User blog comment:123chaseyoung/Knights Hospitaller vs Sohei Monks/@comment-17814994-20171031181443

'Elgb's "War of Religion" EDGES!!! ' Short: Its true that none of these weapons are going to penetrate each other's weapons. But the longsword's straigther blade will be a better tool for pinpointing unarmored parts than the curved katana, especially since the samurai's lamellar armor has a lot of gaps to thrust to than the plate/gambeson armor combo. EDGE: Knights

Mid: The naginata is a decent weapon on both foot and horseback, but tis primarily a slashing weapon. The halberd has more options to choose from and can be devastating to both foot soldiers and cavalry. No contest. EDGE: Knights

Long: Ah yes, the good ol' bow vs crossbow debate. Normally each has their own advantages and disadvantages. The most powerful bow beats the best crossbow in terms of range, speed and power, but the bow is easier to train with, more practical and with better accuracy. Sadly the yumi, while a 7 foot longbow, only has an effective range of 40 yards at most in the era of Feudal Japan. It also lacks any form of power or penetration, especially if the enemy is wearing armor. The bes tthe yumi can do is if its used on horseback and potshot the enemy through speed. But the crossbow would have killed the sohei before he can do so with its superior range, accuracy and power. If its able to take on plate armor then there's no doubt it will go through a sohei with armor or his horse. EDGE: Knights

Special: Wel the tanegishima lacks built in shoulder stocks for accuracy but it still beats the old-fashioned matchlock in terms of accuracy since its got front sights, and reliability since it can fire on horrible conditions. EDGE: Sohei

Armor: The samurai armor is a good piece of armor but its scales can be chipped off with time. It lacks the solidity of the plate armor to effectively block of that much blunt force trauma from steel weapons. A steel crossbow with armor-piercing bolts will easily go through it, and it also elaves a lot of gaps for the longsword to exploit. The plate armor is simple yet forged to perfection to be able to block powerful longbows, spear thrusts, sword strikes and blunt force trauma. Some variants can even resist bullets. COmbining it with gambeson adn you get an almsot invincible form of armor. It'll make anyone slow, but it will get the job done. EDGE: Knights

Deadliest Warrior?

This is a good twist to the old Knight vs Samurai debate but in the end I have to go with the Knights Hospitallers. The Sohei are terrific warriors but they lack the weapons and experience that the Hospitallers possess. The Lords of Malta beat them in almsot every weapon category from having the better sword, polearm and ranged weapons as well as armor. Worse, is that the Sohei's experience is limited mostly to whatever conflicts being fought in Japan, while the Hospitallers have fought enemies from all across the globe, even the Medieval World's superpowers such as Tartars and Ottomans. Sohei stands no chance.