Piraka Comparison

[Mr. Anon1]

Hi, I'm kind of new here, so if this is in the wrong place, please let me know. Anyways, I am going to try to make a comparison of the 6 Piraka, and creating a tier list indicating which one would do the best in a one-on-one match against another Piraka. I will compare there powers in-depth, and try to determine who is the best. If you have objections or an opinion to note about this matter, please do so. Here is the ranking:ZaktanVezokHakannAvakReidakThokI realize that the idea of ranking characters like this is controversial in the Bionicle community for obvious reasons. Keep in mind though that this is merely a ranking of one-on-one matchups. Remember that I will not factor in their elemental powers because Lego has shown time after time that the elements are balanced. Also, I am ignoring their Zamor launchers, as they all have them, canceling the Zamor spheres out. Anyways, let's start from the bottom.Thok at first appears really powerful, mainly because of his ability to control terrain. The problem with this is that it is situational, and it can't always be relied on. Note that he must have deep concentration to use the ability in the first place, so it isn't too hard to defeat. Thok's vision, Spellbinder vision, requires eye-contact, so it isn't very reliable offensively. Thok's weapon, his ice gun is powerful, but it appears to be rather short ranged. Overall, Thok lacks a good "finisher" on his opponents, and he has some defensive issues.Let's move up to Reidak. At first, Reidak appears broken. He has the ability to adapt, making him impossible to defeat twice. For example, if you throw a fireball at him, it will only damage him once, and then for a while afterwards he will have a resistance to fire. The problem with this is that it isn't true invincibility, so if you kill him or imprison him with the first hit or so, he loses. Reidak's vision, Infared vision, has pure tactical advantages, and is mainly used to back up his ability as a tracker. Remember, though, that Reidak isn't actually seen defeating anybody one-on-one in a battles; his primary purpose among the Piraka is to assist.Now Avak. Avak too possesses potential battle-ending ability: the ability to create a perfect prison. This is a really powerful attack, but as you will see, the characters above him all have ways to get passed this. Outside of the prison, though, Avak has little to boast. Avak's vision, like Reidak's, serves pure tactical advantage and isn't very useful in a close battle. Avak's tool, a powerful but slow blaster, appears to be useful but as you will see it is either dodgable or can be canceled out by those above him.Let's go to the upper tier, starting with Hakann. Hakann's primary advantage is his mental blasts; this move is undodgable and often stuns the opponent long enough for Hakann to move on with Heat Vision or finish using his lava launcher. You might be thinking that Avak could create a sound prison that distracts Hakann from using his mental blasts. The problem with this strategy that if Hakann even gains the concentration to fire a single, weak blast, he will end the prison and can follow up with his deadly Lava Launcher.We're near the end, having reached Vezok. Vezok is virtually broken, due to his copy ability. This allows him to cancel out both Hakann's mental blasts and Avak's prisons by simply copying those abilities. At first it appears that his impact vision isn't that powerful; however, its greatest usage is in shaping the terrain. In most battle-grounds, Vezok should be able to use his impact vision to create a hole in the ground beneath his opponent, trapping them for a bit. While they try to climb out, all he needs to do is fire his Harpoon. Oh, and did I mention the fact that he can swim, giving him a huge advantages in battles near water?And now the Piraka leader, Zaktan. Obviously, Zaktan's greatest strength is his protodites. The only two attacks that can even damage him from the other Piraka's are Avak's prisons and Hakann's mental blasts. This allows those Piraka's to theoretically be able to beat him (like you saw Avak do in Legends 2: Dark Destiny). Zaktan can overcome Avak, however, by simply seperating some of his substance before the prison is created, and then he can use that substance to attack Avak while he is concentrating on the prison. While that seems circumstancial, keep in mind that Zaktan is very paranoid and it is implied that he keeps a significant portion of himself away from his main body, just so that he can keep track of his enemies. As for Hakann's mental blasts, it is implied in Comic 1 of the ignition arc that the Piraka leader possesses the mental strength to overcome the pain of Hakann's blasts, allowing him to easily win from there. As for Vezok, Zaktan's protodites happen to be the one move that he can't copy, so yeah...So there you have it. These are my rankings of the Piraka and my reasoning. If you have an objection or would like to add a piece of information that I have missed, feel free to do so. Remember that this is just my observation of the matter; please do not feel offended if you're favorite Piraka is Thok or Reidak. Also, remember that this is only 1v1 matchups; when you allow for 2v2 or higher matches, you get to factor in elemental combinations, and that would be interesting.I may expand this topic or create more similar ones to compare other groups such as the Barraki or Rahkshi.

[Ankarus]

I would think Hakann would win. He cold just deal with Zaktan by hitting him with a mind bolt (or two), and then while Zaktan is confused, he would hit him with his lava launcher. Vezok and Hakann are evenly matched. I am not sure who would win.

[BULiK]

I think whoever gets the ICBM wins, but my im rooting for thok.he can control the environment. so if avak traps him he just uses his power (unless the trap disabled that, but then he could use his ice ray, because avak would be trying to dampen his powers.

[Aedai Rivin]

Personally, I think Avak is rather strong. He can take on any enemy, even if he's never met them or nows nothing about them. The concentration is a problem, but an easily solved one. Rivin

[Ektris]

Since there's a limited number of options here, this would probably be best off as a poll. And since we all have Premier perks right now, you can even make one yourself in the Voting Booth forum. This also isn't usually the type of topic that belongs in S&T anyways. ~|ET|~

[RetroFangled Kanohi]

That's a pretty good theory there. I really wanted Hakann to win and might be able to think up an argument or two, but not see them through. Good work.

[Archer Vonn]

I would think Hakann would win. He cold just deal with Zaktan by hitting him with a mind bolt (or two), and then while Zaktan is confused, he would hit him with his lava launcher. Vezok and Hakann are evenly matched. I am not sure who would win.

keep in mind that confusing zaktan is all really hakann can do. lava launcher isn't gonna do much against trillions of bugs, since he's most likely not going to be able to hit any of them.

[Touko Fukawa]

Are you sure Thok has to concentrate to use his power? I seem to remember him absent-mindedly creating little sand figures and making them fight in one of the books. However, I would also point out that Zaktan is, for all practical purposes, a hive mind, so wouldn't one of Hakkans mental blasts only affect a single protodite?

[Toa of Nerds]

I agree that Reidak at first looks very strong, but he was actually fairly stupid so the other, more cunning piraka could probably just outwit him. I always liked Zaktan the best (mainly due to his protodite power) and I think he could probably beat the others with it. Also, he seems to be the smartest of the piraka, and could probably find a way out of a jam very quickly. However, these questions will forever remain unresolved until somebody mods the piraka into Mortal Kombat. -don't touch my pocket protector

[Mr. Anon1]

Are you sure Thok has to concentrate to use his power? I seem to remember him absent-mindedly creating little sand figures and making them fight in one of the books. However, I would also point out that Zaktan is, for all practical purposes, a hive mind, so wouldn't one of Hakkans mental blasts only affect a single protodite?

Interesting... Still, I feel that it is somewhat situational, since its capabilities are much greater in, say, a forest than in a desert. As for Hakann v Zaktan, I believe the fight is actually shown in one of the comics. Hakann is able to pull off a mental blast on Zaktan, and stun him for a good amount of time. The problem is that Zaktan's mind is so sharp that he can just ignore the blast after a second. Then again, if Hakann fires quick enough, he may be able to burn a good amount of Zaktan's substance.

[iPenguin]

Hakann. He's the bully.

[LaputanMachine]

But Reidak is virtually indestructible...

[Makuta Matata]

1. Zaktan, Hakann, Thok, Reidak, Avak, Vezok2. Vezon

[Mr. Anon1]

Heh, that's definitely true. It's too bad Farshtey didn't let Vezon keep his spear and powers after he lost the mask of life, but then again the fact that he is the weakest character in all of Bionicle adds to his comic relief abilities.

[Baron Von Nebula]

I think the individual cunning/intelligence/treachery of the Piraka would determine more who would win in a fight.Although, Zaktan has been shown to defeat all the others fairly easily...

[Akuna Toa of Sonics]

I don't think Vezok should be 2nd, since he has huge anger problems.

[Kumata]

You haven't taken their intelligence, skill or personalities into account, all of which are major factors in a one-on-one battle. An intelligent opponent will use Vezok's anger against him. Make him angry and he'll make mistakes, and charge into situations without thinking. Similarly it wouldn't be too hard to outsmart Reidak as he's not the brightest lightstone in the cave. Since Zaktan was the most intelligent Piraka, I would definitely agree with him being top, but Thok was quite cunning too so I'd move him up a notch, above Reidak.

[UltraHau]

Probably Zaktan or Reidak. Zaktan's protodite body renders many (if not most) projectile weapons useless, and Reidak can't be defeated the same way every time. Since you don't know what ways he has been defeated... I still think Vezok's nickname blows all the others out of the water, though

However, these questions will forever remain unresolved until somebody mods the piraka into Mortal Kombat. -don't touch my pocket protector

Hmm... Interesting suggestion, save for the MK part - I'd prefer for "Theoretical Bionicle Game" to be more Marvel vs. Capcom-oriented, but I know what you're talking about. Edited October 18, 2011 by UltraHau

[Mr. Anon1]

Probably Zaktan or Reidak. Zaktan's protodite body renders many (if not most) projectile weapons useless, and Reidak can't be defeated the same way every time. Since you don't know what ways he has been defeated...

Remember though that Reidak's adaptation powers do not prevent him from either being killed outright or just being imprisoned. All the other Piraka (except for Thok) have very quick ways of killing or imprisoning opponents. Hakann can just do Mental blast>Lava launcher, Avak can simply put up a prison, and since Reidak has no way to attack outside of it, the battle ends there. Vezok can create a chasm underneath using impact vision, and if Reidak tries to escape he can just use harpoons. Zaktan can use laser vision and his scissor, and since he can't be hit, he is more likely to land his attacks. Edited October 19, 2011 by Mr. Anon1

[Katuko]

Avak's Perfect Prison power should not be underestimated, I think. In a one-on-one battle, concentration is not really an issue, so he should be able to keep it up for as long as he wants. Since the power specifically creates cages that counter an individual's power, that means even Zaktan's protodites won't be able to escape. Hakann could possibly break out via a mental blast, but the others are screwed. If so, it then comes down to whether or not Hakann can beat Avak into submission with mental blasts/lava launcher before Avak hits him with his own weapon. Seeing as Avak is stated to be physically weak in combat, Hakann has the advantage in a straight melee fight. Vezok has "impact vision", which presumably works similar to a mental blast except it feels like being hit with a sledgehammer instead of your brain suddenly aching. I have a feeling this physical force would be blocked by a Perfect Prison, but in that case Mental Blast should be too. They are likely to be instant, invisible energy waves, but energy can be blocked. Vezok is also very agile, and he can perfectly copy the powers of anyone nearby for a limited time. If we go with his pre-split intellect, he is also a brilliant tactician. Most likely he could come up with a plan to dodge Avak (say, by hiding out of sight) then ambush him and copy his prison power. Then Vezok wins, because Avak now cannot escape or retaliate.

[StoneyRaptor]

For me: 1. Hakaan (Mindbolts > Protodites)2. Zakataan3. Thok, Avak (Environmental maniplulation = impenetrable prisons) both need a time delay from the enemy to work more effectively)4. I think the rest are about equal5. Vezon (casue he powerless) minus Olmak fused to face)

[Evex_Wolfwing]

We all seem to be forgetting that Riedak is actually quite intelligent. He just was impatient and blunt, and would rather rush in and kill stuff than make an elaborate plan. And he has the power to do just that, so he has little reason to think. Of course, this impatience could be used to your advantage, but let the fight go on long enough, and you will have no way to keep him down, and we will have seen all of your ways of attacking, making counter strategies likely if you are troublesome enough. As for me, Zaktan. He could suffocate you with just maybe a hand's worth of his Protodites. You may not even know he's there, as he could just creep inside your lungs... No need to use a nuke when a razor will suffice.

[Black Six]

Since there's a limited number of options here, this would probably be best off as a poll. And since we all have Premier perks right now, you can even make one yourself in the Voting Booth forum. This also isn't usually the type of topic that belongs in S&T anyways. ~|ET|~

I think there's been a sufficient amount of discussion here that there is no need to close this or make it a poll. It's not asking who the best Piraka is, it's comparing and ranking them.

[Devorath]

Avak or Zaktan all the way

[Lewa0111 Nuva]

I really enjoyed reading this list; it's pretty logical and makes a lot of sense. The only thing I'd really change would be that I'd put Thok above Reidak, mainly because Thok's "terrain" power may be situational, but it's still stronger than Reidak's power, since attacking via terrain allows for a variety of different attacks (trees, rocks, etc.), all of which count as separate attacks for Reidak's "adaptability." So I'd put Reidak last, but that's just my opinion. ...And suddenly I wish they'd release a Super Piraka Bros. Brawl. Lewa0111 Nuva