This question came to my mind during a discussion in the realm forums. How powerful are average magic users like shamans, mages or priests? We're not talking about the big superheroes meaning we're not talking about people like Jaina, Thrall, Anduin etc. We are talking about the average guys.
A few points I'd like to make before we start:
- In the "Terror of Darkshore" cinematic, the orc warrior tells Nathanos that a single night elf couldn't have ambushed a caravan (of 4 people) on his own.
- In the BfA-cinematic we actually see a handful of night elf mages and a troll shaman. And while they do some damage, they don't turn around the entire battle and most fighting is still done by average footmen and grunts.
- If we want to use Warcraft 3 as a reference: Every faction had magical units for example priests, sorceress, druid of the talon/claw, necromancer and shamans. However none of them was a walking army, and they all needed support. Same with the heroes: While a level 10 mountan king could kick some serious !@#, he still couldn't win a game on his own.
So, really: How powerful is the average mage/priest/shaman/paladin etc.?
Lorewise magic users, especially mages and warlocks are much more powerful than your average warrior.
I -think- mages on average are more powerful than overall shamans too just because the magic is rather primitive compared to mages but Iâm not 100% sure on that.
As much as racials are an in game mechanic Iâm sure that races and class combos do play a part in power. For example I expect a nightborne mage (not just because of age etc) would be more powerful than a human/gnome mage etc. As they have a natural affinity to magic. Iâd much rather go against an average human mage rather than an average nightborne mage.
EDIT - I donât have much knowledge on the subject especially in relation to druids and paladins so take what I say with a pinch of salt.
The question you ask is incredibly difficult and subjective, each person will no doubt give a slightly different response
I -think- mages on average are more powerful than overall shamans too just because the magic is rather primitive compared to mages but Iâm not 100% sure on that.
As much as racials are an in game mechanic Iâm sure that races and class combos do play a part in power. For example I expect a nightborne mage (not just because of age etc) would be more powerful than a human/gnome mage etc. As they have a natural affinity to magic. Iâd much rather go against an average human mage rather than an average nightborne mage.
EDIT - I donât have much knowledge on the subject especially in relation to druids and paladins so take what I say with a pinch of salt.
The question you ask is incredibly difficult and subjective, each person will no doubt give a slightly different response
Well a handful of mages were able to easily turn the tide of a troll army chronicles makes it out like they devastated the forces.
Its once again inconstant writing for wows lore.
Its once again inconstant writing for wows lore.
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15/11/2018 10:20Posted by KoradanWell a handful of mages were able to easily turn the tide of a troll army chronicles makes it out like they devastated the forces.
Its once again inconstant writing for wows lore.
That is not uncommon, neither inconsistent.
In the War of the Ancients, Illidan was able to unleash extremely powerful spells with the help of the Moonguard and the powers of the Well. Malfurion did the same, without any external help (except the forces of Nature). Drek'thar was able to make an entire mountain pass unusable.
There are many, many ways that have influence on the power of the Mage and his spells. How much time does he have to prepare them? Does he have any help from others? Where does he get his power from?
When mages have help and some time to prepare their spells, they can unleash very powerful spells. A group of a few Druids will be able to do what Malfurion did during the War of the Ancients. A small group of Mages can produce powerful spells like Illidan did if they co-ordinate their efforts well and draw their power from a source. As long as they have the time to prepare themselves, they can be very powerful.
I remember a thread about this some time ago, all classes were rated from weak to strong according to âaverageâ beings.
I remember the Warlock being 1st, mage 2nd and Shaman/Druid 3rd. This was all due to the very nature that Fel should be the more easy to get good power if you sacrifice everything around you. Mages require time and learning, but their control over time and elemental spells ( without asking for permission) came 2nd.
I know its easy to blame Blizzard for this, but imagine how hard it is to write meaningful lore with people like Malfurion, Gulâdan and Khadgar in it. They should one-shot everyone in the world lorewise, and yet we want all classes to feel relevant. Its a tough balance.
I remember the Warlock being 1st, mage 2nd and Shaman/Druid 3rd. This was all due to the very nature that Fel should be the more easy to get good power if you sacrifice everything around you. Mages require time and learning, but their control over time and elemental spells ( without asking for permission) came 2nd.
I know its easy to blame Blizzard for this, but imagine how hard it is to write meaningful lore with people like Malfurion, Gulâdan and Khadgar in it. They should one-shot everyone in the world lorewise, and yet we want all classes to feel relevant. Its a tough balance.
Hmmm depending on the Lore, mages were really strong, at least the advanced ones.
4 Archmages were able to shield a whole city against an Undead invasion, and only failed because the Undeads had a Lich with them (also a magic user).
A Few Kirin Tor mages were able to lift a whole city up the ground, teleport it to a different continent and keep it levitating.
Thrall was able to level a whole fortress in "Lord of the Clans" with his Shamanistic powers.
And in the Lore the possibility of how strong a Druid can be are nearly endless, depending on his bond with Nature...
4 Archmages were able to shield a whole city against an Undead invasion, and only failed because the Undeads had a Lich with them (also a magic user).
A Few Kirin Tor mages were able to lift a whole city up the ground, teleport it to a different continent and keep it levitating.
Thrall was able to level a whole fortress in "Lord of the Clans" with his Shamanistic powers.
And in the Lore the possibility of how strong a Druid can be are nearly endless, depending on his bond with Nature...
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You have to remember that gameplay is not lore.
We have limitations in gameplay to make us balanced, when in reality, some classes would just wipe the floor with everyone around them if they were at their actual powerlevel. Specs are a gameplay limitation, as are talents and our magical armor etc.
In reality, in pure power, a Warlock would most likely be on top, but easily killable if you got close, where a Death Knight, being less in magical attacks, have unbreakable armor from both physical and magical attacks, does not feel pain, does not get tired and does not need to eat or drink.
The average Death Knight is more dangerous than any other average class, simply because they are so difficult to kill. In terms of power, they fall behind, but they don't need it when they are so difficult to kill.
Every other class will eventually get tired or worn down, but you can't do that with Death Knights, and combined with their Saronite Armor, that covers them from head to toe, you are in for a world of pain if you are on the receiving end of their wrath.
(I could continue listing things that makes them dangerous, but I'd turn this into a wall of text doing so)
But I am sure there are those out there who disagrees with me =)
We have limitations in gameplay to make us balanced, when in reality, some classes would just wipe the floor with everyone around them if they were at their actual powerlevel. Specs are a gameplay limitation, as are talents and our magical armor etc.
In reality, in pure power, a Warlock would most likely be on top, but easily killable if you got close, where a Death Knight, being less in magical attacks, have unbreakable armor from both physical and magical attacks, does not feel pain, does not get tired and does not need to eat or drink.
The average Death Knight is more dangerous than any other average class, simply because they are so difficult to kill. In terms of power, they fall behind, but they don't need it when they are so difficult to kill.
Every other class will eventually get tired or worn down, but you can't do that with Death Knights, and combined with their Saronite Armor, that covers them from head to toe, you are in for a world of pain if you are on the receiving end of their wrath.
(I could continue listing things that makes them dangerous, but I'd turn this into a wall of text doing so)
But I am sure there are those out there who disagrees with me =)
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I totally forgot about this thread. But, I will pull it up again regardless.
Like Theronarum already said the human mages had days to prepare their magic and the entire fighting of the human army only served the purpose to buy them more time. So, obviously if they can prepare well their spells will be more powerful and devastating.
I am talking about the average run-of-the-mill spellcasters though. And these guys are seemingly not capable of completely one-shotting anyone and everyone. Otherwise battles like Lordaeron wouldnât happen because mages would simply destroy the gathered armies.
Except paladins. Itâs mentioned in âRise of the Lich Kingâ that Arthas felt refreshed after fighting some undead as the Light empowered him.
But, again and maybe to clarify: I personally still believe that an average magic users is vastly overestimated in what they can do. Otherwise regular armies with grunts and footmen wouldnât exist if a single mage could wipe out hundreds of soldiers.
But if thatâs the case why wouldnât a normal night elf druid who must have known the route the horde supplyâs were coming through not be well prepared and strong enough to deal with what 4 or 5 horde?
I think that the inconstancy here if mages can be devastating with enough time why cant a single druid?