User blog comment:Lasifer/Samus Aran vs Predator Re-Match/@comment-143604-20120413024302

Drayco90's Edgy Edges of Edginess


 * Close Range- Predator. Hand-to-hand is always a vital skill for a warrior to master, and in the right hands (ba dum tish) can really change the tide of a fight. However, Samus Aran has never really been that much of a fist fighter- her armor, while no where near "cumbersome", still doesn't exactly lend itself toward fighting mano-e-mano, and she just seems to prefer using big, crazy-ass sci-fi guns and weaponry instead, as a personal preference. The Predator, on the other hand, has demonstrated considerable balance in all ranges, but easily seems to prefer the closer ranges, and the Wrist Blades are a devestating weapon. I believe that they really do pack enough force to cut Samus' armor. Maybe not enough to draw blood, but enough to wear the suit down, or if the fight has been going on for a while, take advantage of her weakened state to tear into her. Samus' hand to hand may be effective as a generality, but her lack of preference or options in the area are what damn her. The Blades also have superior reach and piercing power, but that kind of goes without saying. I said it anyway though. I'm daring like that.


 * Mid-Range- Samus Aran. The Predator's Combi-Stick was always a weapon that never really held up to me. It only beats the range of the Wrist Blades by a rather minor margin, and doesn't seem to pack near the same affinity for piercing power. I suppose you could throw it like a real spear, but that would be more of a desperate measure than a real advantage, and while I can honostly see the Wrist Blades making a sizeable dent in Samus' defense, I don't see the Combi-Stick doing the same. The Power Beam is a Samus mainstay for a reason- at a full charge, this thing packs enough force to topple some massive and high-resistance foes, and can do so at multiple ranges. Granted, in a heated battle, there is not always the luxury of time to charge that bad boy up; fortunatly, the Power Beam has some, uh...power to spread, even on the non-charged blasts, which are still strong enough to do decent damage, espicially if used to simply needle foes like an aggresive, territorial salamander-lizard-gun. The Power Beam has a wide variety of uses, can't be disarmed, is highly reliable, won't be breaking mid-battle and can be charged up for some surprise damage. The Combi-Stick is packing none of these credentials, and that leaves the Predator open in the mid-range.


 * Long Range- Since we've got too incredibly comparable weapons, let's break it this into two categories, shall we?


 * The Plasma Weapon- Samus. The Plasma Beam is one of Samus' most powerful weapons, both in terms of raw physical power and in terms of range. While the Predator's Plasma Cannon is a deadly weapon as well, it is basically a nerfed version of the Plasma Caster- the Plasma Cannon is not mounted on the shoulder, which reduces accuracy and causes the Predator to use a hand to wield the weapon, while its own wiki is unsure if the Cannon would really be that helpful in longer ranges. If the fight were to move into closer ranged territory, than we would be talking more about the Pred Cannon's strong suites, but the Plasma Beam is an incredible weapon for one major reason- not only is it crazy strong AND hard hitting- it just keeps going, and going. When this thing hits organic enemies, it goes straight on through, taking Predator pieces with it, effectivly crippling her foe. If it hits some armor, than this Beam is going to keep firing into it, wearing down the armor and weakening it tremendously. If this was the Plasma Caster, it may be more even, but by taking the gun off the shoulder mounting, the Predator loses a MASSIVE asset in the longer ranges, and it's one that Samus Aran will be MORE than willing to take advantage of.


 * Whips- Samus. This is another pretty close one, but I see the Predator's whip like I see the Claws- effectivly, I could see this thing doing some minor damage to the suit, but don't think it can unleash enough trouble that Samus won't be able to do even more damage herself while the Predator is vulnerable using it. Against a strictly organic enemy, this whip would be brutal...barbaric even, with enough tearing and cutting force to cleave a man in half. Against the armor, I could see some major scrapping being done, but nothing too significant, and while Samus is in the whip, she's basically got a damn fine shot at the Predator, unless the alien gets lucky with the whip's throw. Samus' whip doesn't have a very combat-specific role (though, I suppose one could be made for it), but it does aid her in mobility tremendously. She's already going to be running circles around the Pred, but with the Grapple Beam, she'll be manipulating the enviroment to her advantage. She who controls the battlefield, in turn controls the battle, and Samus will be able to move about and do this much faster with the aid of the Grapple Beam. This is a case where the raw practicality of a tool balances out its lack of killing power.


 * Explosive- Samus. The Predator's Plasma Grenade packs a tremendous punch, and if Samus is caught in the blast, she's definitly going to Zero Suit faster than you can count to its namesake, but the Missiles are versatile, with multiple crazy elemental effects that really pack an extra punch. The missiles will give Samus more explosive flexibility, able to strike from multiple ranges and from multiple angles with hit and run tactics. The grenade will provide enough time to dodge or roll away, while the Missiles simple spammy nature will allow her to overwhelm the Preadtor's position, and making locking down an area impossible for her foe. The anti-personel mines will be deadly, if the Predator has time to put them down before the battle, because if not, it's going to be hard for him to predict what Samus will do with the precision and time required to take maximum effect. Samus' Morph Ball explosive, however, require no such planning, and can be dropped anywhere, anytime. They may not be as effective alone, but Samus' mobility to help her set up the bombs fater, coupled with the powerful missiles, will help Samus dominate her opponet here.


 * Special- Predator. The Phazon Beam is raw power in beam form, but is a double-edged sword, doing damage to Samus as well. If she can't end the fight quick enough, than it damn well could be the vulnerability the Predator needs to get a kill shot in, or at the very least, get in a crippling injury. The Preadator's Blazer is similar to the Phazon Beam, being a crazy awesome, overpowered beam of death and destruction, but the Blazer has three major advantages over the Phazon Beam- one; the Blazer is shoulder mounted, so it can be used without stopping while on the move, and is more accurate, plus will allow the Predator to continue wielding weapons with both free hands. Two; the Blazer does not damage the Predator to use, though it seems to damage literally everything else but the Predator when it goes off. And three; the Blazer is, in fact, a fire based weapon. Pretty much a flamethrower for the shoulder. The Phazon Beam is not, in fact, a Flamethrower. The Smart Disk is no laughing matter either, able to pierce through Samus' armor without much resistance and deal some heavy damage if it hits, the disk is one of the Predator's most lethal killing tools.


 * Armor- Samus. Samus gets this one easy- her powered armor makes her stronger, faster and doesn't sacrifice flexibility or mobility to do it. It's a lot more durable than the Preadator's armor, and covers everything, while the Predators seem to enjoy forgoing pieces of armor, so they can show off their womanly figures in fishnet stockings that they've been working hard on that Weight Watchers plan for, to attract that one Preadtor with the awesome dreadlocks and them multiple Xenomorph dicks mounted on his wall from all of his hunts, so maybe he'll ask the Predator out to the homecoming dance at Predator High.

...

Okay, that tangent got kind of weird, really fast. Point is- the Predator likes to forgoe armor pieces for honor and hunting pride, but even if that's not the case here, the Predator's armor isn't near the stuff Samus has packed in her own suit.


 * Equipment- Samus. Whoo boy, Las- do you WANT Samus to steam roll the Pred here? First, the Predator's cloaking will be negated instantly with Samus' various vision modes, making stealth far less of an option, and leaving him fairly exposed. Samus has a lot more gear for a lot more situations. I don't really think I need any more detail than that.


 * Deadliest Warrior- Samus Aran is going to curbstomp the Preadator. She's got far better tech, mobility, defense and intellegence. She can hit the Predator harder from any range, and has much better variety of weapons and gear that will allow her to control the enviroment and the fight, no matter what turn it takes or what tactic the Predator gains. Samus' gear simply locks the Pred down, and leaves him with nothing to do.