Best medieval weapons for ponies would be?

[Bendy 1,819]

Since I don't think Shadiversity will ever do a video for what the best weapons would be, we might as well do one. What do you think would be the best weapons for ponies would be? Even battle tactics? Formations, etcetera.

Roles I think. Earth Ponies cannon fodder infantry, do most of the dying. Spearmen. Sword and shield. Pegasi scouts and raider units. Unicorns support. Allied humans… sorry, but cannon fodder. They may fight side by side with the Earth Ponies. 

I imagine something like cataphract armor to cover their entire body for all three groups of ponies; earth ponies, unicorns, pegasi. Possibly heavy plate if the pony is strong enough. Ponies may need to wear something to protect their eyes.

Weapons, I think lances/spears would be quite good for earth ponies and unicorns. Ponies are short, it would be good to have a weapon that has good reach. If ponies have flexible hooves and maybe a bow and or a crossbow.

Unicorns should wear particularly heavy armor to protect themselves and carry a tower shield for additional protection. They can function like artillery units with their magic. They seem to be the weakest of all tribes' in physical strength. They can cast spells to buff their allies and heal them.

Pegasi war darts, javelins, crossbows... and stones to drop/throw down on the enemy.  Possibly some sort of bomb to throw down at the enemy. The bombs may be rare since it be would cutting-edge tech. A lance could be used to impale an enemy. But I think Pegasi should stay out of melee combat, and be a skirmisher raiding troop. Dropping down to engage the enemy may put them in unnecessary danger.

Edited January 24, 2022 by Bendy

[Misty Shadow 7,130]

Funny thing is, the royal guards already use medieval weapons. You say lances/spears would be good for unicorns/earth ponies, but royal guards who aren't unicorns are usually spear-wielding pegasi. 

 

[Bendy 1,819]

11 minutes ago, CloudMistDragon said:

Funny thing is, the royal guards already use medieval weapons. You say lances/spears would be good for unicorns/earth ponies, but royal guards who aren't unicorns are usually spear-wielding pegasi. 

 

Their armor is severely lacking through. And they may need some sidearms. Back up weapons basically strapped to them.

Edited January 24, 2022 by Bendy

[Evil Pink One 13,140]

why is their armor at the top and not at front or chest!?... because they are usually attacked from above.... meaning dragons, griffons, rok .. why spears... to reach flying enemies.... their main enemies where flying creatures.

Edited January 24, 2022 by Kujamih

[Fluttershutter 2,133]

He might. Has anybody asked?

 

Lances would be best. They can charge in  like mounted knights.

Here it seems like the lance is attached to the armor. That doesn't give them much flexibility. Pegasi could hold them with their wings to have all four legs free.

But pegasi are of course at their best flying. Dropping things on the other side. If they were fighting other fliers they could carry bladed weapons and have some awesome aerial duels. They probably couldn't fly wearing very heavy armor.

Since earth ponies are hand challenged they could form a shield wall with some carrying shields and others carrying spears.

Unicorns would, of course, use magic.

 

[Fluttershutter 2,133]

7 hours ago, Bendy said:

Their armor is severely lacking through. And they may need some sidearms. Back up weapons basically strapped to them.

Full body armor limits your flexibility a lot. There's a lot of historic armor that leaves the legs and lower body bare. Many fought in freaking SANDALS. That seems like a really bad idea to me. Just chop off a few toes and they're pretty much done.

[SharpWit 2,479]

Bravo @Kujamih someone gets it!

Spoiler

But there is the possibility that the armor is more ceremonial in design given that we've largely seen it worn during a time of peace.

Unicorns are most effective in a support role. Given that their magical skills require study, this puts them in an ideal position to also learn strategy and serve as officers in the rear. They should be used for casting shields and magical projectiles as defense and artillery. Since they are their own weapon, one carried should serve secondarily and be discreet. I suggest throwing knives. The use of Telekinesis will automatically create distance between the user and their opponent(s), foregoing the need for handles or shafts. They may also be directed with a higher degree of accuracy than any true thrower could dream of. Small singular blades thus only leave a unicorn vulnerable to the most heavily armored of individuals, or others wielding projectiles.

[SharpWit 2,479]

Pegasi should be used as shock troops and grenadiers. Modern warfare has taught us that air superiority means everything when ethics aren't accounted for. However, it's a waste to use them strictly for bombardment when Unicorns can use their magic, or Earth Ponies through catapults/trebuchets to cast heavy projectiles that would otherwise impede one's flight speed and manueverability. Small containers of contained spells, potions, and other volatile materials will be sufficient for clearing landing spaces and dispersing the enemy. Primary weapons I think could vary wildly, as there isn't really anything strictly conventional for this role. If I had to choose, a combination  of hoof and and wings blades would be my pick.

Warning, blood depicted in second image.

Spoiler

 

[Evil Pink One 13,140]

25 minutes ago, SharpWit said:

Bravo @Kujamih someone gets it!

  Hide contents

But there is the possibility that the armor is more ceremonial in design given that we've largely seen it worn during a time of peace.

Unicorns are most effective in a support role. Given that their magical skills require study, this puts them in an ideal position to also learn strategy and serve as officers in the rear. They should be used for casting shields and magical projectiles as defense and artillery. Since they are their own weapon, one carried should serve secondarily and be discreet. I suggest throwing knives. The use of Telekinesis will automatically create distance between the user and their opponent(s), foregoing the need for handles or shafts. They may also be directed with a higher degree of accuracy than any true thrower could dream of. Small singular blades thus only leave a unicorn vulnerable to the most heavily armored of individuals, or others wielding projectiles.

ahhh you see twilight sparkle or starling ght glimmer is NOT equal to other unicorns.......

what am I pointing out here? it's because you always see twilight or starlight being so good at magic that you think that unicorns are equally strong or half as strong as they are.... you are wrong.... most of them can't even hold a bucket.

( please watch buck ball episode to see how weak and useless unicorns are really are)

it also goes to show that snail has talent and is really strong because of gifted, by luck.

you can actually name all the most powerful unicorns by hand, and I bet that those ARE the only strong unicorns that existed.

as you can see that the royal guards only consists of pegasi is because it was already stated in hearts warming eve that pegasi is an army based civilization. while unicorns are nobles and earth ponies are farmers. sure unicorns can use daggers.... but I'm guessing they're just a very small group. the very very talented.

which maybe the reason why Celestia made her school, so she can have more magic users... cuz the unicorn has magic, but sucks at it.

 

[Evil Pink One 13,140]

3 minutes ago, SharpWit said:

Pegasi should be used as shock troops and grenadiers. Modern warfare has taught us that air superiority means everything when ethics aren't accounted for. However, it's a waste to use them strictly for bombardment when Unicorns can use their magic, or Earth Ponies through catapults/trebuchets to cast heavy projectiles that would otherwise impede one's flight speed and manueverability. Small containers of contained spells, potions, and other volatile materials will be sufficient for clearing landing spaces and dispersing the enemy. Primary weapons I think could vary wildly, as there isn't really anything strictly conventional for this role. If I had to choose, a combination  of hoof and and wings blades would be my pick.

Warning, blood depicted in second image.

  Hide contents

 

I'm an aircraft mechanic... wing blade is a NO to combat... but it will help in aerodynamics.... suicide attack yes... 

to flying creatures... or any air combat..... you want speed.... or reach difference.... so going heavy and close combat in air is a NO. plus the gryphons won't need weight and they can still out claw the blade weilding ponies... if they go heavy and tanky. the dragons don't need armor... their very skin is armor. plus fire breath.... not the smartest choice for a pony. maybe a pony vs pony scenario.... but that would still be ..not practical. a spear would still win from a sword in an army.

[Evil Pink One 13,140]

here's some design that can be plausibly made even in medieval times.

the armor has the slats design from an aircraft. which makes less turbulence and smoothes out the airflow. also armor is not thick and heavy and not protection from weapons but to smoothen the flow. spears and projectiles are their weapons. oh and this design is a dive suit. used for diving in and making momentum and speed.... fly high thanks to slats engineering making it easy for lift and smooth body for piercing through the wind 

Edited January 25, 2022 by Kujamih

[SharpWit 2,479]

@Kujamih

Sadly there are few unicorns who can pull off such feats, but I believe the potential is there with enough training, which Celestia's school for gifted unicorns may be able to provide during a time of war.

I was mostly picturing pony vs. pony combat, and of pegasi attacking ground units. While still in the air, they could use the hoof blades like makeshift talons to slash at the enemy below, while the wing blades could be extended outward and be dipped to slash as well, which would cause more terror than actual damage, but you're right that heavy air combat would not work.

If Griffons were attacking, I'd probably give the Pegasi spears or keep them back while armed with regular crossbows.

The hoof blades would work best against ground units after landing. The wing blades would catch non fliers off more than anything, but could be used for a spin attack and prevent one's wings from getting lopped off.

With this being limited to medieval weapons, I thought maybe an arm mounted crossbow of sorts could be used, or even a container that would allow a Pegasus to release or spray something behind them, but both seemed too complex and dangerous for widespread use.

[Evil Pink One 13,140]

@SharpWit

the problem is the wing WILL be loped off because you used it as a weapon.... those things are fragile... don't be fooled by them able to do push ups with their wings. you swing that wings you damage them. wings are used for flight.. so flight stress is it's used too. but if you use wings for combat... combat stress is what it is not built for.

again if you are combating other ponies such as earth ponies... why would you land and fight them on ground? a pegasi would be at a disadvantage.  why would you go close combat with an earth pony? earth pony without weapons can still kill you with their strength alone. ( remember earth ponies are very strong back then... like barbarian or yak strong.)

 I'd rather let my pegasi army fly at the air where they can't be reached and poke the enemies afar. plus if you want fear factor.... seeing your enemies can fly and you don't is BIG FEAR FACTOR. 

one use for the claws can be capturing prisoners or civilians... but in war.... maybe? very situational.

or a Chained Claw! a long ranged based claw... I mean it's not practical to use bows and arrows when flying... you need tremendous amount of skill to pull that one off and you need to be slow or stationary... making one a sitting duck.

Edited January 25, 2022 by Kujamih

[SharpWit 2,479]

@Kujamih

I don't think the average earth pony is much stronger than a pegasus or unicorn. I'm not sure how to phrase this without using a video game comparison, but the only disadvantage I see with fighting on the ground while having wings, is that you have more hit boxes which the enemy can target, but no additional health. Training and armament would make that negligible against ground attacks though.

Birds use their wings for combat all the time. A wing attack on its own may not be as strong as a good kick, but you'll use whatever you have. The wing blade will act as a means to inflict greater damage, while also acting as a brace against impacts that would cause damage otherwise. It's also the only way to apply armor to them while still maintaining the ability to fly, so they're worth it for the defense alone.

Flight does carry a certain fear factor, but in a world where it's witnessed everyday, there has to be an established reputation as well. 

Pegasi naturally fit an offensive role. Sending them into or behind enemy lines opens far too many opportunities not to take advantage of. Surrounding the enemy, cutting off their supplies, targeting officers and equipment, ect. It's a cavalry charge from above! There is a greater risk to losing one's ability to fly if they land, but that hardly matters when they're risking their life to begin with. Plus, if the situation becomes too dangerous, they can always fly off and try again later. It's wasteful not to use them this way.

Look at Dash and Spitfire in the background here. Coming down to attack from above. These attacks would be deadlier with something sharp in hoof, but the point is that they're using the momentum of their entire body to take down the enemy, rather than a limb strike.

Their armor is too modern, and Dash wouldn't have been able to repair or get a new wing like she did in the sombra timeline under our medieval setting, but the tactic still stands.

[Orchid_Fiore 199]

This is such an interesting topic because I think that the show didn't give the correct attention to the weapons during the battles, as they were mostly fough with magic, excluding of course, the power of pegasi and earth ponies.

[Evil Pink One 13,140]

10 hours ago, SharpWit said:

@Kujamih

I don't think the average earth pony is much stronger than a pegasus or unicorn. I'm not sure how to phrase this without using a video game comparison, but the only disadvantage I see with fighting on the ground while having wings, is that you have more hit boxes which the enemy can target, but no additional health. Training and armament would make that negligible against ground attacks though.

Birds use their wings for combat all the time. A wing attack on its own may not be as strong as a good kick, but you'll use whatever you have. The wing blade will act as a means to inflict greater damage, while also acting as a brace against impacts that would cause damage otherwise. It's also the only way to apply armor to them while still maintaining the ability to fly, so they're worth it for the defense alone.

Flight does carry a certain fear factor, but in a world where it's witnessed everyday, there has to be an established reputation as well. 

Pegasi naturally fit an offensive role. Sending them into or behind enemy lines opens far too many opportunities not to take advantage of. Surrounding the enemy, cutting off their supplies, targeting officers and equipment, ect. It's a cavalry charge from above! There is a greater risk to losing one's ability to fly if they land, but that hardly matters when they're risking their life to begin with. Plus, if the situation becomes too dangerous, they can always fly off and try again later. It's wasteful not to use them this way.

Look at Dash and Spitfire in the background here. Coming down to attack from above. These attacks would be deadlier with something sharp in hoof, but the point is that they're using the momentum of their entire body to take down the enemy, rather than a limb strike.

Their armor is too modern, and Dash wouldn't have been able to repair or get a new wing like she did in the sombra timeline under our medieval setting, but the tactic still stands.

birds using their wings to attack are "desperate maneuvers. and are forced too. and birds would rather use their claws/beaks to attack than swat something with their wings.... they usually use wing to intimidate. but they avoid using it in combat because it isn't used for combat.

you can use armors to protect the wings rather make a blade and make it a weapon/armor though.

yes look at rainbowdash beat up a stupid earth pony. also rainbow dash punched the spikes of the armor. rainbowdash is good as dead. sure she punched it.... but she punched the armor.. and she got damaged herself, a stupid move right there for rainbow dash.... oh wait look at pinkie and Maud destroy a boulder... and plus there is metal brooks clan of yak like earth ponies.... not to mention metal brook himself...

it is cannon that celestia's army is equivalent to the EMPIRE'S ARMY. they both are weak and stupid.  jokes aside.

birds will never fight in land unless they are flightless birds and are forced and are desperate.

sure you can make your pegasi fight on the ground. but don't expect them to last long.

again the balance of the ponies are agility, strength and intelligence. 

earth ponies are strength and unicorns are intelligence while pegasi are agility.

you gotta use their advantages. pegasi will tire easily if you gave them cumbersome weapons. and remember they fly... means at a point their weapon gets heavier as they fly higher. unless it was aerodynamically designed.

one good idea would be if they aren't using their weapons, they can install it on their wing to give riggedity and aerodynamics. and when they're in combat they can remove it from their wings and use it as weapons.

and bones on the wings are light as can be and easily broken. 

sure they'll risk their lives... but they aren't stupid to waste it.... and if they did they'll be part of history.... the one who died in a suicide attempt of an attack... not practical.

and no one would enlist to that...