Shardblade or awakend blade

[Divine0Flame he/him]

Which sword is better? It can be argued that shards are better, due to not consumuing your life force. Also awakened could be argued for, because they kill regardless of where you touch. also makes clean up a bit easier.

[lyht]

I think shardblades are quite a bit more practical. Easy to carry, much easier to control. However, it seems to me that Nightblood crazy more powerful. He often killed without even coming out.

 

So, better? I dont know. I think we will see some fights between the two. But I would much rather have a shardblade. Nightblood is just scary.

[Divine0Flame he/him]

Nightblood is scary, but he seemes to have an invaluable application besides fighting. He can think, but then again so can spren... Something to think more in depth about?

[Green Hoodie Mistborn he/him]

Per WoB they are the same thing, only Nightblood is a "bit" more powerful:

 

So really you're just choosing power levels when talking about shardblades. I prefer the one that doesn't possibly accidentally consume the spark of my life... (Rosharan Shardblade)

[Incheoul]

I could have sworn there was a WoB sayin that nightblood was "magnitudes" stronger than a shardblade, not just a "bit" stronger.

[Kurkistan he/him]

I could have sworn there was a WoB sayin that nightblood was "magnitudes" stronger than a shardblade, not just a "bit" stronger.

 

You're quite right that Brandon didn't say a "bit". He said "a lot" in the WoB that Green Hoodie linked to.

 

In regard to "magnitudes", you're likely referring to this footnote (or maybe this one: there are a few quotes in the the database with the same/a similar footnote). While I don't necessarily think this claim is false, I have yet to actually find the foundational WoB that these footnotes are referencing.

Edited November 5, 2014 by Kurkistan

[Oudeis he/him]

Perhaps this is what you meant?
 

Herowannabe
I’m curious, I’ve got a list of various cosmere bits of metal, and I wonder if you would rank them from like 1 to 10 or easy to difficult on how hard it would be to steelpush on them?

Brandon Sanderson
Okay.

...
 

Herowannabe
Nightblood? I imagine is going to be very difficult.

Brandon Sanderson
Very hard. Of all the things you’ve listed, he’s the hardest. Far beyond even a shardblade.

 
Source. (... indicates where I skipped a bit between relevant sections)

Edited November 5, 2014 by Outis

[Kurkistan he/him]

Thanks. That does give us some nice solid evidence; it does seem that those footnotes were based on something a bit older, though...

 

That aside, some bookkeeping: That's a bad link, Outis: it points to a search (which search is empty for me, btw) rather than an interview/specific question. Here's the question's link.

[Green Hoodie Mistborn he/him]

I was trying to be facetious with the "bit", Nightblood is way more powerful but we don't have a good scale other than the quote above on trying to steelpush invested objects to tell us how much more powerful.

At the very least he is the combined investiture of 1000 Nalthus humans + whatever he is consuming from the wielder when drawn fully.

[Kurkistan he/him]

Ah, my mistake then. I didn't catch your tone and so thought that you'd hastily pulled the link without recalling the details of the WoB (something I've been guilty of in the past). I read "bit" as a quote rather than scare quotes.

[Oudeis he/him]

Oh, thanks, Kurk. No idea what happened there. I've gone back and replaced the link with the one you provided, no sense leaving a bad link lying around. Thanks for the catch!

[Blaze1616 he/him]

I presume the OP intends for "shardblades" to refer to the dead spren. In this case, I would agree Nightblood is "stronger," as it becomes easier to kill with. If you mean Radiant shardblades, though, I would definitly argue the Radiant shardblade is better. Having the ability to hold any weapon/shield you desire completely trumps Nightblood's perks. 

[Oudeis he/him]

Either way, it's a Blade that talks back to you and constantly pressures you to conform to a specific set of actions.

 

Also, are we talking real-world, or in-world? There are few Shardworlds we've seen where carrying around a sword would be suspicious. I, however, could not get past the metal detectors at work with Nightblood. A blade others cannot see until I summon it would work better for me.

[Green Hoodie Mistborn he/him]

Good call on the summon when needed aspect of a Shardblade!

[Divine0Flame he/him]

I was actualy thinking in a fight, kind of like a, "What would happen if they touched?" thing.

[Green Hoodie Mistborn he/him]

We've gotten big ol' "RAFO" on that question, but my surmise is that Nightblood would win that without much competition. 

 

What I'm wondering and thinking about now however is... what if Nightblood is on par with the Honorblades in terms of investiture and power? We know he is magnitutes more powerful than a regular shardblade... and so are Honorblades. 

 

I wonder if Nalan gave Szeth Nightblood, specifically so he could combat the power of the honorblades that the Stone Shamans are holding.

 

Though if that is true about Nightblood = Honorblade in power, then a Shardblade should have no problems fighting Nightblood in combat either since Syl wasn't hurt by Jezrien's Honorblade. 

[Kurkistan he/him]

@Green Hoodie

 

Recall that Nightblood's "thing" is consuming investiture, up to and including trying to eat the mists on Scadrial. I'm not so sure that a pseudo-corporeal entity that seems to not live in areas without high Investiture (see: Shinovar) would do well if it came into contact with him.

Edited November 6, 2014 by Kurkistan

[Divine0Flame he/him]

Sorry, nalan? Also, that brings another question to the table. How does szeth fule nightblood?

Back on topic, honorblades aren't more powerful in terms of the physical world, because Gavilar fought szeth blade on blade. And thrugh that exchange we know that all shardblades, living or dead, are on equill footing with honorblades.

I personally think that nightblood would make the shardblade leave the physical world and return to the cognitive, requiring a constant resomaning. following thoes rules bonded spren in blade form would vanish, the nahale bond broken.

[Oudeis he/him]

Kurk's quote doesn't mean Nightblood has the capacity to inhale the mists, it only says that he would try. Remember that Nightblood is the type of person who will simply "decide" that he can feel the sunset. He could simply "decide" that he can eat the Mist, too, that doesn't mean he's got the power to do it.

 

I'm sure the mists would pull back, but that also doesn't mean Nightblood can banish spren. Ceteris parabis, the mists would rather not be around him. That could simply mean they think he's "icky". Syl, or any other living Shardblade, might feel uncomfortable parrying Nightblood, but neither half of that quote gives any more than the vaguest suggestion that they would actually suffer for doing so.

 

Think of this; the mists pull away from Vin, even if she's not burning bronze, just because she's wearing the earring. Does this, then, mean that you think literally anyone with any hemalurgic spike could simply banish Syl with a bare hand? Penrod, for example?

[Kurkistan he/him]

@Outis

 

While I agree with you that I find "spren-banishing" specifically rather unlikely as a consequence of Nightblood hitting a Shardblade, I can't say that I much buy your interpretation of the mists quote. I find it a deeply unnatural reading of that WoB to say that we aren't meant to walk away thinking that Nightblood is theoretically capable of consuming the mists if they didn't "retreat", at it were.

[Divine0Flame he/him]

I didnt reply to kirks quote, I saw that after I had posted mine. I replied to green hoodie.

I will admit I likely jumped to conclusions saying the blade would vanish, but
Warbreaker spoiler

the lifeless at the end of warbreaker all had breath,

and they were transmutted into smoke (it was smoke right?) In spite of their investiture. That was my thought process anyways.

Edited November 7, 2014 by WeiryWriter
fixed spiler tags