I know they say fisherman are the front line attackers and typically strongest fighters. However, you look at Enryu who was a spear bearer or Eduan and you have to question this logic at least a little bit.
If you were to climb the tower, what position (non-special) would you like to have?
And if it was truly a battle of the best at one position versus the best at another, which position do you think should win?
(I am thinking Spear Bearer because the sniping from a distance can decimate an army before they get close)
- Fisherman (Urek, Zahard, Yuri, Andori, Enne, Luslec)
- Spear Bearer. (Eduan, Enryu)
- Scout
- Light Bearer
- Wave Controller (Gustang, YHS, Baek, Eurasia, Baam)
I would argue the position comparison between heads and strong enough high rankers is not all that relevant to begin with. SIU has made the point that regardles of their positions all heads and even urek can perform in any position extremely well (phrasing). And when looking at a bunch of people in different positions it is fairly clear there can be some serious overlap between them, specially once regulars start getting stronger and learn new techniques. And way too much of this ultimately depends on factors beyond what position you are in.
Take ran. The guy is a fisherman but his actual skillset is clearly that of a spear bearer. He literally throws lightning spears at anyone he can. And then he fights other fisherman, like anak, and bests them even though her skillset was clearly that of a fisherman. In short a fisherman with spear bearer skills can best a fisherman with fisherman skills...
To add to that, the scout is an insanely offensive position. It's someone that even has to deal with the enemy alone considering how teams are structured. Given the sheer risk of being a scout I would argue a scout in most cases needs offensive capability at least comparable to a fisherman. Unless the guy in question is so insanely fast that fighting is not a necessity. And the only case we have seen approaching that is dan... But take hatz, he is a scout but is capable of holding his ground against even a princess.... hatz is probably more of a typical example of what a scout is like. Even if his strength is exceptional for a regular like him. Still, the requirements for scout seem to be virtually the same as for a fisherman in the end, at least offensively and physically. The equipment might vary though.
Wave controller is a position which we simply have not been properly explained yet. The closest thing I assume we have seen to what a wave controller actually is is young YHS when he used his abilities to enhance other shinsoo attacks. Bam is a wave controller but given how he usually fights he is more like a fisherman. He is capable of close range combat and can vastly enhance his own physical strength and endurance with shinsoo even if he doesn't naturally have the strength of other members of the 10 families. And then, shinsoo manipulation naturally leads to long range combat using bangs and other techniques. Which sounds awefully similar to what a spear bearer does.
Remember what the strongest 2 man team in the tower is? Wave controller and light bearer. Because a light bearer can help aim bangs from a distance. How is that much different from a spear bearer and light bearer combo? If its because of the amount of bangs then the only reason for the spear bearer position to exist is that any asshole can be a spear bearer but not any asshole can be a wave controller. Defender and spear bearer is supposed to be a good combination but defender and wave controller would appear to be about as good or better overall.
Another fun case, androsi: She is a fisherman whose only weapon is a needle. When she is not using a needle she definitely feels like a fisherman though.
Another moment to consider: Karaka vs yuri. We saw yuri and karaka fight and that was a gigantic fuck you to the floor as a whole and everything was turned into barren wasteland through explosions. How much of a thing can range be in this case if just the collateral is that big? In what scenario does range become a thing here? The only way a spear bearer would be necessary here is that the norm is for a spear bearer to fight literally hundreds and perhaps thousands of km away....
the only known position which is ultimately consistently different from all of the others is light bearer. Because it specifically requires the user to use lighthouses. Unlike fisherman who end up using virtually any weapon they want, spear bearers who rarely have spears with them... Scouts have observers of course but in turn we have evidence that scouts can work fine without observers because they can learn to do the stuff observers do. Basically observers are crutches for limited scouts at best. And since a scout needs to have fighting capacity comparable to a fisherman to begin with they can basically use any weapon they want anyways.
So in short, all positions except light bearers are bullshit. SIU for all of his merits has failed in actually showing how spear bearers, fisherman and scouts significantly differ from one another so as to justify the positions existence. Wave controllers remain an unknown so the position may or not mesh into the others. Light bearer is basically the only position with a clearly defined function and scope.
Now, going by how the series has described the positions rather than by how they have been portrayed, I would prefer spear bearer or wave controller. Light bearer seems like too much of a responsibility since you are the one telling everyone what to do and keeping them alive. Spear bearer or wave controller are nice tactical positions which deal with support. Wave controller would probably be the cooler one between the two for versatilities sake.
