Board Thread:News and Events/@comment-933831-20160118200918/@comment-27356798-20160121151736

2v2 tournament matches rarely stay at range. In RWBY, there has only been two matches decided at mid range to date. (SSSN's match against that chick team, and Penny VS Phyrra). I did not count the doubles match against team FNKY, due to the fact that Yang used both close and medium range to finish the match. In a 2V2 scenario, even with the lousy terraign, the match will be decided by close range, in my opinion. Not only that, but the whole "Oh I can text really fast" thing is kinda BS. The author is simply trying to downplay his failings on this one. Muteness is a sore disadvantage, and you can't text and fight at the same time. Hell, people can't DRIVE and text at the same time, even people that text for a living. If your teammate is about to be shot or hit from the side, and you see it, you CANNOT warn them in time. Not to mention the fact that people aren't likely to be checking their text messages in the middle of a fight.

I believe that Hibiscus is being sorely underestimated in this fight. While he is slower than his enemies, he is the most heavily armored in this fight, and people seem to be forgetting one thing. He has a freaking sword too! The roman Gladius may have been a short sword, but it's an effective close range weapon, primarily used for stabbing but capable of being a slashing weapon.

If two people are pressuring him, Hibiscus can use his semblance and his weapons to either mess with an enemy's maneuverability or to strike faster than he should be able to with the heavy armor. In addition, he does have buckshot, so going 2v1 at close range would probably be a bad idea. Hib could use his semblance to interfere with the Oodachi rifle's functions or just make it too heavy for Akiba to wield. In addition, I doubt highly that Mr Rocket Boots is gonna just sit there and let them corner his teammate. If the Oodachi rifle becomes a problem, despite it's TERRIBLE fire rate, Perry can just kick it as he's about to fire, fouling his shot.

The Foxtail semblance can be easily cut through with a bladed weapon, which Hib has in his gladius. In addition, it's only really good for one surprise, after that, it's easily counterable.

The river could pose a problem for Hib, but as Tsu stated "There are several rocks avaliable to cross". With his metal semblance reducing the weight of his gear, he could easily jump from rock to rock.

Many people seem to make assumptions about armor: Namely that heavy armor will reduce flexibility and mobility. While this is true to a certain extent, a man in full plate armor can sit up from a prone position, stand, roll and generally do most of the things that he could do without armor, provided that his body had become accustomed to wearing it. His reflexes in combat are undiminished, and there's a reason why that is true: Namely that armor-makers used a variety of joints and techniques to keep flexibility the same. There's a reason why armored soldiers dominated the battlefields for centuries. While history seems to have romanticised the unarmored master swordsman or the twin daggered rogue, the fact of the matter is that armored troops would decimate lesser equipped troops in a full on fight.

Also note that the character appears to be wearing Loricata Segmenta, a legion style armor designed for frontline combat that keeps the forearms bare for quicker arm movement. Roman legionaries are mostly regarded as shock troops.

Now consider that humans in RWBY-verse are significantly stronger physically than people in the real world are. A real-life human with Ruby Rose's physique would be burdened by the weight of her scythe and would have a hard time lifting it, let alone wielding it in combat. Not to mention that the recoil of the weapon (Capable of THROWING HER AROUND LIKE A RAGDOLL) would likely break her grip or tear off her arm were she a normal human.

I hate to use this example, but Cardin Winchester wears heavy armor. While Cardin himself is a weak/cowardly character, he isn't hampered physically by his heavy plate-style armor, leaping and charging as fast or faster than his lighter teammates.

Characters that also wear armor (to a lesser extent) include Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos. While Jaune is one of the weaker of the main cast, he is capable of holding off two huntsmen in training while his mind was focussed on strategising, due to his shield, and Pyrrha...Well...We all know how badass she is, but one advantage she has in CQC is her shield, which can be used offensively or defensively. People underestimate the shield. There's a reason why the shield and sword combat style dominated Europe for centuries.

I've already stated my opinion above as to who I think will win, but I needed to state this

While Hibiscus may be slower than speed based characters, do not forget that Roman legionaries were capable of marching for days while wearing this armor, and they didn't have a semblance to decrease the armor's weight. If Hibiscus is half the soldier that the Romans were, he still has a lot to contribute to this fight.