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bellringermal · 6 years

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Who do you think would win in an all-out fight to the death if Gehrman and Maria ever came to blows? Setting aside those pesky emotional bonds, and assuming they're both at the height of their powers. Maria has the obvious advantages of youth and combustible blood, but I feel there's something to be said for the value of experience, as well as the fact that having invented the Hunter fighting style and trained Maria himself, Gehrman probably knows her own moves and tactics better than she does.

Mmmmh.. let’s take a look at our challengers, shall we?

I think the most important thing to take into consideration is what sort of opponent they were trained to fight in the first place. I’ve always assumed that Maria was a member of the Royal Guards and thus was tasked to protect Annalise from her political opponents and hunt them down for their Blood Dregs. Before she joined the Hunters, Maria was trained to kill other humans and not beasts, since that duty was reserved to the Knights.

Let’s check some extra lore facts to support this theory :3

There’s no evidence in the item descriptions that points towards the Cainhurst Knights using blood blades like the Chikage, but we know for sure that they wielded the Reiterpallasch as shown in the promotional images and in the weapon’s own description.

Rapiers are also the weapon of choice for some of the servants we encounter in the castle.

We also know that the Knights were servants and not nobles, so all of this seems to rule out the possibility of Maria being one of them since we know that she’s a relative of Annalise and consequently, a noble herself. Long story short: Maria, not unlike Eileen, is a Hunter of Hunters even if she kills in the name of Annalise and not to put blood-addled Hunters to rest. This also explains why would she become an apprentice to Gehrman and why in the cut dialogues she refers to him as “Beast Hunter” instead of just Hunter since she comes from a society where the two types of hunters are clearly distinct.

This is also reflected in Maria’s set that is a combination of Knight, Royal Guard, and Hunter gear. Her clothes are that of a beast-slaying Cainhurst Knight (but more practical), her weapon is the signature blood-blade of the nobles while her boots, gloves, and hat are of classic Old Hunters fashion.

All of this to say that, if you ask me, Maria would be way more proficient in killing another human than someone who exclusively hunted down beasts.

But, at the same time, we have no solid proof that Gehrman only did that. First of all, because the line between men and beasts gets very blurry at times and second, because we know that Gehrman delivered “mercy kills” not only to those fully transformed into beasts but possibly even to his own students if they became blood-drunk. Just like Eileen does to Henryk, and possibly, the player.

Gehrman surely saw the hunt as a dirge of farewell, wishing only that his prey might rest in peace, never again to awaken to another harrowing nightmare.[BURIAL BLADE]

Facing a rational opponent is very different from going against a mindless beast. Even us, as players, can experience this by comparing how it feels to fight a beast boss and a humanoid one. Ludwig’s boss fight alone, showcases the different pace and strategy required to fight what is basically a wild animal and an honorable swordsman.

And even when fighting Gehrman and Maria, we can experience first hand their different approach to a 1V1 duel.

Maria’s moveset is precise and elegant, consisting of charged thrusts and wide swipes. The blades of the Rakuyo are reminiscent of the hands of a clock and even some of the animations performed in order to transform the weapon (when combining the two blades back into one, for example) seem to mirror the image of a clock dial. After propelling herself into the air in her jumping attack, Maria plunges down on her opponent and deals AOE damage on impact thanks to her blood arts.

Gehrman on the other hand, deals ranged damage by “pressuring” air itself onto the hunter. (Now, let’s take a moment to appreciate that Gehrman can kill you with fucking air and Maria can kill you with her own blood. If that’s not badass I don’t know what is). Gehrman’s combat style is less refined, but that’s a direct consequence of how large and presumably heavy his weapon of choice is. Even when untransformed, the curved blade is thicker than the Rakuyo and is clearly not a weapon that you can use to poke and stab. The Burial Blade is made to chop off limbs and heads, taking advantage of the long handle to hook and drag the opponent closer before tearing them apart.

Both Maria and Gehrman perform explosive AOE attacks after standing still for a few seconds. Gehrman always faces the moon in the Hunter’s dream during this animation while Maria usually faces the player character. They both perform this animation twice during the fight and each time it marks the beginning of a new phase. Both Maria’s AOE animations are potentially deadly to the player while Gehrman’s first one doesn’t deal any damage but signals his connection to the Moon Presence. Maria’s second AOE attack sees her levitate above the ground as the blood swirls around her. This can be taken as proof that Maria’s abilities transcend those of regular Vilebloods (as if the inflammable blood wasn’t enough!) and placing her in the same league as Queen Yharnam that can make the player character levitate while dealing damage. Yharnam also conjures blood blades by stabbing herself (through the hand, with her ritual knife) just like Maria does.

Gehrman’s “supernatural” abilities on the other hand, consist exclusively in attack and speed boosts offered to him by Moon Presence. Maria’s powers don’t look nearly as situational as Gehrman’s do.

On a mere physical level, I would assume Gehrman to be stronger because of sheer size and level of strength required to lift and use a heavier weapon. But as far as mobility is concerned, I think that Maria would move way faster and have overall a superior attack speed.

Experience surely would play a part in this death battle, but that is something that is harder to quantify in a lore-friendly manner. Some people think that Gehrman was a random dude (even a farmer, according to some) with no combat experience whatsoever that improvised himself a Hunter when the beasts became a real threat, presumably during his adulthood. In my headcanons, on the other hand, he was trained since childhood and had been a Beast Hunter for about 20 years when Maria joined the Old Hunters. In any case, the age gap surely gives Gehrman a huge advantage on Maria when it comes to mere combat and survival experience.

As you pointed out, another thing to consider is how familiar Gehrman would be with Maria’s techniques since he’s the one who taught her many of her tricks and moves. The jumping attack, in particular, feels very “Gehrman” to me :P but Maria never forgot her original Cainhurst combat techniques and after so much time spent training with Gehrman she would’ve learned a few things about his weaknesses as well.

I am confident in saying that anyone who faced Gehrman would affirm that his prosthetic leg doesn’t impair his movements in any way, but at the same time it’s hard to believe that this is 100% true.

In conclusion, I think that such a duel would be rather spectacular to witness and that the outcome wouldn’t be predictable until the very end, considering how fast and vicious both Gehrman and Maria can be. But to conclude, my money would be on Maria.

She has a wider set of skills due to her upbringing in Cainhurst, natural blood abilities inherited from her Pthumerian ancestry and Gehrman himself surely did his best to teach her how to overcome her flaws.

#anon ask #gehrman the first hunter #lady maria of the astral clocktower #headcanons #lore #combat #1v1 battle #soulsborne #bloodborne

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