Melodic Blade

Pipa

 
& the danger hidden amongst its silk strings:
a visual concept expansion

Weapon Sketches

Attached below are sketches of the Melodic Blade Pipa. The pose sketch (without a head) is one I did (or tried to do) while the rest have been generated with AI.

Weapon Images

Attached below are AI generated images of the Melodic Blade Pipa, rendered and in full color. The images aim to showcase the structure of the pipa with and without the mist as well as the various possible colors of the mist depending on which stat is buffed or debuffed.Take note, however, that since the Melodic Blade Pipa is a martial art and not just a specific weapon, it can take on various forms and appearances with relation to the pipa's structure as a musical instrument.

Moveset

Attached below are generated images showcasing the different animations of the Melodic Blade Pipa's moveset. Listed below is a guide on which move is which:
 
    Top left: Deflect -"BONK!"
    Top right: Light Attack -"Piercing Gale"
    Middle left: Heavy Attack -"Surging Tempest"
    Middle right: Charged Attack -"Surging Tempest (Charged)"
    Bottom left: Special Skill -"Resounding Merriment"
    Bottom right: Weapon Skill -"Haunting Melody"

 
The composer of the final song,

Sheepish Wolf

Musician

 
Although exact details are unknown as to the origin of the Melodic Blade Pipa martial art, the existence of said art was made known to the people of the jianghu when a string of deaths and disappearances had mysteriously occurred. Pinpointing the culprit proved to be difficult until a witness stepped forward, stating their testimony:"I didn't suspect them at first... they seemed quite harmless, just like every other wandering street musician or even regular person practicing the pipa. Their melodies were enticing, so I stayed and watched them from afar. As I appreciated the calming music, I heard a scream that disrupted the serenity, and then a thud. The victim was laying on a pool of their own blood, the musician nowhere in sight"
 

In-Game User Interface

Attached below is an in-game screenshot with doodles on what would theoretically be placed on screen if we view the game from the point of view of a player who had the Melodic Blade Pipa equipped.

Note Combos

To better visualize the "Note Combos" described in the original details posted on the Reddit post, embedded below is a Youtube video showcasing how the mechanic works in the game "Monster Hunter World"."Note Combos" for the Melodic Blade Pipa work by combining a number of attacks in a combo, resulting in different stat boosts. The combo will be composed of 3 "notes" and will be shown at the middle portion of the screen, above the health bar. The buffs or debuffs will not automatically be given as soon as the combos have been made, thus, the Melodic Blade Pipa users are free to attack the opponent as they wish. The stat buff or debuff only applies when they use their Special Skill (~) or their Weapon Skill (Q).The following are sample stat combos for the Melodic Blade Pipa:
 
    Attack: light + light + heavy
    Defense: heavy + heavy + heavy
    Speed: light + light + light
    Health Regen: heavy + heavy + light

Images were sourced from either personal sketch attempts, scribbles, and Image Gen. Most images, especially those in the style of the game, have been generated using Google's NanoBanana. Images were further edited using Canva.

AI image generation software, namely NanoBanana, is used in this instance for the visualization of a concept only. It has been utilized as a tool and is not meant to undermine any actual artists in any shape or manner.

Music is from Stephen Chow's "Kung Fu Hustle" Soundtrack. The original composer/artist of the track titled "Blade of Gu Qin" is Raymond Wong. The audio was uploaded on Soundcloud by user Jargon.

The embedded video on the use of the hunting horn in Monster Hunter was uploaded by the channel Doodles. The video is embedded, thus, views will still reflect on the actual video if viewed by website audience.