if youre on pc, you could still use jaysus swords mod http://www.skyrimnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=1002

Jousting plate is a source of the myth that medieval knights could barely move in their armor. But Jousting was a sport in which you lose the moment you fall off the horse anyway, so there was no point in making the jousting armor flexible or light; all efforts focused on protecting the participant. That's why jousting plate was much more restrictive and thicker than normal and weighted up to 50kg.

An actual combat-worthy full steel plate weighted about 20kg and barely restricted movement. You could fight, run, jump, and even perform rolls in it. And of course it offered superb protection. When faced with a full plate you're pretty much forced to attack the weaker points(joints, sides, helmet) since there was little chance to actually pierce through it(even with polearms) and hacking through it was simply impossible. About the only downside to full plate was that it provided very little ventilation for the body which meant that you would get tired much quicker than normal. But that was easily alleviated by mounting a horse.

You haven't mentioned the rigorous process you have to go through if you want to do number 1 or number 2 while in one

I was into katana's because of my Aikido and Kenjitsu training. I also train in tai chi sword and saber so like the Dawnbreaker. One of my fave styles of sword in Skyrim is the Nightingale.

Against an unarmored opponent, the longsword was more than sufficient. It can hack off limbs as easy as any other sword, even the overrated katanas (which were actually pretty bad). Against metal armor, slashes were completely ineffective. And no, Katanas can't cut armor either.
Nearly every fight between armored soldiers ended with one throwing the other to the ground where you could either bring your whole weight on the tip of the sword to penetrate the armor or you went for the visor.
And you absolutely couldn't do that with a katana. For one, the curve and the broad tip made it rather hard and for the other, the katanas would break.

The katana was designed to cut through unarmored peasants and unarmored duelists. In a real battle, any sane samurai would prefer a big club to a katana.

The Longsword on the other hand was still usefull against armored opponents if used with the halfswording technique (grab at hilt and halfway up the blade, then stab). The sword guard was also used as a pretty effective bludgeoning weapon.

If by metal armor you mean the plate - yes. But a longsword could cut through a chainmail if hit squarely.

This game needs more unique swords, in general. Especially two handers.

Not quite related, but I *think* I'm on topic.

There is a small chance to break the chain. But you wouldn't be able to cut through your opponent like that.

Against an unarmored opponent your two best choices are the katana for cutting. The shape of the edge makes it great at that task. Or a rapier, if you wanna go stabby stabby.

Afaik, many western soldiers were more inclined to use axes and blunt weapons. Blunt on armored opponents especially. It's easier to smash someone's shoulder apart than stab them.

Do you know what you're talking about, or is this mere guess-work? Going for the latter...

nope. they can pierce it, though.
has been tested.

Where can you find this Delphine-character? I have a thing for katanas as well... I like them.

i know what i'm talking about.

just one fact that should convince you that the katana-hype is just the result of romanticisation, hollywood and anime:
At around the 13th century japanese sword smiths discovered the secret of folding metal over and over again, which cleared the steel of impurities and they used composite smithing to give the katana a hard edge but a flexible back.

The ancient celts used that technique in 300 BC - a thousand years earlier. And from there, smithing only got better.

Face it, the Katana is a fat, brittle blade unsuited for warfare. The edge chips easily, lack of a sword guard deprives it of plenty of defensive maneuvers and it has limited aggressive potential due to having only one edge.

Well if you say so ˉ\(o_°)/ˉ

You can also get a katana from the guy in Nightgate Inn, or you can find a Scimitar in a rowboat along the coast between Dawnstar and the wreck of the Brinehammer.

I like using the blades sword / scimitar in this game because they have stats equivalent to skyforge steel swords, upgrade with steel smithing perk, and have an attractive look to them that's a little distinctive compared to the thousands of generic straight swords in the rest of the game.

Plus, Curved. Swords.

she is part of the MQ

Riverwood Inn. She owns the Inn.

Spoiler

katanas weren't great because of the folded metal - everyone was folding metal. katanas were great because of the differential temper. this is why it's more armor piercing. i personally have cut through medieval armor with my katana. just because YOU can't, doesn't mean nobody can.
all katanas had to stab by definition - that's why there's a hand guard. when you stab downward to finish an opponent, the handguard protects your hand from your blade. as far as piercing techniques go, japan's greatest samurai (soujiro) used a 3 attack piercing technique which was considered the strongest technique by far. soujiro was ranked 1 of all time. saito hajime was ranked 3 of all time, and also used a piercing technique. so the katana was used extensively as a piercing weapon.

Remember that katana-style fighting (e.g. kenjutsu) is radically different than western fencing or sword-and-board combat of the Middle ages (and previous). Its not designed to do the same things a German bastard sword is. Different enemies, different styles, different purpose. Also, the use of a katana is based as more on technique (leverage, momentum etc) than construction.

But I digress. I also prefer katanas. For two reasons: they look cool.

Oh. And curved swords. Curved. Swords.

(I use scimitars too)

I'm not all too fond of katanas in the real world. I don't think they look as 'cool' as many claim they do. However, in Skyrim they're kinda rare, so I grab them whenever possible. I still prefer scimitars and I wish there were more Arabic-style weapons available in the game. The katana has a couple of legendary versions (Drabonbane, the Ebony Blade... although the latter is more of a nodachi?) so a couple of legendary scimitars wouldn't go amiss in my opinion~

I know I saw a show on Discovery or History or one of those networks that tested the katana against the steel longsword of the same period. As I recall, the katana was far more effective for slashing, and far more durable. NEITHER was effective against plate armor. The longsword was better at piercing, but they also showed that a basic spear from around the same time was far more effective at piercing than the sword.

Since that period really marks the end of new development in edged weapons, mainly due to the invention and subsequent development of canon and firearms as the primary means to kill each other, it basically concluded that the katana was and still is the top of the chain in edged weapon technology.

Don't blame me, I didn't conduct the tests. I just watched the show.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_armour you guys go

i know it is just wikipedia but it works for this. at first the Samurai used individual scales, or Kozane in Japanese, for their armor, and this was before the introduction of firearms in Japanese warfare.
it was not until the 1500s that iron plates were used instead, with the advent of firearms in Japanese fighting tactics. so i say at the time, the katana was the best weapon, that was until firearms came about and became top dog in war.

anyways, weren't the blades outside of Cyrodill meant to be spies, so...why are there suits of heavy armor in Skyrim?

I've seen shows which make the claim that various Middle Eastern weapons were 'the best', that the Longsword was 'the best', that nothing could top... well, you get the picture. There are a lot of conflicting reports from a lot of different scholars all clamouring to prove their personal favourite 'the best'. From a modern perspective, it's rather irrelevant due to the advent of firearms and because various edged weapons were designed for completely different purposes.

Considering Discovery & co. are flooded with garbage shows like Future Weapons or Deadliest Warrior I'm not surprised.

Seriously, you're much better off even with Wikipedia than what passes as "documentary" on TV nowodays.



And don't forget that japanese warriors could focus their Ki into their combat moves, while Europeans couldn't because they're godless heathens. In fact there was no style or technique involved in European martial arts at all, they were just pounding each other with 20-pound swords(which weren't even sharpened, because why bother) until one of them fell.

Also when you pull a katana out of the scabbard it creates vacuum that can kill instantly.

True story.