Firearms Expert Reacts to Bloodborne’s Guns

[@SolitasRuisu]

I was not expecting the Boom Hammer of all things to have a close enough real world analog that they would have at hand from the museum

[@angelTechnician64]

Boom Hammer stays winning

[@Jankenstein]

Now, it's funny there's that with an okay parallel, but then the same concept is somewhat poopoo'd for the stake driver, which is roughly the same: a captive bolt system propelled by explosions. It's made a bit fancier given the elements at play, but a pilebunker is such a common implement (in media at least) that I'm surprised these two couldn't have been conflated into roughly the same spot. That and I'd more think the boom hammer uses the explosion to propel either itself for a harder or even "double" hit, or perhaps fires it into the poor target for cavitation and conflagration, but I really don't know, even as an amateur professional fantasy overthinker!

[@the_furry_inside_your_walls639]

@@Jankenstein My guess is that Johnathan didn't really care enough to figure what was going with the Stake Driver's mechanisms to realize it was effectively functioning similarly to the Boom Hammer. He didn't seem to be particularly interested in this episode, unfortunately. :(

[@cryw1092]

​@@the_furry_inside_your_walls639To be fair, the Stake Driver is more similar to construction equipment than it is to a firearm.

[@Redwolf2495]

IKR? I knew the piercing rifle, rifle spear, Reiterpallasch, and guns all had real-world versions but I had no idea something like the Boom Hammer actually existed!

[@peternicol3439]

Jonathon Ferguson, Keeper of Jackets and T-Shirts, whose wardrobe holds a collection of hundreds of T-Shirts from throughout History!

[@samholdsworth420]

Apparently it's always casual Friday at the Royal armouries 😊

[@maotisjan]

Keep calling him that, I'll use my "Keeper of birds and bird accessories only in his off time" would make the comment section more interesting

[@Leonisdarko]

I dig it! Saw hime wearing a Ghost shirt and thought that was dope!

[@mikeblair2594]

At least the punk rock era.

[@Mr_T_Badger]

I keep asking for them to do an episode on his shirt collection.

[@templar804]

"Dr. Richard Gatling exists in this universe" The Souls games also often have a hammer called a "Lucerne" in-game, despite the weapon being named for Lucerne, Switzerland.

[@patrikhjorth3291]

The Lucerne Hammer is a real world polearm, favoured by the Swiss around the 16th century.

[@blvalverde]

Many people don't know this, but Lordran is in Switzerland. You need to have the doll to go in, like in 3, but it's there.

[@wurmturm]

and the Zweihander, implying Germany also exists in Dark Souls

[@Tenchigumi]

And Ludwig refers to his church hunters as "Spartans."

[@dsa3df3]

There's also Molotov cocktails, and Braille writing.

[@fenorlex1126]

Hoping that J.F. would read this, but the reason for the use of quicksilver/mercury was because they happened to be a key component in their magic bullets, with the other component being blood (especially Old Blood, basically magical blood used for healing). The beasts depicted in Bloodborne are corrupted by overusing Old Blood, and while there are silver weapons in the game, none of them were explicitly effective against them. In fact, serrated blades are the most effective weapons against the Beasts. Firearms are largely ineffective against them, but the Hunters' Quicksilver Bullets are very good at creating openings by staggering them. Edit: That's a lot of likes. Yey.

[@virgilhoffman9144]

Upvote this man so JF can see it

[@mixmastermind]

Also important to note that the art for quicksilver bullets actively show them melting, so they 100% meant mercury-based bullets. That art also has a fingerprint embedded in the bullet which is a nice touch

[@yujin_sumeragi]

@@mixmastermind I always assumed that the fingerprint was from pushing blood into the bullet with a cut finger, or something similar.

[@Lorentz_Driver]

*Laughs in Bloodtinge build*

[@bacicinvatteneaca]

Actually, while the inhabitants of Yharnam have come to believe that they are transforming due to the consumption/injection of blood (hence bloodborne, like an illness), in reality they're being transformed into something hat was already part f their human essence by the proximity of the hidden red moon.

[@Tenchigumi]

"Tonight, Jonathan Ferguson, a weapons expert and Keeper of Firearms & Artillery at the Royal Armouries, joins the hunt."

[@user-hx5oe9iz1h]

Dear, oh dear

[@Tenchigumi]

@@user-hx5oe9iz1h "It always comes down to the Keeper of Firearms & Artillery at Royal Armouries to clean up after Gamespot's messes."

[@gabsomniac9607]

​@@Tenchigumi"The video, and the editing, were long..."

[@kakashiroks]

We may not get Bloodborne on PC, but we can see Jonathan Ferguson talk about Bloodborne, on PC.

[@Tenchigumi]

WE'LL TAKE WHAT WE CAN GET!

[@nealang9520]

Wouldn't have it any other way 🎉

[@903strikerunit]

Lies of P Enough said

[@Tenchigumi]

@@903strikerunit I love Lies of P, and the similarities are certainly there, but by the end I felt that I liked both titles for different reasons. It's no replacement for Bloodborne, but still awesome in its own way.

[@Thalanox]

@@903strikerunit Oh? I haven't looked in to that game. I'll check it out when I'm done with Mortal Shell.

[@Tenchigumi]

The thing about the Quicksilver bullets is that they're not only used as ammo for guns, but as a resource expended for arcane tools. In other words, it's a reference to alchemy, as mercury is notorious throughout history as a "magical" catalyst. It's also far, FAR more toxic than silver, which is handy considering that your enemies quickly rise beyond werewolves and become eldritch, cosmic horrors. So I don't think the developers arbitrarily added words and hoped no one would notice how wrong they were, but rather decided to put a unique (but logical) spin on things while still paying homage to the familiar "silver bullet" trope from folklore and monster movies.

[@yewtewbstew547]

What's weird is if you look at the Quicksilver Bullet icon in-game, it's oozing a silvery metal. So it's even shown as a liquid metal in-game, which makes me think it probably is intended to be mercury. Which makes sense in a weird way, because that's probably how they're able to be combined with the hunter's blood. They're literally made from a mixture of mercury and blood. Real question is, how do you shoot liquid bullets? Magic I suppose lol.

[@Tenchigumi]

@@yewtewbstew547 I like to imagine we're shooting bunch of tiny, highly toxic T-1000s that harden into solid projectiles as needed.

[@bacicinvatteneaca]

It's translated as mercury in other languages

[@yokai1235]

@@yewtewbstew547 is by the blood it apparently is a really good propellent

[@vak.o]

​@@yewtewbstew547supposedly, the bullet would expand in the barrel and by the time you shoot, itd have fitted the barrel as intended. its quite an odd form for a bullet to take, but being that its mostly fictionalized crazy blood, sure whatever.

[@SlaaneshiChosen_Carmena]

Interesting Bloodborne Lore Note about the weapons designs: the designers of many of the weapons were a hunter engineer faction called The Powderkegs Workshop, which superstitiously believed that human innovation and complexity was a kind of ward to resist the beastly nature of man they thought caused the transformation, but the workshop soon descended into an obsession with weapons described in lore as overcomplicated and a desperate need for them to create the largest explosions possible that resulted in the workshop being cast out as heretics. Their motto became: “If a weapon ain’t got kick, it just ain’t worth it”

[@thezambambo2184]

If I remember correctly, the Quicksilver bullets aren't there to hurt the beasts, it's just the only ammunition that can make them recoil like they just got shot

[@nebless-clem]

Yeah, I think normal bullets do literally nothing so quicksilver bullets "infused with the wielders blood" are used to make them stagger instead

[@randolfshemhusain2298]

Shooting them with normal bullets and them not flinching must be scary af

[@Seydaschu]

Reiterpallasch's mechanism isn't an extending barrel, it's an extending blade. It swaps between a full rapier, but then gets tucked down to enable the hidden gun (while still using the blade like a bayonet dagger).

[@TheBuddel]

why tho lol?

[@johnmcshane4463]

Because transforming weapons go brrrrrrrrt.

[@yokai1235]

@@TheBuddel because is made for nobles

[@TheBuddel]

@@yokai1235 bruh I know. But why would the blade retract? It basically weakens the entire thing for no reason

[@kingsteel2972]

​@@TheBuddel I think it has to do with gameplay, since the fame has also pvp, the opponent player should be able to see when you can shoot and when not.

[@mermanhellville]

So interesting tidbit, the flamesprayer and Rosmarinus are actually not based off of any weapons at all - they're based off of a device designed by Joseph Lister, a 19th century surgeon, for spraying carbolic acid, an early way of disinfecting wounds/the air around the patient. Many of the right hand weapons in BB are more or less inspired by surgical implements, as well

[@breakfastbrainz]

An agony of effort it would seem..

[@fireblast133]

the funny thing is, the quicksilver bullets alone wouldn't do a thing to the beasts. one must mix blood in with the quicksilver to make them effective. This is why bloodtinge levels affect guns, you're literally improving the quality of your blood to make the bullets stronger. and hunter tools essentially are using the quicksilver as a base for an arcane ritual, hence why most hunter tools rely on arcane to scale, but still use quicksilver bullets to activate.

[@rolandswift4311]

It's not even some magic ritual. Mercury just absorbs and amalgamates other metals on contact. Seriously, pour some liquid mercury into some iron filings and it'll mix itself with them into a toxic silvery putty. It's likely doing the same thing with the iron a hunter's blood.

[@ShiningDarknes]

I always just assumed the bullets were hollow and had the quicksilver mixture in them.

[@sephytcd8349]

It's one of those things where I wish there was someone clarifying things for them

[@ThatsABean]

@@sephytcd8349 There's a good video series that unpacks a lot of Bloodborne's themes using the history of English Medicine during the early Industrial era which makes the usage of mercury make more sense

[@theweddingsinger1970]

@@sephytcd8349 There is usually another guy but he must have gone for a poo

[@Seydaschu]

Also, you pulled out the "Cash Knocker" during the Boom Hammer part, but I think the Stake Driver is intended to be used as an 'impact weapon', using an explosive to drive a stake. The Boom Hammer appears to use it's furnace parts simply to add a burst of fire to the weapon. (Also, there's literally a Rifle Spear, odd that that was passed over)

[@Khrrck]

I agree. It's a homage to the pile bunker of mech media, a big captive spike which is explosively driven into the target. Bonus fact: another common use of gunpowder driven captive piston is the Ramset, which is a tool which uses blanks to nail things into concrete.

[@Tommie64]

Don't worry, I missed that weapon in my first playthrough too.

[@BierBart12]

Whoever puts together these packs of weapons for these vids always tends to miss a few cool ones, it seems

[@iangolding9812]

Absolutely no need for a fight. Dog soldiers is without a doubt the best werewolf movie of all time.

[@ziggy8190]

An American Werewolf in London has the best transformation hands down though

[@paidwitness797]

I will stand on that hill

[@OhNoPlease]

Wolf cop has the most memorable transformation I can think of

[@andrewkelly6444]

Stephen King's Silver Bullet

[@1IGG]

And great Action scenes like throwing the torch (flashlight).

[@yewtewbstew547]

The "Stake Driver" basically also works like a giant captive bolt pistol. It's not actually shooting a projectile, it's a detonator that propels the stake forward about 6 inches on impact when you punch with it.

[@patrikhjorth3291]

In this video, Jonathan gets a rare opportunity to exercise the "and Artillery" part of his professional title, and the cannon just goes _plunk_ >_< His disappointment is entirely justified and understandable. Also, the scene nearly made me spit out my tea.

[@a_lethe_ion]

When it shoots at you, it has far better reach lol

[@dyamonde9555]

that was the most laughable cannon i have ever seen in a video game

[@birdofgrey6542]

yeah, for anyone that doesnt know the reason the projectile is so slow is because its mostly used against you the player, so it's giving you a chance to dodge the shot

[@jacobkalbfleisch5431]

5:34 while I agree that there's definitely a misuse of the phrase "quick silver" the item description does say that hunters mix their own blood with quick silver to make their bullets, hence them scaling with bloodtinge, what the actual solid material of the bullets is remains a mystery, though I enjoy the idea of them being gunpowder squirt guns that fire blood and mercury.

[@flamingpizzareuploads4724]

10:49 I honestly thought that the "humane killer" weapon was just a big explosive hammer you'd whack an animal with until Jonathan showed the lever

[@TannerGr8rix]

I'm assuming the lever is basically a safety. You have to hold the lever closed while you swing for the trigger to engage on contact, to avoid drops causing accidental discharge.

[@EdibleClown]

"Hey me, are you going to ask again for a F.E.A.R. video?" "You know it me"

[@afd19850]

F.E.A.R and Killzone series for me. Both franchise have cool guns

[@CalamityCain]

The juciest SPAS-12 in gaming history. Absolutely fvcking love it!

[@TheFunniBaconMan]

@@CalamityCain That's an odd way to spell "Vaporizer".

[@afd19850]

@@CalamityCain Amen! Monster of a shotgun

[@cousinzeke4888]

​@@CalamityCainSomeone hasn't played Trepang 2.

[@NCR_vet_ranger2347]

I like to imagine the john just walks around with a little bag that contains *every single* gun and *artillery piece* that has ever existed and ever will exist

[@vincenteaster9184]

I hate the fact that they didn't talk about the rifle spear

[@claytonparfumorse3101]

i know, i was waiting for that exact one, especially after he talks about one of them being a half rifle, half spear thing. im like, oh buddy, just you wait.

[@Tenchigumi]

@@claytonparfumorse3101 Hopefully they're saving it for another episode... perhaps for the day when Bloodborne 2 or PC get announced.

[@juanausensi499]

Everybody forgets the rifle spear exists.

[@claytonparfumorse3101]

@@juanausensi499 its usually my main weapon. its easily my favorite in the game.

[@Cocaine_Santa]

No, he did I think, it's called the "Piercing Rifle" In the video, correct me if I'm wrong

[@gunnargunnarsson5963]

I also like to see Jonathan react to the guns of Binary Domain, which is a cyberpunk game taking place in 2080 in Japan, and the weapons that the main character squad, the Rust crew, are equipped with are basically futurized version of modern guns. And the robots that you fight also have their own standard issue guns, there's also the underground Resistance, who built their own guns. The game was developed by the same people behind the Yakuza games.

[@spiraljumper74]

Binary Domain does not get enough love. That game was actually kinda peak. I didn’t know it was made by the Yakuza crew but that explains why the characters and script were like, unnecessarily good for what is otherwise kinda just a high octane shooter.

[@gunnargunnarsson5963]

@@spiraljumper74 and it came out in that era where everybody tries to make their own Gears of War, the market was oversaturated with 3rd person cover shooters like Uncharted, Army of Two, Mass Effect, Ghost Recon games like Advanced Warfighter 1 and 2, Future Soldier, etc. So it's understandable why people would give it a pass. Another third person shooter that came out at the time that I want to be covered in this series is Vanquish, which is a TPS made by Platinum Games, the guys behind Bayonetta and Metal Gear Rising, I wouldn't call Vanquish a 3rd person cover shooter because it would be a disservice, the cover system exists but you are encouraged to run and gun, (or slide and gun in this case). And Shinji Mikami also worked on it as well, but like many games from Platinum, it didn't sell well.

[@modernoverman]

Another note on Quicksilver bullets. Mercury used to be treated by those who has severe congenital syphilis. One of the symptoms of the disease were people who seemed to resemble what was depicted as the inspiration for werewolves. Hence: using quicksilver bullets against enemies in Bloodborne.

[@LaNoLaCola]

I'm not going to fight Jonathan on Dog Soldiers. It has Kevin McKidd, the original Soap MacTavish, in it

[@afd19850]

Kevin Mckidd, Sean Pertwee and Liam Cunnigham! Awesome film

[@zackbogart2604]

My favorite werewolf movie

[@LiveDonkeyDeadLion]

The cannons that were used as bollards in Old Portsmouth seemed to disappear overnight (one day I noticed they had gone), and I was quite sad about it. For years I never noticed them as they were just normal, and when I learned that they were likely captured from any of the hundreds of battles the navy fought I went looking for them and it was too late

[@Starless85]

Johnathan, all the main weapons in the game transform. And also, you can do a build to boost Bloodtinge, (gun damage) but the guns are primarily used to counter enemies and to interrupt attacks, since there is really no way to block. Especially the early game guns, which do very little damage.

[@jacthing1]

Evelyn does pretty respectable damage at high bloodtinge. Especially with some ash

[@Skyte100]

Well there are a couple shields. I wouldn't recommend you try to block with them though.

[@jacthing1]

@@Skyte100 except for the loch shield in certain situations

[@rin-joh8644]

You guys could have done Elden Ring. It has jar cannon, jar cannon, and jar cannon. Gimme a second, I'm forgetting one. Ah, it also has jar cannon. There are so many firearms in Elden Ring to cover.

[@TeddyN7]

don’t forget about the jar cannon, that’s pretty important

[@mixmastermind]

SotE Spoilers: [it now has two cannons so surely that's a full episode right? ]

[@heibk-2019]

One eyed shield also has a built in cannon

[@rin-joh8644]

@@heibk-2019 I actually forgot about that thing. There's also the visage shield. My joke has become misinformation.

[@ShiningDarknes]

@@rin-joh8644 See? THREE entire guns, that is more than enough for an entire video FOUR if you count the shield with a flamethrower and since they included the BB flamethrower, I do.

[@Archerxtreme]

Quicksilver Bullets being mercury wouldn't be very effective on beasts or the other Eldritch horrors in the game. The real damage dealer would be the blood that is added to the Quicksilver bullets. It's also why when you make or synthesize new QS bullets, you lose a bit of health. As in you're actually injuring yourself and using your own blood for the bullets. With blood being responsible for causing damage, it also makes sense as to why bullet damage increases with increase in Bloodtinge stats. The Quicksilver is meant as a catalyst - or wait "catalyst" may not be the right word if its used up, but point is it's for- for the various arcane arts. And as the various Hunter Tools are meant for casting arcane rituals, it also makes sense that the Quicksilver bullets are used up as you make use of them, even though at a glance it looks you're using magic and you'd expect something like "mana" to be its fuel...

[@thehittite6982]

4:35 Vyacheslav Molotov also exists in the same universe as Yharnam.

[@RangerKarl]

The Stake Driver is more of a callback to mecha anime than anything else, the "pile bunker" specifically.

[@Seydaschu]

Here's hoping they touch on it again in the Armored Core video!~

[@a_lethe_ion]

And on ramming a stake into a vampires heart..here used against werewolves tho

[@Spartanhero613]

votoms was what immediately came to my mind, is there no real life equivalent? aside from those cattle-killing hammers he showed off

[@nitebytes]

Dog Soldiers reference! Yes, I'm with you on that hill; best werewolf film of all time :D

[@Cats-TM]

The shovel punchy thingy (Stake Driver) could be a captive bolt system, such as is used by Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men. Wait, never mind, you have one of those.

[@DarrinMichelson]

5:55 Wow a Dog Soldiers reference in year of our lord? Now that takes me back.

[@nobody4248]

2:44 if I remember correctly it is the firearm with highest damage in the game (not counting the canons).

[@eliduncan4630]

A gun spear combo makes a lot of sense ie the eventual development of the bayonet. I'm actually surprised during the early matchlock days that this wasn't a more common thing

[@Shmethan]

That reminds me of the gun staffs in princess mononoke. Idk if there was any real historical precedent for those tho

[@alecritchie5669]

The Gatling gun and other moving weapons like the whirligig have high strength requirements not only because they’re heavy, but because to get the to actuate the character is actively cranking the gun with their hand to make it spin. Hunters have some monstrous grip strength

[@R3LL1K1]

Looks like Jonathan will need to add emotional support cannon to his emotional support weapon arsenal XD

[@Ezekiel_Allium]

A thing I think is interesting to note, is that based on concept art and a boss named Gascoigne, the default Hunter Pistol is actually a break action firing cartridges, just not animated as such when the player uses it for gameplay reasons

[@nunyadayumbusiness591]

@MrFerguson RE: Your questions. For the Reiterspallasche, the "normal mode" has the blade in the barrel like a "plug type" bayonette, in "trick mode" the plug is in a socket in the handle and the blade runs "under" the barrel. Boom-hammer - those are caled "slaughter-house hammers", the ones you showed are the 1st ones I've seen that didn't run on compressed air.

[@templar804]

Gunfire Reborn, Roboquest, and Planetside 2 all deserve a look. Very different, but all very cool.

[@thezambambo2184]

PlanetSide seems like it'd need different episodes for each faction + a few NS ones each episode

[@aerthreepwood8021]

Jonathan is about to go all Anton Chigurh. But a "knocker" was the guy in a slaughterhouse that swung the sledgehammer back in the day.

[@AE1OU]

Please Jonathan Ferguson, the keeper of Firearms & Artillery at the Royal Armouries museum in the UK, please deconstruct and analyze the weapons from *METAL GEAR SOLID 3* before the remake comes out. So many weapons in MGS3 to react and comment on like;- - The Patriot's infinite ammo and drum magazine resembling an (∞) symbol as well as the tumbling bullets. - The EZ tranq gun based off a Liberator pistol. - Snake's customized officer M1911A1 and him whittling the pistol grip to use a knife for CQC. - Ocelot's dual Single Action Army and his revolver juggling skills. - The End's custom paratrooper Mosin Nagant with tranquilizer rounds. - The Davey Crockett recoil-less nuclear launcher. - Eva's chinese Type 17 mauser clone with her "bandit shooting" technique. - Volgin using his electricity to ignite and fire off 7.62mm bullets from his hands. - The Boss's quick ability to disarm and disassemble Snake's pistols. These are a few examples and there are so many more other interesting trivias and weapons in MGS3 so please Dave and Jonathan, please consider making a video for MGS3.

[@fourleaf7570]

Make it happen, Daverino

[@Zanpaa]

sounds like it would make more sense to do a video after the remake comes out

[@Ndrew556]

Doubt they're going to do it before the remake, they always use the "boom" of something to get more views

[@SomaCruz500]

Johnathan has said he actually wants to play Metal Gear Solid before he does a weapon review for it. Pretty sure the closer we get to release we’ll get a video at some point. It’d be in Konami’s best interests if they did the video closer to release as well. After all, Konami hasn’t been doing much in the way of outside PR with other groups for Delta or SH2R, most of the PR has been in house, by Konami themselves. Hayter is in an NDA with Konami and has only been doing PR for Delta for the last month or so for the official Konami channel. Konami is playing things way too close to the chest for my liking.

[@yurinoworry]

Not this comment being the way I found out there’s a MGS3 remake. Oh I CAN’T wait, hee hee…

[@wernerheisenberg8437]

The Quicksilver is also a social reference to Minamata disease. The name comes from a series of mercury poisonings of villages in Japan caused by industrial waste releases into waterways which accumulated in fish. The analogy is central to Bloodborne: an institution which comes to define a city but is slowly and brutally killing its population with poorly understood substances.

[@mastermarkus5307]

The in-game image for quicksilver bullets actually shows them being partially liquid, so I think the devs were aware of what quicksilver is. They're described as being effective against beasts because they're infused with the hunter's blood. I think that they were trying to EVOKE the silver bullet/werewolf connection, but silver bullets aren't effective against beasts in the game, just "quicksilver bullets", because they're not ACTUALLY werewolves, just inspired by them.

[@DarkThunderism]

The Reiterpallasch mechanism actually moves the blade to sit at the end of the pistol barrel rather than underneath it, which in theory gains range on the sword, but means you can't fire the pistol. All the main weapons in Bloodborne have these ridiculous mechanisms that would never work, but funny Gothic magic.

[@Callsign_Kishin]

Jonathan: “Bullets seem so ineffective” Me: Haha! Bloodtinge build go FSHHHHHHH!

[@aarniimmonen9374]

The bullets are made of quicksilver to allow the mixing of blood into them. Also probably a reference to alchemy as others have pointed out

[@galedono]

Also, just generally, as a museum person myself, this is some of the absolute best museum-related content on KZbin. I love it, please keep up the good work.

[@phaid1]

Dog Soldiers is not only absolutely the best werewolf movie ever, it’s just one of the best movies ever.

[@Dom_Maretti]

I wonder if that final spinny barrel gun is supposed to signify automatic reload...a twin spiral feed mechanism with a wound spring, the force of the double shot literally forcing the barrels back enough to charge the spring and force a mechanism to rotate through a pair of divots? Don't ask where the new cartridges are coming from...

[@HardCoreFlowers]

Great content! Now Im interested in visiting the museum and learning about the guns haha Thanks!

[@procow2274]

The stake driver is a melee weapon not a fire arm. I also think its underrated.

[@punlshedsnake8210]

Well yes, but same as the boomhammer it uses a gun-like mechanism but just to make a big ol boom

[@procow2274]

@@punlshedsnake8210 but to cover that and not the rifle spear doesn't make sense

[@Falpastymonster]

I love how he gives you the history, the ins and outs of how they work, and then makes his comparisons while saying its cool in the game. Very balanced and gun way to teach a bit of history.

[@khrisbreezy3628]

I know who I'm modeling my next Bloodborne playthrough after

[@Shmethan]

Hahaha it'd better be a blood tinge build

[@LosferWerds]

"Dog Soldiers" is absolutely the best werewolf movie ever.

[@Ishmaille]

I've been asking for this for a while, thank you so much for covering it!

[@NiceFoilHat]

6:31 The Stake Driver's origins are more than likely connected to the Pile Bunker from the Mecha genre of manga and anime. Its use being in close quarters for precise armor piercing attacks on vital system like the cockpit. See something like, "Armored Trooper VOTOMS" for an example. As for a real world object, the "humane killing" tools for livestock work on a similar principle just with compressed air. This is featured prominently in the movie, "No Country for Old Men."

[@velzekt]

Your mention of Dog Soldiers shows you are indeed, a man of culture.

[@procow2274]

4:45 the weapon on the right is the stake driver. It drives a metal spike into things with extreme force.

[@kruaser123]

Things I never expected to learn about on this channel: 1.A slaughterhouse bolt hammer.

[@acethesupervillain348]

the "Stake Driver" I think is supposed to be a pile bunker, a mostly fictional weapon where a gunpowder charge (or electricity or sci-fi power source) drives a sturdy stake forward, which is then retained by the system.

[@cheekyjawa9017]

Jonathan Ferguson made it to legendary states with "Dog Soldiers, which is the best Werwolf film of all time. Fight me".

[@Anonymous-73]

The thing about Silver Bullets that the Mythbusters proved is that they’re very inaccurate because Silver is a very soft metal and firing a gun is a very hot process, so the bullets melt after being fired, which is not ideal.

[@Fulgrim2]

Definitely a Powder Keg man right there.

[@haydes1285]

Ah bloodbourne, the game where you too can experience the horror of living in London

[@campbellhansen7533]

5:35 in fantasy and other fiction, quicksilver is often depicted as a completely different, often crystallizing metal, comparable in a lot of ways to bismuth.

[@campbellhansen7533]

So in fantasy like this, it’s easy to figure that it’s either supposed to be some alternative version of silver, or is a fantasy silver alloy

[@MrTomFung]

I have wanted this episode for the last 2 years

[@bentrieschmann]

Jonathon Ferguson. I probably would have to agree, Dog Soldiers is an awesome film. The guns, the majority of them anyways, were how you perry an attacks in Bloodborne actually.

[@Anonymous-ss1kg]

Hipfiring pimps at Bloodborne being a part of this episode is truly an experience

[@barbariansteve]

Dog Soldiers is indeed the best werewolf movie of all time.

[@MarilynMalkovich]

Never did understand why they're using flintlocks and blunderbusses in a setting that already has brass cartridges machine guns and is going for the aesthetics of an era long after they stopped seeing widespread use.

[@nunyabeeznutz5286]

Check out Military Conflict: Vietnam! It is an indie team that has put together over 170 weapons from the Vietnam War! Ranging from the common staples, old holdovers, Eastern Bloc, Chinese variants, prototypes, and more!

[@leurunner4764]

The stake driver also seems to function like the cash knocker, but insead of a blunt piston, the detonation propells a stake/spear/arrowhead forward to add force to a stab, instead of a hammer's swing. You stab it in and the detonation drives it in further.

[@ToxicallyMasculinelol]

they mean quicksilver as in mercury, not as in silver. the fact that the bullets are made of mercury is the point. they are indeed magic bullets. it is apparently inspired by the use of mercury to treat syphilis in Victorian England. there are a lot of disease metaphors in this game. a lot of Victorian inspirations. Frankenstein is a big one. galvanism plays a role in the game. there is certainly a Van Helsing aesthetic, but no vampires. but werewolves are obviously a big inspiration. and then there's the Lovecraftian cosmic horror element. so mercury aesthetically fits neatly in the universe. I think the premise is that you use magic to turn liquid metal (i.e. quicksilver, mercury) into solid bullets, because, separately from these metal bullets, you can also fill your firearm with 5 bullets worth of your own blood. coagulation of blood shows up in the game's mechanics through items like "coldblood" (a kind of currency) and "bloodstones" (an upgrade material) and "blood gems" (an item that slots into other items, like WoW gems). and the characters who use these items are basically experts in the arcane uses of blood, which includes its primary purposes (which are medical and religious) but also these more instrumental applications. so it's not out of place in the fictional universe for your character to be turning blood into bullets. and if you can do that, you can certainly freeze mercury. and "quicksilver" is just chosen over "mercury" for its old timey flavor and whimsy. ultimately, the whole game apparently takes place within a dream anyway. I give the authors leave to take the same sort of liberties as Mary Shelley did.

[@ashardalondragnipurake]

wait... gatling guns are named after a person named gatling its not because they gattle always assumed gatling was just the word for firing a lot, but i guess that came after the gun kindof cool to be so revolutionary you become a word even if you are forgotten going to have a fun time following the wiki links on this guy

[@dyamonde9555]

poor man. his aim was to invent a Gun so horriffic, it would end all war...

[@viclange3826]

Maybe I misread you, but gattle isn't a word for firing a lot. Or for anything else for that matter

[@Theycallmeyoshi1]

I thought like you once upon a time, and man was I disappointed to find out the creator's name was simply Gatling as well.

[@machine7angel]

he really did have the perfect name for the situation. Those guns sure do gattle...

[@Enzar17]

Jonathan is right about the extra wheel on the church weapons being decorative. The church uses wheel symbology in multiple places, including a melee weapon that is just a massive wagon wheel.

[@Narvre]

For anyone wondering: the bullets are made of mercury but synthesized into hardened bullets. The reason for this os theres mercury(or this universes version of it) in everyones blood, and you can actually synthesize bullets from your own blood one the spot. Its a means of getting more bullets when youre out of ammo by sacrificing some health.

[@sylvialc8066]

The reason for quicksilver is less to do with the werewolves and more to do with the eldritch horrors that come later and some weird occult alchemical science to do with mercury from history

[@jishan6992]

That sword and pistol combo reveal was insane, I didn't actually expect it to be real

[@thescarletpumpernel3305]

5:30 probably not the designers intent but Mercury/quicksilver could be used to dissolve silver to make an amalgam which as a liquid might be more likely to cause blood poisoning/uptake of silver in wounds sustained from hollow or jacketed bullets.

[@LuciaLaVA]

I'm sure I'm FAR from the only person who has said it, but the Reiterpallasch does not have an extended barrel, rather the blade of the weapon retracts into a position more akin to a bayonet, restricting it's thrusting capability ironically enough considering the purpose of a bayonet typically, but the action of retracting the blade makes way for the barrel to be exposed and allow the built in pistol to be fired

[@grantharriman284]

I would not discount the possibility that the Quicksilver Bullets are actually some kind of Mercury based compound instead of simply chemically pure Mercury, such as Mercury Fulminate, which could potentially be used to make explosive bullets. The risk of such rounds detonating in the barrel would be substantial, but it would certainly be no fun to get shot with.

[@enlightenerofcryptozoology8761]

One of my illustrated books of firearms shows one of those sword gun combination weapon in 2 pages of combination weapons. It even includes 2 from the royal armory museum collection. The first one is the wheelock axe with multiple chambers combination weapon and the second one is the danish boarding axe carbine that Jonathan showcased in the royal armory channel. The cannon arm makes me think of the one antagonist in red dead revolver that has one as a weapon prosthetic after losing it to bullet shot by a young Red Harlow.

[@Chom-Chom]

You take that comment about the Blunderbuss back, Mr Jonathan Ferguson keeper of firearms and artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum which house a collection of thousands of iconic weapons from throughout history! It is a very beautiful gun and carried me through my entire first playthrough! >:c

[@dsduu8803]

For the more curious: in blodborn firearms are mainly used to block enemy attacks, not to cause damage, and for story reasons they shoot mercury and a bit of the hunter's blood but almost never the game talk about gunpowder or other explosive. The mercury is the source of the magic in the game.

[@kalvinchester4068]

At 9:13, the cannon is dissapointing if you use it. But when you get to it, an enemy is using it and its an accurate and explosive monster you need to somehow get around

[@HCF249]

Dog Soldiers mentioned, Jonathon Ferguson remains based beyond measure.

[@jameslars7391]

So something I haven't seen anyone else bring up about the quicksilver bullets and adding on to the more magic side of things you can actually sacrifice some of your health to get more bullets if you want. The guns in this game aren't really guns in a traditional sense they are more like a catalyst for some kind of alchemy.

[@Dragongaga]

As far as I remember, and I never played the game myself, the guns were only ever meant for countering and staggering, not for actually killing enemies. Regardless, I would really like you to take a look at the arsenal of Generation Zero. It's a game that I really like for its gunplay and the fact that you can really let loose at those robots and its fun

[@uncannyvalley3190]

Seeing the title and thumbnail got me hyped af 😂. I’m a Bloodborne glazer and I’m proud

[@auearii]

"Dog Soldiers, which is the best werewolf film of all time. Fight me." Hands down! Jonathan spitting facts there!

[@Vidoxz]

This is wild i was just watching toby review armory in video games looking for a bloodborne one. then this drops the same night! This game is still well alive and should be cherished forever.

[@CeltKnight]

Yes! I just told someone the other day that Dog Soldiers is THE BEST werewolf movie ever made. Glad JF and I agree. ;)

[@salvador_242]

Monster Hunter has an absolute treasure trove of bowgun designs to explore, would love to see this series have a look at them.

[@Mx123-p4r]

6:48 that Jonathan is what we call in the business, A pile driver is pretty common in science fiction.

[@andreasschone5383]

The pistol with the spinning barrels is for easier reloading like a revolver i assume, spin the barrel for rear loading and then keep spin to lock the barrels in place for the next shot.

[@chrisjohnson1146]

Still hoping to see Jonathan go over the weapons of Valkyria Chronicles 1 and 4.

[@JackWse]

It is kind of a missed opportunity to not do some shenanigans with the wheel lock... Like of all the old school operating mechanisms, that one feels incredibly on par with some of their designs.. especially in sekiro. But the scope of that game was a lot more limited I suppose so every individual thingy was probably given a lot more time.. whereas this looks like the traditional five million different weapons with slightly different stat kind of thing.

[@TacComControl]

John, I'd love to see you break down the weapons of anime. I know this is a gaming channel, but you've got great expertise, and it'd be cool to see your take on things like the silver hammer from Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust(and all the other weapons there, including one that looks quite ridiculous and fires "Needles one thousandth of a micron wide", but like.... All of them at once. Using pressurized air. Also Masamune Shirow's artwork, which may not necessarily be safe for youtube, but the man loves two things, Guns, and Ladies. And one might be surprised to see the ridiculous detail he puts into the guns he creates, though in a more-safe-for-youtube side of things, Ghost in the Shell's guns(also a Shirow production) are also extremely lovingly rendered, with SAC's guns mostly being fictional but also like... entirely within reason in terms of a future that's at this point not too far off, alongside real world weapons that would of course still be functional in 2030, like a Vektor CP1, the HK VP70, a Beretta 93R where they actually use the silly folding foregrip. I think you'd have some fun with it.

[@Insanabiliter_In_Linea]

The quicksilver bullets are actually supposed to be mercury, that's very much intentional. It's a _play_ on the whole "silver bullet" thing, while not being literally the same thing, think of it as one method out of many that they used to make the universe feel more unique while still paying homage to the classics, rather than just making another bog standard gothic horror universe, which they were trying to avoid. There's also a mechanic in the game where the player can draw some of their blood, which removes part of their health, in order to refill five of their quicksilver bullets, the lore implication there being that the average hunter has tons of mercury in their blood, and that can be pulled out to make more quicksilver bullets in a pinch. That, plus the range being super low because mercury wouldn't make a great projectile even if it were encased in something, and I'm pretty sure it's even mentioned multiple times in the lore (been a while since I played it though, but I'm pretty sure that's the case), all point to the naming being intentional. I also think it's worth pointing out that the quicksilver bullets aren't necessarily magical, at least not when used in the firearms. They are a reference to mercury's historical use in alchemy, but that's only really for their use as a catalyst for the magical tools (and even then I'm pretty sure it's just the tool that's magical, not the mercury itself, it's just needed to use the tool), in the firearms they're really only used to stun enemies, not really to deal damage. The gun is how you parry enemy attacks so you can temporarily stun them and then go in with your melee weapon, since bullets aren't really effective against beasts and the variety of monsters you fight in the game (lore wise at least, there is a specific build you can make to solely use firearms to deal damage if you want though). Not a big deal by any means of course, but I felt like that's worth correcting. Fromsoftware puts a ton of thought into their worlds, Miyazaki and his team are extremely detail oriented when it comes to building them, if there's something that feels off, there's a solid chance it's still done that way on purpose, it might just take some digging for it to make sense. EDIT: Though I will admit the guns are still a bit on the ridiculous side lol.