History Main / WeaponSpecialization

* ''Manga/Golgo13'' generally uses an M-16. They're easy to find (so he can acquire one on site), easy to have modified, and cheap enough to dispose of if necessary (whereas specialized sniper rifles tend to be expensive and hard to get on short notice). In addition, this gives him a close-combat weapon if circumstances go sour. He has, however, used other guns as needed. Notably, Golgo tends to upgrade to the latest model of M-16 five to ten years after their release. Fans speculate he waits for their reliability to be proven before switching preferences.

* ''Webcomic/SweetHome'':

** Mimmy is effectively a miniature Gundum and fights appropriately.

* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'': Having a preferred weapon -- and even moreso proving yourself competent with it -- can make or break Tributes during [[DeadlyGame the Games themselves]], since the Gamemakers will make sure such weapons are available in the arena. These weapons are usually -- but not always -- related to a character's story: protagonist Katniss Everdeen is an accomplished huntress, and thus prefers the bow and arrow; hailing from the logging District, Johanna Mason wielded axes; and swimmer/fisherman Finnick Odair was highly skilled with a trident and net combination. Other Tributes with preferred and/or signature weapons include Beetee (wire and electrical current, hails from the electronics-producing District), Cato (sword), [[PsychoKnifeNut Clove (throwing knives)]], and Rue (slingshot).

* ''LightNovel/LoveChunibyoAndOtherDelusions'' has make-believe "weapons" to be replaced with classification-defying supernatural tools of destruction when things go delusion-mode

** Sanae ties little bags at the ends of her long twin-tails to make improvised [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolas bolas]]. It sees some use–with impressive technique–versus Shinka (and, effectively, Sanae herself) outside delusion battles.* Roronoa Zoro from ''Manga/OnePiece'' always uses 3 katanas; Usopp has his slingshot and Nami her Clima Tact.
* ''Manga/Reborn2004'':
** Many of the groups of seven consists of characters who each use a Weapon Of Choice. For example:
*** Tsuna's sole weapon is his [[PowerFist X-Gloves]].
*** Gokudera generally uses [[MadBomber dynamite]]. [[spoiler: And, briefly, [[EnergyBow a bow]].]]
*** Yamamoto believes that KatanasAreJustBetter.
*** Ryohei and, well, [[RedBoxingGloves his fists]].
*** Hibari and his DualTonfas.
*** Mukuro and Chrome and their ProngsOfPoseidon.

** [[Film/FridayThe13thPartIII Part 3 Jason]] uses an [[AnAxToGrind axe]].

** [[Film/FridayThe13thPartVIIIJasonTakesManhattan Part 8 Jason]] uses a [[AnAxToGrind fire axe]].
** [[Film/JasonGoesToHellTheFinalFriday Part 9 Jason]] uses a [[AnAxToGrind double-headed axe]].

* AnAxeToGrind

** Buzarai's spells all focus on [[AnAxeToGrind axes]].

* ''VideoGame/LufiaCurseOfTheSinistrals'' gives each character a specific weapon. Maxim uses [[{{BFS}} swords]], Tia uses [[ExtendoBoxingGlove gloves]], Guy uses [[DropTheHammer hammers]]/[[AnAxeToGrind axes]], Selan uses [[RingsOfDeath disc blades]], and Artea uses [[EnergyWeapon wave energy guns]]. Dekar, being the world's strongest warrior, [[MultiMeleeMaster can use any type of weapon]].

* ''Literature/{{Kane}}'': In ancient times, Kane favoured using a crossbow of his own design and a sword that was made from melting down the hulls of alien ships eons ago. In modern times, he favours a fusion-powered RayGun of his own make.

* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'': Even when offered a magical axe to carry, Guts sticks with the more or less non-magical Dragonslayer, since it's 'what his hand knows best.' (Schierke quickly realizes [[EvolvingWeapon it's the best weapon for him anyway]].)

** [[OriginalGeneration Savini Jason]] uses [[ProngsOfPoseidon the Devil's pitchfork]].

* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'': Having a preferred weapon- and even moreso proving yourself competent with it- can make or break Tributes during [[DeadlyGame the games themselves]], since the Gamemakers will make sure such weapons are available in the arena. These weapons are usually- but not always- related to a character's story: protagonist Katniss Everdeen is an accomplished huntress, and thus prefers the bow and arrow; hailing from the logging District, Johanna Mason wielded axes; and swimmer/fisherman Finnick Odair was highly skilled with a trident and net combination. Other Tributes with preferred and/or signature weapons include: Betee (wire and electrical current); Cato (sword); Clove (throwing knives); Rue (slingshot).

** Reynard favors a rapier called Cut-Throat as his primary (right-handed) weapon, and wields a parrying dagger with his left. After he [[spoiler: loses his left hand]], he fights with a BladeBelowTheShoulder called Left-Hand.

SuperTrope to TheGunslinger, MartialArtsStaff and MagicStaff.

[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/{{Kane}}'': In ancient times, Kane favoured using a crossbow of his own design and a sword that was made from melting down the hulls of alien ships eons ago. In modern times, he favours a fusion-powered RayGun of his own make.
[[/folder]]

* ''Literature/BattleCircle'':

If a character's weapon choice is exclusive to them, it often makes them stand out even more from other characters. The weapon may look unique enough to set it apart from those used by other characters, and ts mere presence may serve as a way to identify the character.

* In ''Manga/ShuumatsuNoWalkureRecordOfRagnarok'', when a [[{{Valkyries}} Valkyrie]] becomes a human's [[EmpathicWeapon Volund]], they take the form of whatever said human's preferred weapon is.

* In the virtual series spin-off to ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', Fanfic/SlayerAcademy, several of the Slayer Characters have signature weapons
** Sophia: The Scythe from season 7 of ''Buffy'' and {{Fray}}

* ''Fanfic/SeventhEndmostVision'': [[BareFistedMonk Tifa]] is the only character to maintain her canon weapon choice, being gloves (unusually, we also learn the name of her first equipment, the Scrap Knuckles, made out of junk she found before the story.) Cloud now uses the [[DramaticIrony Masamune]], which was [[WreckedWeapon broken]] at some point prior to him getting it. [[spoiler: He got it from Kisaragi Godo after saving his life.]] Rufus still uses his [[ShotgunsAreJustBetter shotgun]], but here, it's also his [[ArmCannon left arm]]; he lost his arm during his coup attempt against his father, and replaced it with his shotgun. Barret explicitly has both hands, meaning whatever his weapon is, it can't be his canon one. [[spoiler: Lucrecia appears to favor dual katanas, fitting since she's also filling the role of Weiss the Immaculate.]]
* In ''FanFic/ToHellAndBackArrowverse'', the three main leads are familiar with using several different weapons, though they still have their preferences.

* ''FanFic/YourPrinceIsInAnotherCastle'': Each girl employs one suited to their class. Cerea and Miia are the only two who overlap with swords, but even then it's a bastard sword for the lamia and a mighty two-handed great sword for the centaur.

* ''Roleplay/RubyQuest''; One of the fanarts featured Ace with some sort of {{MacGyver|ing}}'d cane/hook/spear thing, which actually made it into the game. The main characters have weapons of choice themselves: Ruby has a [[IncrediblyLamePun mean left hook]], while Tom prefers a crowbar, which was later swapped for a [[ImprovisedWeapon BLUDGEONY CANESHOVEL]].

* TabletopGame/{{Hunter The Vigil}} actually uses this as a game mechanic. Hunters can become attached a particular weapon, giving themselves a firm grasp on their mental state and let's them focus on the task at hand.

* ''VideoGame/AceCombat''

* In ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}} Dead Souls'', each playable character has a weapon unique to them for taking on the ZombieApocalypse.

SuperTrope to TheGunslinger and MagicStaff.

** Þrúðr, Raiden Tameemon's Volund, takes the form of some [[PowerTattoo body tattoos]], allowing Raiden to regulate his immense strength and muscle mass and not have to worry about being crushed by his own muscles.* The characters in ''Manga/SoulEater'' fight in partners, one as a weapon and one as a wielder. Maka uses a [[SinisterScythe scythe]], Kid uses two pistols, and Black* Star usually uses either a {{katana|sAreJustBetter}} or a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kusarigama kusarigama]].

Weapons like clothing and other appearance traits, are often used to make characters stand out as well as convey information about them. You can glean a lot from a character's choice of weapon, possibly including [[WeaponBasedCharacterization their personality]].

** RecurringBoss Death has a SinisterScythe.* In ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes2TheDesperateStruggle'', Travis now has four types of Beam Katana to choose from: his basic weapon, a lighter but faster one, a longer but slower one, and DualWielding. His enemies, meanwhile...

** Many of the player characters and their allies are identified with the plane shown on the box-art of their respective game -- Su-35 for Scarface One (''VideoGame/AceCombat2''), F-14 for Blaze and his team (''VideoGame/AceCombat5TheUnsungWar''), F-15C for Cipher and Pixy (''VideoGame/AceCombatZeroTheBelkanWar''), and so on.* ''VideoGame/FridayThe13thTheGame'' has multiple versions of Jason Voorhees, each of which use a different weapon that is inspired by the movie they hail from:

[[folder:TabletopGames]]

* TabletopGame/{{Hunter The Vigil}} actually uses this as a game mechanic. Hunters can become attached a particular weapon, giving themselves a firm grasp on their mental state and let's them focus on the task at hand.[[/folder]]

* In ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar2'', you technically ''can'' train up and equip most of your squad mates either in melee or ranged combat, or to focus on heavy weapons or lighter and more mobile ones. Most of the time, however, their more [[MinMaxing effective traits and skills]] lend themselves to a certain weapon class or even a certain individual weapon, usually an [[DiscOneNuke incredibly powerful, named one you get as a mission reward, and then never ever ever swap out of, "special needs of the mission" be damned]].

* ''VideoGame/FridayThe13thTheGame'' has multiple versions of Jason Voorhees, each of which use a different weapon that is inspired by the movie they hail from:

* In ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes2TheDesperateStruggle'', Travis now has four types of Beam Katana to choose from: his basic weapon, a lighter but faster one, a longer but slower one, and DualWielding. His enemies, meanwhile...

* The Servants of ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' generally use the weapons according to their Class (Saber, Archer, Lancer, Rider, Caster, Assassin, Berserker) but there are occasional exceptions; Rider generally fights without her mount, only revealing it as an EleventhHourSuperpower. Archer uses twin dao (Chinese falchions) despite having a literal endless FieldOfBlades at his disposal. It might be argued that they are symbolic of his deep inner conflict over (and bitter acceptance of) the gap between ideal and reality, though...

[[/folder]]