How would one fight with a powerfist?

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**endlesswaltz123**

See, a space marine could maybe fight like that if the opposition wasn't bearing power weapons of any form so he could rely on his armour to absorb damage till he gets the job done, a guardsmen could not fight like that though.

It's an interesting weapon to consider from a martial arts standpoint, as it's got the limitations of a knuckleduster in terms of when put against other weapons, yet those fists have the stopping power of a freight train at high speed and a high defensive ability in terms of shielding ability. You have to have the ability to get close with it (footwork, tactics, optimising reach) but then you are dropping a one punch knockout against most opposition providing you can land the blow.

**81Northman**

Err...by Punching and Tearing...they have a Massive field around them too that allows them to rip armour apart like paper...

**sing your life**

How could anyone forget bitch-slapping?

**pelicaniforce**

Wyzilla wrote:
Lagfest wrote:
FALCON....

you know where this is going.

As fer the Lightning Claws, they discharge a electrical blast whenever they strike, i would assume its because the individual claws are charged and once they touch something they complete the circut and the capacitors discharge hence the Lightning thing.

Not that. It just seems even more unwieldy than a powerfist where you just stuck power swords on the knuckles of the power fist/fingers. While it's great for Raptors, who transfer their momentum into force being the claws as they grab enemies off the ground and flay them, for terminators it just looks like a stupid weapon. It's nearly impossible to defend your back and leaves your movement limited compared to other options like a power sword or even a powerfist. It looks cool, but would be fairly stupid in application compared to better weapons available.

That's not how lightning claws work. Marines using lightning claws do not move their arms at all.

Lightning claws are designed for terminators, not for anyone else, and they are mainly terminator-only weapons.

They look like this.

That means they are really long, like over 2.5 feet, they have a huge counterweight, and they have strength augmented fingers. Instead of having one sword in a hand, terminator have four or five swords in a hand, one moving separately on each finger.

Abaddon does it.

Swords, any time after metallurgy became good enough that swords could be long sharp and strong instead of edged metal clubs, are pointing the dangerous part at the enemy, not winding up like a tennis racquet. They take small movements with the fingers and hands, not with the wrist or arms.

With a lightning claw, you get four swords. It seems like a good idea. You point your hand at someone you are dueling, you parry with a couple fingers and stab with a couple other fingers, all just rotating your hand, wiggling your fingers, and stabbing in with a straight arm and twist of the shoulders. It's smart, it's why they are so hard to use.

What about all of the lightning claw models that are not like that? Well, people buy them. They are manufactured by a company, and designed by an employee of that company who was hired to design things that people would give them money for. There is no reason for them to be consistent or make sense, because the people whose creation these things are have already written two editions of codexes and designed all the first models, and gave up the company. The creative endeavor is complete, they published warhammer 40,000, and they have closure on the impulse. Now if you want to keep buying stuff, you can buy it from some guy is happy to take your money and did not invent warhammer. Whatever.

Also, why would anyone punch with a powerfist? It enhances, strength, it gets strengthx2 in the rules. The powerfist is on the hand, it doesn't enhance any part of the body that powers a punch. It is a power klaw, it allows you to grab stuff real tight. Everyone is terrible.

**Wyzilla**

pelicaniforce wrote:
Wyzilla wrote:
Lagfest wrote:
FALCON....

you know where this is going.

As fer the Lightning Claws, they discharge a electrical blast whenever they strike, i would assume its because the individual claws are charged and once they touch something they complete the circut and the capacitors discharge hence the Lightning thing.

Not that. It just seems even more unwieldy than a powerfist where you just stuck power swords on the knuckles of the power fist/fingers. While it's great for Raptors, who transfer their momentum into force being the claws as they grab enemies off the ground and flay them, for terminators it just looks like a stupid weapon. It's nearly impossible to defend your back and leaves your movement limited compared to other options like a power sword or even a powerfist. It looks cool, but would be fairly stupid in application compared to better weapons available.

That's not how lightning claws work. Marines using lightning claws do not move their arms at all.

Lightning claws are designed for terminators, not for anyone else, and they are mainly terminator-only weapons.

They look like this.

That means they are really long, like over 2.5 feet, they have a huge counterweight, and they have strength augmented fingers. Instead of having one sword in a hand, terminator have four or five swords in a hand, one moving separately on each finger.

Abaddon does it.

Swords, any time after metallurgy became good enough that swords could be long sharp and strong instead of edged metal clubs, are pointing the dangerous part at the enemy, not winding up like a tennis racquet. They take small movements with the fingers and hands, not with the wrist or arms.

With a lightning claw, you get four swords. It seems like a good idea. You point your hand at someone you are dueling, you parry with a couple fingers and stab with a couple other fingers, all just rotating your hand, wiggling your fingers, and stabbing in with a straight arm and twist of the shoulders. It's smart, it's why they are so hard to use.

What about all of the lightning claw models that are not like that? Well, people buy them. They are manufactured by a company, and designed by an employee of that company who was hired to design things that people would give them money for. There is no reason for them to be consistent or make sense, because the people whose creation these things are have already written two editions of codexes and designed all the first models, and gave up the company. The creative endeavor is complete, they published warhammer 40,000, and they have closure on the impulse. Now if you want to keep buying stuff, you can buy it from some guy is happy to take your money and did not invent warhammer. Whatever.

Also, why would anyone punch with a powerfist? It enhances, strength, it gets strengthx2 in the rules. The powerfist is on the hand, it doesn't enhance any part of the body that powers a punch. It is a power klaw, it allows you to grab stuff real tight. Everyone is terrible.

That's simply going to result in the swordsmen fighting the Terminator with lightning claws swooping around to their flank and stabbing them clean through the armor. All lightning claws would do in a duel is result in you being incapable of defending your flanks and only being capable of attacking the enemy in front of you with limited vectors.

It makes far more sense to only have one lightnig claw and use it in normal power armor, or for assault marines/raptors.

**Melissia**

Meh, everyone knows stormshield+thunderhammer is better anyway.

**Wyzilla**

Melissia wrote:
Meh, everyone knows stormshield+thunderhammer is better anyway.

Lightning claws look awesome, but in practice they'd be a moronic weapon for a terminator to use, or anyone with constricted mobility.

**d-usa**

I think lightning claws would be better than thunderhammers in the classic space hulk corridor scenario, although a lightning claw and thunder shield would probably be even better there.

**Melissia**

The stormshield is a huge advantage for the slow terminator, after all.

**endlesswaltz123**

I don't think lighting claws would be too bad on termies, termies are meant to be able to absorb obscene amounts of damage and the claws are fast and very killy, in the fluff anyway. Also, you end up getting bogged down in how mobile a suit of terminator armour actually is, less than a power armoured marine but much more so than a dreadnaught for example.

I just imagine them as wolverines claws on a hulk like character, yet without the super nasty smashness.

Automatically Appended Next Post:
A storm shield is slow though, it is a huge shield, and a good opponent would attack you to bring up such a huge shield to then come at you at a different angle as the shield would block your vision, the only thing that bails them out of that situation is actually the armour and all the autosenses in it.

**ntw3001**

Rip and tear! Rip and tear your guts!

**Melissia**

endlesswaltz123 wrote:
A storm shield is slow though, it is a huge shield, and a good opponent would

Shoot him in the face with a plasma pistol while he's unprotected by the shield's forcefield?

Yep!

**samuele999**

Guys surely if you had a powerfist you would just wait for the opponent to strike, then grab/catch the sword, lightning claw or axe (not thunderhammer) in your zuped up baseball glove, absorbing the hit. Then either a) break or bend weapon/disarm laughing before punching in face with other/same fist or shooting in face with stormbolter or b) impale the person on their own blade! yes? no? Might just be me and my op image of terminators.

**Psienesis**

Lots of punching. And if you need a ranged weapon, jump at them with your powerfist.