Board Thread:Off Topic/@comment-27082610-20170205050026/@comment-24534644-20170211174943

Something a lot of people seem to either forget, or don't realize in the first place, is that RWBY weapons are not "melee mode/gun mode" by definition. Nor are they all "awesome transforming capabilities" by definition. Yes, a lot of the weapons in the show have both ranged and melee forms, and many weapons have transformations as they shift from one mode to another. But it's never superfluous. No weapons have alternate modes and cool transformations just for the sake of having them, nor should they. Believe it or not, practicality DOES play a part in weapon design.

So if the weapon is a gun with both long range sniper fire and mid-range rapid fire, is the guy wielding it going to find himself in melee range all that often? Having something for melee is common sense, just as a precaution, but altering the entire weapon and giving him a new fighting style for it, when he'll rarely ever be in melee range in the first place, is just foolish. I dare say that for a weapon like that, melee combat SHOULD intentionally be left as a weak point. Maybe the wielder just really doesn't like being up close and personal with opponents, and avoids it to the best of his ability. Considering there are giant man-shaped wolves and little girls carrying huge scythes out there, no one would blame him.