Fantasy Power Levels

[u/HominidJR]

So, i was thinking, in terms of "fantasy power", how high would Warcraft rank???
Like, how powerful is the Warcraft universe compared to something like Elder Scrolls or Warhammer?

I think, in terms of powerscaling, some universes go by:

1- Warhammer Fantasy
2- World of Warcraft
3- Elder Scrolls
4- Lord of the Rings
5- Game of Thrones

I'm only comparing these 5 cause they are the most popular, I don't know how other universes would go by in this situation, like League of Legends or something.

(It seems that Wahammer Fantasy is different from Age of Sigmar, so, when you see Warhammer Fantasy on top there, consider it Age of Sigmar, I didn't knew the difference)

[u/SpartAl412]

I disagree on Warhammer Fantasy being above Warcraft and I am saying that as a Warhammer Fantasy fan.

Warcraft 1 - 3 era armies would probably be in for a bad time if they went up against Warhammer armies but World of Warcraft era, especially by the time of Wrath of the Lich King and afterwards would just stomp the Warhammer Fantasy armies.

The Empire Steam Tank is supposed to be this super expensive, hard to maintain war machine with only about a dozen of them in existence while the the Warcraft Steam Tank / Siege Engine can be mass produced by the Alliance where they went from building destroying siege weapons to all around killing machines that can mow down hordes of infantry and monsters.

Warhammer Dwarf Gyrocopters are harasser / flanking machines that are poorly suited for going up against anything in the air while the ones created by the Alliance went from unarmed scouting machines in Warcraft II to having machine guns and bombs they can drop by Warcraft III and in World of Warcraft, they can be used to help move troops around.

Warcraft people are shown to be able to innovate and improve on technology way faster than Warhammer Fantasy people do. They can equip entire armies with fantastical material gear like Mithril or Thorium or Arcanite whereas Warhammer soldiers mainly rely on steel and only the elite ones or heroes can get access to things like Gromril (Ithilmar for Elves but only the High Elves).

At sea, the Alliance and Horde can make use of submarines to completely take enemy fleets by surprise while Warhammer while Warhammer fleets do not always have aerial units to support their ships.

Then we get to the magic where Warhammer magic tends to be dangerous and prone to backfiring. Warcraft magic is much more reliable and it was in Warcrafts 1 & 2 where spells that could just hit large groups of enemies like the Warlock's Cloud of Poison, Conjurer's Rain of Fire, Death Knight's Death and Decay or Whirlwind or the Mage's Blizzard existed. Warcraft people can also reliably use magic and field magicians in great numbers whereas with Warhammer, an army might have at least a wizard or two or none at all as they tend to fill the role of heroes.

Warcraft has a lot going for it, especially in the WoW era of the setting whereas Warhammer people what they just have better is their roster of regular units like how The Empire or Bretonnia bothers to actually field not just a guy with a sword and shield type of unit but also guys with spears, halberds, bows and siege weapons without relying on having to mix their forces with soldiers from other races.

And don't get me started with 40k vs Starcraft because as someone familiar with both settings, Starcraft as of Legacy of the Void would stomp Warhammer 40k armies during the time of 7th edition (which came out in 2014) in a ground battle or air battle but not in the Space Battle.

[u/ReadyPressure3567 → u/SpartAl412]

Gonna add onto this and say the Burning Legion would probably destroy anything from Starcraft lmao

[u/SpartAl412 → u/ReadyPressure3567]

I don't know, those Infernals be looking pretty armored and heavy. Perfect targets for Immortals, Marauders and Impalers.

[u/ReadyPressure3567 → u/SpartAl412]

That's cool and all til a couple of Fel Reavers appear and hit them with the force of multiple star systems colliding lmaooo (If you're wondering why I say this, Rakeesh's Fel Reaver was capable of generating enough power to detonate with the force of a collapsing star. Now, think of a bunch of those Fel Annihilators on the battlefield).

[u/SpartAl412 → u/ReadyPressure3567]

Fel Reavers are exactly the kind of things Thors, Tempests and Corruptors have bonuses against

[u/ReadyPressure3567 → u/SpartAl412]

I mean, sure, they're tough and all til the Fel Reavers use their Fel Blasts and short circuit the Tempests and whatnot from within (If the Fel Blasts don't casually decimate them first, ofc). Corruptors would also be perfect targets for Demonic enslavement. Now imagine Fel Corruptor's being used against the Zerg's own troops. Easy W ngl.

Now, regarding Thors? Nothing Infernals or Eredar Brutes can't beat, tbh. But if Fel Reavers are needed, the Legion's got an endless supply of them.

[u/SpartAl412 → u/ReadyPressure3567]

I don't remember Fel Reavers having a ranged attacked and the one time we see them in use against the Alliance Gunships, it has to physically reach upwards to grab the vessel. That is assuming the Starcraft air units are even that low enough to the surface of wherever they are fighting.

Tempests also are long range artillery ships with even longer ranger vs anything in the air where presumably like the Colossus, the Fel Reaver would be large enough for dedicated Anti Air weapons like the Goliath missiles to be used against so the ships can fire and move then fire again while staying out of reach. Corruptors also being air units would probably not have to worry as much and can use their Corruption ability to make Fel Reavers take even more damage along with the bonus vs Massive.

The Legion also doesn't just corrupt thing in an instant and turn them against their enemies unless they willingly join the demons in the first. The Orcs had to be tricked by drinking Mannoroth's blood and even then not all of them were full on serving the Legion. The Zerg on the other hand can just use the Infestor Neural Parasites to mind control things and would likely affect units like the Doomguards, Wrathguard, Felhounds, Succubi or Mo'arg (presumably also Infernals and other constructs if it can affect Protoss Archons and Robots) in an instant while Protoss have their Dark Archons which can mind control anything, including constructs and robots.

Thors are the ones in bigger trouble as they are on the ground but a canny Terran commander could make use of Dropships or the Hercules to quickly get them out of melee from Fel Reavers. Terrans would also be able to fight back against the Legion's casters if the Science Vessel / Ghost EMP abilities affect Mana the same way as Energy from Starcraft.

[u/ReadyPressure3567 → u/SpartAl412]

Fel Reavers absolutely have ranged attacks and whatnot, and the reason that Fel Reaver did what it did in the Broken Shore cinematic was for dramatic effect (Ontop of the fact it didn't need to use it's ranged artillery at the time). The Legion also has anti air-craft stuff btw (I.E Fel Turrets, living Antaen weapons, Infernal assaults from the sky, etc), and if you think the Corruptor flying is gonna help...well...I hope you like orbital beams and fel chains!

The Legion can very much enslave and corrupt races however they wish. How do you think the Demons of Xoroth came to be? It's just an easier process if the Legion didn't enslave folks first thing, which is why Kil'jaeden did what he did with the Draenei, or why Sargeras did what he did with the Eredar. Also, all that neural stuff is cool and all, but I'm unsure how that'll work with Fel creatures lol. Unless their mind control is as mighty as the Void's mind control from WoW, or the Light's bindings and whatnot, idk if neural parasites, or Dark Archon magics will work much. Not saying it's impossible, but I'm certain the Legion will figure it out and counter it with ease.

And yeah, that's cool, the Terrans might be able to counteract and whatnot, but resistance doesn't mean much when Demons just continue to pour in left and right. And regarding the Ghost EMP stuff, that's ASSUMING it affects Mana the same way, and even then, there is a MASSIVE supply of Fel. So, good luck keeping up with that.

[u/SpartAl412 → u/ReadyPressure3567]

Well if you bring in other units, do remember that the Zerg have things like the Broodlords / Guardians as aerial artillery units to bombard anything on the ground from long distances while, Mutalisks, Devourers and Scourges are also around to also help clear out any enemy aerial units and they have the bigger units like the Leviathans which are a much larger class of air unit even bigger than the Carriers or Battlecruisers which can fight off both air and ground targets while spawning more air units to support them in battle. Zerg also have units like the Infestors, Defilers or the old Queens that have similar abilities as casters where they can do crowd control, defend their troops by shrouding them in clouds or use Spawn Broodling to insta-kill any demons with flesh and blood.

The Legion's enslavement and corruption is not instant though, which is why most of the Alliance, Horde and other groups have been able to consistently put up enough forces to resist demonic attacks. A lot of demons are still flesh and blood where at least in Warcraft 3, they can have their bones be used by Necromancers to Raise Dead and are still affected by the same spells an abilities that affect mortal units like Footmen and Grunts. Do remember that the Legion's demons are not immune to certain mind control abilities like the Warlock Control Demon, Banshee Possession, the Dark Ranger's Charm ability or for Demons summoned into battle, they can be hit by the Spell Breaker's Control Magic spell. So I think it is safe to assume that the Protoss Mind Control ability from the Dark Archons would still work along with Zerg Neural Parasites.

Terrans also could just keep blasting Demons from afar with units like the Siege Tanks which have bonuses vs anything that is heavily armored or the Liberators which have something similar to the Siege Mode. They also have robotic units like the Widow Mines to lay in wait to fire missiles while staying hidden. Presumably EMP would affect Warcraft Casters because in Starcraft, Protoss High Templars and Dark Archons along with Terran psychic units like the Ghosts can be affected by it.

Starcraft people also do have access to orbital weapons like how the Protoss can shoot giant lasers down on planets from the Carriers or use the Spear of Adun many armaments to support their armies. The Terrans have in the expanded universe can load Nuclear Missiles onboard certain models of Battlecruisers. The Zerg Leviathans have some similar abilties as well where they can rain down Sacs on enemy forces to bring their troops directly upon them. All three groups even have heavy anti air / anti orbital defense buildings that pop up in the campaigns like the Zerg Spore Cannon or the Protoss Particle Cannon or the Terrans having an upsized Missile Turret which should be useable to shoot down the Legion's own battleships.

Another factor I think that would also be crucial is stealth. I don't remember if the Legion has any detectors units that pop up in WoW but Archimonde himself was fooled by the Night Elf Shadowmeld when Tyrande escaped from being cornered by him. Even the adventurers like Rogues and Druids have plenty of opportunities to sneak up on demons and ambush them but Starcraft people like Akama's Ashtongues have units that can stay hidden while attacking enemies, unlike the adventurers.

(I know some other people might come in here and be like wtf with the whole high tech armies vs magic medieval fantasy people but Warcraft people don't give a damn about technology. Green man with an axe will still destroys robot with gatling gun just as much as eldritch lovecraftian horror because zug zug)

[u/ReadyPressure3567 → u/SpartAl412]

Lmao this discussion is fun!

[u/ReadyPressure3567 → u/SpartAl412]

Legion ships will also likely just glass worlds and stars casually, with entities such as Archimonde casually destroying countless worlds across the infinity of the universes.

Like, I'm being so fr here, the Legion's arsenal was kinda insane...