Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-26259025-20150401152057

10.Jaune Arc



At number 10, we have Jaune Arc. I wasn’t sure I wanted to include him in this list- it’s made pretty clear he’s not much of a fighter. One on one with any of the other Beacon students, you’ve got to believe he’d be out of his league. But this is a list about how valuable they are in a fight, not just about pure skill, so I couldn’t leave him out of the list for the pure fact, I believe he’s a fine leader for team JNPR. He’s sort of like a Warpriest- orchestrating things, staying out of the thick of things to watch his friends backs. Plus, people seem to rally around him. Nobody batted an eyelid when he was named Leader of JNPR, because they know he’s always going to have his team's best interests at heart. So I think he’s deserving of a place.

9.Neptune Vasillias

We haven’t seen much of Neptune in a fight, but if his best friend Sun is anything to go on, he’s probably pretty handy to have around when things get ugly. We know he’s got some measurable degree of skill with his weapon. He’s a little bit of an oddball, and I’m currently unsure of what his role in the show really is. A rival to Jaune for Weiss’ affection? That whole storyline seems to have died out somewhat. Certainly, those two were rivaling each other for number 10 spot, but I gave Neptune the benefit of the doubt. Hopefully, we’ll see more Neptune and team SSSN soon, then we’ll have a clearer idea of what kinda guy we’re dealing with.

8.Nora Valkyrie

Our number 8, Nora, is great fun. She’s got an abundance of skills, and her chaotic approach to combat is always awesome to watch. Her weapon is also really cool- I feel like i’m watching a game of oversized whack-a-mole whenever she’s wielding that thing. Of course, all the fights she has been in have been with her team. We’ve not seen much of how she’d fare against a single, skilled opponent. I think pretty well. Definitely deserving of the number 8 spot, for pure enthusiasm and recklessness in battle.

7.Sun Wukong

<span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">This guy. That fight with Roman is crazy, I can’t tell what on Earth is going on half the time. I think he may be the only character so far to block projectiles with his weapon, almost Jedi-like. The versatility of his weapon, and the fluency in which he transitions between staff, nunchaku and shotgun is a joy to behold. His unarmed prowess also seems to be excellent, using that in tandem with his agility, and his weaponry. Again, I hope we see more Sun and SSSN in the future, hopefully fighting as a unit. He may have only had the spotlight for a scene or two, but Sun’s awesome Kung-fu fighting style makes him our number 7. Plus, lever-action shotguns are cool.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">6.Lie Ren

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">A difficult one at number 6. Definitely stylish, and effective in a fight, he almost has a “Japanese Mafia” feel to him, wielding his two SMGs. I think what won him the spot was the first time we see him in action- against the two King Taijitu. That, though clearly a hard fight, was really impressive. Certainly, Lie’s style is what makes him such an intriguing character. Pretty reserved most of the time, but absolutely brutal in a fight (exemplified by the way he dealt with the first King Taijitu, that was lethal), Lie makes for one valuable comrade. If he spoke up more, he’d probably be the Leader of JNPR. “Float like a Butterfly, sting like a Bee” seems to be his philosophy. Let’s hope we see more of the same from Ren, as well as discover his semblance.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">5.Yang Xiao Long

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">You’re probably thinking “One of the main 4 characters not in the top 4....what?” <span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;"> <span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Let me explain. Yang is great in a fight. She’s by far the most physically powerful on the list, and you may believe someone who can punch robots to bits deserves a top 4 place. But, I think Yang is limited by her semblance. Unlike the semblances seen in other characters, it has a perceivable downside- Yang can become TOO angry and aggressive. If your semblance launches you into a rage, smart, or skilled enough combatants can take advantage of that. Sure, she could floor you in one hit- but, she has to actually hit you first. This is shown in her fight against Neo. She was completely outclassed and outmaneuvered. I didn’t necessarily think she’d win, but I didn’t think she’d be so easily defeated. In spite of all this, I actually believe Yang’s impressive track record in battles speaks volumes about her power. On a good day, she could probably get the best of anyone else on this list. Well, as long as that person doesn’t realise parasols are made of tougher stuff than robots.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">4.Ruby Rose

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Our protagonist, the ever-bumbling Ruby Rose, comes in at number 4. I don’t actually believe we’ve seen the best of Ruby in the show yet. She was incredible in the Red trailer, but I never quite know what to expect when I see her charging into battle with that unceremoniously gargantuan scythe. The juxtaposition of the 4 main characters is interesting; Ruby, the smallest has the largest, most gratuitous weapon. Yang, the largest has the smallest, most diminutive weapon. But, that’s besides the point. Ruby really is the wildcard, and she never seems to get much use out of her semblance. But, I’ve got to mention the fact she is two years younger than all these other characters. That gap in experience, yet still being just as skillful and crucial to the team speaks absolute volumes about Ruby’s potential. I really want to see her live up to it, and, as a sidenote, we need to see more character development from Ruby. She’s supposed to be our heroine, but, I really feel like she’s just along for the ride at this moment in time.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">3.Weiss Schnee

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Yes, number 3, Mrs. Schnee. Maybe a little bias on my part- Weiss is my favourite character, and I personally would wield her weapon, if given the choice between any from the show. But, let’s put aside my preferences for now, and look at why Weiss deserves a higher rank then arguably more prolific fighters. I almost feel like I’m watching Kingdom Hearts when I see her fight, the sparkly powers, the 3-dimensional mobility, and the fact it seems no matter how much she attacks something, it takes her a long time to do any real damage. Weiss is the only character, bar Blake that seems to get any real use out of her semblance. Infact, Weiss seems to be the least physically powerful character. So much so she relies so heavily on her semblance to get power behind her attacks, that she’d be almost entirely useless without it. However, I say “almost”, because Weiss would probably remember she has a weapon specifically designed to make use of dust, if she didn’t have her semblance. Though Weiss’ dexterity and speed in impressive, she is entirely more effective using her dust and semblance to help her team out. She also seems to have a problem picking her battles. She’d maybe fare better against adversaries that weren’t 3 times her size. Despite all this, think of how many times Weiss’ abilities have gotten her friends out of sticky situations. Weiss is deserving of her number 3 spot, purely for the fact her use of dust and semblance really help team RWBY as a whole.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">2.Pyrrha Nikos

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Pyrrha is sort of the opposite of Jaune in a lot of ways- exceptional in her skills, but painfully modest about it. She doesn’t come across as a leader, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Her skills have been played down slightly since the first episode (think of when she saves Jaune from landing by harpooning him). The fight sequence against team CRDL makes me think how much faith people must have in her abilities, to let her single-handedly take on 4 people. And she defeats them, like it’s second nature. We don’t know a lot about Pyrrha. We know she has some weird tension going on with Jaune, which is yet to be resolved, and we know she’s an incredible fighter. But she’s the only person who seems completely oblivious to that fact, like when she’s fighting, she’s not doing it for herself. Her semblance is certainly interesting, and explains why she is so ridiculously difficult to hit. I think Pyrrha merits the second spot, for pure skill, and knowledge of how to fight, as well as other concepts such as aura.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">1. Blake Belladonna

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">I was hesitant to do this. Does Blake Belladonna really merit my top spot? Yes. Yes she does.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Let’s think about the fact Blake has probably had more experience fighting than anyone else in this list. Her training was always in situations where she could’ve been killed, and the fact she’s survived up until this point really shows just how skilled she is. And nobody expected it. You can’t tell if she enjoys fighting, or she’s just grown accustomed to it. Regardless, she’s a lethal combatant. Look at her track record. A lot of wins on it. Her second encounter with Roman really showed of how, like Weiss, she can get a tonne of use out of her semblance, and what’s more is her semblance is really, really cool. Like Pyrrha, she’s modest about her abilities, and the only one of team RWBY who never seems to want a fight. Her weapon has tremendous versatility, though I’m still a little unsure how a pistol/dual swords/sickle really works. She is something of a healthy balance between the other 3 members of her teams traits- Yang’s strength, Ruby’s speed, and Weiss’ semblance use. This balance leaves her with no glaring weaknesses, and if she does have any, they haven’t been made as explicitly clear as her teammate’s- Yang’s lack of versatility, Ruby’s inexperience, and Weiss’ frailty. Because of all this, and the fact Blake has been living in a battle before coming to Beacon, she is quite deserving of the number 1 spot.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">I just realised the top 4 in this list are all female. I think that’s cool.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Some interesting matchups

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Let’s have a look at some interesting fights that would occur, if these character weren’t all on the same side. Let me know what you think would happen in them.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">#1.Blake Belladonna Vs #2.Pyrrha Nikos

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Well, #1 Vs #2 is always an interesting matchup. Blake certainly has the mobility advantage, but Pyrrha is ludicrously difficult to hit. Of course, Blake is smart enough to know a head on assault against Pyrrha is foolhardy. But, Blake could quite possibly address the issue of Pyrrha’s shield in a number of ways- she could use Gamboul Shroud’s Sickle-and-chain weapon to go around the shield and strike Pyrrha. She could charge head on, but use her shadow ability to feint, and get around the back or sides. Pyrrha’s response to those tactics? Simple. Semblance. We can assume Blake’s weaponry is made of metal that Pyrrha’s polarity ability would work on, and if that is indeed the case, she could quite easily stop Blake’s flailing strikes. As for the feint tactic, that would depend on Pyrrha’s reaction time to Blake’s sudden change of position, and whether or not she anticipated this from Blake. It would be an immensely interesting fight, and I wouldn’t want to call it. I’d maybe have to give Pyrrha the win, for the fact polarity could negate Blake’s weaponry entirely, but I don’t want to underestimate the character I named #1.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">#3. Weiss Schnee Vs #7. Sun Wukong

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">I’m not sure what kind of defence Weiss would have against Sun’s shotguns, but I suppose she can blag pretty much anything with her glyphs. Of course, this fight would be filled with acrobatics, nimble movement, and astounding dexterity from both combatants. Let’s look at Weiss’ chances first; Weiss shines when she has the freedom to use dust. One decent use of ice, and she could quite easily freeze Sun in place and that would be that. But, let’s assume, like when she fought the Lieutenant, she can’t really use dust in much of an offensive capacity. What then? Well, she’d need to fall back on her swordplay, which is by no means a bad thing. But, I really do wonder about the amount of damage that sword can really do. One minute, It’s slashing through suits of armour (as metaphorical as that may have been), the next, it’s giving the Lieutenant tiny scratches. That may be something to do with aura, but Sun would have an aura. I also think as much as Weiss can use her glyphs, there’s no evidence Sun couldn’t take advantage of them either. So, without dust, Sun’s durability advantage over Weiss would probably see him through. However, let’s assume now Weiss has free reign to use dust. Much like the conditions Weiss needs for dust usage, Sun needs for his acrobatics. Open spaces, lots of room to move around. This would allow him the space needed to avoid Weiss’ dust attacks, whilst countering with his own agility. I believe he’s got the slight advantage on mobility, and he’s shown how easily he can take on multiple opponents, albeit, they were henchmen. Overall, this fight is a close one, but I think as long as Weiss had the means to make full use of her dust, she’d come out on top.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">#5. Yang Xiao Long Vs #6. Lie Ren

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">These two are more similar than they might first appear. Both wield ranged weapons, which are just as capable at performing as melee weapons here. Both have some training in a martial art of sorts, and the only key difference is Yang’s forceful approach, which seems in stark contrast to Lie’s swifter, more agility-based style. Let’s take look at Yang’s chances; she could ascertain the upper hand if she was the one taking all the punishment, as she gets stronger the more hits she takes. But, like I mentioned, a smart, agile adversary like Lie might be able to take advantage of that. Yang could obviously fight with her back to the wall, keeping her quicker adversary at bay, but I don’t see her doing that. I see her going on the offensive right from the start, and then it’s almost 50/50 as to whether or not Lie can avoid her and slowly wear her down for long enough. Yang is ridiculously strong, and if she landed enough hits early on, Lie would be bested. However, assuming he got away from her, he could pepper her with bullets. Yang does not have much defence against ranged attacks, nor the agility to dodge them. Yang could retaliate with her own ranged attacks, but if Lie is on form, he probably wouldn't be too troubled by them. There is one massive flaw in Lie taking this tactic; when Yang takes enough punishment her semblance kicks into gear. Remember, we’re assuming by this point Lie has been using his speed to keep away from Yang. Now, the issue is Yang not only becomes stronger, she becomes leagues faster when her semblance fires up. This would probably spell defeat for Lie, as the blades attached to his weapons don’t offer much in the way of defence from Yang’s furious flurry of blows, and unlike Yang’s gauntlets, his guns can be disarmed with relative ease. I can’t look past a Yang victory for this fight, but it wouldn’t be an easy one.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">#4. Ruby Rose Vs #8. Nora Valkyrie

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Well, to wrap up this post, let’s take a look at our heroine, Ruby, vs the ever chaotic Nora. This is certainly the battle of the ridiculously oversized weapons. And this is also by a country mile the most unpredictable fight amongst them. As I mentioned earlier, Ruby is a mixed bag when it comes to combat- either exceptional, or average, with not much rhyme and reason to it. Nora is much the same. Reckless, doing as much damage to her surroundings as her enemies with that sledgehammer/grenade launcher. Not that either of them aren't effective, but their weapons do certainly seem to be geared towards fighting enemies much larger than themselves. Dueling with a scythe twice your size is quite awkward, I imagine. I literally cannot think of the pros and cons, of the tactics they might employ to try and gain victory, but I’ll try. Let’s look at Ruby’s chances; Ruby, assuming she remembered she had a pretty awesome semblance, could avoid Nora’s predictable hammer strikes, or slow moving-projectiles. So, I’d probably give the fight to Ruby- but there’s now way to really tell what would happen, both are so reckless and chaotic, they’d probably knock each other out at exactly the same time or something. <span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;"> <ac_metadata title="From the POV of a crackpot; Who is the best fighter?"> </ac_metadata>