Guild Wars 2

Wouldn’t it make way more sense for males to hold the greatsword the same way as the females? It looks really weird when we’re running and won’t it throw us off balance, or wouldn’t it be too heavy to hold it that way?

Actually, many swords are not as heavy as they look or as people think they are. I’ve held some marvelously light longswords in real life. People think these things are hugely heavy, but let me ask you this? How heavy is mithril? Orichalcum?

We simply don’t know how heavy these swords really are.

I see what you did there, ANet. I see it…

Vayne is correct, swords don’t weigh much at all. Even very large two handed swords typically don’t weigh more than 5lbs. The reason for this is because if they were any heavier they would be impossible to actually fight with. For some stupid reason though video game developers think it’s cool to make swords into these huge unwieldy clubs that would be far too heavy to swing properly. I wish that just once I could play a fantasy game that didn’t have a problem with realistic sizes for their weapons.

But seeing as GW2 throws basic physics out the window when it comes to weapon weight I personally much prefer how male characters hold greatswords. If you were in a fight and using a two handed sword you would hardly be dragging it along the ground now would? And have you seen the default female greatsword attack chain? It just looks so weak and pathetic as they swish it from side to side.

Vayne.8563:

Actually, many swords are not as heavy as they look or as people think they are. I’ve held some marvelously light longswords in real life. People think these things are hugely heavy, but let me ask you this? How heavy is mithril? Orichalcum?

We simply don’t know how heavy these swords really are.

Oh really?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=VNc7kHADtUw

There is a huge difference in real life, medieval weaponry and silly, solid-steel surfboard style video game swords.

I hate the way every toon holds the greatsword.

I dont care if theyre light as a feather, I agree with OP – it looks bad.

..

Agreed. I made a female warrior and guardian just because of this reason.

Substance E.4852:

Vayne.8563:

Actually, many swords are not as heavy as they look or as people think they are. I’ve held some marvelously light longswords in real life. People think these things are hugely heavy, but let me ask you this? How heavy is mithril? Orichalcum?

We simply don’t know how heavy these swords really are.

Oh really?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=VNc7kHADtUw

There is a huge difference in real life, medieval weaponry and silly, solid-steel surfboard style video game swords.

I used to collect swords many years ago. Some swords that look really heavy were much lighter than you’d think. Also look up the company museum replicas, who make plastic practice swords as the same weight as their real life counterparts.

I have several of those now (since I’ve lost my collection) and believe me, you don’t need to be a powerhouse to use them.

Anet needs to release animation packs ASAP

I’m guessing you’re talking about humans? Because male norn wield them like females.

Substance E.4852:

Oh really?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=VNc7kHADtUw

There is a huge difference in real life, medieval weaponry and silly, solid-steel surfboard style video game swords.

Ah, yes, youtube, where the existence of ghosts, demons and other paranormal occurrences have been proven as fact…

Not to question the creator of that buster sword, but I highly doubt he is in any shape or form a remarkable craftsman. By my estimation he didn’t use the right materials. I’ve seen a share of documentaries on modern day blacksmithing, and there’s a few things I’ve learned:
1. A great deal of the methods used in those days have been lost in time. Back then, they were a lot more capable than the blacksmiths we have today.
2. When crafted the right way, the weapons will be light. That video just shows how shoddy the worksmanship is. Even a claymore weighed just a few kilograms, and they were weighed according to grip and blade, or else it would become unwieldy and throw the wielder off balance. Not sure if your video took that into consideration.
3. In medieval days knights trained for extensive hours to not only swing blades for hours, but also run around in plate. They grew up to wield those weapons with uncanny precision, which is something a person can’t replicate.

On a side note. We are talking about Tyria here, a fantasy realm, where people are born into magic and where the world functions according to laws that our realm can’t compare to. Is it really all that unthinkable that the races there are born with some form of natural magical infusion that allows them to function at superhuman levels?

This is true.
I do medieval fencing and BB, those big fantasy swords weigh 20kg, a medieval sword just 5kg.
I can lift it sure, but can only do 1 swing every 3-4 sec, while with a normal medieval 2hander I can swing 3-4 hits per second.
I’m pretty sure not even BB champions can use a 20kg 2hander smoothly.

Still, it’s true that human male’s walking-with-GS animation is pretty…well… uncomfortable to replicate, you would have poor balance.
But Norn animation isn’t any better, holding a GS like that would give you terrible balance as well as wrist pains.
The only realistic running animation with GS is that of Asuras; they keep the weight on the shoulder and the balance in the middle so that your body absorbs the weight.

But this is a game right?
People throws magic and summons things, so I guess I can hold a 20kg GS in this game.

On the bright side, greatswords do look rad. Hammers on the other hand.. look more like a stolen array of jotun doorknobs.

Hi,
To me the animation looks strange because of the extra movement to get the blade in to position to perform the cut. And yah some hammers do look bad.

On weight of great swords:
http://www.thearma.org/essays/2HGkittenml
The last picture almost looks like the stance.

Greatswords in this game are for the most part Final Fantasy levels of
“dedrater”(<-begin reading here).

There are just a precious few that don´t break out into the immersion breaking fantasy valley of “ridiculously impossible to actually swing”.

How our toons wield these “fences” is the least part to worry about.