History Main / EnhancedArchaicWeapon

This trope covers archaic weapons that have been upgraded in some way to make them more effective. To qualify as this trope a weapon must have been invented before gunpowder weapons became dominant[[note]]This can include very early, unreliable muzzle loading firearms.[[/note]] and enhanced in a way that they were not at the time (although they can still appear [[AnachronismStew before that point]]) through magic or technology.

* ''Videogame/EYEDivineCybermancy'' features a pair of augmented melee weapons - the Damocles and the Arrancadora De Tripas. The Damocles ([[{{BFS}} a 15 kilogram nodachi]]) has a handle made of distortion capacitors, allowing it to create a shockwave of fire and explosions when the blade contacts flesh or armor. The Arrancadora Warp Hammer is a massive [[DropTheHammer war hammer]] that even the [[CyBorg augmented soldiers]] of the Secreta have trouble swinging, due to the distortion engine inside the hammer head, creating a localized warp in reality, and a huge display of lightning when it strikes a target, allowing it to OneHitKill almost anything. Early models of the Arrancadora worked by creating a nuclear fusion reaction, though it was phased out by the distortion hammer.

* Several examples have arisen in ''VideoGame/ArcanumOfSteamworksAndMagickObscura'' following the continent's industrial revolution. Compound bows that can be ugraded to fire either [[PoisonedWeapons poisoned]] or [[ArrowsOnFire burning arrows]], knives and hammers fitted with clockwork mechanisms, axes and swords that inflict electric shocks, pyrotechnic damage or are [[PoisonedWeapons permanently envenomed]], and [[BoomStick tesla-staffs that fire bolts of electricity at the enemy]] are all available to technologically-savvy characters.

* The ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' episode "Field of Fire" had an assassin modify a chemical-propelled firearm, a Starfleet prototype called the TR-116, with a short-range [[TeleportersAndTransporters transporter]] that let it fire through walls.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' has plenty in amongst the many {{Impossibly Cool Weapon}}s. These range from Ruby, Nora, Pyrrha and Yang's weapons (which have integrated firearms that can still be fired for extra damage when they strike), Weiss's rapier (which has a revolver-like mechanism for using [[GreenRocks Dust]]), and Jaune's shield (which [[BoringButPractical folds into a scabbard for his sword).

!Examples (examples which fit into an existing subtrope belong on that page):

* ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' multiplayer features the futuristic versions of shields, warhammers, and even crossbows deployed in a 22nd century RobotWar. Lampshaded in the "Citadel" DLC:

* [[AutomaticCrossbows Automatic Crossbow]]- Solve your quarrel with [[MoreDakka more quarrels]].

* ''Series/CSINewYork'' featured the "Wasp Knife", which injects air into the target to cause them to burst, as a murder weapon.
* ''LawAndOrderSVU'' featured a similar weapon to the CSI example, which worked by injecting the victim with air.

* In addition to ChainsawGood and SharpenedToASingleAtom examples being commonplace, ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' also has much rarer "Power Weapons". These are enhanced by a hazy blue "power field" (produced by a generator on what would otherwise be a normal melee weapon) which weakens the molecular bonds of whatever they strike.

[[AC: Live Action Television]]

[[AC: Tabletop Games]]

* In addition to ChainsawGood and SharpenedToASingleAtom examples being commonplace, ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40K'' also has much rarer "Power Weapons". These are enhanced by a hazy blue "power field" (produced by a generator on what would otherwise be a normal melee weapon) which weakens the molecular bonds of whatever they strike.

[[AC: Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' multiplayer features the futuristic versions of shields, warhammers, and even crossbows deployed in a 22nd century RobotWar.

[[AC: Real Life]]

* In RealLife many examples of more traditional weapons exist for one reason or another;
** Compound Bows use a series of pullies and cams to make them easier to draw and hold in place (as well as increase the overall power of the bow). They were developed for hunting (as well as for disabled archers to use in target shooting).
** The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasp_knife Wasp knife]], as mentioned in the CSI example above. It was developed for divers to use to fight off sharks by injecting them with air, so they float to the surface (and don't bleed as much, which might drive other sharks into a frenzy).
** Swords were made in bronze long before they were made in carbonized iron.
** The Shocknife is a training knife that emits an electric shock when it contacts skin. The idea being that it gives a sense of danger and fear where rubber training knives don't.

* ''TabletopGame/EclipsePhase'' has monofilament swords and garrottes, diamond-edged axes, vibroswords, swords made of memory polymer that becomes stiff or hard with an electric charge and wasp knives among others.

* ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' features a crossbow designed to fire superheated pieces of rebar (bonus points for apparently being constructed by the revels using what resources they have). It's a one hit kill against most enemies.

* ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' multiplayer features the futuristic versions of shields, warhammers, and even crossbows deployed in a 23rd century RobotWar.

* AutomaticCrossbow - Solve your quarrel with [[MoreDakka more quarrels]].

* ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' multiplayer features the futuristic versions of shields, warhammers, and even longbows deployed in a 23rd century RobotWar.