Samurai Weapon: Nodachi or basic katana

[Jonnycbad]

Here's a brief and crude description. Samurai usually wore two swords in a pair of long (katana) and short (wakizashi were shorter katana and tanto were more like daggers). The katana is a 2 handed weapon, you often cannot attain enough speed or strength against an armored opponent using a sword in 1 hand, especially for draw cuts. We know historically, the wakizashi was used for:
-Close quarters, where an opponent was too close to use a 5 foot long blade.
-A shorter blade was lighter and had a shorter handle and could be manipulated easily with a single hand and be used extremely close to slide between the armor plates of a downed opponent or through the front of an armored helmet.
-If the katana was damaged, broken, or disarmed, the wakizashi was a side-arm.

[Jonnycbad]

Very rarely did Samurai dual wield. Did it -never- happen? No, some probably did. But on a battlefield, it would be pointless. People wore armor to battle, you can do damage while dualwielding against people wearing mail. To use a katana properly, which requires both hands obviates the need to dual wield. It would be like a modern soldier using a rifle in one hand and a handgun in another hand. Sure you could aim at two targets simultaneously but the accuracy and recoil would do more harm than good. Just because some warriors wore two weapons doesn't mean they were used simultaneously.

[ShinMetsu]

This thread kinda makes me miss FFXI, pretty much literally everyone could be pleased then :'(
And i also think that FFXI did it pretty well in regards to size. Not all were the same size or shape.

So why don't we hope for both Nodachi and 'basic' Katana sizes and glamour as we see fit?

[SigmaOZ]

You know how we get lots of weapons to choose from right!?... Well, we could get both long swords and normal swords and then we select the one we want to use!...

Sephiroth's sword is cool, two handed.

Kenshin's sword is cool too, single handed or two handed depending on the hit ... I suppose.

Samurai, the real ones I mean, use two swords, the smaller one may always be sheathed but it's there waiting to be used, SE couldn't possibly miss that!...

[Morningstar1337]

I think the Samurai class should totally use a Bow. Because why not?

Two Words: Armory System. BRD already has that and apparently all Jobs must have a unique weapon at the core of their identity (or all classes, due to ACN)

[Silkerin]

What really matters is.... it better have a damn sheath to store it when not fighting... also to make those classic iaido moves and such...

[Tint]

Two Words: Armory System. BRD already has that and apparently all Jobs must have a unique weapon at the core of their identity (or all classes, due to ACN)

black mage and white mage are also using literally the same weapon type: a cance.

samurai will use a 2 hander sword, just like dark knight.

they can add a class with the traditional japanese bow like they can add a class with a katana, i see no problem here.

[Jonnycbad]

Samurai will not get a bow for the same reason why BLM don't get daggers, BRD doesn't get a flute, DRG doesn't get swords etc. One weapon type per class. The exception is BLM and WHM that get both single and two handed weapons but they've streamlined it in 3.0 and no new 1-handed weapons will be made moving forward for them.

Also, blm and whm use different weapons. WHM 90% of the time uses a wand or staff made from untreated wood. BLM use metal rods that usually have a gem or crystal on them. It was explained in their job quests.

[Cakekizyy]

In FF XI, ninja used small katanas. Since they don't here, maybe samurai could use both large and small.

[Laerune]

Maybe they could turn the wakizashi into a skill? Rogue/Ninja wield daggers(short sword to be honest), yet they have skills where they throw little daggers, this could also work for the Samurai. I think if we follow FF history then the weapon should be a nodachi, but my inner anime-fanboy wants the normal katana that anime characters wield in combat.