The Magical Orders of Azeroth and their relative strengths

[Mace]

So, I've been thinking about the different magical societies of the mortal (playable) races of Azeroth and trying to see how they fit together, wanting to understand why what you expect doesn't always happen, like the kitin'tor leading in some areas where you would expect one of the elven orders, or why the highborne seemed so pathetic for the night elves when they were introduced.

Sometimes we can be quick to blame sloppy writing because it doesn't fit our desires (or head canon more harshly) and that sometimes is perhaps an indication of laziness - that deeper investigation might reveal a logic tot his than immediately meets the eye. I've noticed blizzard tend to be like that, it may not come across straight awya because it is not outright stated but there is a lot of logic to everything that happens and the deeper you delve into it , the more sense it makes and you realize perhaps you were the one being sloppy, not they, and the clues are all there, you just have to find them.

Magical Orders:

Kirin-Tor (active)
Order of the Tirisfal/Guardian (defunct)
The High Elves/Blood Elves (in-recovery)
The Highborne/Nightborne (in-flux)

These are the 4 main magical bodies that I can think of in the wow universe, the rest are either too small or just not powerful enough. The draenei may have some incredibly knoweldgable mages, but their people group are not really focused on magecraft seeming to excell more at Priesthood, Paladins, Shamanism and Jewelcraft/Crystal specialsts and technologists.


I think I understand why the Kirin'Tor is the most powerful or rather most effective magical body atm - it's because it has benfitted from the best of Dragon and human mage craft as well as High Elven. 2 of the most prolific dragon spell casters - Krasus and Kalecgos have inputed into thhe Kirin'tor allowing a huge amount of kowedge to accumulate.

The order of the TIrisfallen got folded into the Guardian and Karazhan - altho only 1 person was properly instructed there, the guardians seem to inherit not just the power passed down by the mages but the knoweldge also, as some of those mages were high elven and ggiven the threat of demons, these would not have been low grade ones, one can imagine what they accumulated in the centuries sicnce their forming. Didn't Aegwyn find refuge in Karazhan - it seems to ahve a library that rivals the Kirin'tor, and hosted the most powerful mage in the known world.

The high elves/blood elves - use to be an incredible body of their own, whiles they would send and often have students of magic like Priince KKael'thas go to study at a place like the Kirin'tor highlighting, the masters of magic and brightest schoalrs of their race, the ones centuries old would be at the royal court or the High elven council of mages at Queldanas in teh SUnwell, lead by King Anasterian Sunstrider - thankst o the betryal of Darkhan though, they suffered significant losses to this order, and though the blood elves have risen up from this, where I would have siad pre 3rd war the high elven order surpassed the Kirin'tor, or at least measured to it - post 3rd war, it finds itself weaker. Remember the High elves were not just a city nation of wizards, these were millennia old magical society - their output befor etheir fall would have been more.

The highborne/nightborne - in some ways, the highborne of hte shend'relar would have been the most knoweldgeable, still of the era of magecraft that produced wonders and a civilization unparalleled, they were (until Suramar) the only group to have continued from that age, even the high elves had a 3,000 year gap when they were part of the Vigil society and magical usage was banned, before gettign exiled and having nothing of the past but what was in their heads, had to build anew. Not so the Shend'relar - bthat city was where the Queen's most powerful projects were processed in secret - what Illidan and Kael'thas botch up in fel energy usage, they mastered 10k years ago in trapping Imol'thar and funnelling it's power - and we see they didn't develop fel mutations by it, which speaks to the pedigree of their skill. But, the demon corrupted them, by the time we meet them, Eldre'thalas has fallen to ruin, and they're just really hooked on magic, most of the city , it's power , it's knowlege in ruins, they maintain a small libarayr. A few uncorrupted highborne escape - but we find out that their knoweldge is rather outdated compared to what the blood elves know. I've thought a lot about this and concluded this must be because they went stale when their city started falling to ruins, furthermore being scholars and a small city, in isolation they would not have been developed in some key areas, particualrly magical combat- not having to fight wars etc... As for their reserach, it would have stalled with their problems and their addiction.

However, since the introduction of the nightborne - we see what teh Shend'relar and the night elves could have been - and here we see a soceity that did not fall to lusts or recklessness and addictions - they continued advancing from where they were 10k years, making them the most advanced magical society on Azeroth - having a huge city, and the resources of a well too, - being in isoalation would be limited, but they are the true zenith point of the highborne and night elven peoples.


But how do they compare with the others? Well we know blue dragons use to enquire and ponder the msyteries of magic with the night elves in Narth'alas and Suramar before the fall. so they have a lot of knoweldge, the blue dragons also go into isolation for 10k years, which is why the night elves of the vigil did not discover they were erroneous concering magic, while Karasus has been with the Kirn'tor for a long time, Kalegcgos is only been involved recently - so the advantage of the dargons to the kirin'tor might not be able to offset the capability of the nightborne. We note taht amongst the highborne - whehter Shendrelar, nightborne, moonguard, or Court of Farondis - mmagic is good, the moonguard though overwhelmed by the legion aligned portion of teh nightborne seem to be more competent and skilled with magic than they - but then the moonguard are combat specialists that had bene going on for 10k years albeit without hte resurces the nightborne had. The order is lost, but the survivors are helped by the nightborne resistance and team up with Thalyssra who takes them and other night elves under her wing in their efforts to defeat Elisande.

Many Eldre'thalas and night elven knowledge thought lost were been sold off by the shen'drelar zealots, that knowledge is likely gathered by the Kirin'tor - however much of the nightborne knowledge will remain unique to that group, the highborne/nightborne would not be privvy to the advancements of either the blood elves nor the Kirin'tor as they would not be privvy generally to much of their knowledge they would have, don't forget the night elven group have had 10k years to advance their knowledge and though the shend'relar fell to decadence and ruin, neither the Moonguard, nor the Nightborne, did.

So there you go - the magical orders of Kalimdor. At the moment as of Legion it looks like it will be 3 main ones

Kirin-tor (Order of Tirisfal & Guardian folded in) - neutral body avilable to all raes
Blood elves (majority of the former High Elf group in here too) - They continue to build up and flow up
Nightborne (Moonguard, Highborne, mage night elves folded into this) - provided Elisande and Gul'dan defeated by Thalyssra's nightborne resistance and the allied force of heroes) this should be the 3rd major magical order - and would be the oldest of the 3 too).

The Kirin'tor now has it's knowledge combined with that of the Order of Tirisfal - but both the Blood elven and Nightborne/Highborne orders are far older and well, still have intact knowledge.

[steelballfc]

the Kirin tor are the Highest on the scale, not because only the knowledge but also because the human doesn't care about the consequences of using Magic, despite the fact that high elf's warned the Humans more than one time that there is some magic you must not learn, like fel-magic for example. but the humans doesn't care about the Right way of using magic
-we can see it in the comic as why the "Guardian" was created because the human Mage Summon a Demon in Dalaran that they couldn't control.
-in in-game book Antonidos Explain that his student was practicing the art of Necromancy despite the law of the city forbidding such magic to be learned.
you must be aware that Elf's are afraid to use magic to Maximum level so they don't turn into non-living Creature who feed on magic power, or the magic user destroy his surroundings like Azshara Did.

[Selastan]

Not sure how you rank the power of the Council of Tirisfal, but if you do count them they should be at the top. Hell, Medivh alone has more power than the current Kirin Tor.

[steelballfc]

Not sure how you rank the power of the Council of Tirisfal, but if you do count them they should be at the top. Hell, Medivh alone has more power than the current Kirin Tor.

Medivh was Empowered by the Kirin tor
as who ever have the "Guardian" title is empowered by other Mage

[Selastan]

Medivh was Empowered by the Kirin tor
as who ever have the "Guardian" title is empowered by other Mage

By the Council, not the Kirin Tor. The Council was roughly the equivalent of the Kirin Tor, and Medivh has dozens of generations of that power at his disposal. If you think about everything every Azerothian mage has done, floating cities, bending time, breaking the laws of the universe, the amount of power that they have, and imagine hundreds or even thousands of the very bestof them in one body. Das scary. Medivh should be about at the level of a weak Titan, unless the Guardian power has a cap somewhere.

[steelballfc]

By the Council, not the Kirin Tor. The Council was roughly the equivalent of the Kirin Tor, and Medivh has dozens of generations of that power at his disposal. If you think about everything every Azerothian mage has done, floating cities, bending time, breaking the laws of the universe, the amount of power that they have, and imagine hundreds or even thousands of the very bestof them in one body. Das scary. Medivh should be about at the level of a weak Titan, unless the Guardian power has a cap somewhere.

or the "Weak Titan" is far more powerful than we think
we can say that Medivh could defeat 3 avatar of Sargeras

[Selastan]

or the "Weak Titan" is far more powerful than we think
we can say that Medivh could defeat 3 avatar of Sargeras

He could take about 100 of them if he had the presence of mind to just fling the chunk of land they are floating on into the sun.

[steelballfc]

He could take about 100 of them if he had the presence of mind to just fling the chunk of land they are floating on into the sun.

Medivh Mother was So Powerful Mage, even so she couldn't defeat the Avatar without the help of Dragon to fight it.
Medivh is powerful than his mother " less than Azshara" so he could defeat one Avatar Easily

[Selastan]

Medivh Mother was So Powerful Mage, even so she couldn't defeat the Avatar without the help of Dragon to fight it.
Medivh is powerful than his mother " less than Azshara" so he could defeat one Avatar Easily

Honestly, I think Alodi (The first Guardian) already surpassed Azshara. Or was at least on her level. Multiply that by the Guardians that came after him (her in the movieverse) and you got Medivh. Oh, and add in his natural magic ability and whatever powers he gained over his two lifetimes.

[steelballfc]

Honestly, I think Alodi (The first Guardian) already surpassed Azshara. Or was at least on her level. Multiply that by the Guardians that came after him (her in the movieverse) and you got Medivh. Oh, and add in his natural magic ability and whatever powers he gained over his two lifetimes.

Why
Alodi " in the comic " couldn't defeat a Dreadlord Single-handed
how come he can come even Near Azshara level

[Selastan]

Why
Alodi " in the comic " couldn't defeat a Dreadlord Single-handed
how come he can come even Near Azshara level

He hadn't become used to the power, didn't have Ebonchill, and by the time he retired he had been empowered by at least a few more very powerful magi.

[Lillyth]

You people are giving me such a headache.

Hope you'll learn a bit about the lore with Legion at least.

[steelballfc]

He hadn't become used to the power, didn't have Ebonchill, and by the time he retired he had been empowered by at least a few more very powerful magi.

Those Powerful magi had enough power to stop one Dreadlord
just one

[DemonHunter18]

what did Azshara do??? I don't remember seeing Azshara doing anything impressive.

[Nathreim]

Medivh was Empowered by the Kirin tor
as who ever have the "Guardian" title is empowered by other Mage

Medivh was empowered by his mother to spite the Council of Trisfal. The Council had not been empowering Guardians for a long time it had been Guardian to Guradian using the Forge of the Guardians for many centuries.

Since most Guardians after Alodi outlived the mages that empowered them the power would not be returned to the previous owner thus Guardians became more and more powerful over the centuries until you had Medivh who even Deathwing feared.

[Selastan]

Those Powerful magi had enough power to stop one Dreadlord
just one

And? Dreadlords aren't to be messed with. Not to mention these were just the first generation of the council. And as I said before, Alodi didn't know how to use the power properly at this point. The Council grew in strength, as did Alodi, and too did the skill of the Guardians. The Alodi we saw in the comics was the equivalent of Namek Saga Goku. Alodi by retirement is Cell Saga Goku. Medivh is Dragon Ball Super Goku. (Not a direct comparison! Just similar jumps in power)

what did Azshara do??? I don't remember seeing Azshara doing anything impressive.

She was stated to be between Mannoroth and Archimonde in strength.

[DemonHunter18]

I only remember being stronger than Mannoroth and nowhere near Archimonde.

[steelballfc]

what did Azshara do??? I don't remember seeing Azshara doing anything impressive.

in WOTA Novel Mannaroth Him self acknowledge her power that was near his master Archimonde

- - - Updated - - -

I only remember being stronger than Mannoroth and nowhere near Archimonde.

even if she was not Near Archimonde Power back then in WOTA, now she is even more powerful with N'zoth Empowering her

[Selastan]

The exact quote from Mannoroth is that "only his lord Archimonde surpassed her"

[DemonHunter18]

in WOTA Novel Mannaroth Him self acknowledge her power that was near his master Archimonde

that was never stated.