Is it possible to use the light through sheer willpower rather than faith?
Benedictus could channel Light through sheer willpower even after joining the Twilight’s Hammer. He’s probably the only case but I think it’s enough to answer your question.
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Sweet, didn’t know that.
Light is fueled by Conviction which can take the form of devotion to some ideal one believes that’s represented by the Light. or devotion to a figure like Odyn, or to a Loa, or even to a Twilight Lord. But in all cases it’s a matter of devotion to something other than just yourself.
The answer is that there is no canon lore that supports a positve answer to your question.
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So you couldn’t use the light if you had intense faith in yourself? It has to be projected onto something else?
Maybe you can. All I’ve said is that there is no lore support for such a conclusion. Possibly because all magic relies on tapping into an external energy force and the body by itself does not have the energy to fuel a supernatural effect.
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Every user of the light has had faith in something - arakkoa (wrongly) believed that Rukhmar and the sun was the source of their power, but nonetheless were able to use it, because 1) they know how (because Rukhmar taught them how to) but also 2) they had that “thing” to believe in. Then you have humans and dwarves, which just worship it as a general force, and they gain access to it. And the tauren who get it through An’she, and god knows what the hell she even is.
Point is, only Benedictus “can”, and it was from a throwaway line. Theoretically, the light is just another force of the universe - anyone can use shadow magic without really any kind of other requirement, and it would make sense that the light is the same. You have to then look at it form a meta perspective - the light is essentially Christianity, and thus it the light was the baseline “religion” of the game before any kind of grand cosmological schema was thought up.
Perception is a powerful thing. Ingame people say they lose their powers from the light with waning faith, but that could most definitely be some kind of psychological thing happening. Benedictus likely thought he could just use the light from sheer willpower, when in fact he just retained his abilities because he was a lunatic and his brain was addled.
On the flip side, Tirion lost all ability to wield the Light because he accepted Uther’s assertation that his “betrayal” of the Silver Hand and the Allliance had made him unworthy of it’s power.
Which is not that different for Thrall losing his shamanic powers because of his own self-doubt.
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Yes, absolutely. The Ask Cdev answer notes faith or willpower can be used. And Benedictus is the most clear example as, in spite of losing faith, used willpower alone to continue channeling it after joining the Twilight’s Hammer.
Q: Can you please explain how “light” works? The lore states that undead are physically incapable of using the light, much like the Broken, but then we have Forsaken players casting healing spells, and Sir Zeliek in Naxxramas using pseudo-paladin abilities.
A: Without spoiling too much, we can tell you that wielding the Light is a matter of having willpower or faith in one’s own ability to do it. That’s why there are evil paladins (for example, the Scarlet Crusade and Arthas before he took up Frostmourne). For the undead (and Forsaken), this requires such a great deal of willpower that it is exceedingly rare, especially since it is self-destructive. When undead channel the Light, it feels (to them) as if their entire bodies are being consumed in righteous fire. Forsaken healed by the Light (whether the healer is Forsaken or not) are effectively cauterized by the effect: sure, the wound is healed, but the healing effect is cripplingly painful. Thus, Forsaken priests are beings of unwavering willpower; Forsaken (and death knight) tanks suffer nobly when they have priest and paladin healers in the group; and Sir Zeliek REALLY hates himself.
The Ask Cdev answer.
Publicly, he remained head of the church, and through sheer willpower, he retained his ability to wield the Holy Light.
From Chronicle 3, which came out just last year. This after having forsworn the Light and vowing his life to the Void.
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I suppose that settles it. Thank you, I tried looking online for an answer but couldn’t find one.
Anyone can wield the Light. Even orcs, if they have the conviction to do it.
Alliance Humans, Ironforge Dwarves, Draenei and High Elves are the only ones who worship the Light as a deity and where the Light is a religion. Also they link the use of the Light with good behavior (help the weak, be benevolent pure and chaste, sacrifice, etc)
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Any magic type can be dominated and controlled. Warlocks do it all the time. Void Elves exist because of it. There’s no reason why a person’s belief in their own strength and power wouldn’t be all it takes to wield Light magic. It’s not sentient. It’s simply the first type of magic to exist. Sentient beings are made of it and claim to represent it. But we’ve seen no actual evidence of “Light Lords”, just fanatical naaru who can be destroyed by a single demon hunter. It’s no wonder they rely so heavily on mortal races to enforce their universal views.