Faction - Zora Dominion

[Avatar of the Ice Wolf]

@Duke Serkol

Where's the anti-cavalry then? Would considering them as sword and shield make them lose their bonus against cavalry?

[Xebenkeck]

Actually no. You can give a spear_bonus to units that are not spearmen. All the darknut units Master and above have spear bonuses but aren't labelled as spearmen in game. The only darknut unit that IS a spearmen is dishonoured. So the dishonoured have a penalty to infantry, but murder calvary.

All units however that aren't spearmen but have their bonuses LACK the other bonus spearmen get vs calvary. Spearmen get a bonus to their mass when fighting calvary, meaning they do not get flung into the air/knocked down as easily vs calvary charges. All i know is that bonus varies on whether the unit is labelled a heavy spearmen(likee swiss pikemen) or light spearmen(like militiamen)

So essentialy if you gave the Zora Infantry the in-game label of Light/Heavy Infantry, but they still had a spear bonus, they would not suffer a penalty to other Infantry units. They would still get a bonus against calvary, but a head-on charge from a calvary unit would still obliterate them and send them flying every which way. So a calvary unit could simply charge, retreat, charge, retreat, and take them out with little effort.

And actually Shock Troopers are currently like this, they have a spear_bonus but are seen as Heavy Infantry. However like i said earlier they are suppose to be the elite unit, not one to leave in a town eating upkeep money/keeping public order/holding border towns fortifyed.

[Duke Serkol]

That would solve the problem then, right?

[Avatar of the Ice Wolf]

Ignore this. Invalidated by an edit.

[Xebenkeck]

Well if you did switch that like you say Duke, then they don't have a true spearman unit. Like I said, Zora Infantry would lose that Mass bonus which greatly(and I mean greatly) helps stave off calvalry charges.(sorry if you didnt see that edit)

Thats why I say I feel they are one unit short. They are missing that unit that you can just have with you and leave in your towns while the rest of your army continues on. Compareable units would be like conscripts from Lanayru, or Swordsmen Recruits from Hyrule, or Kokiri Minutemen. They don't have to be effective but they would fill that void and make them complete IMO. Zora Infantry to me are compareable to things like Glaive grunts, Coral lancers, mudmen of faron, treehopppers. I feel they need that unit that is below the Zora Infantry. Something like Zora Volunteers or Zora Citizens or Zora Loyalists, zoras willing to defend their domain to death, despitenot being part of the army type thing.

[Emrys]

It could be a one handed spear unit like a militia or something. Sort of like the town guard of Hyrule

[Duke Serkol]

Well if you did switch that like you say Duke, then they don't have a true spearman unit. Like I said, Zora Infantry would lose that Mass bonus which greatly(and I mean greatly) helps stave off calvalry charges.(sorry if you didnt see that edit)

Thats why I say I feel they are one unit short.

Mh... alright then, let's agree that a new unit is necessary... but they don't have to visibly be wielding swords and shields, right? They could have something more in line with the faction while serving the same purpose.

[Xebenkeck]

Ya exactly, sword and shield was just somrthing that i threw out there, they could use anything for all i care. Coral daggers? Their fins like Zora Link? Swordfish Rapier? Fishskull axe? Seashell Mace? lol

[Duke Serkol]

All interesting ideas

[Eldren]

Swordfish Rapier. I'm all for that. a skirmish type. that is a light infantry. fits there high culture side. as well as their Aquatic Side. also Rapier could be a sport that is also fought under water. I can See that.

[Avatar of the Ice Wolf]

I also am for the idea of a rapier unit for the Zora. Quite a graceful form that could be. Definitely a fit for the Zora Dominion. I do not recommend swordfish really... because that is a little bizarre... but I would be in favor of a rapier unit that uses coralmold or the like.

[Duke Serkol]

Actually, considering how Zora Link fought with martial arts specifically styled to use the sharp forearm fins, there's quite the surprising lack of martial artists in the Zora faction...

[Mattwensley]

That could easily be put down to Link using the natural abilities of the Zora form in a way they might not have thought of, or they considered in vulgar and lacking in poise.

[Avatar of the Ice Wolf]

@Duke Serkol

He also used his fins as boomerangs.

On a more serious note, the Lanayru seem to have a monopoly on finblade usage.

@Mattwensley

Majora's Mask seems to suggest otherwise. Mikau was already hitting all the pots with his boomerang fins before Link took over his form.

[Mattwensley]

@Ava

Good point, I forgot about that. However, I got the idea that this was apparently a difficult skill, or somewhat outlandish, which was why Mikau was rewarded for it. Both are applicable.

[Avatar of the Ice Wolf]

@Mattwensley

I was under the impression that it was a common skill, but difficult to master. Mikau was rewarded, not because of being able to use his fins as boomerangs, but for being able to destroy all the aligned pots with a single attack. This was the difficult part, because positioning and targeting had to be precise. An analogy would probably be between a novice and master swordsman. Anyone can use a sword, but it is not impressive unless you master it, in which case it is very impressive.

[Duke Serkol]

He also used his fins as boomerangs.

I should know considering that's what I conceptualized Zora Assassins to do (remember the Sharpfins? Essentially Sharpshooting Zoras)

I got the idea that this was apparently a difficult skill, or somewhat outlandish, which was why Mikau was rewarded for it.

Me too. It was stated in the game that Mikau was one of the last carrying the blood of Zoran Heroes.
But even if only a selected breed of Zoras could detac their fins, I imagine any of them with sharp enough fins (which could be far less uncommon) would be able to learn martial arts that make use of them.

[Eldren]

so all are up for a common martial arts, that the Zora people use. a unit that can be filled in mass because it's a wide spread sport.

a similarity to :3 musketeers: everyone did fencing

or china's widespread kung fu.

[Drachenfan]

I totally agree, that the zora need something to hold the lines. But wouldnt a martial arts unit as regular soldirs interfere with their immage as most professional army in hyrule?

[Duke Serkol]

How is martial arts supplied with forearm blades in any way unprofessional?