Guild Wars 2

Is it just me or does those kamas look totally wrong and awkward? I’ve been wanting a pair since launch, now they’re here and ummm…. they just look weird. Don’tg et me wrong, they are completely great looking, but that orientation. These would be an insta-buy for me, but they’re more cringe-worthy than awesome.

Like a Mining Pick

Kama
“Before being improvised as a weapon, the kama was widely used throughout Asia to cut crops, mostly rice.”

Please reverse the way that the new Dragon Kama is held.

It looks plain silly to hold the kama upside down. While I’ve only tested it with the Thief so far, even with the upside-down dagger animations, the kama doesn’t look right in its current state. It would look just as good if not better right-side up during those animations. And it would look immensely better when simply holding the kama without attacking… which is most of the time.

If anyone else agrees, please say so. Thank you! :-)

If the weapon was flipped around, dagger animations would need an overhaul just for one weapon. Since the animation uses the underside of the hand to attack (where the dagger blade is currently) so no I think with current animations your suggestion would look even worse.

Upside down daggers? Thieves hold their daggers in a reverse edge in grip, known for defense and greater force when brought downward on the tip (hello Backstab). So they are holding daggers correctly imo given the status of the abilities they give you.

A Kama is a real world weapon.. its the correct way.

There’s no right or wrong way to use kamas in the real world. In game, kamas are dagger skins, and all daggers are held with a reverse grip. Flipping the kamas would make no sense due to how daggers are used by characters.

This actually isn’t true. There are several daggers held the other way around. E.g. Tear of Grenth, Jormag’s Needle.
I never felt that the animations were off with these daggers, even though they are reversed and I have to agree with op, that the Kama would look much better reversed.

Since daggers are smallish they probably would look better flipped as you would see them more when not actively attacking. Not that I use daggers myself.

Is anyone else bothered by the fact that it looks NOTHING like the gemstore graphic? the metal is colorless and boring, theres almost no glow around the mouth at all, and no glow around the back of the head. Why doesnt it look like the picture?!

http://dulfy.net/2016/09/06/gw2-gemstore-updatedragon-kama-returning-items/

Watch the video closely and imagine the Kama being wielded in correct way (imagine real world hammer). The animations would still work perfectly and it would not look as silly as now. Actually they would look even better than now :P

Smooth Penguin.5294:

There’s no right or wrong way to use kamas in the real world. In game, kamas are dagger skins, and all daggers are held with a reverse grip. Flipping the kamas would make no sense due to how daggers are used by characters.

Let’s substitute the “kama” there with another weapon.

“There’s no right or wrong way to use rifles in the real world.”

Sounds kind of silly, don’t you think? If you wish to be effective and safe, you must hold the weapon the proper way.

The kama is not a dagger. The kama’s current reverse grip doesn’t even work well with existing dagger animations. Go try it out with a Thief. It’s like a thug holding a pistol sideways just to look cool. This is worse.

The dagger is fine. The sai (Usoku’s Needle) is ok. A shortsword may be tolerable. But the way the reverse grip looks (as is) on the kama is very unsettling. It’s like a tennis player holding his racket upside down.

The kama needs to either be flipped to be held in a normal grip, which would work just as well (at least with Thief animations), or have its angle changed to be a proper reverse grip… which it is NOT currently. It’s like holding a rifle with the stock 3 inches above your shoulder. It is both impractical and looks glaringly wrong.

Haleydawn.3764:

If the weapon was flipped around, dagger animations would need an overhaul just for one weapon. Since the animation uses the underside of the hand to attack (where the dagger blade is currently) so no I think with current animations your suggestion would look even worse.

Upside down daggers? Thieves hold their daggers in a reverse edge in grip, known for defense and greater force when brought downward on the tip (hello Backstab). So they are holding daggers correctly imo given the status of the abilities they give you.

Your post has merit and it makes sense. I thought of that too. There are already daggers in game that face the other way, so it’s not impossible. Reaper of Souls, Severed Dagger, Jormag’s Needle, and Grenth’s Tear are all “upside down daggers”. Note that Reaper of Souls being sickle like and was made to be more appropriate handling. To make the kamas that way is either oversight IMO, or sheer laziness. I know thieves would have been left out, but I think a kama would have been better in the “axe” category for this game rather than daggers because of the animation.

At this point, I really think the dagger orienation bothers me more than the animation. With all the “fancy-dancy”, overly done effects, you are not going to see much. Every time my characters pulls out their weapons tho, it will make me cringe. I know kamas, so maybe that plays into this. But at the end of the day, they are simply wrong. No one I know holds them that way. It’s akin to holding a sword by the wrong end, beating the enemy with the stick end of the hammer, or holding a rifle upside down. It’s just plain stupid for those that know, and I think many of us know kamas.

Watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMibaWEStkY

or look for any video of Tyler Weaver

Agreed. To be perfectly honest, I always thought the reverse grip was silly for all of the daggers. It’s useful for close-in work against an unarmed opponent or another knifefighter if you know what you’re doing, but in GW2-style combat where you’re often fighting someone with a larger weapon, you generally want the longer reach of the conventional grip. Plus, the animations tend to have the blade sticking into your character’s thighs when in the ‘ready’ stance.

What’s silly with a dagger, though, becomes ludicrous with a kama. I like the skin, but the animations are totally unsuitable.

I like the way the Kama’s held, with the blade under the hand. Turning it around makes it look like a stupid sickle. I don’t like the animation, though, because it has you striking with the backside of the kama’s blade head.

It’s the same problem the conventional-grip daggers have. “Hey, watch me bash you with the hilt of my weapon!”

Sartharina.3542:

I like the way the Kama’s held, with the blade under the hand. Turning it around makes it look like a stupid sickle.

Kama IS a sickle

Ameepa.6793:

Sartharina.3542:

I like the way the Kama’s held, with the blade under the hand. Turning it around makes it look like a stupid sickle.

Kama IS a sickle

Beat me to it. It was basically the Asian equivalent of the sickle.

And Sartharina, you basically hit the nail on the head with the animation. It’s ridiculous when the animation has the PC hitting the enemy with the back of the blade (kamas had a sharp point and were sharpened on the inside of the blade, but not the outside). I think it’s going to look a little silly regardless of the animations, but with a conventional grip, there’s at least a chance that the point will strike the target.

Kageseigi.2150:

Let’s substitute the “kama” there with another weapon.

“There’s no right or wrong way to use rifles in the real world.”

Just some background for you. The rifle wasn’t originally a tool used to harvest rice. Nor was it thanks to the Okinawans for first incorporating it into martial arts.

Holding kamas with an upside grip with the way a Thief uses it, and you’d be attacking with the blunt side of the blade. So again, it only make sense to hold it with a reverse grip..

Smooth Penguin.5294:

Just some background for you. The rifle wasn’t originally a tool used to harvest rice. Nor was it thanks to the Okinawans for first incorporating it into martial arts.

No, but the rifle was designed to press firmly into your shoulder. Just as the kama (as a weapon) is meant to be used with PROPER form in combat. Holding the kama in a very loose and isolated reverse grip as GW2 characters currently do is akin to holding a rifle with the stock 3 inches above your shoulder. It may look generally close, but it is not proper. There is no benefit to it, and there are many disadvantages.

Smooth Penguin.5294:

Holding kamas with an upside grip with the way a Thief uses it, and you’d be attacking with the blunt side of the blade. So again, it only make sense to hold it with a reverse grip..

I just went through Thief Dagger(/Dagger) animations in slow motion with both normal daggers (Chaos Dagger skin) and kamas to confirm. With a disclaimer that certain animations like Death Blossom are an absolute pain to track the actual weapons (so may be inaccurate), here are the results of what part of the kama actually strikes the target…

Blade = tip or sharp edge
Top = top of blade (blunt)
Back = opposite side of handle from blade
Bottom = bottom of handle (pommel strike)

With the current reverse grip

Backstab: Top
Double Strike: 1 Blade, 1 Back
Wild Strike: Back
Lotus Strike: Top
Heartseeker: Bottom
Twisted Fang: 2 Top
Death Blossom Main Hand: 3 Blade
Death Blossom Off Hand: 1 Blade, 3 Top
Dancing Dagger: Back/Top/Bottom (could hit with anything except the Blade)
Cloak and Dagger: Back

With a would-be normal grip

Backstab: Bottom (possibly Blade)
Double Strike: 1 Blade, 1 Back
Wild Strike: Bottom
Lotus Strike: Bottom
Heartseeker: Bottom (possibly Blade)
Twisted Fang: 2 Blade
Death Blossom Main Hand: 2 Top, 1 Blade
Death Blossom Off Hand: 3 Blade, 1 Top
Dancing Dagger: Blade
Cloak and Dagger: Blade

According to my eyes, at least, changing the kama to use a normal grip would actually benefit the Thief Dagger(/Dagger) animations, especially the off-hand animations. The only animation that seems to benefit from the current reverse grip is main-hand Death Blossom… which isn’t really visible in real-time combat anyway.

Anyone can dispute it, but they can also do the same thing I did to make their own judgment.

draxynnic.3719:

To be perfectly honest, I always thought the reverse grip was silly for all of the daggers. It’s useful for close-in work against an unarmed opponent or another knifefighter if you know what you’re doing, but in GW2-style combat where you’re often fighting someone with a larger weapon, you generally want the longer reach of the conventional grip.

Completely agreed. I can understand the “ninja-esque” vibe of the reverse grip for the Thief, but the normal grip is much more useful in combat… especially for double-edged blades.

A couple of guildies and I discussed this when the skin released. I’d like my GW1 style of holding back, please. It was one of my favourite dagger skins then and a large reason why I bought the skin the other week. Also I’d like to point out in Battle Royale, Mitsuko holds one the way we’re asking for it to be changed to so there are examples out there of it.