Why arcane/fel/shadow are addictive while others are not in lore?

Community General Discussion
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Why are others kinds of magic like druidism, shamanism and holy are not as addictive as arcane, fel or shadow in lore?

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um what? Holy is literally the most addictive throughout the game.

And power is addictive and arcane, fel, and shadow and holy are very powerful

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Well Nature magic is restorative as is the Light so that would explain it, and Arcane is literally order and control made manifest so control and power is addictive. Shadow/Void magic is entropy and decay personified so of course it makes one feel empty and drained… Fel is also self destructive and consumptive by nature so none of these would make one feel “whole” or satisfied like natural positive magical energies would like those in Druidism/Light worship.

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Well, balance druids use astral and arcane magic which is kind of destructive. In lore they should be as dangerous as mage when it comes to addiction

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So, on the topic of magic addiction, there’s multiple things you need to consider.

  1. Power is addictive. Magic is power. This is a psychological addiction moreso than a physiological one. You arent going to have withdrawals or anything, but as you gain power you want more power, it’s a natural never-ending pursuit and part of human nature (and since every race in the game has been designed by human beings, that has kind of been an underlying condition that extends to them all).

  2. The source of magic is the most important factor in whether or not it is addictive. Druidic and Shamanistic magics are an oddity in that they kind of exist outside of the wielder. A druid coaxes nature to do what he needs it to through a developed connection to it, and similarly a shaman makes pacts with elementals. The power is never really in the hands of the individual but in the thing they’re controlling outside of themselves.
    Other magics tend to come from an outside source, often what can be considered an intelligent source with its own motives, and are channeled directly through the wielder. Fel magic is a prime example: it is demonic, it has a mind of its own, and it’s goal is to convert anyone that uses it into minions for its own cause. It mutates your body and mind as you use it, and if it is suddenly cut off your body can no longer cope without it. Void (shadow) magic, and even Holy (light) magic, are both also ‘intelligent’ magics with their own sources of power that have their own intentions. Void magic comes from the void lords, which created the old gods and are considered equivalent to the naaru (which, similarly, are the source of light/holy magic).

As we’ve seen, even holy magic can cause its users to become fanatical, just look at what happened to y’rel. It is just as harmful and mutative as the void, or fel magic.

  1. Arcane is another situation altogether. Arcane is just raw power, not related to any of the above sources and not exactly ‘intelligent’. However, constant and frequent use of arcane magic over thousands of years has a physiological effect associated with it. It becomes essential to function, just like food or water, and when you remove it the user withers and starves. This is what we see with blood elves and the wretched.
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I don’t think power alone is what makes Arcane addictive. Elves go withered without it. It should have somethinge else.

But somehow, humans and other races don’t get as addicted.

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Well they are “balance” Druids, the two opposing natures of the two separate magics likely balance out, thus why they are called “balance” Druids, they must find a compromise between creation and destruction, the point where the energies cancel each other.

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Currently, you’re correct. However, initially (going back to warcraft 3), druids did not use arcane/astral magic, they were purely nature-wielders.

The astral/arcane aspect came from priestesses of elune, which have been sort of ret-conned into being part of the druidic order (makes no sense but that’s how WoW has butchered its own lore).

It should also be noted that while that power may have been “addictive”, there were never any notable withdrawals because the night elves were constantly in connection with the well of eternity, and technically when utilizing astral/arcane power in the form of things like starfall it was a case of praying to elune and receiving that ‘blessing’. I.e. it wasnt the priestess casting the spell, it was elune acting through her.

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Humans and other races havent been using arcane energy fonts to make themselves immortal for thousands of years, only to suddenly have that font destroyed and their source of arcane power ripped away.

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But Blood Elves didn’t have inmortality, these were the Night Elves and it was with the aspects help, if I am not mistaken.

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Not the same kind of immortality, no, but they definitely were using the sunwell to prolong their lifespans into the thousands-of-years range.

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let’s get something clear, Shaministic power is not addictive at all and it literally has to be earned. The elements have to respect you in order to give you shamanistic power and if you are just looking for power they wont give it to you.

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Uh… I never said it was addictive, I was explaining why it -wasnt- lol

However, you’re also not entirely correct. The shamans we play, yes, have to earn the respect and cooperation of the elements. However there are numerous cases of Dark Shaman who force the elements to do their bidding.

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Get on Instagram and every influencer gonna act like they addicted to nature

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The Aspects blessed the world tree, which gave them immortality - if I remember right. And that was why the loss of the original world tree was so huge. I believe it was Fandral that created a new world tree in an attempt to regain the immortality they had lost. Though originally not blessed by the Aspects, hence the corruption pre-Cata.

But yeah the well gave the blood elves their long lives, and losing it caused massive magical addiction to run rampant.

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i was just making it clear. clear as the rain. clear and the sky in the middle of a hurricane eye.

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To ask why arcane/fel/shadow is addictive and the other schools of spells aren’t, is to ask why so many people prefer to play dps than healer.

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I remember a dumb 90’s TV show introducing the idea of “addictive” magic. I didn’t like it then and I don’t now, magic is supposed to be the coolness, not an AA allegorical life lesson. I have many blood elves but I’ve always headcannoned their “addiction” right out of “my” lore.

I mean anything can be addictive, so why is it so fashionable to talk about “addictive” magic, it feels like a forced social stigma on a concept that never needed or wanted it.

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I think it’s more that “power” is addictive than the magic itself or over use of the magic begins to alter the body. Magics like shamanism or druidism have and balance and moderation as an inherent part of the magic so they’re abused less often.

Arcane power doesn’t come through an intermediary such as the spirits for shamanism or wild gods/emerald dream for Druidism. Thus it’s easier for it to be used with out restraint and thus have negative and destructive effects.

Fel and void have somewhat of an intermediary but they revel in the unmoderated use of their power and encourage it.

Other forms of magic can be destructive such as dark shamanism or the death druid magic used in duskwood. However access to these magics are usually as common and often require prior skill or mastery.

The addictive nature of other magics comes through over use to the point of that the body depends on it. If used in moderation you wouldn’t get to that point.

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Then a balance druid should be in risk to get mad about how much power the stars can provide him