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Tobias Capwell is an independent scholar, curator, an expert on arms and armour, as well as a historical advisor for movies and TV. On this episode of Expert Reacts, Toby reacts to a selection of the armour and weapons of Destiny 2, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Ghost of Tsushima and Helldivers 2.
00:00 – Intro
01:16 – Oblivion – Legion Armour
03:38 – Oblivion Remastered – Legion Armour
05:45 – Oblivion – Elven Armour
07:58 – Oblivion Remastered – Elven Armour
09:53 – Oblivion – Daedric Armour
11:41 – Oblivion Remastered – Daedric Armour
12:48 – Why not check out our Patreon?
13:13 – Ghost of Tsushima – Invasion of the Mongols
14:28 – Ghost of Tsushima – Samurai Clan Armour
16:04 – Ghost of Tsushima – Sakai Clan Armour
17:16 – Ghost of Tsushima – Ghost Armour
19:02 – Helldivers 2 – Democratic Context
19:53 – Helldivers 2 – B-01 Tactical
20:45 – Helldivers 2 – RE-824 Bearer of the Standard
22:38 – Helldivers 2 – IE-12 Righteous
24:13 – Destiny 2 – Armour/Weapon selection (submitted by TankJ0ck3y)
26:39 – Outro
If you’re interested in seeing more of Toby’s work, you can purchase his books on the Armour of the English Knight at the following links:
Also you can see more about his publications and download a number of his articles for free on his Academia page:
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47 Comments
24:00 Goddddd that line goes SO HARD
Pension is a game changer and we have to multiply it. Have a 27 year military pension, VA disability compensation and my wife will have a Federal Employee Pension when she retires. Im pretty certain that we will have more money than we need.
We are sitting on about $1M in our portfolio, but my compensation alone is about $9.2k per month and its inflation protected. We still invest $75k a year simply because we can. Investing 50k wouldn't change how we live so no need to change.
Doctor Tobi is a gem!
Great episode as always!
Two things…
4:00 – it is bizarre to see how much worse boots look in Remaster compared to OG Oblivion… Is that why the OG footage is cropped at the knees?
24:00 – not sure about this one. Most dictatorial states favor militaristic motives and display of power (Nazies, CCP, USSR, North Korea, African dictators, etc) regardless of ideology. So I am curious how and why mind wonders specifically towards fascism? Could've been generalized as a "misplaced confidence of a zealot".
PS: I am just tired of seeing people throw "fascist" label all over the place – dilutes the meaning of the word and is generally annoying…
Pariah Nexus next? cant wait!
I love love love how real the speaker is. Thank you for the videos 🙂
I remember someone saying that the difference between Helldiver armor and armor of something like Halo is that. For The Halo Spartans it’s designed to protect the wearer but for Helldivers you’re wearing a Symbol. At its most armored it only exists to keep you alive for a few extra seconds. The armor is segmented in a way where you can just slap them on someone and throw them onto the battlefield
I would like to see Tony Capwell react to the armour in Mortal Shell. It’s maybe not enough content for a dedicated episode , but would work in an episode like this that covers multiple games
Dr. Toby kinda reminds me of Nick Offerman
You should do one with the armors from Ryse: Son of Rome. Not the most historically accurate game, but damn is it very cool.
I can't remember, but has the non scifi armours from Destiny 2 been shown? Cos there's a lot of Iron Banner sets that have design aesthetics from period armour with a bit of magic and scifi flair added. Most of the rest of Destiny 2 armour is pure scifi space magic, though.
Can we one day get an episode of Toby Capwell, Curator, Author, Historical Advisor and all-around Expert on Historical Arms and Armor, reacting to the armors of the Dark Souls series or Elden Ring please? That would be real Nito.
This may be a hot take, but I always disliked oblivions design direction, the only way I can explain is as plastic party city costumes. The swords and weapons look like they’re fake plastic toys. And while I can appreciate the remaster trying to keep the design and touch up the texture to be realistic is great, but the overall design still looks too goofy to me. I really am anxious for the design direction for elderscrolls six.
You should have him go over all the armours in Oblivion and HellDivers 2.
That would give you a couple episodes and Tobi is my favourite. So, I'd like to see him review whole games instead of just bits and pieces if you can work it.
Props to that Guardian for finding FIVE different shaders that work together that perfectly!
Ron Swansons brother has come to see us
dang, didnt show him the ballistic shield and stun lance use in helldivers 2. SHIELD WALL BROTHERS
ps awesome episode
I find it so endearing that Tobias almost exclusively refers to cats as "pussycats" in these videos. He's such an interesting and knowledgeable guest. Love seeing him on the channel!
"The misplaced confidence of the fascist" 😂 I like this man.
genuinely amazing to watch, i hope you can make him cover the likes of the Monster Hunter series as well ! i'll be looking forward to it 😀
I think a lot of the decision around attack animations comes down to two factors. First, it needs to be obvious enough to telegraph what will happen to the player so they have a chance to dodge or block. Second, they want it to look good: usually that means dramatic and exagerated.
armour expert when asked about armour:
"idk, i'm not the right person to ask"
The Rightous helmet is modeled after a Roman knight from the first century bc.
"Stab him in the male" or "mail"?
Dr Capwell really comes alive when presented with something historical that he likes, the Japanese armor. Compare that with the Monster Hunter video where he almost completely checked out.
At 12:40, when he mentions the "stretching" armor, it's not really by choice that game devs make solid armor flexible.
It's apparently MUCH more difficult to simulate rigid plate armor that moves realistically during gameplay. I believe there's a game in development called "Knight's Path" whose devs are trying to make realistic armor rigging.
The directing and editing of these videos has gotten really good since you went independent.
The thing with dedric armour is that it doesn't need to be functional or very good, since the Daedra are all technically immortal and will reform… some time in the future. whether it be a month into the future or a thousand years, now that’s a different question.
He needs to see halfsword
The explanation of what a war knife was very interesting to learn about actually very educational and not just an opinion about pieces of equipment in general. Great job Mr. Capwell and the EXP team
Edna from The Incredibles had a big issue with capes because of how many heroes died due to cape related accidents. Not an issue for Helldivers, we may die from friendly fire, explosions, acid, laser blasts, friendly fire, being crushed by large enemies, being pushed hard against the map or off cliffs, drown, burn alive or friendly fire…but we had never had a single incident of dying in a cape related incident
24:11 "The misplaced confidence of the fascist." I love this man. I already did for his approach to conscious design in fantasy armour, but that just affirmed it.
0:54 time to reference a niche game with a dumb joke, is that the Golden Empire Lancer from Grave/Digger
The elven short sword in Oblivion looks pretty much like Arwens sword from LotR. There is also Mithril armour in Oblivion and with the movies releases so close to the game that seemed pretty much like a ripoff to me. Even as a teen.
I don't know whether Tolkien invented Mithril as a fantasy material, but it is very closely associated with his works.
9:44 problems for the rider? That horse armour has caused immeasurable problems for the entire games industry
Armor acting like rubber has been a thing in videogames for ages. Making them actually solid would be pain in the ass. Specially if there are multiple armors available with all sorts of shapes
Where is Jonathan Ferguson, keeper of firearms and artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum in the UK, which houses a collection of thousands of iconic weapons from throughout history? Is he safe, is he alright?
I love how he dealt with the topic of Japanese armor. You can tell he is truly a scholar as he aknowledge that it is out of his expertise area, and does not make any claim on authenticity or accuracy. Yet he can comprehend a fe designs features and the different forms of Japanese armor. As an enthusiasts of the Japanese arms and armour, hats down!
Mount and Blade series has a lot of era appropriate cultural mishmash armour. Lots of jousting if you are into that and long bow arrow rain on plate requiring shields or speed to advance. Different weapons for a given task, no universal weapon.
Idk I don't think he said much about the Helldivers stuff.
I hope we get Toby on for more episodes 😀
1:38 Absolutely love the use of the non-reamster version.
Has he always been a Dr?
One point he didn't make about the Daedric armour that I wonder about – the spikes remind me of how a sword breaker is designed to catch an opponents blade and wrench it away – would someone who takes a swing at Daedric armour potentially have their weapon entangled in the spikes and wrenched away when the armoured person turns? It seems plausible, but I am by no means an expert in the subject. (Real world materials, those spikes would probably break or bend first, but…we don't have stuff forged of magical metal and demon hearts.
This is what I love about proper YouTube history content. Unlike History Channel slop where an 'expert' says some nonsense very matter-of-factly and you're just expected to buy in, REAL experts like Capwell admit up front when addressing a subject outside their area of study and hedge heavily when stating any opinions on that. We live truly in a golden era of history content, if you know what to look for.
i feel really bad for this guy cause he clearly expected to come on to talk about things he's an expert in and just got told to react to a bunch of dumb sci fi and a historical period and place that isnt his field of expertise and is clearly a little frustrated with it
Wow, the Helldivers cutscene really looks like Fox News! Just waiting for US military recruitment drives to sound like this.