clearly defined, but it's also not historically meaningful.
thank you for putting pitchfork on this list. makes me feel justified for the time I made a group of barbarians for a pathfinder campaign I was running, and gave them masterwork pitchforks (they went by the group name of "the angry mob")
......He put flipping pitchforks in but not spade??!!
Okay, so now you have A & S tiers, now you need to make a ranking of just those weapons. And to more clearly define that it is necessary to design a standard medieval kind of every man, average armor, average training, average height and strength and so on, and then decide what are the best ways to kill him.
I'm a master of Iai techniques, a style meant for the katana, and I completely agree with Shad's assessment. On point. It is good against soft targets, like in daily life, but against armor the swords will crack, chip, and shatter, just by design. They weren't meant for hard impacts on the edge. Simple bone can chip them.
The "Absolutely" was what solidified the validity of this tier list.
The first Shadiversity video I ever watched was his takedown of the bat'leth. As a guy who has one hanging up in his office (along with some other Klingon weapons), I was prepared to give him a very lengthy, very vitriolic rebuttal. However, I watched and listened and I was thoroughly impressed, not just by his critique, but by his presentation as well. I've been a subscriber and a fan ever since.
ASLO: What's the best weapon for personal combat? Notice that duels ware sometimes fought with halberds.
So sub-category whats the best weapon to carry for personal defense. (Probably sword.)
Rapier is the best for both of those. Too lightweight and 1 good stab and its game over for the opponent. Almost no weaknesses
Each opponent would typically use matched weapons.
Smallsword vs Smallsword
Rapier vs rapier.
No armor generally I don't think.
They wanted to reduce variables and promote skill.
Armor, shields and thick clothing adds variables.
In a one on one duel Rapiers and Smallswords would be good.
I'm not sure if it matters what kind of rapier or smallsword though. ( Like length, model etc) so long as it's the general type.
People think that the nunchuck is cool because Bruce Lee used it. The truth of the matter is that Bruce Lee used it as a flex. By using it he was saying to his opponent, "I'm so much better than you, I will bring myself down to your level by using the worst weapon that I can think of."
Hey, loved the video, but I was wondering what your thoughts were on the sling. I’m not personally sure how common it was in medieval warfare, but I believe the staff sling was used.
The sling was fairly common. They prop up quite often in unexpected places, even into the 1600's where there was a political faction in France called the 'Frondes' after the slings that were used by rioters. They were more of a 'serf' weapon in the period and largely used by shepherds (Which limits their recruitment pool in most High/Late medieval armies which recruited mainly from a Freemen/Burgher populace).
Slings were perhaps most prevalent in Spain in the Medieval period, where slingers were commonly paired with Crossbowmen and sometimes arqubusiers.
King Henry II had at one point hired Irish slingers (There was a pay list mentioning Irish slingers). Edward I had a force of Irish slingers in his army in Scotland (Where they were used at the Battle of Falkirk). Edward II also likely had Irish slingers present in his army, as slings were mentioned as being used at the Battle of Bannockburn. This will probably surprise a fair amount of people.
The Hussites used slings quite often, in both hand and staff-sling variety.
Most 1-handed weapons, when combined with a shield, should be one tier higher than the weapon alone. I mean, in D&D 5e, alphabetically, the following classes are proficient in the use of shields - Artificer, Barbarian, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Paladin, Ranger - and anything that multi-classes into one of them will also get proficiency in the usage of shields. Reason is this, for a mere 10 gold, you can boost your character's Armor Class by 2 points. Of course, since multiclassing into those other classes grants proficiency with Medium Armor, using 5th edition, you could get Scale Mail armor for 50 gold. Thus, assuming that the character has 14 Dexterity, the character could be walking around with 18 AC, which, for the relatively low price of 60 gold, is not bad, especially if stealth isn't a concern.
Or be a naked barbarian with a shield and having 16 con and 16 dex, for 10 gold you get 18 ac as well 🦉
Point buy for the win 😎
@@raixuh Sure, if you dump Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma to do so.
@@lockwoan01 pretty much what I do
Str 16, dex 16, con 16, int 8, wis 8, cha 8
Nude brawl goes bruh 🦉
@@raixuh I use Standard Array, but I plan to do a system I call Standard or Better. Basically, player rolls, orders the result from high to low, compares the result with the Standard Array counterpart, and picks the better of the two. Currently using something similar for HP.
@@lockwoan01 on my case, when I am the DM, I use point buy and rolling, if the player wants to roll, them rolls, if not them point buy
Same goes for proficiency bonus: I apply either the proficiency bonus or proficiency dice according to player preference
The only thing I dicth as a DM: skills, I use proficiency on atributes instead, both the proficiency dice and proficiency in atributes rules are on the DM guide book, quite usefull, specially to set random rollings on a random dungeon/map crawling, just roll a d4 to solve for: 1 - combat, 2 - nothing, 3 - roll, 4 - tresure and a d6 for the preselected creature, atribute roll or the 6 types of coin, like copper, silver, gold, electrum and platine, being the 6th a jewel that worth 10 platine
This way I can deliver a worldbuilding trough a exploration like the ecology of the map or dungeon, the history behind the treasure, give hints of the area trough the hazards that result on atribute rolls and so on
I kinda like that kind of procedural worldbuilding 🦉
Nunchucks may be admittedly bad for self-defense and individual combat, but when you have an entire battalion in tight formation armed with them then that's where things start to get interesting.
"Interesting" is the key word here :D
Yeap, nothing beats seeing how they beat each other to bloody, fractured, concussed, mangled hell while they are still hundreds of meters away from the other army, just from trying to impress the enemy by swinging their self defeating sticks on chains!...
how... in tight formation, they would knock each other out, as they would have to constantly check that they don't hit friendly targets. That's the hole point Shad is making. The nunchucks are not controllable enough in such a situation.
Shad, you underestimate the secret power of the nunchuks, if the enemy sees you aproach him with nunchuks he will break out in laughter. While he is laughing he will not be able to fight so you can get close to him and stab him with a knife you hid so he couldn't see it.
“I didn’t even know you could read” That is a fantastic quote