Why isn't anyone calling Rainbow Dash OP?

[Dark Qiviut 22,388]

On June 4, 2017 at 2:06 AM, KillerKingBakudan said:

The shot that comes after the explosion clearly shows Twilight and Applejack getting covered in a pile of dirt that came from the hole Dash put in the ground. It wasn't just the barn that took damage.

The dirt either came from the barn underneath or from the immediate aftermath of shock wave. That doesn't mean there was damage elsewhere. Remember, the stakes were downplayed.

On June 4, 2017 at 2:06 AM, KillerKingBakudan said:

No, but it does when a character is compared to another in terms of combative magic ability.

Rainbow Dash's flight power isn't all that strong for the reasons stated above. Notice how it hasn't been referenced again. If they do, then they're repeating a joke that was written for a specific storytelling purpose.

On June 4, 2017 at 2:06 AM, KillerKingBakudan said:

And with Starlight, I'm just not seeing it.

You can be a really powerful unicorn without massively combative or destructive power abilities. Twilight doesn't have the Dragonball powers anymore for reasons already stated, but she's still a very strong alicorn magically. The show shows us very deliberately that Starlight's not only very smart when it comes to understanding magic, but is also very good at triggering powerful or complicated magic well beyond Twilight's expertise.

(Keep in mind, I disagree with everyone calling Starlight overpowered. She's very powerful, but not to the degree of hyper-powerful.)

2 hours ago, KillerKingBakudan said:

Rainbow's dive bomb was used to point out a double standard.

Unfortunately, your experiment falls flat for two reasons:

1. It's nothing but bright, flashy graphics. There's nothing that powerful about it.
2. The majority of others already point out how your OP makes no sense. The fact that you had to explain your point does nothing but show how muddled and poorly put together your experiment was.

2 hours ago, KillerKingBakudan said:

The problem here is that everyone equates being an alicorn to being a god, which is ridiculous.

If you're going to blame anyone for this reputation of alicorns being insanely powerful, blame DHX for fueling it and reinforcing it.

To echo myself and @Cleverclover (a very good friend of mine) last year, the writers demonstrate very blatantly that alicorns are the top race of the entire show. Firstly, they're very respected members of an insanely wealthy social class. Secondly, outside of Flurry Heart, all of the alicorns are major rulers whose citizens depend on for maintaining high quality of life. Everything they say and do affects others around them. So few alicorns exist for this reason. When many bronies design alicorn OCs, it's often with rule or high levels of power in mind.

Throughout the series, Equestrians worship the Royal Family like religious deities or highly respected religious leaders. At times during the series (and was jabbed at in Celestial Advice), Equestrians used Celestia's name in vain like many of us in the West do when referencing God (i.e., "As Celestia is my witness," "In the name of Celestia," "I can't just send her off to Celestia-knows-where without thinking it through!", "Heavens to Celestia" [a reference to "Heavens to Betsy," an old phrase that's died out]).

Not every alicorn is so powerful. Of the four rulers, Cadance is easily the weakest. But the stereotype is perpetuated by DHX in three ways.

1. Celestia and Luna are capable of raising and setting the sun and moon, respectively, all by themselves. When Luna was banished, Celestia did both herself. Previously, it took the magic of many unicorns to perform the very same tasks.
2. Twilight borrowed all of the AliTrio's magic. The magic of the four alicorns was enough to evenly match Tirek, who stole the magic of every other pony and a literal God.
3. Two words: Flurry Heart. In The Crystalling, she was one of the most powerful characters in the entire show, and all because she's Equestria's first naturally born alicorn. It took the Crystalling to tame her magic.

Edited June 5, 2017 by Dark Qiviut

[Unlikeable Pony 2,698]

One thing that is kind of funny is that people DID call rainbow dash overpowered... BACK IN SEASON 1.
Back in S1 when there was very little super powerful magic in the show, Dash performing a "legendary flight maneuver" and giving the others their cutie marks was seen as incredible: its why there was jokes about Dash being Celestia's secret daughter and stuff like that.


The thing is, since then, dash has been MASSIVELY nerfed in how she's portrayed (constantly is crashing and screwing up in her flying abilities and is shown up a number of times by other Flyers like Spitfire) with a very clear message of "She's not THAT great". Dash is static, she hasn't grown at all in her flight abilities, there's no new maneuvers: she's still wining and dining on a single move from S1 while constantly crashing and screwing up in other moves and being taken down a peg when she tries to step up.
Comparatively, twilight and (later starlight) have been every INCREASINGLY shown to be growing in power, throwing out more and more absurdly powerful spells and abilities that could never have been dreamed of in S1 or even S2 (compare  how twilight's teleportation ability was less reliable in S1 and tired her out quickly, to how she can basically flash step around equestria ITSELF without slowing down now, or how starlight can clone herself or mind control ponies like its nothing).

Also compare how there are NO other unicorns anywhere CLOSE to twilight and starlight's level: they're basically magical gods, while dash is surrounded by tons of wonderbolt that have been shown to be easily on her level if not better due to experience. dash is surrounded by equal peers while twilight and starlight are not only worlds above dash in abilities but have zero peers who aren't immortal alicorns.

 

 

Power creep set in in a BIG way, as more and more impressive things have been shown and added in, while the sonic rainboom has become more and more "quaint", with dash being shown to be less and less competent and impressive compared to others as the show's gone on.  dash is like Yamcha from Dragon ball compared to power levels in DBZ: powerful and respectable once, hopelessly left behind now.

[Meeps 297]

On 6/3/2017 at 1:53 AM, Dark Qiviut said:

If she didn't, Tirek would've kicked her plot to the moon. Also, unlike the barn scene, this scene was treated 100% seriously. If Tirek won, Equestria was in deep shit.

Something about the way you wrote this was just beautiful, lol.

Anyway, RD's little dive bomb was purely in the moment for comedic effect. She doesn't regularly do this throughout to show, even when facing foes, so its not in her "skill set" so to say. Or at least, that's my take on the situation.

Also, this is totally ignoring how OP Maude Pie is, then. Remember her challenging Dash in that rock throwing competition? Scary.

Edited June 7, 2017 by Meeps

[Tilgoreth 1,915]

On 6/2/2017 at 2:26 AM, KillerKingBakudan said:

I see a lot of people complain about Starlight's magic, but I haven't seen her do anything nearly as destructive as this.



Rainbow Dash can demolish any structure in one go if she wanted to. Call it a gag if you will, but this still borders on DBZ-Twilight's level from the Season 4 finale.

Because all of the main charcters are op? And at varying times at that. Fluttershy can stare down a freaking dragon. That isn't op? Rarity using zero magic can tak on a freaking manticore. Oh and Spike a very small dragon has the firepower to melt a freaking iceberg. Oh and Pinkie Pie can do whatevr she wants.

[CheeryFox 23,821]

We know writers love to downscale powers if it's convenient. I would say her destructive potential is hella scary. -- But fodderizing her like that or making her OP af---won't make too much sense. Powerscaling is not to be taken lightly. 

[Hierok 11,831]

I think it would be nicer to see Starlight struggle with the complicated spells. It's going to easy for her. 

[CypherHoof 26,482]

9 minutes ago, Hierok said:

I think it would be nicer to see Starlight struggle with the complicated spells. It's going to easy for her. 

I think that is mostly practice - she didn't recognise the musicbox spell, which Twi claims is easy....

[K.Rool Addict 718]

Is everyone forgetting about Rainbow Dash's single most impressive feat of strength in the show?

[Phirun Natela 77]

Today I heard something new and unmemorable.

Edited June 26, 2023 by Phirun Natela

[K.Rool Addict 718]

On 2017-06-14 at 5:11 PM, Phirun Natela said:

It isnt that impressive. Anyways, I have never seen this scene. Which episode was it from?

It's from Sleepless in Ponyville.

I'd say it's pretty impressive considering how casually she does it. It's not really meant as a gag, either. It was just thrown in there to show how badass this character is lmao. Just look at how she doesn't slow down after kicking through each tree. She wasn't even going anywhere near super sonic when she did this:

 

^Gotta be at least on par with (kid) Goku at the 21st Tenkaichi in terms of PL  

[Phirun Natela 77]

I'm confused: when people ask me what's up, and I point, they groan.

Edited June 26, 2023 by Phirun Natela

[K.Rool Addict 718]

On 2017-06-14 at 6:24 PM, Phirun Natela said:

Hmm, guess i missed it

^Most bronies consider it to be the best episode of season 3. I, of course, beg to differ, as nothing can compete with the immaculate Magic Duel and Magical Mystery Cure in my eyes, at least >.>

It was definitely a good episode... but I think both of the other "Luna Dream Invasion" episodes are superior. Those being For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils and Bloom & Gloom, btw /)^3^(\

[Phirun Natela 77]

I'm confused: when people ask me what's up, and I point, they groan.

Edited June 26, 2023 by Phirun Natela

[K.Rool Addict 718]

On 2017-06-14 at 6:32 PM, Phirun Natela said:

It was an okay episode from what I remember. I actually despise MMC just because it reminds me on how badly the transision was to Twilicorn. Anyways, going offtopic.

Well, I stand by my assertion that Rainbow Dash is definitely the most OP out of the Mane6 besides Twilight. Would I consider her "broken", like Starlight, Twilight, or Flurry Heart? Hell no, but she's overpowered when compared to almost any other Pegasus.

Is she overpowered enough for fans to complain about it? No way. I don't even think Twilight is, tbh.<- She may be "broken" but she EARNED that level of power over the course of many years under Celestia's wing. However, for Starlight and Flurry Heart I can see why bronies would be up in arms over their haxxed magical prowess outta nowhere o,o

[Nerdy Luigi 2,065]

I really, REALLY don't like when people call a character in MLP overpowered. It's kind of ridiculous, and I don't understand it. We aren't talking about League of Legends. We're talking about a "kids show" (Nah, I know it's more than that). Honestly, I'm thinking it's just an excuse to complain about a character, and a pretty lousy one at that. I'd rather complain about her personality than her power in the universe, because I honestly don't like RD that much for that reason and not for being "overpowered."

Edited June 14, 2017 by In Loving Memory

[CypherHoof 26,482]

Had an extended conversation once about why PCs in RPGs, even at fairly low levels, seemed so overpowered compared to NPCs, and what it boiled down to was if they weren't, they would BE the NPCs and someone else would be the adventurers.

Similarly, the heroes and villains in fiction need to be larger than life; it's a sorta survivor bias, in that the adventurers that don't have a special something that sets them above the herd don't make it to the end of the first chapter. Mare Do Well is a good counter to the "RD is the most OP pony" argument, in that in almost EVERYTHING RD prides herself on, she came second to one of the other ponies (and even for the Sonic Rainboom, it seems - Twilight has her own, purple-themed version of that) but that isn't because she isn't OP, but because all of the mane 7 are, in their own ways. And as for Pinkie Pie, the laws of physics seem to be strongly worded suggestions where she is concerned... so yeah, Team Power Pony....

[K.Rool Addict 718]

Of course, not even Rainbow Dash can compete with this psychopath:

 

If Rainbow Dash is on par with kid Goku at the 21st Tenakichi, Maud is like motherfucking Tao Pai Pai

Of course, this would mean Pinkie Pie should also be of considerable merit

^Judging by that, Pinkie should at least have the potential to become on par with Maud's incredible super strength. Couple that factor with her Rainbow Ascended form, and we might just have our most OP Physical attacker on the show  

Power scaling FTW! ( -.-)/)

 

 

 

[Lenny 249]

Because she is a pony

No, I'm not a poniesfromanotherdimention-ist