bruhsam Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 I piece of speculation that I have *not* seen is why Wax is so good with his hand guns. He can make impossible shots. Even Miles Hundredlives comments on it. So why is Wax so good with it? It's obviously not just because he's a Coinshot or it wouldn't be a point of discussion with the other characters. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moogle Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 (edited) Allomancy expands your mind. In Allomantic steel's case, it lets you see where metal is and give you convenient blue lines that show you where you can aim to hit someone (and probably helps your spatial awareness, going by half the things Kelsier pulled off). It should come as no surprise that Coinshots in general are good shots. Plus, the blue lines are probably super convenient for hitting bullets in midair and helping you pull off "impossible" shots. Wax is probably just naturally talented, and then had some Allomancy thrown into the mix to make him that much more impressive. I'm also pretty sure he's become a steel savant by now. Edited July 10, 2014 by Moogle 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Left Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 Harmony probably tweaks a couple of shot for him just a little bit too. Or helps him get into that set of mind where its impossible to miss. Or guides his hands. Or puts his enemies in the right place. There's a ton of ways for a god to help with out calling down thunder and lightning. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurkistan Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 (edited) Yeah, I would attribute it to a general increase in competence by being able to see what's going on with all his shots ("oh, that bullet landed 3 inches to the right of where I thought it would") and so be able to precisely calibrate his aim/skill, mainly, but Moogle also makes a good point that he likely has some help with targeting and spatial awareness in general from Allomantic steel. Beyond that, I wouldn't be surprised if he was in the habit of unconsciously Pushing on the bullets a bit when necessary: throw in Kelsier-level abilities to Push on different parts of the object, and you could do some pretty fine-tuned trajectory correction that way. EDIT: @Leftinch I highly doubt this, particularly because 99.9% of the time when he's fighting he likely doesn't have that earring in. Edited July 10, 2014 by Kurkistan 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lyht Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 I wonder if he is a better shot with his earring in... Maybe at those times he gets an allomatic boost from whomever was spiked. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruhsam Posted July 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 (edited) I thought about the "double steel" spike possibility, but I don't feel any of the above explanations really get to the heart of the matter. He is an unusually skilled gunman by the standards of the world, and Harmony expressly states he can only interfere so much. Side topic: Who thinks Bloody Tan was burning atium? EDIT: or someother time-future-sense from newly forming God Metal? Edited July 10, 2014 by bruhsam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Left Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 @Leftinch I highly doubt this, particularly because 99.9% of the time when he's fighting he likely doesn't have that earring in. That's far from proof. Harmony made sure that his guns and mistcloak were there in the subway station area. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreathTaker Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 The spike is super old so I think it only holds enough charge to connect with Harmony. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moogle Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 (edited) Side topic: Who thinks Bloody Tan was burning atium? EDIT: or someother time-future-sense from newly forming God Metal? Unfortunately, we have a direct WoB that he was not. I personally am a fan of the theory that he was burning electrum. He might also have turned himself into a Twinborn or something, as he did have a possible Hemalurgy lab. It's hard to say, and it's made worse by the fact that he's apparently still alive. WoB: ateistcanuck (14 November 2011) Was Bloody Tan an atium misting? Brandon Sanderson (14 November 2011) No, he was not. Good question. (source) Edited July 10, 2014 by Moogle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurkistan Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 That's far from proof. Harmony made sure that his guns and mistcloak were there in the subway station area. It does pretty much knock down your "Or helps him get into that set of mind where its impossible to miss," though, and possibly "Or guides his hands" depending on how literal you were being. Either way, I'll side with bruhsam that such a level of interference in the day-to-day seems rather un-Harmonic. @bruhsam on Bloody Tan Several people, and he wasn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Left Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 And a change in the air pressure/causing a tiny breeze/ something else miniscule enough so that the bullet changes just a millimeter or two and a shot that might not have killed the badie quite quickly enough or something kills him perfectly takes very little change. Obviously this is all theoretical, but I like to defend my personnel fan beliefs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruhsam Posted July 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 @bruhsam on Bloody Tan Several people, and he wasn't. Oh well. Perfectly good theory ruined by facts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreathTaker Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 And a change in the air pressure/causing a tiny breeze/ something else miniscule enough so that the bullet changes just a millimeter or two and a shot that might not have killed the badie quite quickly enough or something kills him perfectly takes very little change. Obviously this is all theoretical, but I like to defend my personnel fan beliefs. Considering Wax isn't using a black powder pistol a tiny little breeze isn't going to do a whole lot. And if it only moved a millimeter or two it probably wouldn't make a huge difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Left Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 That's the point............I don't think I have the articulation skill necessary for this conversation.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimmingly Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 Plus the fact that he can correct shots using Steelpushing after he has fired, and has blue lines to sight along, and has something like 20 years of experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreathTaker Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 And he seems like an incredibly smart person. That being said, there are normal real humans who have been known to shoot over a mile and hit their target. Wax has a good understanding of physics and the limitations of Vindication so I'm sure even without being a coinshot he could make some incredible shots, the fact that he's probably a savant as mentioned above just adds to his ridiculousness. The real question here is why is Wayne such a BAD shot? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimmingly Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 A traumatic backstory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreathTaker Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 Psh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruhsam Posted July 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 Being a steel savant makes the most sense. Do you think he's a savant due to his steel "bubble" use? Continuous protection against bullets leads to savant status? Where are his side effects? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lyht Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 Being a steel savant makes the most sense. Do you think he's a savant due to his steel "bubble" use? Continuous protection against bullets leads to savant status? Where are his side effects? Yah, I like this. I don't think he is the savant level that Spook was, Spook pushed his senses hard for quite a while. I get the impression that Wax just has his a his bubble on just high enough to knock something slightly off course, but not enough to overly affect the rest of the world around him. And he only turns it on when he needs it. However, I think that bubble might be enough to start him down the savant path, and could give him the extra ability that would justify his skills. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lyht Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 The spike is super old so I think it only holds enough charge to connect with Harmony. Really? We know where it came from? I thought I read in the annotations or something that he got it from TenSoon, or someone. But I don't remember that it was old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurkistan Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 On savants: They are called Allomantic savants. Men or women who flare their metals so long, and so hard, that the constant influx of Allomantic power transforms their very physiology.In most cases, with most metals, the effects of this are very slight. Bronze burners, for instance, often become bronze savants without knowing it. Their range is expanded from burning the metal so long. Becoming a pewter savant is dangerous, as it requires pushing the body so hard in a state where one cannot feel exhaustion or pain. Most accidentally kill themselves before the process is complete, and in my opinion, the benefit isn't worth the effort.Tin savants, however . . . now, they are something special. Endowed with senses beyond what any normal Allomancer would need—or even want—they become slaves to what they touch, hear, see, smell, and taste. Yet, the abnormal power of these senses gives them a distinct, and interesting, advantage.One could argue that, like an Inquisitor who has been transformed by a Hemalurgic spike, the Allomantic savant is no longer even human. I'd find it likely that a steel misting who uses it a lot would become a savant, ala bronze, and that it would have a negligible—if even extant in any meaningful sense—affect on Wax other than making his use of Allomantic steel better.---So far as the earring goes, we know that they're from melted down Inquisitor spikes. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreathTaker Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 Thereby making them ATLEAST 300 years old Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pathfinder Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 I thought Wax's skill with steel pushing and altering his weight is like Vin. She was preservation's chosen, so despite being small, her pushes and pulls were stronger and better manipulated. So Wax is Harmony's chosen, and un-naturally good with his abilities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefunkindofevil Posted July 20, 2014 Report Share Posted July 20, 2014 The only time Wax makes an actually ridiculous shot as opposed to an awesome one, he is wearing the earring and was begging for a bit of help just before, so it's possible that's the only help he got from Harmony. The rest of the time can just be put down to natural ability and 20 years experience. Also, what would the downsides even be for steel savant? Small metallic objects move away from him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts