Only pistols?

[MageLite]

What about Rifles? Crossbows? Bows and Arrows?

Will Empire players be able to use these weapons too?

[Lord Dobo]

Nope. They want you to be able to clearly identify what you face on a battlefield. So your weapons are part of your character set and make you easy to identify.

[Hatemonger]

No, I'm pretty sure it's just because a WH weapon is iconic.

I mean, c'mon. If I see a human in a wide-hat, torch in hand, with a long flowing coat and tons of inscriptions on him, I'm not going to be like, "Durr, how'd this Black Orc get in here!?!" because the WH is holding a crossbow instead of a pistol.

;)

[Vikingkingq]

No, I'm pretty sure it's just because a WH weapon is iconic.

I mean, c'mon. If I see a human in a wide-hat, torch in hand, with a long flowing coat and tons of inscriptions on him, I'm not going to be like, "Durr, how'd this Black Orc get in here!?!" because the WH is holding a crossbow instead of a pistol.

;)

It is iconic. Pistols are expensive and rare, having them is a symbol of the power, prestige, and wealth of the Order of the Templars of Sigmar. Crossbows are for common soldiers, Bows are for Stirland peasants.

[Shacklock01]

I thought only Flintlocks are rare? Wheelocks/matchlocks common as mook, neh?

[Vikingkingq]

I thought only Flintlocks are rare? Wheelocks/matchlocks common as mook, neh?

They're less rare, but not common. Wheellock pistols would be the most common, matchlocks are more for muskets - the lock's really big and doesn't work well on a pistol.

[Metamorph]

I was under the impression that historically speaking, Wheellocks were more complicated then Flintlocks and thus would be more rare/expensive. Also, why would a Matchlock be any bigger then a Flintlock? Its the same mechanism basically except one uses a flint+striker to ignite the pan and the other just directly drops a lit match onto it. If anything the matchlock should be slightly smaller because it doesn't require the striker. The core component of either mechanism is the springloaded hammer that drops onto the pan, and that mechanism is both relatively simple and quite compact.

[Utruf]

Matchlocks are bad because you cant have them lit all the time, imagine having a pistol on your belt with a flaming bit of rope on it, rather dangerous.

Its all about Power to Weight/Size/Controll ability.

A Crossbow has good power, but is generaly big, like a rifle. Also abit of a hassle to reload as it either requires the wielder to be strong or have some sort of cocking aid.
Crossbow Pistols are generaly the same.

A Bow is only good on long ranges when theres alot of archers.

A Flintlock(Dont know all that much about Wheellocks) is generaly small compered to the others. Has good power compered to Size/Weight/Controll. Reloading in combat can be replaced by carrying multiple pistols. Can be wielded in one hand and are badass in general. I doubt they just chose to carry Flintlocks just because their rare/expensive, its all about killing the thing your fighting anyway.

[Vikingkingq]

I was under the impression that historically speaking, Wheellocks were more complicated then Flintlocks and thus would be more rare/expensive. Also, why would a Matchlock be any bigger then a Flintlock? Its the same mechanism basically except one uses a flint+striker to ignite the pan and the other just directly drops a lit match onto it. If anything the matchlock should be slightly smaller because it doesn't require the striker. The core component of either mechanism is the springloaded hammer that drops onto the pan, and that mechanism is both relatively simple and quite compact.

In the present day of the world of Warhammer, Wheellocks would be more common because they're a more established form of technology - the complication is more about the way the gun works, it doesn't add much to the cost relative to the flintlock. The flintlock is newer and more experimental, thus rarer, and thus more expensive.

As for match-locks, the issue with size is that you have to carry around a fairly long match that has to be kept lit - the match actually does require a longer springloaded hammer, as it has to keep the longer length of the match relative to a flint in position.That makes the pistol much more awkward to carry, and makes it very difficult to fire with one hand, and makes it impossible to carry around loaded and cocked. All of which would make the matchlock pistol less viable as a weapon.

[Vikingkingq]

A Crossbow has good power, but is generaly big, like a rifle. Also abit of a hassle to reload as it either requires the wielder to be strong or have some sort of cocking aid.
Crossbow Pistols are generaly the same.

A Bow is only good on long ranges when theres alot of archers.


I agree with you, but just a few points:

1. A Crossbow is also harder to conceal, and crossbow pistols have limited piercing power and range.

2. The problem with bows is the length of training required - in order to field a longbowman on the field of battle, you need to train them for 10 years. You can teach someone to use a crossbow or firearm in a few weeks.

[Ravana]

I wouldnt stress too much kiddies. I'm sure that ranged weaponry will be varied quite a bit. Remember, Empire DO use bowmen and crossbowmen regiments. Whats to say a Witch Hunter cant use them? Granted, he isnt some long-eared, tree-hugging ranger, but every weapon has its upsides and downsides.

[Utruf]

I wouldnt stress too much kiddies. I'm sure that ranged weaponry will be varied quite a bit. Remember, Empire DO use bowmen and crossbowmen regiments. Whats to say a Witch Hunter cant use them? Granted, he isnt some long-eared, tree-hugging ranger, but every weapon has its upsides and downsides.

Yes, they do use them, but the thing is that Bows/Crossbows are Bad compered to Flintlock pistols, remember that a witch hunter is a close combat fighter, he needs something small and powerfull or its no point. Would you rather stand with a bow trying to get the arrow on the string when a 400 pound Choppa is coming at you? Or would you rather pull another flintlock from your belt and shoot him? Also we have the sword in one of our hands, bows and crossbows both require 2 hands.

[Metamorph]

This is slightly offtopic but I found it interesting anyway.

So my curiosity got the better of me and after reading VikingKing's posts i decided to look into the wheellock vs. flintlock thing in more detail.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheellock
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flintlock

the interesting bit is this: the Wheellock did indeed come first historically (by nearly a century) but was actually a significantly more complicated and expensive mechanism. The Flintlock is a superior mechanism mainly because it is actually simpler and lower tech then the wheellock which makes it cheaper and easier to manufacture and less prone to jamming or mechanical failure.

So yeah, this is a bit of a reversal of what is usually seen. They invented the complicated high tech version first and then replaced it with a functionally superior but lower tech version of the same device. Interesting.