Prey: The most powerful Yautja weapons in the Predator franchise, ranked
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Dam (2022) is a fantastic movie that goes back to the classic cat and mouse roots of the series. Interestingly, the Feral Predator’s weapons are also lower tech than previous Predators in the series. Even then, the technology he was using was more than sufficient for the “primitive” technology of the 18th century.
This alone shows how powerful Yautja technology is. Still, it is well known that Yautja technology is far more advanced than what even the movies show the public. The comics and video games also feature many weapons that show the Yautja could conquer Earth if they wanted to. They just wouldn’t find it very funny.
10 wrist shovel
The Yautja’s most iconic weapon, and often the only one they need. Its retractable wrist blades are made of a mysterious steel alloy that is virtually weightless to its wielder. It also features wicked jagged edges that can cut cleanly through bone.
The wrist is his signature weapon for good reason. With their whole culture built around being apex hunters, it makes sense that their weapons are natural extensions of their bodies. Wielding a wrist blade is wielding one’s skill.
9 Power Punch Glove
An alternative for Yautja who prefer to get into scrap, the Power Punch Glove is a very simple and effective weapon. All it does is increase a Yautja’s already incredible hitting power tenfold. With the power drill glove on, Yautja is able to drill directly into solid concrete.
Unfortunately for many viewers, Alien vs. Predator: Requiem, the first film in which the gun appears, is absurdly dark. This means that the power of the weapon, unfortunately, does not look very good. However, concept art and the tie-in video game show the gloves being punctured at the knuckles.
8 Combstick
Where wrist paddles don’t quite get the job done, the Predators graduate to the combistick. The combistick is an equal parts melee and ranged weapon. It retracts and extends at will, making it a very unorthodox tool for defending against enemies. It is also made of the same strong metal as the wrist blades.
The combistick is given to the Yautja after they have completed their first hunt. As one of the few “sentimental” weapons they have, most Predators decorate their combisticks throughout their lives. It is essentially a memento of all hunts encountered, and is the weapon with which Yautja is buried after an honorable death.
7 Net Launcher
The Net Launcher, as its name so subtly suggests, launches nets. While that alone isn’t much, what makes it so effective is what the network does. Once the target is fixed, the net immediately sticks to any surface and begins to tighten quickly. The metal wire mesh then begins to painfully lacerate the target.
The net is very difficult to cut with conventional tools. Many Yautja weapons are capable of cutting through it, but most races do not have that luxury. It is also vulnerable to Xenomorph acid, making it relatively useless as a containment device against them.
6 Electroshock weapons
The Yautja also feature a number of electroshock weapons in their arsenal. For individual Yautja, they have electroshock balls that they can use to subdue and knock out any target they catch. They’re a simple sci-fi improvement on the classic ball design.
They also have tasers, usually only used for emergencies when an enemy gets too close to kill them. Finally, their larger weapons can be loaded with stun missiles. They are primarily used to disable enemy technology and vehicles.
5 Smart Disc
The smart disc is one of the first clues people have that they are being hunted by the Yautja. While the wrist paddle and combistick are relatively low-tech, the Smart Disc is a very high-tech piece. With built-in gyroscopes, the weapon tracks opponents and returns to the wielder with ease.
The Smart Disc is capable of slicing through entire groups of enemies with incredible precision. They can also shrink and expand in size at will. This makes them useful against any sized opponent. Some Yautja, known as Disc Masters, are so skilled that they are able to control the smart disc like Yondu does with his arrow.
4 Plasmacaster
The Plasmacaster is the first real evidence that the Yautja aren’t just a race of wild aliens. The Plasmacaster is a long-range energy weapon with advanced targeting capabilities. They are a devastating weapon, capable of one-shotting almost any unarmoured opponent. Despite their incredible power, Yautja society is despised.
After all, the strength of the Plasmacaster makes all hunts too easy. The Yautja value old school martial skills. The Plasmacaster offers neither. So they are mostly used as a last resort, in emergencies like when surrounded or against very strong enemies like a xenomorph queen.
3 Blazer
The Blazer is essentially a crowd-clearing version of the Plasmacaster. The Yautja, contrary to what people might think, do have a standing army to be used in war. These Yautja belong to the Military Caste. They have access to armor and weapons that would be considered dishonorable for a hunt.
The Blazer is an example of their weapons. These specialized plasma wheels incinerate hordes of enemies with a concentrated beam of heat. They are specifically used to fight legions of xenomorphs. Heat also has the advantage of cauterizing xenomorphs, making their acidic blood a moot threat.
2 Pre-Gun
The Pred-Gun is a vehicle of war, and would never be seen in any hunt unless the Elders so choose. In the simplest terms, it’s basically an oversized Plasmacaster meant to destroy buildings, enemy vehicles, and entire armies.
The Pred-Gun is mobile, but can only fire once it’s anchored to the ground. They are often used as a defense weapon for critical access points. For obvious reasons, the military caste is the only Yautja authorized to use these weapons of war.
1 Self-destruct explosive
The Yautja never go hunting without these powerful explosives strapped to their wrists. When they are about to die, the Yautja initiate a self-destruct sequence that annihilates everything in their reach. The blast is usually a blue hue, implying that it is an extension of his plasma technology.
The scale of the explosion varies according to Hunter. Similar devices are also found on Yautja ships and are even stronger. One of these ships was dangerous enough to level an entire modern city, as seen in Predator: Concrete Jungle. These are considered an honorable way of death by Yautja, and also to remove all traces of their technology.
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