User blog comment:Lasifer/Fallout User Tourney: Arrow vs. Ethank/@comment-143604-20120721050739

Drayco90's Edgy Edges of Edgy Edgin-AMERICA!


 * Melee Range- Even. The Protonic Inversal Axe is a longer weapon, giving it an immediate edge in range and swing, but it's a much slower weapon. When you use this axe, your options are basically limited to basic chopping/slashing- it's not designed for anything else, and the weapon is crafted to be optimized for robot and power armor fighting- Cobb here is neither wearing power armor nor is he a robot. His Katana is a major weapon for him- this much is clear because he's taken the time to modify it extensivly, giving it a fresh and stronger blade and balancing the grip, allowing it to do much more damage than normal and allows him to attack faster with it. The Katana gives Jack an immediate edge in its versatility- it allows Jack to stab, slash, thrust, parry and all the wide range of melee skills that being a master in close range fighting bring with it, and it can do it much faster than someone wielding a Protonic Inversal Axe could. This finesse will allow the Katana to deal some major damage, but the Protonic Inversal Axe will still be a nightmare of a weapon- it'll be hard to block, and when it strikes a blow it can be devestating to Jack's armor. I'm calling this even, because whoever can get a solid hit in first with one of these weapons will be able to end the fight shortly afterwards if they don't "drop their combo" so to speak.


 * Close Range- Jack Cobb. The Ranger Sequoia and the Plasma Defender are both pretty good firearms, but the NCR revolver of choice has an obvious edge here- it deals nearly twice as much damage as the Defender does at a faster rate than the Defender can fire and has more range and accuracy. The Plasma Defender, like all Plasma weapons, sacrifices speed and precision for raw power, and in comparison it hurts the gun pretty badly here. The only two things that the Plasma Defender has on the Sequoia is that it holds many more times as much ammo in a single battery than the revolver has bullets, and it can be reloaded faster. This isn't much of an advantage however, because the Ranger Sequoia isn't exactly a slow weapon to reload itself, being able to be fully reloaded in three seconds, compared to 2 for the Defender. When your weapon packs more accurate and stronger punches, and you're an infamous marksman, you make those bullets count, and count they goddam well do. The Plasma Defender simply won't be a match.


 * Mid-Range- Jack Cobb. This was a really hard choice, but while the Laser Assisted Electrical Rifle is capable of doing much more damage than the Marksman Carbine can, the Marksman Carbine fires at a much higher rate and can do some serious damage by firing a burst at a foe and the Carbine is slightly more precise, no doubt a side-effect of actually having a scope. The more reserved nature of firing the LAER can be replicated, though with less punch, with the Carbine, but the LAER's lack of versatility make it less than practicle for a straight up slugfest of a fight. Both guns feature a clip of the same size, but while the Marksman Carbine will burn through it faster (whether because of the semi-auto fire or because of firing more frequently to compensate for the lower damage in a more accuracy single-shot based encounter), it can also reload faster and begin opening fire again. The LAER does have one major ace in the hole- its a much lighter gun, this will allow Koyoto to quickly fall back and perform hit and run style attacks, which will make Cobb's Marksman Carbine have some difficulty. However, this advantage comes with a side-effect; the gun can't take as much punishment. It's incredibly fragile for a battle-worn weapon, and in the post apocalyptic world where every hour of every day is a struggle just to stay alive, nothing is ever anywhere near pristine condition- this LAER could easily begin to break or fall apart on Koyoto, and if Cobb can recognise, is familiar with the weapon, or is simply lucky enough to try and shoot it out of his hands, the gun won't last the fight. In the end, because of its superior rate of fire, versatility, endurance and accuracy, I give this edge to Cobb.


 * Long Range- Koyoto. This is a pretty hugely obvious edge, in the end. The Bozar is the ultimate sniping weapon- while it may not pack as much an obvious punch as the basic Sniper Rifle, which deals higher damage, the Bozar is packing six times as many shots in a clip, can fire much faster without the accuracy taking an obvious dip in precision. The gun is powerful enough to pierce even the strongest of defenses with ease, and while it is a pretty fragile weapon, the sniper rifle is just as bad, if not worse. When it comes to these two weapons, the sniper rifle may be packing raw power, but that won't matter when 30 rounds of precise death come visit your throat for a fine hello. It helps that Koyoto's armor will help make him more stealthy, allowing him to use the Bozar for a hidden ambush attack, and can make trying to spot him with the Sniper Rifle scope a dangerous game- if Jack does search the distance with the scope to aim, there's a high chance he won't see Koyoto without an extended period of searching- if Jack is wasting that time looking for Koyoto, then Cobb could already be a deadman and not even know it because if Koyoto isn't actually where Cobb is searching, always a possible risk with a sneaky opponent, than he could easily be lining up his own shot on the much more obvious target or coming up from behind with another weapon. In addition to its superiority as a sniper, the Bozar doubles as an LMG, allowing it to be just as devestating in the mid-range category as it is in the long range. Obvious edge goes to the stronger gun with more options.


 * Explosive- Jack Cobb. THe MFC cluster is a more powerful explosive because it's essentially six different explosives put together in one delightful firecracker of pain and misery. The Nuka Grenade may have a more lingering effect, by irradiating the area of the blast radius upon boom, but it's a fairly inaccurate greanade overall and is a fairly reckless weapon. The MFC Clusters work like mines, allowing Cobb to set up complicated traps that can make Koyoto's job a nightmare- being a marksman, it's logical that Cobb would want to hold a defensible position and force Koyoto to come to him, using his long range skill to pick off his foe's defenses until he can get the kill shot to seal the deal, and with the MFC clusters placed in strategic locations around the area he can easily weaken or nullify Koyoto's very important elements of stealth and surprise. Essentially- six more treacherous explosives are superior to a single unpredictable one.


 * Armor- Koyoto. This is a pretty good match-up, overall. The Stealth Suit Mk. II may only have 2/3 the same protection as the Advanced Riot Gear, and slightly less durability, but that's because it's a much more specialized suit- the Riot Gear is made to defend against attacks like all armor, but the Stealth Suit does that and is designed to make getting attacked a much less likely proposition. The suit increases the stealth of the wearer greatly, making Koyoto harder to see, which is a major problem for a marksman, and it also boosts up Koyoto's SPECIAL stats- giving him one additional perception and agility point. Another benefit to this Stealth Suit is the on-board computer, which gives Koyoto some advice in-combat, while also auto-administering any meds and stims as needed and alerting him to when he's in trouble, when he's been detected and other helpful notifications. All of this comes up against a very strong suit of armor, but one that's not /so/ much stronger that it's not a competition, the only real perk it's bringing in is night-vision, which won't be a huge additional aid. All in all, I give this one over to Koyoto because it not only defends him, it augments his abilities in combat and makes him a much more stealthy adversary.


 * Companion- Even. A Nightstalker is a Nightstalker is a Nightstalker. I can't really call this one without additional information (IE- loyalty, tactics of the animal, how long they've had it and how badly has it been injured if the answer is "a long time", ect.)


 * Deadliest Warrior- Jack Cobb. Overall, Cobb's packing an arsenal of more versatile and useful weapons which will allow him to take control of the situation in most regards, and can do massive damage. Koyoto's stealth and powerful edge in long range give him a MASSIVE edge up in this, but his inability to bring something compelling to the table in the other ranges will be his undoing as he is simply outclassed by his more versatile opponent. Close one to call, but in the end I do have to go with Cobb.