Arachnos vs Longbow vs IDF vs Vanguard

So which standing army would win in a 2-way, all-out war? Lore and game mechanics are both valid to consider.

Arachnos vs Longbow:
Game mechanics wise, I think Castle a long time back said that in a large engagement Longbow tends to win. I don't remember specifically why, but I think stacking Leadership buffs might have something to do with it.

Lore wise I think Arachnos is actually the stronger of the two armies, especially on an individual unit basis. Consider the raw power of Bane Spiders (especially the Executioners) and Night Widows, for example. But, the infighting represents what is probably a major drain on resources. And Lord Recluse hasn't pulled the trigger on a full invasion of Paragon City. Could it be he suspects, or even knows, that Arachnos cannot win such a war?

So Longbow wins, here.

Longbow vs Imperial Defense Force:
So Longbow has large-scale synergy, but is it enough to overcome the IDF? The IDF, again is much more powerful on an individual unit basis than Longbow, even moreso than Arachnos. The IDF is easily more powerful than the spiders overall. Mechanics wise, I think they probably have Longbow beat, but I don't know, I only suspect.

As for lore, I think even though to IDF is so very powerful, they have a serious manpower problem (see: Devouring Earth/Hamidon ). Even Arachnos with its infighting could probably overwhelm them with numbers. The IDF is like Vanguard in this respect: very powerful units, but with an inability to field enough of them compared to the other forces.

This one I think is a stalemate. The IDF is more powerful, but Longbow can throw the kinds of numbers at them even they'd find hard to deal with.

Vanguard vs. IDF:
This would be an interesting war. Two armies, smaller than everyone else's, but with the most powerful units. IDF can probably field somewhat more units than Vanguard, as Vanguard is famously starved for manpower (so much so they take help from anyone who is willing with an open door recruiting policy).

This is a close one, but I think the IDF would have the right combination of power and numbers to overcome Vanguard.

WARNING: I bold names.

If you're going by the lore, then the IDF has to be the most powerful, because that's a key part of the GR and Incarnate storyline - the Resistance and Primal Erath need to join forces to stand a chance against them.
The current situation in I19 has Heroes, Villains, Longbow, Arachnos, Vanguard and the Resistance vs the IDF, and it's shown as an evenly matched fight.

I look at them from a practical standpoint (essentially, lore and sensibility only, actual gameplay aside). Here's how I would rank them, in order.

IDF/Arachnos—Tied
Vanguard
Longbow

Here's why, and I'll explain in order of rank.

IDF:

The IDF is a bastion of organization, raw power and advanced armor. All of their weapons are built in to their suits, and they also have the War Walkers and Olympian Guard to throw around. The only downside is, the IDF may have much less resources to tap should an all-out war start. Since I haven't played the new TFs yet, I can't say if any of this superior tech is affected by EMP, so I'm going to assume it is. While the IDF do have the upper hand in technological offense, they fall short in...

Arachnos:

... imagination when it comes to their troops. Arachnos has no qualms about messily blurring the line between human and machine. The Tarantulas are the pinnacle of Arachnos' dedication to creating the perfect army. While the IDF has the seer system to command their troops, Arachnos already has the tightly-wound Mind Web among the entirety of it's troops, not just the Fortunatas. The Bane Spider branch of Arachnos is also one of the sturdiest, hardest-hitting, intelligent groups in the game according to Lore. Their tactics can change on the fly thanks to their mental link, and all cloaking devices used are usually psychic in nature (with the exception of lower-rank Banes, if I remember correctly). Arachnos also has the benefit of dual-purpose weaponry; any Mace issued to a Spider soldier is both a bludgeon and a blaster that (seemingly) requires no rechargeable power source, eliminating the need for ammo. Should that power source run out, you still have the mace itself to knock people silly. Then, there are the Crab Spiders which are essentially walking artillery platforms, who also have their own form of melee-ranged combo weapons in their backpacks.

Vanguard:

The Vanguard fall below the IDF and Arachnos because they are simply spread too thin. Should they find themselves faced with any other faction, they are then torn between Rikti attacks and their new foe. They fall further due to Arachnos having a very clear partnership with the Rikti, and should those two factions team up it could spell the end for the Vanguard. While their weapons are powerful, their armor impenetrable and their forces large, they would not last long should another war present itself to them.

Longbow:

Longbow places at the bottom of this list for me for several reasons. First, Longbow's minion-class enemies seem to be nothing more than physically-fit trainees who've been handed a neoprene suit and a large caliber weapon. Their next rank up would be useless without their guns (Nullifiers) due to wearing the same neoprene suit, and the only real power and leadership comes from the Officers and Ballistas. Ballistas are the biggest threat Longbow can throw around without calling for any of the signature heroes to back them up. Longbow's greatest strength is numbers, since they have a limitless supply of spandex-clad lackeys to hurl into combat. It feels like their motto is "you can kill it if you have enough gatling guns, flamethrowers and grenade launchers" which doesn't hold too steady in the comic world.

My 2¢.

Pffttt... IDF would own all because they have Zohan Dvir

see i have to agree with daemo that one handicap that people keep forgetting is that arachnos is plagued with infighting. contrary to what crap writers would tell you, that makes an army really really weak. that kind of undercuts their effectiveness versus the more organized longbow, vanguard and idf.

Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.

So, anyone set this up in AE yet? All you need a nice large map with multiple Battle spawn points. Hop on in test mode as invisible/invulnerable and see what the outcome is of these fights!

I am not a military man myself but I would think CoX does not give Earth's military a fraction of credit when it comes to contingency plans. When they first opened the portal to nazi Earth for the first time, I would suspect the world governments would know what right off what they were in for and/or should prepare for. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PPce...eature=related.
I do not care what armor you have, you get hit with this, your done.
And since they have their faces exposed. Imagine getting hit in the jaw by one of these guns.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNW3E...eature=related

The my point is, get the IDF against a unified military from around the world, with strong weapons to back them up,you will alot of Praetorian's running for cover or home to Tyrant crying like little girls.

If the IDF would be such a pushover why did the Rikti curbstomp the planet? Or why is there still an ongoing battle? Just rip them up with chain guns!

I'd put the IDF on top, both numbers and power-wise. (although they're further augmented by Cole's control of the Well of Furies) they have an entire (if destroyed) world to draw recruits from (and while there's the resistance, resistance seems to mainly be a problem for the PPD, not the IDF) they have multiple supers, including a draft system for them (although Powers Division is probably at least a bit unreliable, to say the least ) they have pretty much endless legions of Clokwork (who remember, are *workers*) and WarWorks-type stuff.

The IDF is a threat big enough to make Arachnos, Longbow AND Vanguard work together. (Tin Mage TF) if reluctantly.

Of the Primal Earth based forces I'd put Arachnos on top: Numbers, Science!, large amount of supervillains and an entire nation backing them up. Sure, the Wolf Spiders aren't that hot, but they have a wide variety of troops as well as supervillains they can call on.

Vanguard is a bit of an interesting case, their dedicated troops are busy fighting the Rikti (and other extradimensional threats I suppose) and they're VERY dangerous, but their primary strength seems to be their semi-official status and "neutrality", they recruit anyone and when they call for a conference even Recluse listens.

I'd put Longbow at the bottom, they're NOT the US (who is busy occupying the Shadow Shard for god knows what reason) while they seem to have a better "high-level" leadership their foot soldiers aren't as good as Arachnos' ones (at least not after you get past the Wolf Spiders and into Bane/Crab territory)

5th Column and Council are trickier, they seem to be about equal in strength (I suppose what side Requiem feels like being on this day is what would decide the fight ) I'd put them at the same level as Longbow, roughly. Although both of them have alternate worlds whose resources they can call upon occasionally.

I think our modern tech would be next to useless against the IDF.

My blaster can to more damage than that mini gun easily. I punch a car and it blows up... that guy's entire minigun only did about half as much damage as my fist...

I'd expect a minigun's bullets would just ricochet off of most of the IDFs armour.

Minigun vs. superhero: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLN3dPMyXeg

Yes, it's Supertwink, er, Superman. However, in the world of City of, Supertwink is an Invulnerability/Super Strength Tanker. There are dozens if not hundreds of similar characters running around the streets of Paragon City or the Rogue Isles every day. Why did the armies fall to the Rikti? They thought they could use bullets against super-riktihumans.

I like to think that (Issue 1 of City of Heroes Vol. 2) Recluse's little trick did not return heroes back to their original power levels. To me I think it gives a good explanation for an old conversation which I will not say(The great Nerf), and thus we are no where near the level of Superman.