Original example (not that it's really worth keeping):
- Completely averted in Arcanum. Male and female characters, including the player protagonist, can develop their skills for whatever weapons they want, be it melee, throwing, archery weapons, or firearms. There are some minor differences in the starting statistics of males and females (the former start with more strength, the latter start with more dexterity), but these don't strictly favour melee or ranged fighting. You can gear your characters towards whatever you want, there are both close combat and ranged forms of traditional weaponry, magic spells, and technologically advanced weaponry. If anything, the magic-technology dichotomy of the setting is much more crucial to your and other characters' choices concerning weapon specialisations.
Is not actually from Lyniezia
Is it just me or could there be a potential justification for this?
That is: given women tend on average to possess less physical strength than men, it would be preferable for a female warrior to rely more upon ranged weapons that allow you to kill an opponent without risking ending up in a close-quarters situation where the disparities in strength (assuming the opponent is male) would prove a disadvantage for her?
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What you say is generally correct; it’s better for the weaker person to fight from a distance if they can, especially if it’s from behind cover. You want to avoid a situation in which striking or wrestling could occur. If guns exist, using those instead of mêlée weapons is a no-brainer. This may still be true when ranged weapons are muscle-powered. A smaller, weaker person will probably not be as powerful an archer as a taller, stronger person, but this disadvantage may still be less than than their disadvantage in close-combat strength and durability, making it still comparatively the best choice.
Is the current page quote really a good choice?
It complains that Atalanta used a bow in the movie, even though it also acknowledges that Atalanta was an archer in mythology. In fact, she fights in melee a heck of a lot in the movie as well. Autolycus with his knife-throwing probably does less melee than she does. And everyone in the party, including Hercules, picks up a bow at least once.
Yes, there is only one woman. And yes, her main weapon is a bow. But complaining that Atalanta has a bow is probably not the best complaint against this trope.
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Yes. Plus, complaining about a trope is bad - will mention here
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Why does it seem like people are just dumping examples into the Video Game section, especially for Final Fantasy VI, and then occasionally justifying it with "Gender Flipped". Should this be cleaned up a little?
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They're probably doing that because the main page for this trope seems to treat it with "Ugh," and people are bothered by that. Girls can still be awesome as The Gunslinger or a Gun Nut, and really, who cares if she's using long-range? It's the silly idea that girls kicking ass and taking names but not being the Bloodier and Gorier melee combatants their male counterparts are is totes sexist and icky. Yes, it needs cleaning up.
Personally, I think the description is good enough, but you may enlist commentary here anyhow.
Chaotic Greedy
Does Brave qualify? I've only seen the advertising posters, which seem to suggest it (with the heroine with a bow and her apparent father with a big-ass sword).
"And as long as a sack of shit is not a good thing to be, chivalry will never die." Hide / Show Replies
Sort of. Merida prefers shooting while the various guys present all seem to prefer smashing. However, Merida is also capable of fencing with her father, while at least some of the guys are shown to be archery-proficient to some degree.
If one girl in my story fights long-range, but the other close range, and out of the three remaining boys, one is melee, one is a Fragile Speedster, and one is a Combat Pragmatist, is it a particular play on this trope? —
EDIT: Yes, it would be an aversion.
Edited by 69.172.221.6
I'm going to be completely re-writing the Arcanum example soon, as it heavily misrepresents how the game's mechanics work. (Short version: Female characters have reduced strength and increased constitution, both have equal dexterity, and this does actually have an impact on female characters' ability to melee.)
I'll drop the old example text here once done.
Expergiscēre cras, medior quam hodie. (Awaken tomorrow, better than today.) Hide / Show Replies