Favorite Fight/Battle Scene

[Lord Spirit he/him]

 

What is your favorite fight that Sanderson's written? the criteria are up to you. the names of the fights are not all official but they were the best I could think of.

I was reading the battle of the tower recently and wondered what the best fight in a Sanderson book was and therefore decided the best way to figure it out was to create a poll

Fights from pretty much every book Sanderson has written (except those I haven't read) are included from Mistborn to Rithmatist.

Edited February 8 by Lord Spirit

[The Sibling she/her]

Have you read RoW? Both my favourites are from there, but the Duel and the Battle of Thaylen Fields are way awesome. 

[Lord Spirit he/him]

6 minutes ago, The Sibling said:

Have you read RoW? Both my favourites are from there, but the Duel and the Battle of Thaylen Fields are way awesome. 

Yes, but there was a limit to how many answers I can do and some the battles in RoW aren't as big as some of the others, so I compacted it to "Battle/Occupation of Urithiru", Sorry!

[The Sibling she/her]

2 minutes ago, Lord Spirit said:

Yes, but there was a limit to how many answers I can do and some the battles in RoW aren't as big as some of the others, so I compacted it to "Battle/Occupation of Urithiru", Sorry!

No problem I just didn't want to spoil some thing you haven't read. (RoW)

Spoiler

Adolin vs. the Tukari raiders is soooooooo good! I actually don't know why I love this fight scene so much, it just really got me. Fight scenes in books kind of bore me sometimes, so a strategy I have to actually enjoy them is to imagine what they would look like in a movie. I try and think about when the cuts would be, who the shots would be focused on, and if there would be some kind of voice over. For this one I was imagining t flashing back to adolin's training, and then for the last bit where it's like "stand your ground" or whatever, for that to just be voice and the shot would be Adolin slowly looking up with blood all over him. Anyways, I had fun with this one.

My other favourite is when Kaladin just straight up lashes the pursuers head off because yeah, that was crazy and the lead up and everything after that were so insane. 

 

[Lord Spirit he/him]

1 minute ago, The Sibling said:

No problem I just didn't want to spoil some thing you haven't read. (RoW)

  Hide contents

Adolin vs. the Tukari raiders is soooooooo good! I actually don't know why I love this fight scene so much, it just really got me. Fight scenes in books kind of bore me sometimes, so a strategy I have to actually enjoy them is to imagine what they would look like in a movie. I try and think about when the cuts would be, who the shots would be focused on, and if there would be some kind of voice over. For this one I was imagining t flashing back to adolin's training, and then for the last bit where it's like "stand your ground" or whatever, for that to just be voice and the shot would be Adolin slowly looking up with blood all over him. Anyways, I had fun with this one.

My other favourite is when Kaladin just straight up lashes the pursuers head off because yeah, that was crazy and the lead up and everything after that were so insane. 

 

Quote

Gonna be honest, I forgot about Adolin there. But Kaladin is great, however his fight with the pursuer lasts almost the entire book.

 

[Edema Rue she/her]

*starts hyperventilating*

HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO CHOOSE

[The cheeseman Sola Scriptora]

NARROW IT DOWN BY SERIES, THEN BY BOOK, THEN BY BATTLE

[alder24]

3 hours ago, Lord Spirit said:

What is your favorite fight that Sanderson's written? the criteria are up to you. the names of the fights are not all official but they were the best I could think of.

I was reading the battle of the tower recently and wondered what the best fight in a Sanderson book was and therefore decided the best way to figure it out was to create a poll

Fights from pretty much every book Sanderson has written (except those I haven't read) are included from Mistborn to Rithmatist.

It's too hard to choose, there are so many of them. I would begin by dividing this into two categories - individual fights and big battles. 

Battles first, they are easier. I think for me the number one choice is the Battle of the Tower. Do I even have to explain? It's just brilliant, from the set-up till the aftermatch it keeps on changing, growing, shocking and squeezing my heart. The second place are both the siege of Kholinar and the Battle of Thaylen Field. But I miss the siege of Luthadel on this list, it was good too, one of the rare moments in Brandon's books when somebody from the "main crew" actually died.

Individual fight scenes are far more complicated. Kelsier vs inquisitor is brilliantly written. I love every single fight involving Awakening. Adolin&Kaladin vs 4 Shardbearers is fantastic. Szeth fights are just great. Adolin vs Tukari in RoW is amazing. I can't choose just one of them, I love all of them, I'm too indecisive!

I have to settle on something I'm sure of and thus my favorite battle is the Battle of the Tower. 

[Duxredux he/him]

I like different scenes for different reasons on different days. After typing for a bit, I conclude that for me I appreciate the ones that have powerful character moments and the ones that made me recontextualize the way I thought about the magic system.

@alder24, since you mentioned the Tower which I also found awesomely epic, I found one of your memes:

 

I also remember the first time that I read Kelsier verses Bendal, and I thought it was really cool how many ways Brandon had come up with to show the Mistborn powerset when it had felt like he had revealed quite a lot that was possible.  For similar reasons, I also liked Wax and Wayne at the wedding robbery as it was the first time seeing a Twinborn go to town with more modern equipment than knives and spears. Both showed much more depth of the magic systems than I had noticed, which is as impressive to me as pacing out a good action sequence. See, unlike watching a movie where Jackie-Chan beats up 6 guys with a bicycle, too much play-by-play combat in books isn't that interesting to me. The "puzzle-solving" aspect of some of Brandon's fights along with how they often line up with key character arc moments is what makes them awesome for me. 

[Treamayne]

I chose "Other" because none of my top three were on the list (Vin is missing entirely, too). More to the point, I don't think this kind of poll is realistic, since there is no way to realistically compare many of the options amongst each other. I feel like it needs to be at least three separate poll questions:

Favorite Cosmere small fight (1:1 / small group(s))

Favorite Cosmere large fight

Favorite non-Cosmere fight (possibly also separate small and large - if there are enough "large" to fill a category)

For the record (in no particular order):

Spoiler

• Joel and Melody vs everybody
• Newcago vs Mitosis
• Lan vs Demandred
• Vin vs Shan's Assassin Team
• Vin vs Zane
• Vin vs Team Ruin (Inquisitors @ Luthadel - HoA)
• Blackthorn vs Yezriar's Army
• Kaladin vs Helaran Davar
• Kaladin vs Pursuer @ Hearthstone
• Kenton vs Terken Marken
• Kenton vs Kerztian Assassins
• Kenton vs Drile
• SP4 Entry
• etc.

Not all of those would slot above every entry on the list, but I am reticent to choose from the list when so many favorites are not options at all. . .

[Lord Spirit he/him]

7 hours ago, Treamayne said:

I chose "Other" because none of my top three were on the list (Vin is missing entirely, too). More to the point, I don't think this kind of poll is realistic, since there is no way to realistically compare many of the options amongst each other. I feel like it needs to be at least three separate poll questions:

Favorite Cosmere small fight (1:1 / small group(s))

Favorite Cosmere large fight

Favorite non-Cosmere fight (possibly also separate small and large - if there are enough "large" to fill a category)

For the record (in no particular order):

  Reveal hidden contents

• Joel and Melody vs everybody
• Newcago vs Mitosis
• Lan vs Demandred
• Vin vs Shan's Assassin Team
• Vin vs Zane
• Vin vs Team Ruin (Inquisitors @ Luthadel - HoA)
• Blackthorn vs Yezriar's Army
• Kaladin vs Helaran Davar
• Kaladin vs Pursuer @ Hearthstone
• Kenton vs Terken Marken
• Kenton vs Kerztian Assassins
• Kenton vs Drile
• SP4 Entry
• etc.

Not all of those would slot above every entry on the list, but I am reticent to choose from the list when so many favorites are not options at all. . .

Quote

That is a good Idea, especially because it would allow for more options. I did have most of the ones on your list, there just wasn't room for some and a few that I though were on it apparently weren't.

 

[One of the Ten Fools he/him]

I really liked the fight between Kaladin vs Pursuer when they are at Urithiru. I don't know if you could really call it a fight, but it was so good.

[NerdyAarakocra They/Them]

21 hours ago, One of the Ten Fools said:

I really liked the fight between Kaladin vs Pursuer when they are at Urithiru. I don't know if you could really call it a fight, but it was so good.

I think that's part of the occupation of Urithiru.

[One of the Ten Fools he/him]

But I didn't like the entire occupation of Urithriu. I really only like the last little bit of the occupation

[Lord Spirit he/him]

18 minutes ago, One of the Ten Fools said:

But I didn't like the entire occupation of Urithriu. I really only like the last little bit of the occupation

It's just referring to the fights that occur during the occupation, including Kaladin vs. the Pursuer, The battle at the start, Navani Vs. Moash and the battle at the end.

it's hard to put that as 1 fight.

[One of the Ten Fools he/him]

15 minutes ago, Lord Spirit said:

It's just referring to the fights that occur during the occupation, including Kaladin vs. the Pursuer, The battle at the start, Navani Vs. Moash and the battle at the end.

it's hard to put that as 1 fight.

That make more sense. Thank you for explaining that.

[Thaidakar the Ghostblood he/him]

The Battle of Thaylen City is hands down the best fantasy battle I've ever read.

So many other battles are great, but this one is just... so fricking good. All the character arcs come together and so much pay off... I love Oathbringer and "You cannot have my pain" just hits so hard every time in this fight.

[Little_Dagger she/her]

[Just a Silvereye he/him]

Voted for Thaylen Field (not surprised to see that first). Reread that recently, "You cannot have my pain" hits in the guts every time. Battle of Luthadel in WoA might have been a contender but wasn't in the list

If we're talking close-quarter fights, the Duel is certainly up there with both Kal vs Szeth fights, Kelsier on the fountain square, Wax vs Bleeder, and everything else I've forgotten.

[Lord Spirit he/him]

I edited it to add Adolin vs the Tukari and to add the battles of Luthadel and Hathsin. (By removing some of the skyward fights that nobody voted for)

[Voidlit Man he/him]

Battle of Thaylen City has to be my favorite. Dalinar alone with a book he cannot read, facing all the things he's done in the past is just so impactful, but I'm not entirely sure if that counts as part of the Battle of Thaylen City. The actual meat of it, Adolin facing the Thunderclasts, Kaladin facing Amaram, I didn't care for as much

[Returned]

Not on the list specifically, but Sazed vs. Marsh is my favorite. Cool uses of separate magical systems, clever tactics, dramatic moments, back-and-forth advantages, and doesn't overstay its welcome.

My runner-up is Adolin's full disadvantaged duel. Action-packed and exciting, it showed the best of Adolin and Kaladin both. The fallout always bugs me though (like it's supposed to, I'm sure).

I also liked the current top-voted scene, the Battle of Thaylen City, because it had lots of awesome individual sequences that I loved. But it went on too long for me, splitting my attention too often and breaking up the flow of events with repetition more than I enjoyed. I get why people love it, though. So many of the individual pieces are amazing and top-form Sanderson.

[Silver Phantom he/him]

Ok, just voted. And I pick wax and Wayne verses the vanishers, the duel, and other. My other is Kaladin, Adolin and Dalinar fighting Szeth. Also the wax and Wayne fight I am thinking of is the one at the wedding. It so good.

Spoiler

Seriously spoilers for end of WoR

Spoiler

Adolin vs Sadeas. I love it

 

 

[RoyalBeeMage he/him]

Battle of Thaylen City when dalinar opens the perpendicular

[Highprince10 he/him]

My favorite battle is Adolin vs the Tukari because no only do we get to see it all from Adolin's perspective we get to see Adolin's true skill with no Shardblade or Plate and it is just him on a 20 v 1 and by my count I think Adolin kill about 14 and wounds a few more the only person we ever see do that much damage is Kaladin and that is when he is on a battle field with friends around him and Stormlight in him. If Adolin can do this much damage without any powers we see why he is so good when he has his plate and blade.