This is going to be separate from normal weapon discussion so try to keep your posts solely on ranking your own list and why or discussing each others' lists. I may merge the two threads together if I notice too many similarities in discussions.
Anyway, this thread is going to be for our own power rankings for weapons and NOT based on lore. Purely based on how powerful the weapons themselves are when used in-game. Let's go with a top five for the sake of consistency, shall we? Here's mine to get things rolling:
1) Unlabored Flawlessness
This one is number one for me with the caveat that it is being used with flashing red runes (5% health). Forward>Strong Attack one shots most enemies in the game, a full UT will insta-kill almost anything in the game, and it has an abundance of moves with i-frames. You can also jump and start an air combo with it which is particularly useful against Gogohn. Just based on sheer power and ease of use this out-classes all other weapons in franchise history.
2) Kusari-gama from Razor's Edge
The KG was decent in NG2 but not terribly powerful. That all changed in Razor's Edge and that's mostly due to the return of OTs and the re-tooled Steel on Bone system. It has the chance to instantly de-limb (and then OT) Alchemists ( [Strong] then release before UT charge), can grab enemies from a pretty solid distance for the instant kill, and Strong Strong Strong is one of the most useful crowd control attacks in the game with a ton of invincibility and coverage on all sides of Ryu. The weapon also has the abillity to start an Izuna from the greatest height in the game, granting you a reprieve from the chaos below on higher difficulties and clearing the area upon impact just like all other weapons. I could talk for hours about how awesome this weapon is and it's the best weapon in Razor's Edge for Ryu hands-down.
3) Shrouded Moon
Kasumi's level three or red UT. Enough said. Just to give a few more reasons, though, she seems to find empty space much less interesting than the other characters when trying to chain SoB, can re-position mid-combo with multiple strings to get clear of bad situations, and has a high de-limb rate with her basic strings and decent i-frames. Lastly, despite it being a skill, since it is unique to Kasumi and Shrouded Moon I'm going to include this here: Ukifune. It eats enemies, all forms of Alchemists included, alive (for a very brief period before they, well, aren't).
4) Lunar
This weapon has been a powerhouse in every game it has been in which, thanks to Hurricane Pack 1, has been all of them. Very strong hitting power, high de-limb rate in the games that include the feature, crowd control moves, Izuna from both ground and aerial strings, and very powerful UTs make this one a staple in my armory no matter which game I'm playing. The fact that it does not have chainable SoB in Razor's Edge hurts a bit but there's no denying this thing has always been an incredibly powerful weapon in each game.
5) True Dragon Sword
It HURTS me to put this so low on my list. I'd love it to be number one but we haven't really gotten to use its full power since the first game. Even still it deserves a spot in my top five. In NG/Black, you felt significantly more powerful immediately upon receiving the weapon. Your strings were longer, you had more moves with i-frames, you had incredibly powerful attacking strength, and the True Dragon Gleam is still my favorite UT in the franchise. The standard UT was definitely no slouch, either. Had a worthy version been included in Razor's Edge, complete with SoB chaining and some new tricks, this weapon very likely would have been number one for me.
Anyway, this thread is going to be for our own power rankings for weapons and NOT based on lore. Purely based on how powerful the weapons themselves are when used in-game. Let's go with a top five for the sake of consistency, shall we? Here's mine to get things rolling:
1) Unlabored Flawlessness
This one is number one for me with the caveat that it is being used with flashing red runes (5% health). Forward>Strong Attack one shots most enemies in the game, a full UT will insta-kill almost anything in the game, and it has an abundance of moves with i-frames. You can also jump and start an air combo with it which is particularly useful against Gogohn. Just based on sheer power and ease of use this out-classes all other weapons in franchise history.
2) Kusari-gama from Razor's Edge
The KG was decent in NG2 but not terribly powerful. That all changed in Razor's Edge and that's mostly due to the return of OTs and the re-tooled Steel on Bone system. It has the chance to instantly de-limb (and then OT) Alchemists ( [Strong] then release before UT charge), can grab enemies from a pretty solid distance for the instant kill, and Strong Strong Strong is one of the most useful crowd control attacks in the game with a ton of invincibility and coverage on all sides of Ryu. The weapon also has the abillity to start an Izuna from the greatest height in the game, granting you a reprieve from the chaos below on higher difficulties and clearing the area upon impact just like all other weapons. I could talk for hours about how awesome this weapon is and it's the best weapon in Razor's Edge for Ryu hands-down.
3) Shrouded Moon
Kasumi's level three or red UT. Enough said. Just to give a few more reasons, though, she seems to find empty space much less interesting than the other characters when trying to chain SoB, can re-position mid-combo with multiple strings to get clear of bad situations, and has a high de-limb rate with her basic strings and decent i-frames. Lastly, despite it being a skill, since it is unique to Kasumi and Shrouded Moon I'm going to include this here: Ukifune. It eats enemies, all forms of Alchemists included, alive (for a very brief period before they, well, aren't).
4) Lunar
This weapon has been a powerhouse in every game it has been in which, thanks to Hurricane Pack 1, has been all of them. Very strong hitting power, high de-limb rate in the games that include the feature, crowd control moves, Izuna from both ground and aerial strings, and very powerful UTs make this one a staple in my armory no matter which game I'm playing. The fact that it does not have chainable SoB in Razor's Edge hurts a bit but there's no denying this thing has always been an incredibly powerful weapon in each game.
5) True Dragon Sword
It HURTS me to put this so low on my list. I'd love it to be number one but we haven't really gotten to use its full power since the first game. Even still it deserves a spot in my top five. In NG/Black, you felt significantly more powerful immediately upon receiving the weapon. Your strings were longer, you had more moves with i-frames, you had incredibly powerful attacking strength, and the True Dragon Gleam is still my favorite UT in the franchise. The standard UT was definitely no slouch, either. Had a worthy version been included in Razor's Edge, complete with SoB chaining and some new tricks, this weapon very likely would have been number one for me.
