Who should, and who should not, be able to use their powers in the shadowlands

Paladins and Priests - yes, we have seen the light (and void) can break into the shadowlands and be effective there, as seen when the void attacked Bastion, and with the Light directly breaking into Revendreth at Ember Ward. Also Anduin can call on the light even in the Maw.

Shaman - No. There is no elements, nor spirit, in the shadowlands to draw power from. Shaman rely on local elemental spirits to help, not cosmic level powers.

Druids - No. There is no life energy in the shadowlands to draw power from. In fact, the shadowlands death magic should be like kryptonite to druids.

Mages - Maybe? Jaina is seen being able to use her arcane powers in the Maw, but she seemed weakened. In theory, the arcanes ability to travel between dimensions might help it flow to a caster in the shadowlands.

Death Knights - Yes, they draw on the power of death, and the shadowlands is literally made of this power. They should be stronger in the Shadowlands than anywhere else.

Warlocks - Yes, fel magic seems to be strong enough to break into the shadowlands, and also, due to its nature of corruption/consumption, the warlock in theory can burn anima or the life force of creatures there, and turn it into fel to draw upon.

Why don’t you think there’s life magic in Ardenweald?

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Because Ardenweald is not the realm of life. Its part of the “life-death” cycle of nature. The Emerald Dream has the life energy, Ardenweald has a form of “natural” death energy.

I respectfully disagree. With your line of thinking, only death magic is ‘allowed’ in the Shadowlands, which contradicts many of your other assertions in the OP.

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Rivendel… no. That’s not how magic works. Your ability to call on said forces does not hinge on what realm you’re in. We’ve seen death magics being casted in the realm of the living for as early as the RTS games. With your line of logic, they shouldn’t have been able to do so. Yet they do.

Past that, the two that you listed as no are verifiably disprovable - while Ardenweald is a death realm, it’s absolutely silly to say there isn’t an aspect of Life magic to it, given that it’s a realm of rebirth. As for Shamanism, we literally see Thrall call upon the elements to free himself in Torghast. Lastly, you listed Arcane as a maybe because Jaina couldn’t use her abilities to teleport out of the Maw - did you maybe consider that it’s because they’re in the Maw? As in, something meant to be an inescapable prison?

These rules you’ve listed are ones you’ve made up. Every class should be able to use their abilities in the Shadowlands, and they are.

…No spirit in the Shadowlands? That should be the one place where you’re drowning in the stuff, wouldn’t you think?

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Druids were able to grow a tree in the Firelands, a realm of fire that has only non-biological elemental constructs within it. I think druids can handle using their spells in the Shadowlands too, given the large number of seemingly “alive” beings that reside there.

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As it relates to Shaman, have you not noticed that each of the four afterlives seem to be loosely aligned with a key element?

Bastion seems to be aligned with air, what with all the avian motifs and the magical pathways through the sky. Revendreth is tied directly to earth and stone, with the dredgers being born of muck and the Stoneborn literally animated stone statues. Where Ardenweild is healthy it’s absolutely overflowing with water, babbling brooks, streams, rivers and waterfalls. And while Maldraxxus may not be tied to fire, as one might think with the basic four elements, it is tied strongly to spirit which is another key power source for Shaman, which is something of a fifth element that they can tap into. Honestly shaman should be overpowered in the Shadowlands, surrounded by spirit animals and in direct contact with their ancestral spirits and spirit guides.

I also refute the idea that Druid magic should not work in the Shadowlands because of death magic. Death is a part of life. The Drust are a prime example of what Druidism should perhaps look like in the Shadowlands, but that doesn’t mean more traditional druids should be powerless - rather it’s just another example of how life feeds on death and death feeds on life in the endless cycle that is so paramount in Ardenweild.

And why are Mages a maybe? Arcane magic stems from order and the Shadowlands were ordered by the first ones. So long as there is some form of order then a mage should never be powerless.

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Bastion doesn’t only have Air as there are also Stone Giants too. Bastion seems to be a mesh between Earth, Death and Air!

Ardenweald is a mesh between Nature(Spriggan and Gorm utilize Poison which is Nature), Water(which is everywhere) and Death(the Twilight Sky, the Night Fae and Flora are all formed from the Death Magic in the area).

Maldraxxus is a mesh between Death, Spirit(Soul Storms are all over the place), Decay(everything is rotting) and Fire(the House of the Chosen specifically).

Revendreth is a mesh between Earth, Shadow(a World Quest I did Yesterday had Souls bound in place by Shadow Magic), Light and Death!

The Maw seems to be a mesh between Spirit, Fire(born of Hatred), Darkness(whatever that is) and Death!

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