The Persian Persuader: Underestimated Excalibur

[Hook Master]

Demoknight is one of the only officially recognized subclasses in TF2. The core balance of the class has always been a topic of debate as the class relies heavily on a unique style of play and a requirement to gauge threats. Independent of Demoknight’s core balance is the weapon selection, which is fairly varied. The Demoknight arsenal is a topic that has been fairly untouched compared to classes like pyro or even regular Demoman. I believe that there truly is no objectively best Demoknight loadout. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses against certain classes and on certain maps. However, I personally believe the Persian Persuader is the most versatile Demo sword, making it one of the best choices for new and old players alike.

I: Shield Compatability
The Persian Persuader works with any shield. Sure, most swords CAN be used with all shields, but some lack the synergy required to execute certain maneuvers. Combining the Eyelander with the tide turner does allow for more maneuverability, but you lack the damage needed to successfully push for the early head boost. An Eyelander + turner combo is one of the most spy-like gameplay styles Demoman has. However, the Persian works successfully with every shield, with each still having different styles of play. The Persian itself has no random crits, meaning the tank/crit shields (Targe, Screen) may seem immediately appealing. These combos do work, and the Persian’s ability to gain its charge quicker than other swords allows it to deal crits quicker without sacrificing anything. With a combination of charge refill on hit and a free 50% from every medium ammo (one per kill guaranteed), you’d be able to charge significantly more often. While this is very nice for the targe, it continues with the screen. Now you can charge even faster with the shield’s built-in recharge buff. I believe this is the most powerful of the Persian combos, but one other stands out significantly more. The Persian Persuader with the Tide turner is a test in managing your charges to do it as much as possible without dying over and over. Every kill guarantees a charge, giving you three ways to gain charge with the Persian. Its inability to crit means smacking targets gives more charge even if you don’t secure the kill. This doesn’t hold a candle to the trimping potential, either. The Persian’s ability to convert ammo to shield charge allows the user to extend their charge by holding M2 when they hit the ammo. This allows insane charges, especially with the tide turner and its free reign of movement. Overall, the Persian works well with every shield, but what about the Persian by itself?

II: Solitary analysis
The Persian Persuader by itself is a fine specimen when it comes to balance. It has no random crits, and it reduces your primary and secondary ammo by 80%. The weapon basically enforces the full demoknight playstyle. I believe that’s the main reason the sword is so underrated by many. It really can’t fit in a hybrid or non-knight playstyle. This balances with it being such a powerful knight weapon. It perfectly contrasts the stock melee’s “Jack of all trades” by being almost unparalleled in one area. While this may turn some away from the Persian, I see it as the perfect complement to the subclass, without being “meta”. The weapon relies heavily on shields to perform better than a worse stock melee.

III: Overall
Persian is incredibly underrated. It is the best sword for pure demoknight play, and I believe that’s all it has to be. Sometimes a weapon designed for a subclass can be fine, as it doesn’t need to be much more than that. If Valve were to ever add more weapons, specialist weapons like the persuader would be a very welcome change.

[Marukuso]

Enforcing specific loadouts is one of the things i don't tend to like about unlocks but the persuader is probably the most fun of all the swords, it may not make you a stat stick like the eyelander or the black version of a kunai spy like the zatoichi or remind people why random crits are whack like the skullcutter, but it focuses on the only mechanic that makes demoknight interesting, which is charging, and i wish it and the claid had a baby.

[Hell-met]

cant stand the slow turn rate of targe/splendid

[Hook Master]

Originally posted by Eva the femboy~💖:

Best sword for regular demoman, too!

I wouldn't think so, considering all of its upsides are dedicated to charging and its upsides only hurt the regular GL and Stickies

[deathconsciousness]

It’s even better when paired with the grenade launcher and sticky bomb luancher!

[Kevin Crabcakes]

Best sword for medieval because Demoman holds it with one hand and I don’t like the look of him holding a sword with two hands for some reason.

[Hell-met]

i dont like how much the persian relies on charges to accomplish things. Without a charge ready you might aswell suicide

at least eyelander and skullcutter can do work on their own

[Xenos]

I remember the days when the Persuader was the de-facto Demoknight sword because it healed you just for picking up ANY ammo and had 100% charge recharge, making you an unkillable bowling ball that heals half your health every time you kill an enemy.

[mna99]

Half-Zatoichi still seems like a better demoknight weapon.

[White-Tip]

My demo loadout is the Loose Cannon, Caber, and the Tide turner.
I use the Caber because I watched that one Solarlight video