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Crescent Rose is Ruby Rose's signature weapon. It is a High-Caliber Sniper-Scythe (HCSS) - a hybrid between a scythe, a bolt-action sniper rifle, and a war scythe. Ruby is first seen wielding it in the "Red" Trailer.

Description[]

As its name implies, Crescent Rose's frame is colored rose red and has black trims, with its large scythe blade forged into a crescent shape.

The most notable property of Crescent Rose is its converting frame, which allows it to transform between three different modes:

  • The "storage" mode, its most compact form convenient for transportation, and is stored underneath Ruby's cloak at her waist.
  • The "rifle" mode, where it takes the form of a medium-length, straight-pull bolt-action sniper rifle. In this form, the absence of the scythe makes for more effective use of the rifle component.
  • The "scythe" mode, its most expanded form, where it fully extends into the form of a scythe, allowing it to be used as a mid-to-close-range bladed polearm. This form also doubles as a long-barrel sniper rifle for long-range shots without giving up the melee capabilities of the scythe. If needed, the bottom of the shaft can unfold to add more cutting power in a close-quarters fight.

It is implied by Ozpin that a scythe-wielder of skill equivalent to either Ruby or Qrow Branwen would be necessary for the effective use of Crescent Rose. In particular, the user would have to deal with Crescent Rose's massive recoil.

Rather than attempt to compensate for it, Ruby harnesses the recoil to enhance her mobility in combat, firing shots to propel herself short distances, simultaneously attacking and evading opponents. She also uses her weapon's recoil to launch herself into the air, as demonstrated when she is launched into the air by Weiss Schnee while facing the Nevermore.

In close-range combat, Ruby can fire a shot immediately before a swing, using the recoil to increase the force and speed of her attack. She can also embed the scythe's blade into the ground to prevent the weapon's recoil from throwing off her aim with the sniper rifle component, allowing for rapid, accurate shots. In "Out in the Open", Crescent Rose has a strong enough recoil that it could trip a Megoliath.

Hyperdrive

The "unfolded" scythe form

A scythe also has a small, hook-like, double-pronged, jagged blade at the bottom of the shaft. Ruby can unfold a bladed, allowing for both a normal blade and two prongs to slice enemies at the same time for more power. In this form, a muzzle is also rotated 90 degrees which enables the muzzle blast to rotate Ruby instead of strictly launching her forward with recoil, increasing the slicing power drastically. The scythe can also be thrown in such a way that it returns to the user.

Atlas Upgrade[]

After arriving in Atlas, James Ironwood had Pietro Polendina upgrade Crescent Rose, giving Ruby the ability to activate a trigger on the upper handle that will then rotate a scythe's blade 180 degrees, becoming a war scythe, and making her able to attack in both sides. This is first displayed in the Schnee Dust Company Mine #2, when Ruby slays a Centinel through the use of her rotated blade.

Lucid Dream Version[]

In Ice Queendom, Crescent Rose undergoes a different design in Weiss' Dreamscape.

  • Sniper mode appears at the end of the hilt instead in the front like the original weapon.
  • While not a mode per se, in "Ice Queendom", the Inactive form of Crescent Rose resembles (and is used as) a snowboard.

History[]

Ruby built Crescent Rose when she attended Signal Academy, like the rest of the students who attended. She based her weapon on Harbinger, the weapon of her uncle Qrow Branwen, who was also a teacher at the school and taught her scythe fighting.

During her travels across Anima, Crescent Rose gained scratches and the blade became chipped due to usage. Following the fall of Beacon Academy, Crescent Rose has noticeable scratches on the paint and blades, and the blades also have a number of small dents along the edges. The scope also has a noticeable crack in its lens.

V8 14 00202

Crescent Rose is seen on a beach.

When Ruby arrived in Atlas, Crescent Rose gained an upgrade from Pietro Polendina, allowing Ruby to rotate the blade head around, letting her use it to attack in both sides. After Ruby fell into the void under the Central Location, Crescent Rose was seen on a shore in front of a strange tree.

Sometime later, Jaune Arc was able to find Crescent Rose and kept it safe for Ruby. When he returns the weapon to her in a chest however, she coldly closed it instead of taking it back. During the fight against the Jabberwalker clones made by Neopolitan in the Origami Acre, Ruby struggled to fight at all with her weapon and suffered from PTSD of what happened in Atlas and was almost devoured by a Jabberwalker clone as a result. After the battle was over and Jaune angrily asked Ruby why she didn't fight back as he tried to return her weapon to her, Ruby instead backed away and refused to take her weapon which causes everyone present to realize that something was wrong with Ruby. After her mental breakdown, Ruby takes her weapon and leaves her team and Jaune in tears.

Ruby later uses it to fight off Neo and deceased individuals from her life created by the latter's Semblance, after taking beating by a clone of Ozpin, she reaches for it to attack it only for the clone to turn into Oscar. When Ruby is given a choice to choose a weapon that can handle her burden, she hears her mother's voice and sees Crescent Rose glowing red in the glass case, she runs towards it, and chooses it, after breaking out of her chrysalis and regaining her self confidence, Ruby once again uses it to help her friends defeat the Curious Cat.

Dust Use[]

Crescent Rose is able to use different kinds of Dust ammunition, as first seen in the "Red" Trailer when she used Gravity Dust after reloading it with the said magazine. "Reloading", the 3rd episode of RWBY Chibi, has a skit which features Ruby trying out different Dust ammunition magazines.

  • Fire Dust - Spews flame from the muzzle of Crescent Rose.
  • Ice Dust - Fires icicle projectiles from Crescent Rose.
  • Gravity Dust - Increases the recoil effect when firing the Crescent Rose, propelling Ruby to faster acceleration speeds. This also produces a black muzzle flash with each shot.
  • Electric Dust - Fires an electric projectile that briefly paralyzes the target.

The "Red Trailer", "Reloading" skit, and "The Next Step" episodes indicate that different types of Dust round fired by Crescent Rose are marked with a distinctive symbol. Ice is marked with a snowflake, Fire with a small flame, Gravity with a symbol of four arrows pointing towards a central point, and Electric with a thunderbolt.

Trivia[]

  • Crescent Rose, alongside Gambol Shroud, is one of the only weapons thus far to have had its name spoken aloud in the show.
  • At one point, Ruby affectionately refers to the weapon as "Sweetheart", showing her fondness for the weapon.
ProductionDiary2 06800

An early model of Crescent Rose

  • Crescent Moon's original version was the Barrett M82 anti-materiel rifle with minor modifications, with the scythe mounted at the end of the barrel. The final version has very little in common with the M82.
  • Interestingly, despite having a bolt-action rifle form, during a battle against Roman Torchwick, Crescent Rose was briefly shown to have semi-automatic firing capabilities.
  • Gaia Online, an online community, created a detailed version of Crescent Rose shortly after the passing of RWBY's creator, Monty Oum. The item is called Red Crescent, and its description is "Keep moving forward." There are two versions: one for the human avatar and one for the animal avatar.
  • Rooster Teeth sold a real Crescent Rose on their store for a time.
  • Crescent Rose was one of a number of potential murder weapons named for the Rooster Teeth video series Ten Little Roosters. The weapon, however, was never seen and was one of a number of red herrings.
  • Crescent Rose, along with Ruby herself, appeared in the Steven Spielberg film Ready Player One.[5]
  • In Amity Arena, Scythe Ruby's Food-Fight outfit replaces the hilt with a regular metal pole and replaces the blade with a baguette.

References[]

  1. Fire Dust Symbol - seen on a magazine in "The Next Step"
  2. Electric Dust Symbol - seen on a magazine in "The Next Step"
  3. Gravity Dust Symbol - seen on a magazine in RWBY Chibi
  4. Gravity Dust Symbol - seen on a magazine in "Red" Trailer
  5. The Know
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