Top 10 Most Effective RANGED Weapons (pre modern)

[@KodoSpirit]

BS, everyone know that Gimli son of Glóin is the deadliest throwing weapon.

[@bushcraftingmuslim]

You're gonna have to toss me!

[@chengkuoklee5734]

It's a tossing weapon

[@Kasarii]

Can't be, nobody tosses a dwarf!

[@peterterry7918]

I thought Wolverine was!

[@chengkuoklee5734]

@Patrick Brennan Legolas:" l know what you did at Helms Deep. What do you think my pointy ears are for?"

[@McAppleWar]

Skirmishing javelins: Used by countless cultures for thousands of years. Composite/"horse" bows: Conquered and killed people in ways never before imagined. Atlatl: One of the largest technological leaps in ranged weapon technology. Staff slings: A powerful tool that could launch much heavier projectiles further than the common sling (which is in its self already underrated). All of these weapons are well proven in their effectiveness, yet axes, knives, sticks and repeating crossbows (that rely on potent venom/poison as their lethal factor) are on the list while the above mentioned weapons are not. How did this happen? I was honestly expecting the zulu "poison spit" to appear on this list at some point. I think you can do better than this Metatron. I still love your videos though.

[@kingsarues1586]

You don't even need to say atlatl you can always say spear thrower and cover the entire range of spear throwers.

[@hermitcard4494]

If his top ten was mostly based on historic popularity, then a bunch of the, underrated weapons you mentioned, then makes sense :( However, he should have put crossbows and bows in the same spots. I mean Crossbows, and talk about the chinese automatic, then Bow and mention the long bow and composite.

[@draconisthewyvern3664]

the best ranged weapon pre-modern is the breech loading rifle, change my mind

[@McAppleWar]

@@draconisthewyvern3664 Good point. But didnt breechloaders really prove their effectivenes until well after the start of the modern period? All the famous ones i can think of are from the 1800s and beyond ie the sharps, martini henry, remington 1867, chassepot and so on.

[@draconisthewyvern3664]

@@McAppleWar there are early 15th century breech loading hand cannons on display in a stockholm musuem from 15th to 16th , there is a three shot breech loading cannon from 1540-1543 we also have examples of breech loading weapons dating to the 14th century and Henry VIII had a breech loading hunting rifle in the 16th century. Philip V in 1715 also had a personal breech loading rifle. Che Dian Chong a breech loading flintlock, 16th century. there was a wheellock breech loading rifle from 1625 featured on forgotten weapons youtube channel that’s all from assuming your cut off point for modern is the 1800s.

[@Intranetusa]

The #3 repeating crossbow was a niche weapon because it saw very limited use on the battlefield for very specific situations. The ancient Chinese preferred the regular more powerful crossbows and bows, both of which were also used from the Warring States era all the way to the Qing era/1800s. For example, the most common/median draw weight for a Han Dynasty era crossbow was supposed to be ~379lbs, and a few elites could supposedly draw up to 750lbs with the laid down leg press method. Above that, mechanical aides such as winches had to be used and were for field artillery. #1 should be "the bow" in general, because other types of bows such as composite recurve bows, laminated bows, etc were also widely used and can achieve similar heavy draw weights to the English [Welsh] longbow.

[@Epicmonk117]

TBH I was kinda expecting this list to be, in now particular order: -Sling -Some sort of javelin or other throwing spear -At least one crossbow -3+ different types of bows

[@omariscovoador7486]

I think pilum could be replaced by javelins in general, i know the pilum is a more specialized version, but javelins in general were quite popular and effective.

[@Zeboki]

*Incoherent Mongolian Short Bow Screaming*

[@drsch]

I know, right? Composite bows should probably be number 1 considering their extended use throughout history and, you know, the Mongols?

[@edi9892]

@@drsch they didn't hit nearly as hard as longbows or crossbows, but they weee ideal for cavalry and harassing the enemy. I've shot both longbow and composite bow and I very much prefer the latter.

[@darrinscott6612]

It's not incoherent screaming so much as it is melodic throat singing

[@r6guy]

@@drsch composite recurve bows simply outperformed longbows in every way.

[@jkre]

@@edi9892 thats incorrect, longbows are known for their high draw weights, but the reason for that is that they need that high draw weight to be effective. Composite bows are much more efficient bows and they outperforms same draw weight longbows any day. They have been tested many times and the results are that 80 pound manchu bow shoots heavy arrow with more kinetic energy and momentum than 130 pound longbow, and 135 pound turkish bow outperformed 150 pound longbow. Btw composite bows can reash eaven higher draw weights than wooden bows, but they are rare, cus it is unnesessary to be so high. Manchu bow was considered enough for war with 80 pounds of draw weight, but manchu bows up to 240 pounds existed, but they were most likely used only for strenght training, and lighter bows for warfare, cus its more beneficial to be able to shoot accurate and all day long than just few arrows with poor accurace cus of too high draw weight bow

[@twuandixon8675]

"if I can chop wood, I can chop his arm" 😂 legendary.

[@Tennouseijin]

4:02 - such a missed opportunity to show a photo of Jörg Sprave

[@ComfyDents]

Is there any chance for a colaboration with some Age of Empires KZbinr? There is this man named "Spirit of the law". He mostly talks about statistics, analyses gamemechanics, things with math AND compares the campains with the real history. I always wondered if there is some reason for unit counters in actually history. It would be a dream come true. :-)

[@themuffinman6942]

Why wasn’t the chakram on this list? It has a way higher chance of cutting than a throwing knife and it’s frisbee shape makes it more accurate and easier to throw

[@edi9892]

Keep in mind that crossbow and guns are way easier to learn than throwing weapons or even Longbows and slings (both are very time intensive to learn).

[@flyingdeathcatsgo]

07:28 that crossbowman is going to have a bad time if he goes to fire that right now.

[@kangirigungi]

If it can be used for hunting, it can be used as a weapon of war. If it can be used for farming, it can be used as a weapon of war. If it can be used in construction, it can be used as a weapon of war. As history shows, if something can be weaponized, it will be weaponized by someone. On a more serious note, slings were really effective weapons, especially if lead shots are used. Most other thrown weapons (including bows) limit the total energy of a throw to what you can provide by your arm with one swing. But you can swing a sling multiple times to a much more powerful shot (at the cost of you projectile being blunt). Its drawback is that it takes even more training to shoot them accurately than a bow, and that's a pretty serious concern.

[@PREPFORIT]

Excellent information and presented in an entertaining manner.

[@crozraven]

what about trap hunting range weapons like BOLAS & LASSO? it's very effective for its functions too. Also, ANCIENT GRENADES & GREEK FIRE ...

[@Unpainted_Huffhines]

I'd say the throwing stick probably predates even the stone age. The concept of "That guy wants to take something from me, I think I'll hit him in the head with this stick/rock" was likely know to even the apes.

[@Diegeovocaloiz]

You have to make a video about the Cagayán battle in 1582, when spanish tercios fought with japaneses Ronin samuráis

[@seedfan8548]

Top ranged weapons 1. The gun - Variants of both the Matchlock and the Wheellock mechanisms, including those on the tanegashima, first appear towards the end of the medieval era, so it does fit into the time period. 2. To be patriotic I've got to put The Boomerang in here, but it is also the most enduring ranged weapon, even outlasting the long bow. 3. Long Bow 4. The Repeating Crossbow 5. For versatility, it's hard to overlook the chakram. 6. The Hunga Munga 7. I know that it's not strictly a weapon per say, but the Woomera really needs some representation. Besides, it serves the same function as a sling. 8. Bolas 9. Tomohawk 10. Throwing Knife - for being the most uninspired.

[@peterrasmussen6720]

The plumbata's main(?) use might have been to make the shields of the opponent so heavy and unbalanced that they were mostly useless and had to be thrown away in battle.

[@ZoggFromBetelgeuse]

Catapults throwing plague-infected corpses might also have been rather effective.

[@nathanl6401]

The hunga munga looks like a Klingon weapon

[@davideddy8557]

Quick question: since pilum don't seem to have all that much range, what would be the advantage of using those in place of let's say a long spear with the same tip attached? I can see how the spear would be unwieldy compared to them due to the massive length and the distribution of weight differences, but I would think having rows of them would tactically offset that. They just look quite heavy, especially when compared to the lances also used.

[@preetichhetri9815]

Metatron can you make a video about the Eastern Roman Empire also known as Byzantine Empire in the west.

[@DatBoiOrly]

I'm suprised you didn't give atlatl spear thrower an honourable mention. :(

[@Santisima_Trinidad]

He did give the spear a mention, so technically he gave it a mention by association.

[@bushcraftingmuslim]

@@Santisima_Trinidad I disagree. An atlatl dart is as different from a hand thrown spear as an arrow is from a spear

[@DatBoiOrly]

@@Santisima_Trinidad An atlatl can be used to throw multiple different things spears being the prominent one

[@PhyreI3ird]

I dont get how throwing knives are placed higher than throwing axes and rungu. There's not really many advantages that throwing knives have honestly and if, like you said, rungu were used for so long and to regularly kill men and beasts how does a throwing knife really compare?

[@user-yr5nv2gv7m]

3:14 the oldest (and actually functional ones) of these look exactly like shang halberds en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagger-axe later it became hungamunga weaving / imperial nostalgia once the details of their own history was forgotten, like 1st/2nd world red neaks today all having world war/civil war era bayonets etc

[@bjrn2010]

2:58 damn beautiful.

[@gonzo3915]

I have been making Bows both long and short all year, we have tons of Yew trees where i live, Oak is also Common. I have become quite proficient in the short time i have been making them, Fletching my own arrows as well, it has been a good time killer.

[@claudiussmith8798]

Weird order, like throwing speer with higher rank than pilum but nevermind... I really liked the insights on the african weapons! Please do one on the missed artillery weapons, scorpio, ballista etc.

[@metatronyt]

The throwing spear is just an honorable mention, so it didn't rank higher than the pilum

[@predwin1998]

*Spoiler warning for number 1* As a staunch fan of the British longbow(men) I must say the one thing that really surprised me in this list is that the number one spot went to longbows specifically. As much as I love the longbow, I wouldn't consider it more effective than say, the recurve bows used by the Mongols or the Japanese Yumi (nor the other way around mind you). I honestly expected number one to go to warbows in general with specific mentions to any 2-3 particularly effective examples. Including, but not limited to, the British longbow.

[@thorgalldjnexa]

Now i know where the "lawn darts" come from! :)

[@Parmesana]

ooooo I loved this one. I have bow and arrows , a medium sized sword and 2 daggars in case of intruders. I know a gun outdoes them..but I might give a punk a surprise.That one African with many points looks really wicked

[@herveblanche226]

Like always good content. You forgot the Atlatl.

[@expelleddux]

Great video, perhaps the composite bow could have made it onto the list

[@TrungNguyen-du9cn]

Thanks again Rafu-san.

Throwing spikes should not be called throwing knifes and should not be allowed in knife throwing contests. They need to have their own category and contest, that is also separate from darts as well.

[@hallod1]

Nuke tipped darts: Anything can be thrown you said?

[@matushonko7223]

Davy Crockett be like

[@ParaSpite]

Forgot the stick with leaves still on it! Because in the leaves hides a korok... with a machine gun! I mean obviously machine guns on their own count as modern, but koroks had them waaay before humans, so it counts when it's a korok machine gun as opposed to a human one!

[@Likexner]

General term for rate of "fire" - cadence.

[@guilhermehx7159]

THE TYPE OF VÍDEO I LOVE

[@bannickblanket]

3. Blow gun 2. Axe 1.bow

[@btsb60]

Hunga munga principal weapon of buffy the vampire slayer If you want to see them being built and used find the episode from forged in fire

[@the_inquisitive_inquisitor]

#10 is basically a shillelagh that you throw

[@roskiart8750]

Gotta agree with others, the atlatl was done dirty

[@AAaa-pm3rr]

When it comes to bows, crossbows, arbalests you can say shooting rate.

[@kenken8765]

How about the recurved composite bow?

[@Lion_Hamza]

I can chop wood, i could chop his arm. Im dying 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@redsiccion]

Is that ubw picture i saw?

[@afreakshow1752]

I'm kinda disappointed that you didn't put the italian mama's "zoccolo da lancio" (throwing clog) as number one

[@426mak]

Good list, but I would have favoured the Han Crossbow and Mongolian Composite bow over their European counterparts. Han Crossbow was more power eifficient and the Mongolian Composite bow could match the Long bow's range with added mobility on horseback.

[@guilhermehx7159]

The first is also known as Iwisa The number 7 is also known as Kpinga

[@Swagmonkeyfan1306]

Recurve Composite bow???? The bow that conquered half the world...

[@zeni03]

I disagree with the number one choice. I think it should’ve been bows in general due to the sheer variety. They proved themselves effective in so many cultures like the English, Manchurians, Mongolians, Parthians etc. Also I personally think that the Repeating crossbows should’ve been all Chinese crossbows.

[@Duke_of_Lorraine]

Is a greek fire pump a good self defence weapon ?

[@nathansalvetti8232]

3:14 Did you know? This is apparently classified as a dagger, not an arrow.

[@bastardbambi]

The main feature of the pilum was a long iron part. Pilums were specifically designed to leave opponents with no shield - if you block a standard javelin with your shield, you can chop the wooden part immediately with your sword/axe. With the pilum, you can't really reach the wooden part without exposing yourself or even dropping the shield.

[@mooreiverson8343]

Could explained deference btw (yumi ) bow the Japanese , English longbow & (the composite bow from deference civilization) . draw weight , power , training time , and the foot soldiers & Moutan soldiers. Uses on battle field.

[@cloudcleaver23]

Mongol bow is a contender too.

[@yqh8247]

there was a crossbow very similar to the medieval crossbow also invented in warring period in China and its well-known name is 秦弩.soldier lay down and use both feet and hands to draw it,which seems more efficient.

[@darthplagueis13]

I'd say whether that is more efficient depends heavily on the environment. It should also be noted that one of the main advantages of the medieval crossbow is that almost anyone could learn to use one effectively because aiming was easy and there were tools (goatsfoot, windlasses and the likes) that could help you pull the higher drawweighst. This chinese design still sounds like it's limited by the physical strength of your soldiers which means that they would still be relatively light compared to european crossbow designs.

[@yqh8247]

@@darthplagueis13 the drawing of 秦弩 is very simple.A child can do that.you can see this video the crossbow starts around 31st minute. www.bilibili.com/video/av1846474/?from=search&seid=6968116540699282577

[@darthplagueis13]

@@yqh8247 Ah, I see. Though from what this looks like it's a very different design idea than behind a european crossbow. A european crossbow basically has an extremely heavy drawweight in exchange for a shorter drawlength, making the overall thing more compact and allowing you to use shorter bolts. The 秦弩 from what this video tells me is basically more of an accessory to a regular bow that doesn't really change either drawweight nor drawlength, but retains some of the advantages and some of the disadvantages of using crossbows (being able to aim more easily and keep your shot fully drawn back, but in exchange not firing quite as quickly and having having extra weight to carry around).

[@leppeppel]

It's funny; I was researching the hunga munga not two days ago.

[@irispaiva]

Surprised that early gunpowder weapons weren't included

[@metatronyt]

Those Will have a dedicated list

[@rickardspaghetti]

Wait, why does the throwing axe get an AoE2 reference but the repeating crossbow doesn't?

[@Cyricist001]

None of these can end an opponent rightly....

[@martynkalendar]

How do you define "effective"

[@markuskristensen2433]

How fast and easy it is to kill people with it

[@martynkalendar]

@@markuskristensen2433 how do you define easy and in which way is speed of killing relative to the ease of killing?

[@markuskristensen2433]

@@martynkalendar I mean easy as in high chance of it being lethal and I dont quite get what your asking about the relativity of the speed

[@roskiart8750]

@@martynkalendar The longer the target stays alive the more it can fight back. You can pelt a man to death throwing medium sized rocks with decently high chances he will throw them back or simply rush towards you..or you can cause him to bleed profusely while also piercing his organs with an arrow which has a higher chance of incapacitating him on the spot. That's how ease of killing ties to speed of killing. Killing an opponent easily often ties to killing them quickly.

[@killerkraut9179]

Then maybe shouldn't throwing knives on the List . there aren't so effective.

[@rango962]

The hunga manunga thing looks like the triple blade boomerang from breath of the wild

[@Coco-vl1ie]

i would put the sling above the pillum and at least the plumbata, with the pill u can only kill one person while with a sling u can kill tecnically infinite people if u have rocks arround plus the fact that u can use diferent tipes of ammo, and the crossbow above bow just because of the fact that u can use a crossbow efectively without training so u can have hundreds of crossbows without a lot of training, not the same for bows. regardless great video.

[@pjopitz]

No composite bows?

[@mikavituhandle]

the first one is pretty much a throwing mace.

[@kleinjahr]

Knobkerry, shillelagh, rabbit stick, etc. They've been around a very long time. Even chimps have been documented as using sticks as weapons.

[@seeker_of_truth2759]

What about the atlatl?

[@kinglouiev9530]

I have to disagree because David didn’t use a longbow to slay a Giant. David brought a bullet to a sword fight.

[@cameronalexander5195]

does Metatron play Age Of Empires II?

[@BigaloMax]

Wait the Hunga Munga is actually a thing?and thats what its called? I've been seeing it in The Legend of Zelda and Fire Emblem and I have I always ask myself were they even got the weird design?

[@tobiasebastiantempella9792]

Beh la ciabatta se tirata con precisione...parlo per esperienza

[@antoniczarnecki9455]

What about Atalatl?

[@Daylamite]

Composite bow

[@arnijulian6241]

(pre modern?) what about the industrial, renaissance & late middle ages? based on the title it would include match lock to early percussion lock fire arms.

[@arnijulian6241]

really the modern era has made few additions to conventional firearms. first centre fire percussion round industrial era not modern & same for the machine gun 1880s if memory serves. All The modern era really made was missiles, weaponized rockets, & mobile arms platforms like the tank.

[@TheOldBlackShuckyDog]

Early modern starts about 16/17th century, so I guess it’s everything before that?

[@arnijulian6241]

​@@TheOldBlackShuckyDog Even still the first effective conventional match lock fire arms came to be in 1450 slightly earlier came cannons & earlier yet mortars in Europe. Bows by no means where the most effective pre modern ranged weapon but where readily available & a universal concept. You could say the oldest mortar was the bamboo rock propelling ones china made before even Jesus to defend the great wall of china with limited success from mongols? I would have titled (non firearms) personally as opposed to (pre modern)

[@darthplagueis13]

I think the point of the title was to deliberately exclude fire arms.

[@arnijulian6241]

​@@TheOldBlackShuckyDog Also no mention of the allatl & Amentum which are comparable leverage weapon to the sling?

[@ABANAKAKABASANAPLAQ]

Mom's Tsinelas is also quite effective

[@damoclesferebatmortis7999]

Longbow user here

[@koromazov]

Fantastic iconography. The content : more questionnable. Forgetting the composite double curve bow is an insult to Mongol flawless track record and to the deadliest army in history, the only one to conquer almost all of Eurasia. Usual underestimating of slings, which come with the same drawback as longbow : they require a long training, usually only seen in herder people such as Baleares people. As for throwing axes (and their african variants) you fail to mention that without any strength enhancing mechanism, they are interesting against naked ennemeis but become an hopeless dead end against armored opponents. Which is why they may have survived in Africa, and disappeared in Europe or Asia. Last but not least : the concept of keeping a pre-loaded arbalest ready to fire while patrolling is just insane. The only case arbalests would be kept preloaded was during sieges, aiming and looking for an opportunity shot in the next 5 minutes. Anything longer would structurally damage the weapon and reduce its power.

[@thesecretlibrary890]

I invented a semi-ranged weapon.

[@debottirnachowdhury4568]

I think u forgot about Chakram

[@sebastiangorka200]

No composite bow? It's literally better than a longbow in any regard, except cost. The longbow is just a long ass stick.

[@AntonDeMorgan]

No atalatl ?

[@TheKingsteez]

Tubaware 8:10 lafitness

[@nimrodthewise836]

No atlatl? Swiss arrow?? No honorable mention of the Tong-ah???

[@jacklonghearse9821]

War Darts? Atlatl??

[@zhenweilai799]

Rocks

[@jordansmith1541]

I own one of those throwing sticks (clubs). They are nasty...

[@Infamous_King_04]

Notice me Meta!

[@turtlesaredifferentfromtor6745]

Notice me Metatron-Senpai!!!

[@mikebussy3334]

What about Lawn Darts?

[@VentiVonOsterreich]

Top 10 most effective ranged weapons 1. The pommel

[@trapperscout2046]

Unless it's peened to the tang. Then it's useless.

[@markuskristensen2433]

@@trapperscout2046 nah mate just chuck the whole sword at them

[@markuskristensen2433]

Pommel first ofcourse

[@robotbjorn4952]

Top ten ways to end your opponent rightly.

[@zaidhernandez4601]

Yup

[@TrueMentorGuidingMoonlight]

The fact that spears have been used since prehistoric times means that “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”.

[@konstellashon1364]

I say that in my intro when I get a new class for wushu spear. "Every culture figured out 'long stick, pointy end, good weapon.' "

[@Beardshire]

No atlatl, but lawn darts got a mention? hrmm.

[@RedmarKerkhof]

I was hoping to see the atlatl on the list as well.

[@The_Dodge_Meister]

@@RedmarKerkhof it was apparently extremely accurate and would of dominated the Spanish is they didn’t have plate armour 😂

[@ManoNegraCG]

To be fair he did mention spears, though I definitely think it should feature due the clever use of physics.

[@historygeek2437]

The Atlatle is too ancient and was barely used for warfare it was but people stopped using it due to everyone else using slings bows and more

[@Beardshire]

@@historygeek2437 they are well documented in warfare though, Aztecs for example that showered arrows onto the Spaniards. I'm not quite sure it's fair to say it wasn't one of the most dangerous tools of it's era pre modern, since everything advances and I'm pretty sure it's more effective than a pure throwing weapon.

[@marcellone1986]

*ANGRY MONGOLIAN THROAT NOISES* *the composite bow:* *Am I a joke to you?!*

[@Delgen1951]

Aims M1 Grand yeph! Buddy goes "How is this" Cocks M2 Mg.

[@jkre]

@Mister Albanian noncence, it's mostly used on horse back, but that doesn't mean that it cannot, or is not good when used on foot.

[@Intranetusa]

@Mister Albanian If you can use a bow on horseback, then you can also use it on foot because foot archery is easier than horseback archery.

[@kingsarues1586]

The compound bow was used longer than any other bow in European warfare. The Polish hussars (not to be confused with the winged hussars) defeated the Swedes and German black riders with compound bows, lances and sabres.

[@jkre]

@@kingsarues1586 the composite bow changed in its desing and evolved just like self bows, so all the composite bows cannot be put in one category if other type bows are separated. But if we put just composite bow vs self bow, then self bow has been used longer. Comparing all types of composite bows used in europe against single desing of other bow like elb, then it is not a fair comparison. But if compared single desing of composite bow to single desing of self bows, then it is more fair. For examble witch was in use for longer elb or magyar composite bow.

[@inakinahuelsantosangel3460]

The most effective throwing weapon is a latin (south america) mother/grandmother shoe/chancla, a simple yet effective projectile able to dodge obstacles mid-flight and hit you either in-between your eyes or in the back of your head. Never misses a shoot.

[@doomtrooper3184]

Ejem, hispanic. Every country from Mexico to the south has that weapon knowledge as it appears to be (And if Brazil has it too then every country from Iberic America).

[@inakinahuelsantosangel3460]

@@doomtrooper3184 Those chanclas are OP

[@doomtrooper3184]

@@inakinahuelsantosangel3460 It seems to though (I admit it, I didn't suffered that weapon, but I suffered the whip-like ones).

[@yesindeedyourmama2623]

The traduction would be a flip flop not a shoe

[@inakinahuelsantosangel3460]

@@yesindeedyourmama2623 *Chanclas*

[@Dream_Weapon]

Asiatic bow user here, feeling a little triggered. lol

[@markuskristensen2433]

Yea I dont know why he didnt just say xbows as an overall thing and bows as an overall thing becouse if he would list all the difrent kind of bows and xbows that would be the only thing on the list

[@eraimattei]

Maybe a video explaining only the major the different kinds of bows in the world. After all the bow is as old as throwing sticks.

[@sloth_e]

Asiatic bow user feeling triggered. That has a ring to it. 😉😉

[@jonbarad1]

True Asiatic composite bows were both "easier to use" and more powerful than the longbow which largely used brute strength (with training still devastating)

[@damiondunn4663]

I concur there should be equal rights for all bows and their users

[@david_aug_1017]

The Hunga Munga/Kpinga/Mambele follows one of my absolute favourite design philosophies: If you keep adding blades and spikes to something, eventually you will reach a point where it is physically impossible NOT to stab someone.

[@pegzounet]

"Moar dakka" before gunpowder was a thing ^^

[@baseddino]

Tbf the more spikes the harder to throw lol

[@strangerakari2836]

Just use a blaster. They were used long long time ago, right?

[@SNinjaQK]

in a galaxy far away

[@Borissh89]

How uncivilized

[@strangerakari2836]

@@Borissh89 An elegant weapon for more civilized times, eh? Well, guess what? Times have changed!

[@hanelyp1]

I hear blasters are clumsy and random.

[@Durzo1259]

Yeah but they're also the most inaccurate weapon ever made. I've watched rebels, imperials and bounty hunters unload 20 rounds from 10 feet away and never manage to land a single shot.

[@MarcusVance]

Obvious: the repeating crossbow is good because rate of fire. Less obvious: rate of fire was more important than power of the shot in China because they often had to fight mounted nomads. Missing moving targets happened, so you wanted another shot.

[@matthewneuendorf5763]

My take on the list: 10: Self Bow 9: Crossbow 8: Sling 7: Throwing Ax 6: Spear/Javelin 5: Staff Sling 4: Dart/Plumbata 3: Arbalest Crossbow 2: Longbow 1: Composite Recurve Bow The self bow is pervasive, but often lacks power, being adopted from hunting weapons rather than designed for war. The basic crossbow is easier to learn and use than a bow, and is a specialized battlefield weapon, but the slow pace of shooting and low comparative power put it lower on the list. The sling is a severely under-rated weapon, though it takes a very skilled user to make it truly dangerous. It's also one of the longest-lasting ranged options, being incredibly ancient while still recommended in military manuals through the medieval period. The throwing ax was so notably effective (specifically the francisca) that it was mentioned by several contemporaneous historians as a frightening weapon that was defining to the style of combat of the Franks. The spear and javelin I rolled into one because there were so many varieties and options that were used in so many contexts that it's difficult to say if one variety is significantly better than another, and even the though the Romans eventually moved away from the pilum (though I don't know why) they still used javelins and thrown spears until the end of the empire. The staff sling is another under-rated option, being a more powerful variant of the sling that could be scaled up to an artillery piece (the trebuchet) and which was used by the Romans throughout their history but especially in Late Antiquity and into the early medieval period. The dart, specifically the plumbata, gets a higher rating from me than the spear/javelin because it is a more specialized weapon that is specifically recommended in the military manuals as an alternative to the bow for those who lack talent or who are fighting in broken terrain (mountains and forests), and for being smaller and more portable, allowing for more to be carried by each soldier. The arbalest variant of the crossbow gets a high placement due to its sheer power. It was best in relatively static engagements where you could find or prepare cover, being even slower to reload than a more basic crossbow, but if you put a guy with one of those on a battlement he'd be among the most dangerous men on the field (IIRC an arbalest loosed from a battlement did for Richard of England, among many other famous casualties). The longbow gets my number 2 slot because, while very effective, it was a regionally specific weapon system that only had a few centuries of limelight. Its main competitor is the composite recurve bow, which has similar performance using a superior mechanical design which was far more broadly distributed and has been linked to the success of militaries from the Huns to the Romans to the Turks to the Mongols and more. Being both more widely used and linked to many of the greatest military success stories in history, the composite recurve bow has to get my nomination for the number 1 spot.

[@alexd832]

Very interesting comment, thanks

[@magistermagus1211]

great list!. im dont know a lot about long range weaponry (aside from D&D) so i need to ask about something: does a difference between light and heavy crossbow exist? or is it just something role playing games made up?

[@matthewneuendorf5763]

@@magistermagus1211 There are a wide variety of crossbows, from basic ones to ones with composite recurve bowstaves, to arbalests with steel bow staves, and draw weights that vary wildly to the point where some can be cocked by hand, others require a tool, and some require a full-on rope-and-pulley crank system. There isn't really a clean light or heavy distinction.

[@magistermagus1211]

@@matthewneuendorf5763 thank you. i think the light ones are meant to be the basic ones that can be cocked in hand and the heavy ones are meant to be the composite, hard to reload kind.

[@magistermagus1211]

@abis10 alpha10 thanks, i didnt know that customizable crosbows existed at all (i only knew about the european ones)