Generation 8 Report

"Generation 8, the death of the Kelv"
Backstory/Intro
For a long time now, we’ve seen major shifts in how technology has affected foam-fighting games everywhere. Antioch, and the later Empire, have always had a different approach to the game. Sometimes we were overly stubborn and traditional and other times we were very progressive and innovative.
The war-bound era of weaponry was truly a major shift into a new fighting meta. This is where we began seeing how big of a difference weapon technology could really make. Most of you are familiar that the first high quality weapon of the era was a katana. (If not check out some of the history here) The war-bound era katanas were our first real indication that we could simply out build a person’s fighting ability.
Something unintended happened with the birth of the modern katana, we were forever shifting the classical argument of strength versus dexterity heavily into dexterity’s arena. Being strong is important, but it’s no longer required to be a primary focus of your fighting style. Within one year of the first modern-katana reaching the field, every single weapon from the old era was abandoned. (You will not see a single insurrection-era tech weapon in standard circulation at any practice within the empire)
Fast forward to generation 6 and 7 weaponry. These weapons were so much thinner and refined than the predecessors. Generation 7 offered the final step for blue weaponry, we made them as light as the rules would allow and as thin as we could get away with. When all weapons were forged from the new era, we saw an end to tech advantage and the game finally re-balanced on personal skill.
Generation 7 weaponry offered a slight edge to powerful fighters, enough where they outclassed archaic kentabo preference, but not so much where they were helping fighters perform higher than their true standing.
Not many of you know this, but about 1 month after generation 7 weaponry hit the field, I was able to make generation 8 weaponry. I decided not to, because I knew the old tech advantage that made katanas the ultimate weapon, would again sweep through our fields. About three years have passed.
What happened was the lothtarians developed their own versions of generation 8 weaponry. They started slow, but soon they caught on and became the standard armament of most of our opposition. These lothtarian weapons were too strong for most Verditians to handle with standard generation 6 red weaponry. They were longer, faster, and slimmer. They could make roughly two attacks for every one a kelv could make. The kokatana and other light red weaponry were equally fast, but significantly shorter, offering a distinct disadvantage.
We reevaluated our policy against generation 8 and decided to open production. Starting with the zanbato and hanenata, we immediately saw the battlefield application. These weapons were so long and so quick that they shifted power balances into complete chaos.
After roughly a year of play-testing, improved designs, plethora of options, and general acceptance within central… I am ready to give my report on their efficacy.
The Report
Generation 8 weaponry take the profile of a standard katana and make it into a red weapon that is longer than a kelv and just as light as a kokatana. This allows large weaponry to retain high dexterity, but most importantly, remain accessible to fighters. Unlike kelvs or previous black weaponry, there is no need for heavy apprenticeships or long/brutal learning curves. When fighters become comfortable with their generation 8 weaponry, we are seeing them jump a full combat rank in skill. This is most obvious with our footman class.
It’s an interesting phenomenon from an administrative standpoint. It opens up grand-picture war efforts to simply let us outspend our opponents. In the struggle against Lothtarian encroachment, generation 8 has been a kelm-send.
Internally, generation 8 weaponry make all two-handed weaponry but the glaives and pikes a complete pushover. A zanbato can strike a kelv-user long before they could even hope to enter combat range. Most other generation 8 weaponry can simply wait for an opponent to start swinging, only to quickly cut them down before they can even accelerate the weapon. We are seeing a new shift in the fighting meta that will continue to favor generation 8 weapons over the others.
All of these benefits are not without a downside however. The most obvious drawback is the extreme material cost. Every core is roughly 60$ and some of them are even as expensive as $200. This creates an issue that collides with one of our founding philosophies: You don’t have to pay to play.
While obvious arguments can be made that nothing is forcing you to acquire a generation 8 weapon, we all know there’s not a lot of fun to be had when everyone is using weaponry that outclasses you before you even get the chance to try. It’s not a great feeling to know that if you want to be successful in the game, you will have to spend about $100 on the minimal.
Generation 8 weaponry isn’t breaking barriers against other prominent weapon styles. Pikes are still very effective against swung two handed weaponry and shields aren’t somehow being outclassed (But to be fair gen 8 weapons do make fighting shields a bit safer).
I’ve compiled a quick list of what I feel the generic gen 8 weapon does well versus the established weapon classes.
Efficacy
Obviously there is a lot of variation in generation 8 weaponry. I am mostly making the assumption of a dai-hanedachi and longer. 
I am also more than aware of situations where these standards do not apply. This is a generic list to get a brief idea of how these weapons perform.
Generation 8 Match-ups
Class 	Class Example 	Against Generation 8
Light Reds 	Kokatana, Nagamaki, etc. 	Generation 8 weaponry are very much like light reds being that they similar weight and blade profile. However, Gen-8's universally longer and more stable construction offers a distinct advantage.
Black Weaponry 	Kelvs, Nodachi, Naginata 	Non-pole black weaponry are both slower and shorter than generation 8 weapons. The only advantage to a black weapon is for anti-armor properties. Generation 8 weaponry offer a distinct advantage against this weapon class.
Pole Black Weaponry	Glaives 	Glaives tend to outrange most gen 8 weapons. Outside of the longest gen 8 weaponry glaives can take this major range advantage and retain a sizable edge. (It is fair to mention that there are gen 8 glaives. These weapons are just as long as standard glaives with significantly lower weight)
Small/Tiny Shields 	Bucklers 	Gen 8 weaponry can safely make offensive plays long before a buckler could enter effective combat range. Gen 8 retain the advantage.
Medium Shields 	Round shields, heaters 	Shields are always a bit strange when trying to establish advantages. In a 1v1 setting, this is still slightly in the shields favor. In a line, generation 8 are devastating against medium shields.
Large Shields 	Standard towers, large kites, etc. 	In a 1v1 setting, large shields have a strong advantage over G8. In a line, G8 have massive advantages over a tower.
Massive Shields 	Western towers, Amorias shields, etc.	In a 1v1 setting, massive shields have an advantage against G8. In a line G8 have an advantage, although they may struggle to deliver a solid shield blow.
Pole Greens 	Pikes, 10ft pikes, etc. 	Pikes retain their normal combat advantage over 2h swung weaponry. G8 are a bit faster than older variants, but this slight improvement does not shift the power dynamic.
Archery 	Arrow fire 	Archers have massive advantages over G8 weaponry.
Dual Weapons 	Two Katana 	The combat range of G8 weaponry makes this fight a bit easier than it has been traditionally. With proper footwork and shot placement, a dual weapon fighter can feel they are at a disadvantage.
Single Blue 	Katana 	The range advantage offered by G8 give them a distinct advantage against katanas.
Single Shield Arm 	Kodachi, Tsurugi, Kentabo, etc. 	The range advantage and control offered by a G8 give them a distinct advantage against single shield arms.
Armor 	Leather, Chain, Plate 	Depending on the tier, armor can be quite effective against G8 weapons. Plate offers strong protection, Chain offers basic protection, but Leather offers no protection.
(There is only one G8 weapon that is a black weapon, this is assuming a standard G8)
 	 	
Moving Forward
There is no going back at this point. 
In regards to the war-effort, we can't really hope to contest enemy forces if they have significant and overwhelming tech advantages. There is enough of a historical precedent in place that tells us that we will stagnate and lose the ability to inspire faith in our own abilities. Much of our unity comes from our ability to overcome unfavorable situations and crush opposition. If we reject reality, we're setting the stage for collapse. 
On the home front, armor works as a strong countermeasure to gen-8. Simply rushing down an opponent is often overwhelming and viable. However, I would recommend introducing game-modes that ban gen-8 weapons from play to ensure we don't overly rely on pole-weapon proficiency. We tried this out at the last practice and it was fun for a few fights. 
Ultimately, war evolves and I fully advocate that we evolve with it. (Now that I've got a bit more free time, you can expect the wiki sections concerning weaponry to be updated, expanded, and completed! Here's the WIP)