What medieval weapons would ELVES really use? FANTASY RE-ARMED

Traditionally Elves use the bow and arrow, daggers and other weapons, but what medieval weapons really suit their physical characteristics?
Best medieval weapons for adventuring, self defence, and the battlefield:
• What swords are best f...
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Lord of the Land by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommon...)
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[@Rajayali]

The disadvantage that the Elves usually have is their inability to produce children at such rate as other races, especially humans, so therefore more emphasis may be put on low risk combat styles, hence the archery and the graceful nature of their moves, to evade attacks and disengage more easily?

[@raenarutherford4984]

Rajayali hence why they always get wiped out by humans at some point

[@LouisKing995]

Rajayali not inability, they just live for so long that sex often becomes a trivial thing. In the Tolkeinverse universe, they often have vastly diminished labedos after a certain amount of years being alive, but this didn't stop there being massive elven civilisations on middle earth in the first and second ages. Like truly enormous. And even in the third age, Lindon and Eregion were still pretty big.

[@haraminator2555]

Harry Pothead the thing about low birth rates is from warhammer

[@danielw.8356]

Oh that is a definite disadvantage. Shad should mention this comment shortly in his next video

[@danielw.8356]

+Billy bob joe it is from D&D as well. They just simply are less fertile then Humans, which also can be said about Dwarves. :Random moment:who is more fertile though Elves, or Dwarves?

[@howdoichangemyusername]

Also, elves can't grow beards meaning they can't use battleaxes because you can't use a battleaxe without a beard.

[@lithpylarry2019]

Elves can grow beards, only a few elves are seen with beards though but it can still happen

[@paynesyler6428]

@WilhelmScream Commander since when...

[@sharkoj]

Accurate Science

[@morganb6717]

@@lithpylarry2019 entirely depends on the source material.

[@lithpylarry2019]

Morgan B I’m pretty sure there is an elf with a beard in Tolkien’s work

[@tomraider5676]

You dismissed Elven life span as advantage when it is the most important one. Achieving real weapon mastery take whole - human - lifetime making elves that are immortal (unless killed) able to achive it quite early in their lives and for many different types of weapons at the same time, alowing them to use weapons that were impractical due to their difficulty in using.

[@flyingdutchman9053]

Tomraider this mostly applies to swords not to bows. Archery is not hard to learn.

[@dom3225]

Yes that and the fact that they usually live secluded inside a forest, bows are the best way to keep enemies away from their territory. They have the terrain advantage, being agile they can hide in the trees while shooting down anyone who comes close. Aside from rogue elves who go out adventuring most of the others stay in their village which might explain why they don't bother learning anything else since bows are the most efficient survival weapons for them.

[@flyingdutchman9053]

Dom Benini nonesense in a forrest bows are even more useless for fights because there is cover everywhere...

[@MrPancake777]

Flying Dutchman “archery is not hard to learn” from the comment, I can already tell that you have very limited knowledge on archery. Archery takes more skill and training to learn and master than the sword.

[@flyingdutchman9053]

Lancer maybe in a competetive environment maybe not on the battlefield.

[@snerrkthemerc294]

Everyday the elves just look in the mirror and say "God, I can't believe how awesome I am."

[@ra_alf9467]

Say that to Falmer

[@albussr1589]

Explizitly Thranduil does that. No wonder Legolas befriends Gimli ...

[@sakdavith6969]

@@ra_alf9467 the pre corrupted Falmer look similar to Altmer....so?

[@sakdavith6969]

@@camellivesmatter I'm talking about the pre corrupted Falmer not corrupted Falmer.So no the pre corrupted Falmer aren't blind.

[@amberlyveil8856]

More likely, elves look at the others and go "why do you all suck do bad"? Also, I hate the Tolkien elves... they're based on Ayrian bs

[@elijahjowers1903]

I've always considered decrease fertility as the main weakness of elves. Like typically elves outgun humans but humans typically outnumber elves.

[@thedarkmaster4747]

ethier that, or it takes them ages, a century in some cases to be able to produce ofspring of their own. fertility & psychology, i've always seen elves as perpetually dancing the tight rope between mania and depression. and also having a glass jaw, in both a litteral and symbolic sense. yes in 1v1 an elf would own a human like tommorrow is a non existent concept at any given skill. but would get absolutely destroyed by the opponent known as "life". humans can keep going, keep perserveering through hardships, live a brutal existance, and still come out sane at the other end. its like at one end you have orks, then humans, then elves at the other extreeme.

[@elijahjowers1903]

I've never really considered that. I'm not quite sure what you mean though can you elaborate or offer some examples?

[@firmanimad]

I guess that is why they prefer archery and guerilla warfare in the forests. Lower population means that they cannot risk manpower in melee or pitched battle, although they are individually better at it. Longer age also means that they have a lot of time to practice and a lot of experience, making their soldiers more pricey to lose in open war.

[@Dwarfurious]

I think that just plays into the whole "We're better than you because there are less of us" thing.. That doesnt have to be the case. I think its just part of what makes some people like elves, to be 'better' and equal many opponents. Fuckers.

[@ximduleeludmix5389]

I still think my favorite downfall of elves is actually their immortality; one of the things in LotR that a lot of people miss is that the fading of the elves happens BECAUSE of their long-view outlook on life, which allows them to miss fine details in a variety of situations. They might just breeze through decades, whereas humans can never do that, so they'd get more done in the long-run than the elves themselves would. Even beyond that, humans aren't truly THAT behind elves in LotR in any ways that aren't magically-related, or a direct result of elven immortality. Sure, a human could be roughly as strong and durable, but the elf's had longer to practice that thing than the human, most of the time.

[@fantasywind3923]

Tolkien Elves, are actually the most diverse when it comes to weapons. They use longswords, swords and shields, long spears, daggers and knives, bows (traditionally :), but they really have super sight, the Elves have enough physical strength to also draw a great longbow, they are tall and have long enough limbs, as for elven vision Legolas could see for miles with detail: "There was a silence in the empty fields and Gimli could hear the air moving in the grass 'Riders!' cried Aragorn springing to his feet. 'Many riders on swift steeds are coming towards us!' 'Yes,' Said Legolas, 'There are one hundred and five. Yellow is their hair and bright are their spears. Their leader is very tall.' Aragorn smiled. 'Keen are the eyes of elves' he said. 'Nay, the riders are little more than five leagues distant' said Legolas" ... "He was tall as a young tree, lithe, immensely strong, able swiftly to draw a great war-bow and shoot down a Nazgûl, endowed with the tremendous vitality of Elvish bodies, so hard and resistant to hurt that he went only in light shoes over rock and through snow, the most tireless of all the Fellowship."), and Sindar Elves even used...axes: "At this time therefore the Sindar were well-armed, and they drove off all creatures of evil, and had peace again; but Thingol's armouries were stored with axes and with spears and swords, and tall helms, and long coats of bright mail..." ... "Then Beleg Strongbow, chief of the march-wardens of Thingol, brought great strength of the Sindar armed with axes into Brethil; and issuing from the deeps of the forest Halmir and Beleg took an Orc-legion at unawares and destroyed it." What's more the Tolkien Elves are actually also diverse in physical abilties, for instance the Noldor High Elves are physically stronger, have greater stature than Sindar.

[@kelleren4840]

In addition, Tolkien specifically wrote (I believe in was in The Tale of Hurin) that if 1 elf died in a battle even after killing 500 goblins, it was considered an enormous loss for their people, since elves were generally so superior to goblins in combat, but their numbers were so limited.

[@Username-qu1jt]

Nice

[@scroople8488]

Mans quoting Tolkien

[@bambostarla6259]

Thanks for explaining this in such detail. Tolkien elves are something special compared to other fantasy franchises.

[@bambostarla6259]

@Jean Person From what I remember the noldorin elves are very strong compared to the silvan elves

[@OceanHedgehog]

I'm so glad I discovered this channel. Shad's passion just makes the videos even better.

[@shadiversity]

Thanks mate, I'm really glad you discovered my channel too!

[@jmell458]

Hey Shad, you are Australian too yeah? I'd love to see you out of your comfort zone and do an analysis of Indigenous weaponry. I know its not as interesting because it wasnt used in full scale wars, but how effective would a boomerang be against other humans? Are wooden weapons really that bad v no armour? Just an idea :P I really enjoyed your videos where you go out of your normal groove just a little

[@harrisonmcarthur7816]

so are you ever going to do a video about which weapon would be able to take down a fire breathing dragon? Now THAT is a topic worth looking into.

[@kevinnorwood8782]

He's done a video about how well castles would hold up against Dragons, if you didn't know already.

[@patrickkenyon2326]

Barrett .50 with armor piercing.

[@ktvindicare]

I've always thought that Elves were superior archers due to their enhanced lifespans. Archery is a skill and Elves have much more time to practice it. The reason that the Crossbow became so popular was because of how easy it was to use. It's easier to recruit an army of skilled archers from a race like the Elves than it would be from humans because they just have more time to practice it. There's also the craftsmanship aspect to it. Elven made weapons, and arrows are superior because Elves take their time and have mastery and experience in their craftstmanship.

[@Himmyjewett]

And they live in the woods

[@mikhielbluemon4213]

Fun fact: Because of their life spans there used to be several skill based feats exclusive to Elfs.

[@jooot_6850]

Average lifelong skill honing requirers vs "we will give the peasants crossbows and 10 minutes of training" enjoyers

[@dominic6634]

Truthfully with proper instruction you can become very good at archery within a year. Just have to shoot everyday.

[@kaizze8777]

@@mikhielbluemon4213 it m

[@deadmeme8011]

-asks if you can show any pictures of Schwarzenegger-buff elves -immediately shows one

[@nicholaspeterman9111]

He means pictures of elves in literature that are as built up as Arnold. Not a Photoshop job.

[@Amadeo790]

plus, it was part of a joke.

[@SMac86]

Schwarzenegger buff is not common umongst humans either... it's not what you would call a natural human build. But point taken.

[@Nick-mp1zh]

Looked like he photoshopped that one himself mate

[@padalan2504]

I guess it would be a natural human build for someone who is a warrior and only warrior. and elves have way more time to get to arnold level. +if alchemy is present, then steroids must exist.

[@InceyWincey]

What medieval weapons would dwarves use? Spears. Elves? Spears. Orcs? Spears. Goblins? Spears. The undead! Spears. Everyone would use spears because they are the greatest melee weapon ever invented.

[@curtizmcintyre970]

Apart from the haliberd, wich i guess falls into the same category anyways.

[@MrPancake777]

ThomasRichardHaroldson for one style weapons yes the spears is the best. But in real life, a sword (one handed) and shield combination is the way to go.

[@skyereave9454]

@@MrPancake777 I think you mean in single combat yes? In formations, ehhh

[@Epsilon191]

@UndyingCelery12 hell yeah

[@Johnny-Thunder]

The only ones who do not use spears are movie actors: that's because with a spear it is too hard to not hurt someone and still make it look like you're fighting.

[@Hackfruchtsalat]

Some things I will have to criticize in this video. 1. While eyesight seems not perfectly related to archery, if you can make out who in the enemy army is the commander(or whatever target in whatever similar scenario), focusing your fire to kill Him first will mess up their chain of command. 2. Disregarding their extended lifespan isn't good. If you train for 400 years in archery, your arrow might still not exceed the maximum range possible, but you will be able to shoot veeeery accurate in this maxrange, to the point that their eyesight may become important to shoot weakspots over huge diatances. 3. elves have a general diaadvantage in most Fantasy, and most of the time it's the reason they aren't the most dominant race: reproduction rate. Why is this important? If your numbers are limited, staying as far away from your enemy as possible is a pretty good idea. 4. Im a little bit sad that, even with "Eragon" as a rather popular representation, the thought of elves beeing far superior physically didn't even come up.

[@Graestra]

He didn't touch on some of the other important aspects of eyesight besides just pure visual fidelity and distance. There is kinetic vision, motion perception, and spatial perception. Does the better vision of the Elves include these as well? If so then I believe it would be much easier for Elves to shoot accurately, especially at moving targets.

[@Egregius]

Good point regarding shooting commanders.

[@benthomason3307]

yes being able to train for 400 years would make you very good at archery, but wouldn't that apply for any weapon at all?

[@solidsnaker1992]

Ben Thomason yea they could train with whatever they want for that long life or multiple things

[@ArchbishopTurpin]

Definitely important points. Increased Dexterity and Eyesight, combined with functionally unlimited training time and low racial numbers, the bow is an obvious go-to.

[@monkiller5877]

“ We can’t find Arnold Scwaznegger level elves “ This guy has never seen Caranthir from the witcher

[@naturalinstinct4950]

Or ever played Warcraft

[@matthewkehoe5027]

...Celebrimbor? albeit in the 'Shadow of' games he was a wraith influencing a human, but he stood against Sauron, a Maiar (similar to a minor god if I remember correctly)

[@verfed]

@@naturalinstinct4950 Illidan Stormrage, a night elf. I thought of him.

[@IamPatrickStar]

Looking at him, he don't lol to have the same physical as Arnold Schwarzenegger

[@littleelfinbigskyrim1420]

Algrim the strong aka Kurse from Marvel comics. He's a villain of Thor, a Dark Elf and the largest and most powerful member of his race. Too bad the movies did him dirty lol.

[@gimlisonofgloin2404]

the longer lifespan of elves would also give them more time to practice with any weapon. but when a weapon is culturally imposed on elves and they would train from birth Elrond would have 3000 years of experience...

[@cincaraanon543]

I was thinking the same thing, long life does apply to the bow because someone with a thousand years of experience will be able to predict trajectory quite accurately. I also think the long lifespan favors bows because any society in which inhabitants live for a very long time is going to put a lot of value on individual lives, bows keep those valuable lives out of harms way.

[@KingdomOfDimensions]

I do wonder if at some point, after centuries or millennia of practice, would the elf reach some pinnacle of skill and only be able to maintain that skill with further practice?

[@cincaraanon543]

That's an interesting idea. I guess with a millennia of practice you could train with every bow type, practice shooting against a variety of targets in a variety of armors, with different arrow types, weather, wind, terrain, etc. There could reasonably come a time, baring technological or magical advancement, that you would know everything there is to know about bows. We would have to make some assumptions about how elves brains and muscle memory works but still fair.

[@KingdomOfDimensions]

Right, we're of course assuming that Elves would have the memory to make use of their long lives. If we arbitrarily say mastering any given skill takes 10 years, but beyond that there's diminishing returns, it's possible some elves would seek complete and utter mastery of a single martial art while others would only spend a few decades on each martial art and then master a new one (maybe refreshing previously mastered weapons every century or so depending on Elven memory limitations). It'd be interesting to see how a duel between an elf who had spent 3000 years practicing with one type of sword would fare against an elf who had spent 3000 years practicing 100 different (melee) weapons and could choose which weapon out of those they felt would suit them best in that duel.

[@snake17ra]

I was thinking the same too, so basicaly with expertice in any weapon, wich one will allow the elves to kill the mayor number of enemies? Taking in consideration that they have the same stamina as a human. Drawing a bow is more energy efficent than running arround with a sword? I think yes.

[@mrblooper1994]

Yes, finally someone agrees that the shield jumping scene is utter bullshit....

[@animallover372]

Mr Blooper well yah it looks cool but the would die in seconds

[@WlLDEHlLDE]

Mr Blooper Of course it is. Why would you not use a perfectly fine shield wall if you have one?

[@cdgonepotatoes4219]

Mr Blooper well, if the enemy isn't prepared, a jumping charge is gonna throw the opponent off... the problem is that few people in the middle of a battlefield are gonna be so distracted that they won't notice someone jumping at them and will either just hold a solid stance so the jump will have no effect, or even worse they'll point their weapon right at the guy who's literally dropping on it

[@GotranBluevein]

Alternate history scenario: how would the battle of the five armies go if the elves hadn't jumped in front of the shield wall

[@KanaiIle]

But the friggin elves would just be crushed between the charging orcs and the dwarven shield wall. Even if they managed to kill every single orc n the first line while they were still in the air, those orc bodies will still keep moving forward. It´s like jumping into a trash compactor... which not wait the additional five seconds, let the shield wall take the charge and THEN jump into the orcs which are all pressed together and can hardly move?

[@wor575]

the funny thing is, Shad, that I paused the video just before you started talking about dual wielding... to make a comment asking you if elves would be better at dual wielding.

[@rruzgarr97]

Lmao think we all try and guess shads opinions on videos like this before watching them

[@Grunk111]

Tolkienite elves are superior in every single aspect to humans. Although there are differences between different kinds of elves and humans so much so that the strongest of men are on par with the weakest of elves, or even superior to them in some aspects. The greatest strength of the elves though is the power of their soul, who compared to the human soul in the tolkienite universe is not bound to the fate of their body, hence they can reincarnate. They are also not frightened by bodyless souls, such as wraiths, and their soul is even so strong that they get a number of "life-hacks" compared to humans. They don't die of decease, their stamina is virtually endless compared to humans, they can survive much greater physical damage to humans, they have much higher resistance towards heat and cold and aren't even that great in need of sustainance. Legolas the ***** even walks atop the snow when the other members of the fellowship are forcing their way through it. In the old times certain Elves even slew Balrogs in single combat, although perished in the action. Fingolfin, the high king of the Noldor, even challenged Morgoth, a Vala, the dark lord, the most powerful of all the Valar, to single combat and wounded him 3 times before being slain. They are essentially lesser demigods bound to a physical body.

[@snowdrop9810]

7 wounds by fingolfin,7 grond strikes(and dodges misses (strikes were as fast as lightning)) 3 shield strikes (after fingolfing grew weary and so had to hide behind his shield) before fingoldin slipped and fell because of the rent ground by the strikes of grond and then morgoth sets his foot on fingolfins neck like a mountain falling. Fix pls

[@Siegmernes]

I looked in the book again and it was 7 hits from Fingolfin and 7 misses from Morgoth before the 3 hits on Fingolfins shield. ^^ Just FYI :)

[@snowdrop9810]

Siegmernes those 3 hits on fingolfin’s shield was by morgoths shield. WHAT A COINCIDENCE!

[@davidkulmaczewski4911]

Elves are kinda sorta supposed to represent "unfallen" Man. If Adam and Eve had not eaten the apple, then mankind would be like the elves . . . immortal and more perfect, but with no real control of our own fate (remember, the apple was from the tree of knowledge). In Tolkien's stories, there is conjecture that men only face death because they turned away from Illuvatar when Melkor first found them and tempted them (from conversations between Finrod and the human woman Andreth). But I think this is incorrect, since death is said to be Man's 'special gift' from Illuvatar. I think their encounter with Melkor instilled a *fear* of death, but not death itself. Death is a gift because if frees Man from the earth, whereas elves are stuck here (in the 'earthly plane', at least) until the end of everything.

[@MrChickennugget360]

@@davidkulmaczewski4911 Elves are directly connected to the Earth itself. They Age as fast as the Ages of the earth its why most of the Elven people have left Middle Earth for the undying lands by the end of the 3rd age. the Race of men have some strengths which the elves in fact wish they had (death for instance) since Elves grow weary of endless life. Elves never truly die- even if they are slain their spirit simply travels to the Halls of Mandos. While the Spirits of Men pass beyond the cirile of the earth into the void and beyond where even the Valor do not know.

[@Supadubya]

5:50 "Elves wpuld have access to the full breatdth of weapons..." Did you miss the part about Elves having long lifespans and low fertility rates? The main reason Elves seem to use bows in Tolkien is because they allow them to lay rapid ambushes and then fade away quickly before any retaliation- in keeping with their low numbers. Melee weapons are MUCH more likely to get you killed- and this would not be preferable to an essentially immortal race...

[@nyankers]

He did exclude that part, actually. He's basically talking about humans with agility and perception bonuses rather than legitimate elves.

[@xzenitramx666]

Supadubya the biw requires power the bows is not a ambush weapon

[@bioniclegoblin6495]

xzenitramx666 why would that make it "not an ambush weapon"?

[@xzenitramx666]

Bioniclegoblin timr to reload

[@bioniclegoblin6495]

xzenitramx666 Hm. Though, what alternatives are there? Crossbows, if they have been invented, take more time to reload. Throwing knives are expensive and can't be thrown as far, projectiles propelled by blowing through hollow.... bamboo or sth..... idk.

[@dianabialaskahansen8705]

I actually think that Elves advantage is not really in their chosen weaponry, but instead in sheer skill. We are talking a race that are ageless, who can spend hundreds of years perfecting their martial skills, remaining at a physical peak. Elves are not by nature better shots, but they easily all have decades of dedicated training, equal to competitive real world top archers. I cannot help but think that Elves might be wielding weapons requiring much skill to master, but with greater flexibility. One example is the spear, which can be used one or two handed and with the right training can be used for long, medium and short range. An easy weapon to use, a difficult weapon to master. In Shaolin it is considered the King of Weapons simply because a master can do so much with it.

[@autolykos9822]

Yup, I agree. By ignoring the long lifespan of Elves, he gracefully danced around the elephant in the room. Basically, "it takes a lot of training" would not be a large minus for weapons of Elven armies. Which again moves bows quite a lot up the list (as well as slings - dirt cheap, comparable range, arguably better against armor when at range, but takes a lifetime to train). Polearms are generally good, but I'd expect them to make more tradeoffs into versatile and complex versions than using simple spears. Simply adding a fork and a hook next to the point would be very useful and cost very little (except for training time). And there's also a strategic aspect to long lifespans: Elves are going to be very, very risk averse. Losses represent a much greater investment for them and are harder to replace. This, again, would make them want to favor ranged combat. And it would make them avoid pitched battles (and possibly even sieges) like the plague, in favor of guerrilla warfare (or even just surrendering, biding their time and rising up when the balance of power is more favorable). Land can be retaken, but the dead will stay dead. On dual-wielding: It's not that hard. Nature gave me two left hands (which does, technically, make me ambidextrous), and even I got pretty decent at it after a few years of FMA. The main reason not to do it is that it's a bloody stupid choice when you can have a shield (which protects against arrows), or a two-handed weapon (with better reach and more effect against armor) instead. It has a bit of a niche for civilians who can't carry a bulky polearm or shield with them all day, but might get away with having two swords, or a rapier and a dagger (plus, civilians rarely get shot at or meet enemies in armor).

[@dianabialaskahansen8705]

@Autolykos Polearms are good, but as far as I know you cannot usually use a shield, due to the heavier polearm head. Because I agree that elves are averse to taking risks, hence I figure they'd want a weapon that has an allowance for wielding a shield.

[@TheGrumbliestPuppy]

I agree that this is a vital point. One thing ignored is that longbows are one of these classes of high-skill weapons. It's why that even during the American Civil War, long bows were used far less than muskets, despite having longer range, being more accurate and having a faster reload time. They took years of training from the age of childhood to master well enough for war, whereas you could train a man to effectively use a musket in a couple months.

[@TheGrumbliestPuppy]

That said, it's important to note that there are still limits to which weapons skill can make more effective than others. I think the best measure of this we could get would be to look at the most elite units from armies throughout history: The more elite units with over a decade of training did not choose weapons that were vastly different than the common conscripted soldier.

[@willherondale6367]

Per Bialaska Hansen Great point!

[@drFocak]

Tolkien's Noldor elven armies were basicly the perfect army.

[@axeltenveils6816]

Dain II IronfootKing Under The Mountain The Vanyar might have been even better.

[@drFocak]

Eh, I guess it's all about prefernece, personaly the Vanyar were good, but the Noldor were better.

[@MadBrainBox]

Melkor would disagree with that statement.

[@WlLDEHlLDE]

MadBrainBox Dead guys don't get to disagree^^

[@drFocak]

I think you mean guys expeled from the very Materium don't get to disagree

[@GuillRickard]

I see lots of comments saying that chimps are stronger than humans even though they're smaller, which therefore means that elves could also be stronger. The problem is that animals that are pound for pound stronger than humans also have very low stamina compared to humans, because stronger muscles consume a lot more energy. In other words, it's not that humans are weak; it's that we're more geared towards endurance. And since elves are usually depicted as high-stamina creatures, it wouldn't make any sense for them to be stronger than humans.

[@maxwilson2318]

Guillaume Ricard humans evolved their stamina to become persuit predators/trackers. In modt fantasy elves are stronger because of being magically endowed or their origin was another plane of existence

[@allopez8563]

Hi, humans having the capacity for greater stamina than other mammals also has to be with boby overheating.

[@shawnwales696]

Heat build up is a major factor in combat, humans have a much more efficient system for cooling than other apes (mainly hairless skins, perspiration glands etc.) and are evolvedfor endurance, whereas chimps are generally known for brief explosive action but not for endurance. I don't know if the chimp/elf comparison regarding strength even applies. In LOTR the elves have a lot of stamina.

[@curtizmcintyre970]

@@shawnwales696 theyre also 1000s of years old.

[@thesocialistsarecoming8565]

Humans evolved primarily as gatherers and scavengers. A horse hqs stronger muscles than a human but can travel almost as far as a very fit human (upper limit of around 60 miles for humans, see Apache and their macho man jogging shenanigans). Stronger animals tend to have less endurance to save on energy in the same way humans tend to have less strength to save on energy. For example, artificial muscles that would never, Never appear in nature being researched right now can in the right circumstances lift 333x as much as a human by weight.

[@Hrolfgard]

11:40 God that scene from the Hobbit where the elves jump over the dwarven shieldwall just rustles my jimmies every time I see it. Not only does doing that nullify the effect of that wall of spears, it also forces the dwarves to abandon their strong defensive formation and commit to a charge (a tactic they aren't exactly built for physically or culturally) against numerically superior opponents who don't seem to have breakable morale. Goddamn stupid is what it is.

[@forestelfranger]

+Horflgard Heck throwing out just how useful a shield wall is. If we just go with standard fantasy types, as in elves are good archers which they have shown to be in the lord of the rings. Dwarves are tough little things and are armored and armed to the beard. The elves have the perfect bloody shield wall/cannon folder in front of them to hold off the enemy while they shoot arrows even if for a little bit, allowing them to get in a few more arrows at the very least before being forced to enter melee. That and dear lord they might of injured their selves and taken out more than just a fancy pointy ear bastard but one of the dwarves as well. By falling on top of the dwarf and knocking him out or just pinning him down in place and unable to get up.

[@Mailed-Knight]

What about the part where the eagles just flies through rank upon rank of orcs like ranks mean nothing. That part annoys me.

[@Hrolfgard]

I don't have as much a problem with that really, because those eagles would likely have the same effect as a single-seater aircraft crashing into a mass of troops. There definitely should have been more apparent resistance to the sweeps, but it's not as egregiously bullshit as the shieldwall jumping.

[@Mailed-Knight]

Birds have hollow bones, thats how they defy gravity they should be much lighter than an aircraft.

[@Hrolfgard]

They should be, yes. But at the same time, these are giant fucking eagles. They're not exactly flight-worthy in the first place. I'm willing to extend that suspension of disbelief to their mass and impact.

[@armchairrocketscientist4934]

"The dwarf was so loud we could have shot him in the dark..."

[@cadeyrnkearney5930]

Perfect catch, mate,

[@snowball_from_earth]

awesome astronaut "I have the eyes of a hawk and the ears of a fox!"

[@seraphimseptimus6984]

... then you got shot because you have the voice of a kakapo parrot ...

[@kingboomstick2601]

*breathes

[@spartan2000music]

“the dwarf breathes so loud we could of shot him in the dark”, is the correct quote just saying

[@TheDefiant359]

While I generally agree with you on the point of daggers, you do show one clip that illustrates why a certain type of fighter might just favor the dagger: that teleporting elf. He can appear past the optimal range of whoever he's fighting, completely bypassing their range advantage and get in realy close to stab the ever-loving crap out of them. So there you have it, if you can casually teleport right up next to someone, daggers make sense. In any other scenario? Not quite so much.

[@shadiversity]

Indeed, I'm happy to make this concession for teleportation ^_^

[@TheDefiant359]

Credit where credit is due, I probably wouldn't have come up with that if it wasn't for lindybeige's recent video '3 rules of combat' in addition to you showing an elf teleporting around the place in the video itself. Still, its fun to think of how certain superpowers change what weapons are and aren't effective.

[@SoopDwagg]

i mean i can think of real combat scenarios employing martial styles that takes into account the use of 2 short swords and taking advantage of parrying and closing in past a weapons effective range to strike at someone. But daggers are not quite that versatile and they are so short, best to use them to stab someone who is unawares or disarmed visually perhaps with some sort of misdirection weapon ex. throwing weapons or explosives could be possible.

[@sipofsunscorchedsarsaparil6052]

That teleporting elf just thrusted the dagger through a breastplate. Yeah...

[@TheDefiant359]

Never claimed that bit made sense. Should've probably aimed for an armpit or something. But then, that's a common issue in just about any medium: armor being largely viewed as 'decoration only'

[@RW.Dragon]

The main phisical characteristic of elves is that they have extremely long lifespans this is for me the most overpowered characteristic they have because this means that their skill level with any weapon is going to be by default superior than a regular human using that weapon. Basically complete mastery on every weapon.

[@omgandwtf1]

But given that it's rather irrelevant for the purpose of the video, since it has little to no bearing on which weapons are best suited for elves, although in a sense it does reinforce his point on dual wielding

[@omgandwtf1]

The video isn't comparing who would win in combat, so aside from weapons that are only more beneficial with higher levels of skill it doesn't affect what weapons they would use

[@stephenrobinson3784]

mate if you think the elves in tolkiens works are op, you should see the elves in the inheritance cycle, they are on another level

[@thedarkmaster4747]

they don't even use horses (coz they run faster.)

[@ayandragon2727]

Though they do have a small population that is cut off from from society and unlikely to advance technologically. As well as the fact they're pretty cocky a lot of times.

[@Spectacular_Insanity]

I was just thinking that. Good thing there were Dragon Riders. Maybe.

[@travislyonsgary]

Uh technologically..they are able to genetically modify themselves and probably have more places colonized across the world than any other race....(ocean,sky,etc.). I would consider them fairly close to sleeping giants with a policy of isolation than being straight up cut off.

[@mikasuper1871]

Fenrir 97 ikr

[@bongo_baggins]

They use the bow and arrow no more or less than men do. It's just what we've been shown in the context of the Hobbit and LOTR; the main elf character joined the Fellowship as an archer, and it just happens to be Legolas' forte. I mean, in the Sillmarillion in all the big battles and smaller skirmishes, they use a whole range of weapons from edged to blunt, one or two-handed, shield or no shield. Yes of course, they are still presented as near perfect archers, and the Teleri of Alqualonde do actually main as archers, but it's not exactly a specific Elvish characteristic. Depends on the situation, location, tactics, available archers, etc. Just like any Mannish, Dwarvish, or Orkish army. You might have overthought this one.

[@warrenford2597]

this is true Jose Fuentes if Legolas had been a ranger or warrior there would have been more attention on sword and dagger play.

[@blackwingdragonmasta]

Even in lord of the rings and many other sources they are excellent archers because of their eyesight

[@olivialim7541]

@@blackwingdragonmasta and because they have centuries or millenia to hone their skills

[@curtizmcintyre970]

@@olivialim7541 was going to make that point, being semi immortal would leave a lot of time for practice!

[@tlotpwist3417]

The nice touch is how Legolas carries a bow and comes from a forest, fitting the ranger style, and Arwen shows up with a sword, since she is from the Elrond line who don't live in forests. I wonder; if the elf who went along the fellowship was one of Elrond's people, and was shown fighting with bladed weapons mostly, maybe we wouldn't have the archery elves stereotype in following fantasy litterature

[@Tuchulu]

Chimps are smaller than humans but I wouldn't want to wrestle one

[@death299]

@@bryanduke1973 no, no they aren't. Even in the original myths trolls had almost nothing in common with chimps Even their usual dwellings were vastly different And as time went on there became even less And quickly ranged from ugly dim brutes that isolate To being basically human

[@vyalon7387]

@@death299 play skyrim

[@death299]

@@vyalon7387 skyrim has nothing to do with the mythology behind a creature.

[@death299]

​@@vyalon7387 ape like*, and skyrim doesn't dictate what "fantasy" is.

[@vyalon7387]

@@death299 you said as time went on they were portrayed as human like and I said in skyrim which is very modern that they are more ape like

[@starwarzchik112]

JEWEL WIELDING Perfect summary of the Silmarillion😊

[@paxonite-7bd5]

Swing the bling

[@SuperPeacebreaker]

While elves seem to be in all ways superior to humans, the numbers are not on their side, because they live long lives and don't have as many children as humans do (as is the case in LOTR and The Witcher for example) :D

[@CreeperKiller666]

The low population is not biologically mandated, they aren't even close to the max level their environment could support. They *choose,* for whatever idiotic reason, to have low populations in most fantasy settings. If they wanted, they certainly could breed faster and more prolifically.

[@blazer168]

Some fantasies have it so that they actually can't have that many children where as others have it that they just don't want to.

[@CreeperKiller666]

I will take your word for it. I haven't seen any of the former myself, but it's not like I have read every fantasy story out there, not even close.

[@harley_o_thor]

yeah, some worlds lore i've seen say elves cant give birth more than once every decade

[@CreeperKiller666]

I wish you would tell me the name of these settings so I can look them up. That said, one a decade is still more than enough to sustain a sizable population. If your Elves have children once per decade, and assume they live to be at least one millennium old (which is WAY less than most Elves do in fantasy), that means the average elf will have 100 children in their lifetime. If we assume monogamy, that's still 100 children for each breeding pair, which means the population will grow 100 times larger every millennium. If we start with a really low population, such as 100 breeding pairs, you would have 10,000 by the end of the millennium. After two millennia, the number of elves would be 100 times that number, which means that you would have a million elves in just two generations, starting with only 100. Keep in mind that I used very LOW estimates for this as well. Most fictional elves live more than 1000 years, most elven populations are much higher than just 100 couples, and there is no reason to assume that they are going to practice monogamy. The point I am trying to make, is that even if elves are *biologically* limited in regards to fertility, there is still no reason for them to have a low population. The only reason for that is if they choose to have WAY less children. Even once a century would still lead to growth/ To keep it low, the would have to limit their children to less than three per couple per lifetime.

[@rebelbeammasterx8472]

Elves have an amazing advantage, age. They can live a lot longer than humans, the expertise they would gain for fighting for a hundred+ years is astounding. Watch Isaac Arthur's video on life extension.

[@mryayayify]

The Longer You Live, the more time you have to practice, and longer lifespan can allow you to overcome the impracticality of certain things.

[@Erowens98]

RebelBeamMaster X84 indeed, i should expect all elves in the tolkien universe master all kinds of combat forms to a higher degree than any human, though they end up perfering one over the others. An elf is 100 by the time he/she reaches adulthood so they clearly have a far extended learning peak compared to humans as well.

[@FalconWindblader]

But in a warfare setting, numbers goddamn matter. & one of the weakest thing about elves in general, they've very small numbers. no matter how superbly good you're as a fighter, you can't hope to fight 100 average warriors & come out alive & in one piece after all.

[@Runenschuppe]

+Falcon Windblade That's what cannon fodder, eh... alliances are for.

[@007RAJKOify]

Yeah but an elf dying is way more of a loss then a human dying.....thats why they wouldnt go to open out war easily and in their worlds use magick and other more indirect things.

[@filipnassen9076]

If Elves are naturally more graceful and agile and such, wouldn't they make excellent horsemen? Especially Horse archers?

[@carelianspitz]

Filip Nässén possibly but in many fantasy realms they live in a wooded areas. Horses (mainly) are generally put in a grasslands. In my own design rpg elves do not have acces to horses as much as the humans does. So no elven horsearchers. :3

[@89Keith]

Remington Fox moose-back archers?

[@carelianspitz]

Why not? Thranduil had one. :)

[@madscientistshusta]

Remington Fox or you could hop on huan the mightiest beast of valor like Beren and luthian

[@filipnassen9076]

They could import horses using trade and start breeding? They may live in woodlands but they do go outside of it from time to time, right? Certanly in times of war. If the see humans using horses they would be dumb not to use it as well (or extremely arrogant). Just saying, they may not have as many horses as humans, but they should still be using them. :P

[@jovegajo]

The Noldorin Elves (High elves) of middle earth were described as being of "sturdy build".. but also graceful. I think in general they were just supposed to be physically "better".

[@bardavidson2102]

they're probably of sturdy build comparable to other elves , not to humans and mainly are just taller ,a human in their higher on average would have a broader shoulders and will be more muscular and and would weight more and in general would look more masculine. that's said there are many fantasy's that depict elves to be generally weaker than humans physically a male elf almost as weak as average human female, which makes a lot more sense and will make them unable to use heavier armor ,melee and ranged weapons like war-bows effectively and in general it's more common that elves are weaker than humans than that they are stronger across the many fantasy depictions of them aside LOTR ,and some D&D.

[@kauetadaieski3131]

Well in LoTR even Sindar elves are described as strong. Noldor are somewhat heavier in built and stature but still mantaining their graceful characteristics.

[@bambostarla6259]

@@kauetadaieski3131 The sindar also like using axes compared to other clans of elves.

[@XpaceTrue]

Elves are usually depicted as being more beautiful and graceful than other fantasy races, having a far longer natural lifespan, better eyesight (sometimes even seeing in the dark) and being better at using magic. And on top of that you think it's fair to describe them as being as strong as, if not stronger than, the same-sized human? Is there any disadvantage to being an elf, then, compared to other races? Are we actually talking about a fantasy race? Or are we describing a race of gods, comic book metahumans or super-powered aliens? I have to agree with Chad: Fantasy races are more appealing if they are balanced with pros and cons. BTW: I would point out that Tolkien depicted both male and female dwarves as sporting beards as an inside joke just to upset a fellow writer who liked dwarves. So I wouldn't be surprised if he depicted his elves to be god-like for a similar reason. (Also, at this point, I'm very tired of how frequently people bring up Tolkien's depictions of elves and dwarves, as if that should be the "end of the argument" and penultimate depiction which everyone should always defer to.)

[@kauetadaieski3131]

@@bardavidson2102 No, the quotes about build are not comparisons between elves, they are Tolkien's views when compared to regular men. Numenoreans are the only men that compare with the Eldar, whom are 7 feet tall lol

[@joshuacreel3000]

Legolas also runs on snow in LOTR films. so hes obviously insanely light/not very dense. I think it's one of those things where as a DM/GM/Author you lean over the table leer at the people across it, and say "it's magic, damn it" lol

[@ruyman90]

IKR if he really was that light then a simple storm or any strong wind would make elves fly to their deaths.

[@qwertyTRiG]

Joshua Creel Not just in the films. The same scene at the Redhorn Gate occurs in the book.

[@LouisKing995]

Joshua Creel It's probably more like image elven magic that they all possess, rather than them simply being hella light

[@joshuacreel3000]

well shit, sorry, I hadn't read the books in a long time. thansk for letting me know :D

[@zedek_]

It is worth noting that LOTR is basically the only franchise that makes elves inconsistently weightless, and he was looking at elves depicted in media as a whole.

[@Supadubya]

Humans have fairly horrible muscle strength for our size in the Animal kingdom (trust me on this, I'm a Biologist who used to do research on muscles)- so beating the muscle density of humans isn't exactly a very high bar to clear. Elves could EASILY be just as strong as humans, and yet slimmer- in fact, the reduced weight without sacrificing strength would in and of itself make them more agile and catlike.

[@Rodrigo-ge5wy]

Supadubya it ends up being not only about physics and biology since elves are only as strong as the writer of the story wants them to be

[@madhatten00]

Supadubya Merefolk are shown to be skinnish too but they would have way denser muscle mass and super str like Aquaman if they can walk with the same speed under water as a normal person can walk on land.

[@Ninjaananas]

Supadubya Isn't that because of the nerves? And the gray matter? Our species sacrificed strength for more dexterity/muscle controll. And elves have even more of that.

[@Supadubya]

Ninjaananas No, it's more about reducing the metabolic requirements to maintain the muscle, increasing endurance, and reducing wear+tear on it over time. Long-lived species with denser muscle mass would need better repair mechanisms to keep their muscles in good shape (Elves do tend to heal from injuries more quickly than humans in most lore, though, so this fits). And, one might expect a species with better muscle strength-density like Elves to also have reduced endurance... Humans cam actually beat any feline predator in long-distance runmi g despite slower speed- we can just keep going and going like few other land animals can...

[@Supadubya]

Ninjaananas also, *grey* matter are the cell bodies and unmyelinated axons- and is mainly found in the brain and in ganglia along the spinal cord. The nerves themselves tend to be myelinated, and thus are *white* matter. And humans don't have any greater innervation of our muscles than any other species- we just have a more advanced brain that allows us to plan ahead our actions in a more sophisticated manner than mist animals. Humans evolved to fill a very specific niche: Savannah-crossing Scavengers (most meat we ate for most of our evolutionary history was scavenged from recent kills of predators such as Lions) that could also ear a wide variety of plants and most insects. We were NEVER apex predators up until well after sentience, mastery of language, and tool-nasking had all bern achieved. And the first prey we ever hinted, we did so by simply chasing until it dropped dead of exhaustion, soneti.es for days at a ti.e- ta king advantage of our remarkable endurance and social organization (allowing us to hunt in coordinated groups) to seperate individual prey from the herd and then begin the days-long chase, never letting them rest... So, because of our evolutionary past, we never NEEDED remarkable strength or agility. This evolution optimized for other things. Having a creature with Elf-like body proportions and yet equal strength and superior agility to a Human is perfectly possible as a result...

[@autarchprinceps]

I like your deep thoughts on the matter. I would only add one thing. A common theme of elves is that they are immortal or at least much longer lived. Given that fact, they would excel at fighting styles requiring but also profiting from long training, while also at least potentially be less willing to sacrifice or risk themselves. The latter alone could be another reason to use ranged weapons, as long as that is sufficient to keep the enemy at bay. Which may explain why e.g. the elves in the LOTR are more likely to do so, than the elves in the Silmarillion, when they were much more eager to prove themselves as warriors and also fought a far stronger enemy for actual domination of the world, instead of just defending their homes, until retreating to the undying lands. Also elves supposedly often have better weapons than at least humans of the same time and world, either due to technology, material, skill of the smiths or use of magic. Depending on the story they may or may not rival the dwarves in this, with the main difference often being, that the elves also cared more about the looks of the weapons themselves and the elves while using them, which could also influence the usage of some weapons.

[@wokenlunatic2849]

Shad: there’s a different version of Elves Wood Elves, Fire Elves, Dark Elves Me: *Christmas Elves*

[@AbelGomez1987]

Me: Simpsons *Happy Little Elves*

[@vallgron]

Spears I just want spears to be a staple weapon in all rpgs

[@NoForksGiven]

Dark Souls has shown us that spears are incredibly good but they are boring AF to play with. All you have is a stab and a stronger but slower stab. Maybe a slash if the spear's head is shaped for it but it's mainly stabs.

[@vallgron]

Spears are my favorite weapon in dark souls used dragonslayer spear in every game

[@Marcusjnmc]

Spears are a lot less boring realistically, given they can cut swing rotate & shift between short & extended grips very quickly, the only time they're really in a disadvantage state is a formation being hit from the side or an enclosed space from behind

[@patrickholt2270]

They were by far the most versatile weapon in AD&D 2.5., because they could be set to impale chargers and thrown as well as used to stab, slash and parry in melee with mid to long reach. I find how little damage they do compared to other weapons in such systems a completely arbitrary nerf though, of course.

[@christopherfarrell9227]

Farraige Seriously though, what is with the lack of staffed weaponry? The only time I see anything staffed related are, well, staffs used by wizards.

[@aserta]

I don't think he breathes...

[@SwordsmanMike]

Hahahaahahahahaha he is vampire

[@beardedbjorn5520]

He absorbs air through his hair

[@timl.b.2095]

No kidding, I wonder how many words a minute he can hit.

[@nathanbeale2453]

added factor: if elves have better, clearer, eyesight - it works in helping them train and learn to watch and judge their shots - they can see the effect of crosswinds and failed judgements of angles etc much better than humans, so they're going to pick up flaws in their technique much easier :) plus, bows come purely from natural elements, which matches their gaming-lore, as well as mythology-lore, ties into the natural world

[@hillridgejohnathan4129]

Some things worth considering: 1. Elves seem to have not just better eyesight, but better everything when it comes to vision. Better depth perception, motion perception, spatial reasoning, coordination, etc. will all be tremendous benefits to archery. Also, their eyesight will allow them to optimize their shots, as it would allow them to better identify enemy commanders or gaps in armor. 2. Someone else mentioned this, but elves' increased lifespans or immortality allows them to be unbelievably skilled warriors. Humans, especially in the medieval ages, could only live for ~55 years on average, so even masters could only have learned for probably about 40 years effectively. Contrast that with 400 years devoted to martial art, and the difference in skill would be IMMENSE. Couple that with their inherent grace (being better coordinated and able to optimize one's movements) and the average elf could be unbelievably skilled, rarely even making mistakes. I mean, Tolkien's elves average at about 1000-2000 years old, with some having been around for over 7000 yrs. 3. Another advantage of lifespan/immortality would be that they wouldn't have to specialize in any one type of weaponry. A human with around 40 years of life could master a few weapons, but an elf could possibly be able to handle, well, any weapon. This means they could pick and choose weapons to counteract human enemies effectively, while not losing any skill in using different weapons. 4. Don't quote me on this, but I believe greater muscle density would allow for better protection of internal organs, giving them relatively more resilient frames. 5. A huge DISADVANTAGE for elves would be their numbers. Elves are commonly depicted as not being able to reproduce at the rate humans can, for different reasons. This means that each elf killed is a much greater loss to their armies than for humans. Sure, with their advantages in skill, dexterity, and coordination they could probably absolutely demolish a human one-on-one, but put 1 elf against 40 humans and it's pretty much game over. This is why even in Tolkien's legendarium, the brutish and often unskilled orcs are able to massacre elves in battle.

[@predwin1998]

I completely agree with point 1 and mostly agree with point 2. I can't confirm or deny point 4 myself either, but I'd like to challenge point 3 and add/respond to point 5. 3: While they could potentionally master more weapons than humans, they likely would not be able to master all that many forms of combat either. Though the long term (muscle and mental) memory of elves would probably be superior to that of humans, they would still need to continue practicing on occassion, and only the most devoted of warriors would still be a master of his first couple of weapons by the time he's finished the last. But more importantly, and I'll admit this is slightly more setting-specific, one often overlooked disadvantage of the long lived races; mostly elves and dwarves tend to have this, is that they have a tendency to be set in their ways and reluctant to change. This means that they would likely find some weapon, and on the "war" scale a strategy, that works and stick with that until it's stopped working one too many times rather than adapting the moment a challenge(r) presents itself. In most stories that bother to explain human dominance at all (beyond birthrate), it's their adaptability compared to the other races that are otherwise superior in so many ways that allows humanity to reign supreme. 5: I agree with this point. I also feel like this might impact their choice of weapon and tactics. For example, the rapier might seem a perfect choice of melee weapon for the elves due to it's precision combined with elven coordination and expertise, and while an elf with a rapier would certainly make one terrifying fencer, I think they'd prefer cutting bladed weapons unless they expect to duel other elves. When you stab someone with a rapier he's most likely going to die, especially with elven accuracy, but in an outnumbered fight, you'll be unable to use that rapier until you've succesfuly removed it from your victim. Whereas with something like a saber or a longsword you can make wide sweeping cuts to keep several enemies at bay and when one of your foes overextends you could cut him without exposing yourself more than absolutely necessary. Of course the outnumbered elf would still be at a disadvantage and wouldn't be able to face off 40 humans by himself, but combined with their long training (which might emphasize outnumbered combat for this reason) an elf with a saber or longsword might just be able to even the odds against, say, 3-6 humans or so. P.S. I'm mostly talking about smaller scale combat such as skirmishes or self defence.

[@curtizmcintyre970]

Number 4 i feel is irrelivant since elven smithing in almost all fantasy stories is well above everyone else, even dwarvish. Mithril armour = win!!! 😅

[@snowdrop9810]

Curtiz McIntyre dwarvish mail is better.

[@joshuaweiss1249]

in lord of the rings, elves weekness is their breeding, they have significantly less children and therefore fewer people.

[@MidnightSvn]

sounds like europe

[@gladonos3384]

That is a such a cop out. There is only 1 superman, does that make superman interesting? No.

[@heinzhertz6534]

Jeff yeah but elves dont have governments giving money and free help to mentally challenged orcs that come to their door

[@adrianbundy3249]

GladNos, that is a cop out, lol. Elves aren't invincible, and a very reasonable amount of warriors is constantly shown to be able to take one out. Thus, having the ratio where the numbers balance out is reasonable, and a good plot weakness. Superman? Short of other overpowered enemies in some stories - let's say the DCEU movies. He could practically wipe out the world and call himself king. Who would challenge him? IE: Numbers are irrelevant, because we can't effectively argue that they mean anything to him in the normal settings. Terrible example. Terrible. In elves, we very well can.

[@elvenarcher5642]

Heinz Hertz did you just call refugees fleeing a war that western powers may have created the basis of,, “mentally challenged orcs”?

[@rodgersmith1786]

Should do a video on "Can humans take on Dragons"

[@rodgersmith1786]

I guess something along the lines of Late medieval like in the 1470s with knights in plate armor and long pole arms. Perhaps against a dragon similar to beowulf.

[@francescosirotti8178]

Rodger Smith D&D dragons, smarter, a lot more powerful than humans, with the ability to shapeshift and better magic? Not a chance. Classical medieval dragons, just big evil beasts? Sure.

[@firecage7925]

Francesco, that is a good point actually. It depends on the kind of dragon. Mmm, a classic medieval dragon, well, if it did breath fire they might be in trouble, but an army would probably take it down eventually. Now...if it was a Chinese Dragon, well, that would just be unfair. Aren't those ones like literal gods?

[@WexMajor82]

A "realistic" dragon would have the strenght of an elephant (minimum) Be as tought and resillient as a armadillo/whale and can fly. Oh, yes, 50 m of flame breath? Who could stand that?

[@randeknight]

I wrote a story on this a few years ago. I came to the conclusion that yes, it's possible, but you'd have to use significant dirty tricks. The way my MC did it was to hide in the dragons dung heap and when it's having a dump, ram a naginata type spear up it's arse. I made the assumption that dragons aren't armoured inside it's bowels. He then kited the dragon until it essentially kills itself by moving around violently with a sharp blade up it's behind. I'm not expecting it to be turned into movie.

[@chrisc1140]

11:50 out of all the problems with that movie, that annoyed me the most. We were SO CLOSE to actually seeing a spear/shield wall in a movie (only other time off the top of my head is the very first main battle scene in 300) and then the Elves RUINED it!

[@kyomademon453]

Chris C that line wasnt very thick and the charge was massive,the elves sent 3 lines of swordsmen to break the charge and save the dwarves

[@chrisc1140]

But the weight of that charge should have pushed the elvin skirmishers back into the dwarvin spears (after the small pause their appearance at all gave). It would make more sense to let the heavily armed and armored dwarves take the brunt of the attack, then have the elves support anywhere that got overrun (possibly literally) or where the formation was breaking

[@JonaD757]

Agreed, The Battle of Five Armies was really awful, they made the combat so unrealistic, and yes it is a fantasy, but Lord of the Rings has always been grounded strongly in medieval roots. Plus that battle tactic was retarded, even if you are ignoring more realistic warfare. And they made Legolas like a cartoon character. I'm going to stop myself before I go into a full rant.

[@nastrael]

Jonathan Watson Those movies never happened. Idk what you're talking about.

[@killrelevantt1887]

Jonathan Watson I hated how the used cgi models instead of actually actors plying soilders

[@James.D.B.]

Hears dual wielding: Drizzt Do'Urden

[@redvonmunster3731]

😂😂😂

[@redvonmunster3731]

Drizzt Do'Urden intensifies

[@north-roadcaveman5818]

Reads title of video: Drizzt Do'Urden Hears "djewel" wielding: Entreri's dagger Hears debate over sword/dagger vs. sword/sword: Drizzt vs. Entreri Hears no mention of Salvatore's work: Hangs head in shame

[@Cryogenius333]

DAS MAH BOOOOI!! 😎👉👉

[@sandwichmonster7067]

No wait STOP- *Drizzt clones begin flooding in*

[@liwendiamond9223]

The best "drawback" I came up with for my elves to compensate for their heighten senses, long life spans (average life expectancy is 425) and affinity for magic : They have an extremely slow metabolism. I put the word "drawback" in quotation because slow metabolism is really a mixed bag of upsides and downsides, but when you look at it purely from a survival perspective, its mostly terrible, especially during periods of prolonged conflict. So concretely what does it all mean? Well they need more time to extract energy from food, they will tire out quicker than most other races in any contest of endurance and they poop far less often. Because food spends more time in their system, they can extract its potential biochemical energy more thoroughly, so they require less food to survive, but its a marginal difference when compare to humans. (About 10% more efficiency, but double the time needed for full digestion.) They need more time to heal. Roughly 50% more than a human would need for most types of injury. Thankfully magical healing compensate for that flaw and they are more druids and clerics capable or delivering such services proportionally to almost any other race, but you can't count of them being available in all situations. They need more time to metabolize toxins out of their body. Forget that scene from Lord of the Rings where Legolas handles his liquor better than Gimli. Blondy would go down quicker than your average hobbit. But perhaps the BIGGEST drawback of a super slow metabolism comes with reproduction : Female elves are fertile only once a year, with about 95% of the population ovulating in spring Thankfully the hormones quick up their sex drive into high gear around that time of year so its usually pretty obvious and hard to miss the opportunity. Its not as crazy as the Vulcan Pon Farr, they just really want to fuck and get depressed for a few weeks if they miss their chance. No need to kill Captain Kirk over some casual flirt or anything. Also, totally gonna use that quirk for an "Elven Sexy Time" scene eventually. Anyway back to drawbacks, pregnancy last for 2 whole freaking years and it takes a little over half a century for them to reach proper adulthood, although elven children are expected to be self reliant by age 30 (early teen years), which coincides with the earliest examples of successful pregnancies, but those are rare and frown upon exceptions. The norm for having your first child is closer to 55-60. So here's the kicker. What happens if the elves have to wage war against say... orcs, who are near polar opposites to elves? They have a faster metabolism than humans. They breed quicker and more often, are battle ready full grown adults in just short of 10 years AND they are a warfare centered culture... Well the elves would be fucked on the long term. Its basically a war of attrition and the orcs are winning solely out of their ability to spit out new waves of warriors faster. Every elven warrior would need to kill like sixty orcs bare minimum just to even out the numbers game. That ain't happening. Thankfully for elves they had more magic, the backup of the gods and more allies than the orcs, chiefly humans who were the only race who came close to keeping pace with the reproductive cycle of orcs and had the military expertise to challenge them. If it weren't for all those massive advantages, the elves would had been wiped out long ago and the orcs would dominate the world because they are dominant in every other aspect. And that's how you do some (very rushed and poorly edited) world building that grounds the fantastic elements in some layer of realism. /info dump

[@Nickelback8469]

A late reply I know, but I really appreciate the level of thought that went into this. I wish fantasy worlds would put more emphasis on the world building around the differences between the races, and this is just hitting the first layer, and not even touching on dwarves or any other of the vast fantastical races.

[@SeismicHammer]

In Warhammer, the elves were biologically designed by another race to fight demons, which is why they tend to be superior in strength, dexterity, etc. They were essentially optimized in this regard. In real life, there is always a trade off. Generally, if something is incredibly efficient, like Japanese production methods, where they run through their materials during the day, it is more vulnerable to disruption. For example, Soviet production often stockpiled months of material, because delivery was not dependable, which made them less efficient than the Japanese, but allowed them to continue production for longer if delivery was disrupted. By this logic Warhammer elves probably would have faster metabolisms than humans, which means that they would starve to death faster. Having less redundant space and little fat reserve would also make it more difficult to recover. This is probably why elves have better healing magic than humans, because they need it.

[@ckl9390]

​@@SeismicHammer Some thoughts in the context of a subject species being "optimized" by a third party as a living weapons/super soldiers. If a by-product of said optimization is being less able to recover from injury without support or requiring a more stable supply chain just on the metabolic factors alone, these may not be seen as drawbacks by the third party. Indeed, unit recovery time is not a drawback if one is able to fabricate/spawn more units at a faster rate than replacements are required. For the contingency plan minded, one may want to be able to yank the metaphorical lysine supply should your living weapons get too uppity. While not necessarily problems for the third party, these are indeed serious problems for the subject species, especially if they outlive those who specalized in maintaining them and the means to replace their numbers on mass. Please note that I am not overly familiar with the minutiae of Warhammer, though I am aware of the general concept, so apologies if I get some assumptions wrong. On a slightly different note, there are also the possibilities of a species becoming an anachronism and outliving parts of its original environment/biosphere that gives it a disadvantage now despite other overpowered advantages. One such example that comes to mind is the N.American condor. While it is easily among the strongest and largest of birds it has been in decline since the end of the last ice age. Not disagreeing that DDT didn't nearly finish them off, but as a species they weren't doing well before then either. With that large body and high strength comes high food consumption, and the condor is a scavenger of large animal carrion that has been trending to smaller animals since the extinction of the mega-fauna after the last ice age. The condor, as a species, is literally starving because the size class of animals it used to be cleanup for went extinct. This premise of a biological anachronism could apply to fantasy species too.

[@Pandormu]

you have to also keep in mind the when using daggers in a fantasy setting they are usually accompanied with shadow magic or stealth, no rogue or scout in their right mind would simply charge headlong into battle, also the weapons could be enchanted to give a further edge above the others. an a related note, elves lifespan does play a role in this kind of thing, an elf would live 2-3 times as long as other races(generally) which could mean they have more training for longer than humans,dwarfs etc.

[@jerekheadrick3379]

Daggers are more like assassination weapons though. In warfare they have no real advantage over a long sword. I think that is what he's talking primarily about. Because really, I feel like a lot of elves in different fantasy settings prefer killing one very important person as opposed to killing lots of people in a straight up war. However, he's talking about if they did have a straight up war what most soldiers in the army would use.

[@NodDisciple1]

+Jerek Headrick You obviously have not seen what a expert duelist or swordsman can do with a combination rapier and parrying dagger. Also, the dagger pays dividends in tighter quarters where a longer weapon is harder to use. There's a reason knives are still used while swords are mainly a ceremonial weapon.

[@OlDirtySam]

In warfare the dagger is the main tin opener! It is the reason why swords get used in half swording: to mimic a dagger to be able to hit open or weaker spots in armor more precise ...

[@marshwalker7217]

If you can get a heavily armored opponent on the ground a dagger is pretty much the perfect tool for getting between the gaps in the armor or stabbing them in the face through eye slits or under the gorget or whatever option presents itself.

[@AnimeSunglasses]

Have you considered that the slimmer physique but equivalent strength could be realistic if elves had higher muscle density activation? This would make them like cats, capable of extraordinary athletic feats, but limited to being sprinters, unable to keep up with humans over significant distances. This would, one the other hand, mean that they have less endurance, and elves are often depicted as 'tireless.' If we go the 3.5 route of depicting elves as less physically powerful than humans, but with lean, springy muscles and tendons, they could then take advantage of those and their lower body mass to become stunningly fast mid- or even long-range runners, much like pronghorn antelope. Of course, the one thing consistent over almost every single depiction of elves, in myth or modern fiction, is that elves are highly MAGICAL, and thus can say "fuck off" to the limitations of physics in a myriad of subtle ways. And some very UN-subtle ways, if the elf is Orlando Bloom. Srsly. WTF.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

That would point elven archery towards fast, singular shots that don't need much endurance to pull off, but speed and perception, something often assigned with elves. They might want to end battles quickly, using surprise attacks and techniques using agility and flexibility unseen to humans.

[@金M-t4e]

and therefore elfs cannot fight prolonged field battles and therefore cannot engage and pursuit an enemy effectively, giving them a significant disadvantage in battle

[@AnimeSunglasses]

I agree. Interestingly, that does fit the style of archery depicted by Orlando Bloom. Less so the elven armies in the movies.

[@AnimeSunglasses]

Or alternately, can only engage briefly, break off, and shadow. Genetically required to use hit-and-run tactics.

[@anaussie213]

AnimeSunglasses they could just be stronger p4p than humans, with far superior cardio (heart and lungs). You can have a balanced muscle fibre ratio and be long/lean. Strength comes from muscle shape and frame (Skeleton and tendons) your muscle fibre ratio isn't the be all and end all. Look at UFC goat Jon jones, balanced muscle fibre radio (not particularly explosive nor slow) 6'4, 84.5 inch reach, 218 pounds lean in the octagon, long and lanky but with great strength, power and endurance.

[@ReliquaryPrime]

Ahh, Jewel-wielding... Finally, the unsung pawnbroker brigades are getting their due!

[@jameshay668]

Jewel-wielding while fighting in "mee-lay" combat

[@kevinboudreaux7860]

When you have binocular vision, it’s hard to imagine not favoring ranged weapons that can slaughter your enemies before they get within range to hurt you

[@robinl.tinderfox6696]

I think the original reason Elves use bows and arrows so much is because of how easy it is to make for them. You can make a bow/arrow out of rocks, ligaments, sticks, etc. All of these are found in the forest the normal home of elves.

[@Rodrigo-ge5wy]

Robin L. Tinderfox also if they live so much they have alot more to loose in a fight and melee combat is way riskier than just shooting from distance

[@nowayjosedaniel]

I'm not sure that would really matter. All creatures, especially humans, believe they have a lot to lose in a fight. Being older doesn't necessarily mean you have more to lose. It's your life. No one wants to lose that. It's not like the most aggressive & powerful unit in warfare were the Depressed..

[@Sorakeyblademaster37]

Tolkien probably just made them archers because it’s from myth and folklore. People who got certain types of illnesses for what seemed like indiscernible reasons had their condition blamed on the fairies. Specifically they were supposed to be shot by the elves’ invisible arrows that could shoot through solid matter. They called it “elf shot”.

[@fantasywind3923]

Tolkien's Elves before coming to the Undying Lands, in the very early time when their race awoke at Cuivienen had only primitive weapons (depending on the various texts, "weapons of the chase, spears and bows and arrows"), later on after Melkor was released Feanor and other Elves made a variety of weapons including swords, shields etc. In the meanwhile Sindar Elves got their weapons forged by allied Dwarves, and ironically Sindar often used axes because of that but they were also still great archers since their folk was living among the woods (and the famous archer of Sindar was..Beleg 'Strongbow'). In the Fall of Gondolin, the early version of the tale that is now part of Book of Lost Tales, there were elves in Gondolin who used such sorts of weapons like maces, clubs, hammers (it's unclear how canonic that is since Tolkien never got to rewrite those parts).

[@naturalinstinct4950]

2:10 Shad: “can you really find any Schwarzenegger level elves?” Warcraft elves be like: exu me?

[@hermittmog8697]

So the stereotypes fit. Enhanced vision and coordination = high accuracy with ranged weapons. Fantasy elves often duel wield. The Drow fighters from the Forgotten Realms setting commonly dual wield swords.

[@Alche_mist]

Also, as mentioned in other comments, the long lifespans and low fertility rates of elves both play into high-precision, mastery-required, rather complex combat techniques. Which both archery and dual-wielding are.

[@thanquolrattenherz9665]

they would be more vulnerable to range attacks but maybe they could build around it the throw away shield or what they would come up with. i never understood why the average human seems to have problems using both weapons offensivly when they got the momentum, the advantage is real and against not well trained people its an easy win.

[@barefootalien]

Yeah, gotta agree, you literally explicitly stated that you're disregarding by far their greatest advantage and their greatest weakness in one swell foop. :P Their longevity means that they can train for immense amounts of time. For example, a basic drow soldier in the city guard of Menzoberranzan has been through nine years of essentially collegiate level training in their chosen fighting style. This "fresh-faced green warriors" are thus equivalently skilled and experienced to grizzled old veteran humans. By the time they've served their mandatory time in the city guard and can even become something like a Weaponmaster of a House, they have thirty years of experience, ten in an academic/training setting, and twenty in actual combat. Surface elves are no different. Yes, their game-balance same-ness as the other races is explained away by some wishy-washy "well they're flighty and don't train as hard" nonsense, but drow are a great example of what happens when that isn't true, and that is why drow are terrifying. In the same way, while "a typical surface elf" may not train hard at combat all their lives, just as not every human does, they do train in it at some point almost universally, making them fairly scary as a civilization. Moreover, "a particular elf" absolutely could devote his life to mastering his combat craft. In which case, take the difference in combat prowess of an old grand-master at sword or bow, remove the frailty of old age, and then multiply by five or ten times that much experience, and I'm sorry, but assuming that an elf isn't going to be stupendously more accurate than an equivalent-looking human is just silliness. As for the weakness, as others have said, their longevity also comes with extremely low birth rates in most settings. Close-born elven siblings are fifteen or twenty years apart (in drow culture where birth rate is considered a high priority), and it's not at all uncommon for them to be born more like eighty to a hundred years apart on the surface. Thus a sizeable Wood Elf population might be a few hundred. Even though nearly all of them are trained in combat, that's still only a few hundred possible troops to devote to a battle, even a desperate one in defense of their homeland. In contrast, most other fantasy races, especially humans and orcs, can field armies of thousands or tens of thousands if need be. This has an enormous bearing on what weapons they would choose to use. So yeah, basically you ignored the vast bulk of the relevant information in favor of a couple of minor quirks that only give elves a bit of a leg up, but does not put them significantly outside the normal range of human capability anyway.

[@davidfreeman1774]

I agree. I mean look at drizzt. If we're looking at forgotten realms drow especially. The kind of things even the "typical/average" drow has to deal with in her (lol) life between warring with other houses, betrayal by there own siblings or monsters that can rip a horse in two. There's a reason why drow are the most feared of elven kind. It's said that even the average drow soldier can be considered a master in most surface armys.

[@dvklaveren]

4:58 I think that the biggest point to bring up is that, elves eye to be weaker than a human of equivalent strength, but they are even lighter than they look. So, maybe you will make points about how an elf cannot use their body mass in exactly the same way a human can? Like, maybe they suck at ground combat and taking charges?

[@baronrojo5136]

The Pretender good point

[@MrSquadallah]

Wouldn't that also put elves in a disadvantage when it came to shield wall vs shield wall scenario?

[@ruyman90]

Is weird that statement of elves being weightless or maybe I haven't fully understand it. But legolas is able to walk over snow and run on falling rocks like he was very few kilograms. If an elf was truly that light they pretty much would fly everytime someone hit them with a strike, much less something like a warhammer. Heck even strong winds would be a problem for them. They must have some weight similar that to a human to be able to function like they are portrayed.

[@KanaiIle]

Their ability to "tread lightly" might be some kind of inherent magic which elves may even can toggle on or off.

[@dvklaveren]

Well, another thing to consider is; if you have less mass to displace, you are have less mass for the blade to resist, if that makes sense. Which sounds like the blade would go through easier, but it's the opposite; the more resistance the blade meets, the more force it focuses on the edge and on the cut. Damage, particular blunt damage, is usually applied by inertia being exercised on another object. Because an elf would be less dense, they'd disperse more of the force by being moved backwards rather than having the mace dig into them. It'd be a bit like piercing an empty soda can versus a full soda can with a thrown knife. It's actually easier to pierce the full soda can, since the soda can stays in place while it's being pierced, while the empty soda can is bounced back. On the flip side, though, elves are more susceptible to concussions. It takes less force for their extremities be moved. However, their brains aren't somehow better at absorbing shock, so they'd be stretched, which leads to a concussion. So, if you'd make a team of football players of all elves, you'd see a lot more concussions than broken bones, if that makes sense.

[@MrZriael]

The point about dual wielding is one I haven't heard before and really made this video for me, the idea of seeing elves actually fighting two-weaponed with perfect ambidexterity is a bit bewitching, great stuff. Though I think you're right in that they _could_ make use of any weapon a human could, I think they would be likely to choose those weapons which amplified their aptitudes. In other words, weapons which benefit from a particularly dexterous wielder as opposed to those which limit the wielders movements more than others, or those which don't gain a whole lot from improved grace. Basically, why _wouldn't_ they play to their strengths? And most importantly, Which weapons do you think *would* play to their strengths in different scenarios (battle, self-defense etc...) This seemed to be right on topic (I thought ) and is a good chunk of info you did _kinda_ skip over, which (I personally think, but maybe others, also) would have been really interesting to hear your perspective on. _(Not hating on the video, loved it, it's in my nature to nitpick.)_ *On Topic:* The increased eyesight and physical grace may well show a superior grasp in the elves to gauge and predict physical movement in general. This could aid them in both crafting superior bows and especially arrows (better understanding of flight mechanics), and in compensating for forces such as wind speed, with their enhanced eyesight allowing them to better gauge wind speed from the natural surroundings. This would also aid them in gauging the movements of their enemies, allowing them far greater accuracy on moving targets. *Physical Detriment:* The physical detriment of elves has traditionally been their being far fewer in number than their contemporaries, though the reasoning for this fluctuates widely, it often comes down to a low fertility or low birth rate. I have seen it argued that the only problem is that their libido suffers as they age, though this is a non-answer as if their fertility wasn't also low, they would produce offspring early in life and then as they became uninterested their offspring would pick up the slack and so on and so forth. Which just brings us back around. *Elven Armed Forces:* Their natural aptitude with the bow and grace in movement would make them _ideal_ irregular military forces, and _exceptional_ at defending wild territory against incursions *despite their low numbers.* Though their low numbers would make them reasonably terrible at forming regular armies and fighting on open fields where they would be overwhelmed by the enemies numbers, *or they would just leap onto their own spears for no god damn reason whatsoever.* _As a side note:_ This also plays into the way we see elves defending wild territories when written, as they actually _must_ defend these territories in order to hold them as elven land, and not lose them to logging and pasture which they cannot defend effectively against large, regular armed forces. Basically, not *every* reason to _"Protect. The Wild."_ has to be some religious or hippy-tree-huggy mumbo-jumbo.

[@temptempy1360]

irregulars are also very good at taking territory - as they're harder to stop (less obvious for a start). Other bonus such as being able to live off the land (Orcs love of burning everything helps slow that). Problem with irregulars is that they're often harder to train, and the skills of living off the land and moving quietly take a long time to teach successfully, but many elves prosess those skills... just they more like to have become "civilised" during their long lives.

[@cyberdaemon]

Elves often seem to have some kind of stealth capabilities by the way. At least in a form of havina some kind of capes, that make them either "blend in" or "become invisible" all together. This could certainly help them become even better irregular fighters.

[@MrZriael]

The training point is definitely true, and another reason elves are well suited, if there's one thing elves have *plenty* of, it's time ^_^ And I agree, this would make them quite good at striking out of their defensible areas to push _"civilisation"_ back from their borders. which is all-important to their survival, as these areas must remain dangerous and difficult to manoeuvre an army through. It wouldn't however, aid them in holding that territory if it's been turned into pasture or burned down to dirt. With their inferior numbers, they would need to retreat to harsher territory if they wished to combat regular forces.

[@cyberdaemon]

They could also live in mountains, as one does not simply burn down the mountains!

[@MrZriael]

Absolutely true, a very viable, wild terrain. One might, however, mine them, though the size of a mine might vary based on the population and culture of your mining species. Also, if left to their own devices, Humans and Halflings would no doubt begin to terrace the foothills. The elves might also dislike dwarven tunnel systems which could be used as roads through their rugged, mountainous terrain, and they cannot use their skilled bowmen to pick off members of a force travelling through tunnels very easily. In such a world we would likely still see tensions with Humans and Halflings, though not as strongly. However, we might also begin to see tensions between "Mountain Elves" and Dwarves on the rise, or even Gnomes if they are populous enough.

[@hoodiegal]

13:05 "...two rapiers in each hand" quad-wielding? xD

[@dogmaticpyrrhonist543]

Glad I wasn't the only one who noticed that slip

[@paxonite-7bd5]

Or wield two long rapier sized scissors

[@itisi2042]

General Grievous is an elf confirmed

[@morganb6717]

"hey, take that loupe out your eye. this is fight!" "ah, but you see, i am a skilled jewel wielder."

[@DeahlPeterson]

I noticed something you did not mention... If elves truly are more susceptible to damage(than humans), a long range weapon would be infinitely more useful. Think about it this way, if I were facing an opponent that is more likely to be able to take a hit, I wouldn't really want to be up close and personal. If I could get rid of them before they could get close enough to hit me, I would. Therefore, I personally think long range weapons would definitely be implemented far more often than melee. That is, if they ARE more suceptible to damage, and, ya know, if they were real...

[@Callidous]

13:09 "two rapiers in each hand" - Damn, that must be impractical. ;)

[@smievil]

don't you usually turn your dominant arm against your target while wielding a rapier to make your to make your hitbox smaller and trust your rapier as far as possible. wielding two seems a bit counterproductive since you'd have to turn both arms toward the target crippling your reach and making it easier to hit more parts of your body while protecting some of it with one rapier/dagger

[@wampyrelli]

two rapiers in each hand = four rapiers though

[@1nkw3ll]

wampyrelli 4 stabby things = 4 times the stabbies

[@Chaosmoker]

Also they have years and years to perfect their art.

[@joebobjenkins7837]

Callidous the bible wrote of a several fighters that carried no sheild but just one sword in each hand

[@Palora01]

I always accepted their general superior bowmanship as an effect of their superior dexterity, which allowed them to be better at controlling the bow. As well as their long life span allowing them to spend more time training and getting a feel for the art. It is important to note that in most other fantasies except LOTR humans can become as good as elves, but on average the elves are better than the average human, which may just imply that it's the extra time spent training that makes the difference. And if they have more time they can train to be good at using all sorts of weapons. Which again makes more elves better at archery than most humans. As well as more elves better at swordfighting than humans (since it's the same people doing both things competently while humans have to dedicate themselves to one or the other).

[@Cris21J987]

except in LOTR? The men in the LOTR made Sauron surrender when he saw some of the most powerful armies on earth

[@Palora01]

@@Cris21J987 yeah but that was a combination of numbers, gear, strength. I don't recall any human that got 7 (?) hits on Morgoth or could fight a Balrog one on one. Isildur only cut off the ring after Sauron was mortally wounded in battle with Elendil and Gil-Galad.

[@Jordan_C_Wilde]

On the topic of bows. Having practiced archery myself for quiet a while i must say, you need excelent muscle controll and stamina to make an accurate shot at a distance. Ontop of that the most important thing is practice, practice, practice, and since Elves are fricking immortal, they can train for hundrets of years and use stronger bows which would make them superior archers by a longshot (pun intended)

[@amperzand9162]

It is worth noting that really extreme archery capabilities and training cause significant physical changes in the archer. English Longbowman remains have been found with skeletal structure rendered asymmetrical by their musculature and endless training, and that was only a few decades at most, nothing approaching centuries of work.

[@Jordan_C_Wilde]

Sorry, but i don't get your point.

[@18Krieger]

The point is that elves who practice archery over centuries should have physical changes.

[@Jordan_C_Wilde]

Yes. So ? He basically said the same thing i said. Pracitce a lot and you get better, practice for centuries with enhanced physiological abilities and you become an archery god.

[@amperzand9162]

Elf archers might stop being so graceful if they spent centuries using heavier and heavier longbows.

[@kerrygriffiths6363]

lovin the series shad, could you please do orcs or trolls next.

[@cruye9633]

trolls are kinda weird in that they vary from not-orcs to not-ogres depending on the setting.

[@dragonstar2387]

I concur; it will be very interesting to see what would work best for the more brutish orcs. Trolls, however, are a bit tricky since there's so many interpretations. Do you mean the tall and lanky trolls from Warcraft, or the giant caveman-esque trolls from Lord of the Rings?

[@kerrygriffiths6363]

Dragonstar any really i hope he will cover all of the types of orcs you just suggested

[@kerrygriffiths6363]

Cruye Eblon im thinking of the more brutish type of trolls like the ones you see on lotr not the more tall and lanky ones from wow

[@Worldeditorful]

Id also would like to see a vid about Goblins. Unlike Dwarves, Elves and Orcs - Goblins only have disadvantages, when compared to humans.

[@epicmage82]

Elves being Marry Sue's make sense since they have hundreds of training.

[@discipulo2652]

I still understood what you meant.

[@cainen6355]

@@discipulo2652 *hundreds of years training

[@NicofTime...]

Trains are op

[@ladymarcy7830]

@@NicofTime... What are you talking about? Also Hero of Spirits (Link from Spirit Tracks) agrees with you

[@rigel9228]

In this case they are not Mary Sue's, because they had to do something for their abilities...

[@owengreig1088]

In notes that Tolkien wrote about The Lord of the Rings, he states that elves are stronger than humans, and he even goes so far as to say that Legolas is the strongest member of the fellowship.

[@Pac0Master]

Arnold version of Elf? you clearly Missed "The Adventure of Lunk" by Cyanide & Happiness.

[@cadunkus]

Pac0 Master Not a very hard thing to do thanks to Nintendo. I can only find reaction videos anymore.

[@danielw.8356]

I love how effective you are at pin-pointing variables, and different details!

[@tedarcher9120]

archery need alwful lot of training, dozens of years, so bow is really good choice. also things like sideswords need lots of time to train, and immortality comes handy

[@hazzmati]

World's Biggest Booty Hoes 2 years is still a very long time

[@Sheol02]

World's Biggest Booty Hoes It is you who's getting confused. Human archers don't need that much accuracy - they lose a volley of arrows in one direction. What Elves are doing is getting high precision shots into the size of a squirrel's butthole gaps between armor of their targets from afar. That's the premise why Elves use bow and why eternal life gives an advantage in learning it.

[@justinthompson6364]

Actually, good archers _do_ require years of training, but it's mostly to take full advantage of it. An arrow has a higher velocity and therefore greater range, assuming you can judge elevation, not to mention accurately hitting a target, quickly, at anything but point-blank range.

[@cool06alt]

funny, greek source mention that sling were often preferred due to its range and superior armor damage

[@tedarcher9120]

Eissa Cozorav yeah, that's so because greeks had no wood for proper bows. Hence they did not know how to make good bows and how to use them, and prefered throwing spears and slings

[@EpherosAldor]

I know I'm like 2 years late on this, but it popped up in my feed and I had to watch it... I have a few disagreements, but overall the video, I think, makes some good points. The premise being elves have better eyesight and are more graceful and dexterous means a lot more than just each word's definition. 1) Elves are typically forest creatures and operate within the confines of concealment of all kinds; shadows, color blending, stillness and motion, etc. This means their eyesight has to be precise enough to make out significantly minute details that their brains have adapted to recognize as threats, therefore they probably also realize the world around them at higher frame rates and have a greater range of color and spectrum sensing than humans. 2) Since they are graceful and dexterous, they would naturally have better hand-eye coordination and reflexes. Their superior eyesight and perception would allow them to make quick, mental and physical adjustment when using a bow for accuracy and precision. 3) It was noted that they have a high muscle density to their frames than average humans and be at least as strong as them even though they are more lithe and sometimes slightly shorter. This musculature would afford them greater control over the movement and positioning of their bodies as well as more stamina demanding expressions (such as holding a bow taut or navigating difficult terrain, like over loose stones in a river). Therefore the proclivity to archery, with superior perception and muscle control, allows them to be more far more precise and accurate over more time than humans generally can be (highly trained and focused humans surpass many limitations in many cases). 4) Dual wielding may have been a medieval dualist art form, but it was an ever present and effective method of combat in thick, dense environments by skirmisher types, namely Filipino cultures who developed Kali/Arnis/Escrima as a means of dealing with intertribal battles and colonizers (Spanish). Dual wielding is a valid and deadly form of combat used in skirmishes in which stealth and surprise allows a combatant to enter into a cluster or group of soldiers and execute a large amount of damage and maiming and then get out before the group can recover and retaliate. It's hit and run tactics. Dual wielding is not an open battlefield method except under the most dire of circumstances. 5) With skirmisher tactics in mind, and the graceful and dexterous control over their bodies, elves would be prone to lighter agility weapons, like scimitars, sabers, short swords, Kukri or Gurka types blades that rely more heavily on fluidity of motion and slicing rather than strength and specific positioning. Spears are another great multipurpose weapon they'd use. Weapons like longer swords (bastard types, claymores, hand-and-half, etc) and heavy weapons like axes, pikes, and hammers rely more on effective stance for proper execution. As skirmishers, the ability to move and slice, use footwork to position into advantageous, longer slices rather than positioning into effective stances, such as a katana's downward chop, or a longsword's sweeping or wide angle attacks, would put them in more static positions and inhibit movement. Anyway, had to put this comment down as the video, I felt, missed a couple of core relationships that are fundamentally bound together. I study Kali and dual wielding is the first thing you learn - how to use two sticks or two daggers (or a stick and dagger) - and it's extremely effective. Unfortunately, HEMA-types always seem to disregard it because they mostly do not have exposure to the Filipino martial arts and don't understand or appreciate when and where dual wielding is used and how effective it can be.

[@TimeturnerJ]

Please don't judge Legolas by his movie version (especially in The Hobbit. In fact, let's just forget that ever happened, okay? Good). He's very different in the books. It's the movies that made him a Mary Sue.

[@MadSwedishGamer]

Timeturner Yeah, in the books he even ran out of arrows in every single battle. In the films they just seemed to replenish magically.

[@alextrill5829]

He just invested into some kind of Quiver of Endless Arrows after he actually ran out of arrows that one time in the Hobbit. Just a smart move. Surely a prince can afford a single magical item.

[@corwyncorey3703]

Or more like he picked up what was retrievable after each fight where it was possible... and why would they show it? They rarely waste film time on downtime.. who wants to watch them bathe, eat, void waste, loot corpses? Those movies were already way long

[@cadunkus]

He's overpowered, he's not a Mary Sue. A Mary Sue is the spotlight of the plot ALL the time. They can be overpowered and often are, but not necessarily. Once again, he is overpowered, tho.

[@corwyncorey3703]

EvilUnicornLord not that i think he IS a Mary Sue necessarily ( though its possible that the director does feel that way about him) i just felt it should be pointed out your impression of what a Mary Sue IS is somewhat reversed from the trope. A Mary Sue is the author’s (director’s perhaps...) injecting of themselves into the story ...with no flaws.. they are always the most OP of the characters in the story. The smartest or toughest or whatever the author sees as the best attribute.. and usually has more than one of those (smartest, fastest, etc all at once) A Mary Sue isnt necessarily the focus of the plot at all times, but when they showcase, they are obviously leaps and bounds above their “peers”. As an example, Gene Roddenberry’s Mary Sue was Westley Crusher. Not ALWAYS the main focus.. but when he is, he’s obviously far smarter and unique than all around him. Being ridiculously OP is half the definition if Mary Sue.. the other half being the author seeing that character as themselves, with an overall cover of flawless.

[@Thrythlind]

Tolkien specifically stated that Elves and humans are the same species with a different spiritual nature. Elves are bound to the physical existence of Arda and their soul cannot leave the Earth until it comes to an end, and if they die, they apparently will eventually come to a new physical life eventually. Humans are capable of leaving and originally, they would only die when they became tired of living in Arda and desired to see what else lay in creation and would choose to leave. Morgoth introduced the fear of death causing humans to forget what it was really about and actively dread it. This resulted in the spirit and minds of humanity tearing itself apart and triggered their dwindling over time. As another note. Tolkien elves are more associated with spears and swords than bows. Legolas is the only well known elven archer. So, originally, elves and men were roughly on par, but the elves started to dwindle due to their weariness of being stuck in Arda and humans started to dwindle because of their internal conflict against their soul's desire to travel and their mind's desire to remain alive for fear of what's moving on. As such, they only seem like humans plus because the main visible difference is their long lifespans. As to their "magic", magic in Tolkien's middle earth is more like science and perfected use and understanding of nature, the elves in the West have access to probably the best tech and education of the setting thus they hit Clarke's Law to most other people.

[@jmc9137]

The elves of Lothlorien were bow focused, and Merkwood was kinda bow focused as well but both had very good infantry better than most humans

[@olivialim7541]

Legolas was not the only well known elven archer. There was Fingon, Beleg, Celegorm, Amrod, Aredhel and Amras (being hunters) so it was definitely commonly used. And those are just the elves named in the books. Culturally there was a wide range of weapons used. And some elves, like Finrod or Luthien, could use singing as a weapon, and they fought Sauron with it. Maglor and Daeron, being great singers, presumably could do the same, although it's not written of in the books. Obviously, elves have a weapon unavailable to humans. And some humans had an ability no elves are recorded to have, which is shapeshifting into a large powerful bear. That would have been tremendously useful in battle.

[@curtizmcintyre970]

I dont know, id imagine if youd live for 10,000 years eventually youd be good at everything. 🤔

[@self-satisfiedsmirk5544]

@@curtizmcintyre970 Not really... At least, that wouldn't be the case with humans. Even if humans were to eventually "cure" biological aging and essentially become immortal (Highlanders), there are still limitations to our natural physiology. One such limitation is that the human brain doesn't really retain information well. It usually disregards and discards the majority of the information gained from the things we experience throughout the day, and of the small percentage of things we *do* remember with at least a decent measure of clarity, it's typically just as simple facts rather than extremely detailed and accurate accounts, complete with imagery and auditory information. What's more is that it is generally believed that, in a hypothetical scenario in which biological immortality was achieved, after about one thousand years the brain would be at its "maximum capacity", in regards to memory retention. An immortal human's brain would naturally begin to purge old information as time would go on. While living for such a prolonged lifespan would undoubtedly allow an individual to become incredibly knowledgeable and incredibly proficient in probably more than one craft, it wouldn't make them some "super master" in any and all skills and crafts, nor a varitable font of information on any and all topics under the sun. So, if we assume that a similar phenomenon was experienced by elves than they wouldn't be *as* superior as you made them out to be in your last comment.

[@maledwarfwarrior]

Great video, though I do have a comment on "elven fragility". It's probably due to their denser muscle, a single hit would cause more trauma than on a human thanks to hitting a larger overall percent of tissue. Just as an animal can die of the shock before dying of the injury, elves might be vulnerable to medical shock and die from that more often than the wound itself.

[@crazyscotsman9327]

In the book it wasn't Arwen who did it but her father Elrond and Gandalf. Elrond is a special case as one he holds one of the three rings of power for the elves. And also the Lord of the Rings in terms of Modern fantasy would be considered low fantasy. (Meaning magic is rare.)

[@AugustusR]

You just answered yourself... "too many D&D games and books", that kind of functional system of magic whereupon you can systematise and study it, and then build upon techniques and spells, is not universal and was not a thing back when Tolkien wrote his books. D&D built it up from his work after all. His magic is there but it is subtle, less supernatural if you may, more part of the world itself. So it is magic that keeps Lothlorien ever green and wondrous, magic that helped the elves build their cities, forge their weaponry and heal diseases (you see it the first book and film, with Elrond healing Frodo), magic that allowed Morgoth create the orcs and how the Ring and the Nazgul were made. But not, you won't see spellcasting, besides the very few circumstances when the more powerful characters go out of their way to alter the world itself (the Istari do on occasion, and in the books Galadriel brings down Dol Guldur with a storm/tornado). It is just e very different sort of magic.

[@aidancallahan4217]

In the Lord of the Rings, Elves first weapons that they used were spears and war axes. Someone else brought up a good point, Elves biggest disadvantage in most fantasy settings is their low numbers, thereby making fighting styles that prefer distance very attractive. Spears and bows play into this perfectly, even war axes to some extent, if they were long.

[@phugibugi7432]

Great video mate, as per usual. As you mentioned, the elven sight gives an advantage in night time combat. Because of this and due to elves being usually depicted as a forest dwelling race, I'd imagine elves favoring and excelling at guerrilla warfare, with surprise attacks, assassinations and short skirmishes against smaller groups of enemies, as opposed to open army vs. army warfare. Maybe because of these hit-and-run tactics, other races tell legends/stories of nimble and fast elves. The slimmer physique is perhaps due to them using little or lighter armor/protective gear, because once you have struck your enemies, you'd probably want to run and hide into the woods before the enemy has time to retaliate, and have stamina left to engage again or defend yourself if something goes wrong. Full metal armor is also quite noisy (imagine branches hitting metal) when sneaking for surprise attacks or gathering intelligence. These tactics are also probably learned early on when hunting skittish game in the woods. As for the cultural preference for the bow and dagger, elves have readily available resources for crafting bows, both for combat and hunting. I don't know how much mining and smithing they do or have knowledge of, and because elves are depicted as a hermit race which prefers to keep interactions with other inferior races at a minimum, the amount of trade for ore or weapons would also be minimal. This would explain the preference for daggers, because the small amount of metal ore elves already have, they'd have to divide mainly for arrow heads and the rest for small close combat weapons. Also, because daggers/knives are more useful for hunting (skinning and cutting meat of animals) than metal wasting swords, they'd have a more cultural importance for elves. The same applies to bows. The last reason for favoring daggers might also be due to the mind set of elves. Because they think of themselves, and are also seen by other races, as an "one race to rule them all", they don't need the weapons of lower races, such as spears, axes and swords. Fighting with daggers (using one or dual wielding) against enemies with longer reach and better protection means you need to have more skill and finesse as your opponent, which dexterous elves have, so that's one reason for them stubbornly using daggers in order to keep their elven pride, culture and traditions. But I think I have analyzed/thought about this enough. Now I wait whether Shad-senpai notices me or not.

[@KingdomOfDimensions]

So their daggers would be akin to the seax or väkipuukko , a personal multi-purpose knife that could be pressed into service as a sidearm if absolutely necessary. I would bet any less insular elvish people like the high elves would adopt the war strategies of other races they bordered out of necessity while the woodland elves would remain more wild as they're commonly depicted.

[@RogerS1978]

Also in living in close conditions like in dense forest; (as Legolas and the other mirkwood elves) were shown to carry when not in pitch battle) shorter weapons like short bows (in forest range doesn't matter so much) and daggers, both give some advantage both in moving and fighting (less likely to catch or snag) as well as being more easily carried on the body. Other Elf types in Tolkein do use different weapons (long bows in the more open forest of Lorien, swords for the more city dwelling elves) or the glaives all film elves seem to prefer in pitch battle.

[@thebushwhacker8496]

I know why elves love the bow... Because Tolkien said so

[@waltdisneytendos2ndchannel799]

BULLSHIT BUT THE AWSNER LIES WITHIN ANGLO SAXON TEXTS STATED THAT ELVES SHOOT ARROWS AT PEOPLE TO CAUSE INFLICTION AND DISEASE AND ARTHRITIS IF YOU DONT KNOW WHAT THERE CALLED ITS *ELF-SHOT ELF ARROW* OR *FAIRY RIDING* SOMETHING LIKE THAT do your research to ME FUCK TOLKIEN i dislike him a bit reason i hate him is to me he ruined NORSE MYTHOLOGY AND STOLE IT BUT MYTHOLOGY isnt copyrighted so who cares TO ME *THE ORIGINAL MYTHS AND FOLKLORE WERE BETTER THAN THE DUMBASS historically INACCURATE pop culture CAUSE ITS MORE FANTASTICAL/historical THEN IT REALLY WAS* unlike saying fuck the movie ADAPTATION TO ME THE BOOK WAS BETTER yeah who Cares just my opinion leave me alone JUST ME BEING A AMATEUR MYTHOLOGY/LANGUAGE/historian SCHOLAR like XIDNAF

[@albussr1589]

Since Tolkin is THE MAN in Fantasy, this is definetly true

[@dominic6634]

@eoe123321 think they used everything.

[@dominic6634]

@@waltdisneytendos2ndchannel799 wow you are aware Tolkien studied these myths right.

[@elvenjedi6883]

@@waltdisneytendos2ndchannel799 Mind your language. And stop slandering Tolkien There happens to be a genre of book called fantasy, and Lord of the Rings/ hobbit/ silmarilian/ the lost tales are exactly that, a fantasy.

[@truckshackley373]

Elves would make good snipers.

[@ShortBarrelRaifu]

Agreed ... but i prefer marksman rather than sniper, cz their concealment ability is still unknown (at least for me) (except Warcraft NightElves, they own the night)

[@youngmoney4693]

I thought you said strippers😂

[@patrickswope8417]

@@youngmoney4693 they'd probably be good at that too though, lol

[@youngmoney4693]

Patrick Swope “extra elegance”😂

[@officialzeroninja]

Also in Christopher Pasolini’s The Inheritance Cycle, elves are just super duper enhanced humans with great spellcasting ability and wisdom

[@Cinsightfully]

I've always felt elves draw back is in their adaptability. Elves are superior physically, mentally, and magically because they are tied to their world. They lose out on human creativity, industriousness, and inventiveness, which is a tremendous drawback. For combat that means a duel is suicide, but large scale war you stand a chance.

[@simorote]

Cinsightfully, ikr? If we humans were immortal we would have colonized the galaxy by now... immagine a world where Einstein, Godel, Newton, Tesla, von neumann ecc work toghether (or compete) for centuries on technological innovation. Elves are either lazy or dumb as a rock.

[@Rodrigo-ge5wy]

simorote yeah in the lodr books you can see they care too much about being artistic and good too the trees

[@scholarlydragon6074]

"Elves are either lazy or dumb as a rock." Or they just have different priorities than humans do.

[@simorote]

Erelir. What? not one elf is interested in scientific discovery? then they are one dimentional poorly written characters.

[@scholarlydragon6074]

I can't speak for the elves from other authors, but if you are accusing Tolkien's elves of being one-dimensional and poorly written characters then you are an idiot. I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you are talking about some other fantasy universe. If you are talking about Tolkien's elves, either you haven't read his books, or you're an idiot and there's nothing I can say that's gonna help.

[@MoejoTheGreat]

Ok but what about the Keebler elves?

[@PuppyPhoenix]

Matt Their weapon of choice is diabetes. They give it to their enemies through deadly sugary snacks disguised as cute cookies. Then the elves wait for the diabetes to ravage their enemies. They live forever so the waiting game is a blink of an eye to them.

[@warmexalquist7510]

This is really interesting and I love it. Can I ask you what races do you plan to examine? I presume dwarf, elves, hobbits, goblins, and orcs, but what about trolls, centaurs, minotaurs, harpies, nagas demons, angels or even undeath like vampires skeletons or zombies? And I know this shpould ne a fantasy but what abou some sci fi races (like Star Wars and Mass Effect) can you make videos what weapons would be best for them in Middle Ages. Again this serie is awsome :)

[@DzinkyDzink]

vaginas ofcourse. And some telepathy.

[@warmexalquist7510]

And what naga you refer to??? In might and magic universe for example naga has 4 or even 6 arms.

[@warmexalquist7510]

Well Nagas from Warcradt or Mignt and Magic have 2 or 4 arms (sometimes even 6). Well fantasy creatures has lot of different forms, for example elves in their origin was fairies (elf was male and fairy was female). I beleve Tolkien was first who introduced them like tall immortal warriors.

[@warmexalquist7510]

Nagas may not be common but they are interesting. And yes Tolkien was inspired by Norse mythology, but I do not thing they were called elves there, Not sure, I could be wrong. What surprises me is that you said Nagas do not have arms and not harpies do not have arms, because they really do not have them, harpies are my mistake they are not good for this, Í think they are interesting bu they would be useless in historical battle.

[@forestelfranger]

Given centaurs are petty much half horse. Good old fashion knights anyone? Or you know stuff like mongol or hut base tactics.

[@raffelon9508]

Dwarves and Elves represent more certain kinds of humans than races with all those types themselves. For dwarves it's miners and technically knowledged craftsmen that are trained in strength and had their tools turned into weapons: pickaxes (mining), hammers(mining and forging) and axes (for cutting wood, they need fire in order to forge), so except for ranged weapons those standards make totally sense. As for the Elves who live in the woods who collect resources they find and hunt things, they're focused on agility, senses to notice other living beings even in hidden places and of course bows (made from wood, the thing you easily find in the woods) as well as other light weapons (that help them keep their agility). So if you look at them as something originating from different jobs (I only thought of this using logic and have no proves) then their standardized weapons really do seem to fit well.

[@stevenharris4933]

FABULOUS VIDEO! I completely agree with the dual weapon sets for elves. I practice the fundamentals of double sabers (Shuang Dao) in Long Fist and Praying Mantis Kung Fu and it takes a GREAT deal of coordination and nimbleness. Your primary hand is much better than your off hand and it really trains ambidexterity. I also find it interesting that many Elven swords have no guard like a machete. This may look cool but it would give the user no protection for their hand.

[@MadBrainBox]

Well,because they are immortal and wanna keep it that way.:)

[@Rithkingwill]

But what about dragons?

[@tim110b3]

Rith King Will good for an april fools video :3

[@Der_Eisenfresser]

Now imagine a dragon in full plate armour...

[@nathanbrown8680]

My armor is like tenfold shields. My teeth are like swords. My claws, spears. The strike of my tail, a thunderbolt. Any my breath, death.

[@mewmeister8650]

Rith King Will giant fucking battle claws

[@drizzt7dourden7]

deathwing? :p but in regards of the overall question: it depends ^^ are we talking classical dragon shaped dragon? or the form shifting dragon? assuming we talk about them in their dragon shape there ARE a few optimizations they could do: namely fine armorment for the wings since they are by far the weakest part of the body (maybe mithral chainmail?). after that helmets to prottect the snout and eyes since they would be the next weaker places (leaving the lower part open to allow for bites and breath) Next would be armor spikes and tail spikes if they dont have those allready to make their swings more deadly and "boarding" them more dificult lastly they might want to consider the use of small creatures (kobolts?) on their back or strapt under them as ranged fire support, attack/support magic and bording defense ^^ (also as out of combat servents ^^) granted most of these would be for combat against the lower races NOT against another dragon. (exept maybe the caster minions)

[@SC-zq6cu]

15:11 "Oh but skill-" "No." 😂

[@cruye9633]

Dark elves are especially good at dual wielding scimitars.

[@cruye9633]

kek

[@brodyalloway2144]

Talking about Drizzt?! Because I would love you if you were talking about Drizzt.

[@davidpoole7137]

personally I feel that the long life does play a role in this decision, longer life span = more time to perfect their chosen weapon skills.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

More time to possibly perfect any weapons skill.

[@almightyeragon5265]

Elves long lives usually translates to slower population growth and therefore can't win a battle through attrition. This would make elves more suited to guerrilla warfare, especially against a more numerous foe.

[@noquarteratall780]

I feel like an elf would always have a throwing knife on the hip. As someone who has spent more time than I care to share playing fps games you gloss over how much the perception would benefit imo. Seeing an enemy before they see you is more than half the battle.

[@TheAsvarduilProject]

Woah woah woah. Forget the Elf discussion. You play Elder Scrolls Online!? I must know more!

[@lllFeanorlll]

The lifespan component would play a part. If you can train regularly at something for 100 years, or more you're probably going to become very good at that thing. Especially since your physical capabilities aren't going to deteriorate with time.

[@kungfuskull]

Mentions dual weilding with actual knowledge: respect increases dramatically. Also, Musashi thanks you for remembering him. 👍🤘🍻cheers

[@roshenko]

Shad. Ever considered doing a video about the battle of 5 armies? And how effective or not their tactics were compared to the book and film?

[@katharina979]

Yes please

[@torvamessorem6686]

Aren't elves generally less...emotional? Humans can generate adrenaline which renders them almost completely immune to pain and able to temporarily survive wounds that would kill an elf instantly. Also near unlimited energy and increased physical strength. I don't remember elves having the property of adrenaline because they usually tend to be so calm and cool in any situation. Isn't that an advantage humans have over elves?

[@Tantive]

It depends in what lore. In Dungeons and Dragons they have an old lineage relating to faery creatures. They react stronger on the emotional scale, but are tempered by their perspectives and wisdoms gained in their longevity.

[@AshenDust_]

Torva Messorem it could be a disadvantage but also may be an advantage. If a human was in the thick of combat they would probably forget a lot of strategy while elves remain calm and maintain common sense and strategy. And if one of there friends were to die a human would mourn in the middle of combat while an elf kills the enemies first, mourns later

[@benayakeenanhutagalung9798]

You didnt understand anything about adrenaline did you?? Yes elves are less emotional than human, thats why in most movies, novel and games its rare to see elves show angry face and crying..but the most rare one is seeing elves *laughing*. Now about the adrenaline, adrenaline is a hormone that produced by human natural body when the human are scared-the-shit-out-of-life or in life or death danger situation. Most human people are sweaty when they have their adrenaline on. BUT you are very wrong about the effect of adrenaline Adrenaline doesnt give unlimited energy to the human, they just suddenly burstly bust the human energy and muscle capacity so maybe the human can run faster, jump higher, or have a lot stamina, but even that effect have timer. And NO, adrenaline CANT COMPLETELY make a human immune from pain, thats not even close NOR survive a wound, it has nothing to do about survivng a wound or reducing blood loss from wound. And yes, a panic adrenaline-rushed human cant think clearly unlike elves which is often always calm in every situation.

[@RealHellBob]

Do you take into accaunt that elves are typically depicted as living in the woods and not beeing an agressive race at all? Imagining them to be rather peacefull hunters instead would make their choice of weapon far more realistic because the bow would be the preferred hunting weapon of this time. An elven hunter would also carry a knife or dagger. In war, they would of course wield the weapon they're used to, which would be bows and (long) daggers. Also them having a longer lifespan and less offspring would make them far more survival oriented combatands (wtf hobbit shield wall scene?!). They would ambush their enemy in the forrests and / or shoot them from afar. Retreat and repeat. Also them having better eyes and brains and therefore reactions would make them superior archers, even on by bright daylight. Human eyes and brains only achieve a specific amount of fps, elves, having superior eyes and brains, could see the enemy slightly faster and take cover while he still needs to react.

[@RealHellBob]

Otherwise great video, Shad. This are just some additions that came into my mind while I was watching and they are concentrating on the "pro-arrow-side", of course, since I am quite a fan of our elves, as they are depicted in modern fantasy.

[@davehood2667]

Elves actually have two major advantages over humans in archery, one is their infamously sharp eyes, which are better than eagles by all accounts. The other is their longevity, no human can measure up in any field against someone with literally centuries of experience.

[@ashtongiertz8728]

There's a third advantage; their graceful nature means greater level of control over their body compared to man.

[@hethoran]

Hey Shad, I find it interesting that you discounted the longevity in your analysis considering the options you decided for them. Bowmanship and Dual Wielding both benefit hugely from practice to build skill, and elves would in general have much more experience that any non-elf they fight. The amount of extra living time they get gives huge advantage to learning weapons and styles are effective, but difficult to learn.

[@SunogWunk]

Which other races do you plan on doing? Do you intend on using just the "classical" fantasy races or also take some of the less mainstream ones? I'd really like to see what would you say about giants and khajits

[@Loromir17]

There's a nice illustration of realistic giant warfare: orig12.deviantart.net/c8f2/f/2015/288/0/e/unfair_battle_by_shabazik-d3dglj4.png Except they should also use shields. As for khajiits, I agree it would be interesting to anylize at least the most popular variations of animal-men (so lizardmen and ratmen go into the bunch).

[@SunogWunk]

Well, true. That is quite a realistic vision yet of course dealing with giants in that regard would have some variables - mostly their height. It's clear they are bigger but just how much bigger? Co they can be from 3 meters to even 100 meters (~10 feet to ~330 feet)

[@enbymurloc5802]

Did an image of Arnold swarzenegger working in Santa's workshop pop into anybody else's head?

[@MojiMikato]

Video was gorgeous but I am disappointed cuz of only 1 thing, there wasnt any illustrations of Drizzt Do'Urden. :(

[@avichaid6021]

Body mass doesn't necessarily mean someone is weaker. It's also a matter of muscle density. A chimpanzee for example is way stronger than a human of its size Mass does, however, offer an advantage in terms of leverage, so a heavier person will be able to use heavier weapons more effectively