[Spoilers] How powerful is the Commander?

[NorthernRedStar.3054]

14 minutes ago, Bobby Stein.3612 said:

The Commander can bench press their weight, plus 100 pounds give or take.

 

On a slightly more serious note, I think it's safe to say the the PC is kind of a kitten in the story, having been able to defeat Elder Dragons and literal human gods (though not without collateral damage and dying on occasion). Narratively, it's always tricky to balance the needs of the game with the needs of the fiction, so hopefully it feels good enough/plausible to be in that sweet spot. On top of the story, though, players have always roleplayed to push their characters in either direction (even more OP vs. more of an underdog), and certain types of content should hopefully challenge the notion that every antagonist is a pushover. (I can't count how many times I died to Sabetha...)

 

Anyway, cool thread. I'm enjoying reading everyone's answers.

Judging by the stuff my thief steals and tosses, I'd wager there's a bit of shadow magic extra in those bench press numbers.

Let us not even mention the norn.

[SoftFootpaws.9134]

1 hour ago, NorthernRedStar.3054 said:

Judging by the stuff my thief steals and tosses, I'd wager there's a bit of shadow magic extra in those bench press numbers.

Let us not even mention the norn.

I've literally had my character say "Oomph, so heavy!" when picking up a something rediculously lightweight. I think the most amusing example was on a Norn who said "Oh this has some bulk to it" when picking up ethereal essence in the Orr story missions and similar stuff.

 

EDIT: So apparently the PC isn't very strong physically, or just kind of a complainer. Given that if you play through the story from the start through IBS and your most notable traits are things like being lazy and always late, and NPCs point it out all the time whenever they get a chance to, I'm guessing the latter.

Edited September 2, 2021 by Hannelore.8153

[NorthernRedStar.3054]

3 minutes ago, Hannelore.8153 said:

I've literally had my character say "Oomph, so heavy!" when picking up a something rediculously lightweight. I think the most amusing example was on a Norn who said "Oh this has some bulk to it" when picking up ethereal essence in the Orr story missions and similar stuff.

Essence gravity hits different.

[Kraggy.4169]

Unlike the PC in, say, FFXIV, (s)he has no 'super powers' and in every case of killing a dragon/God they've had help from more powerful beings/forces: a battle fleet and OP harpoon guns or, in the case of Mordremoth the whole fight was dubious given there was no plausible explanation given by ANet as to why (s)he was able to kill (with some help) a dragon as powerful: ANet simply pulled some 'mind tricks' out of the hat in order to try to justify what IMO was simply an implausible victory.

Kralk of course was another case of more powerful assistance and in this case an opponent who clearly wasn't entirely fighting to survive.

And let's not embarrass ANet by talking about the J/P farce.

No, GW2's main premise of 'normal' mortal without any demonstrable 'super powers' being a slayer of super-powerful beings is simply fantasy .. and in this case that word's meaning is accurate, or more accurately implausible.

Edited September 2, 2021 by Kraggy.4169

[SoftFootpaws.9134]

15 minutes ago, Kraggy.4169 said:

Unlike the PC in, say, FFXIV, (s)he has no 'super powers' and in every case of killing a dragon/God they've had help from more powerful beings/forces: a battle fleet and OP harpoon guns or, in the case of Mordremoth the whole fight was dubious given there was no plausible explanation given by ANet as to why (s)he was able to kill (with some help) a dragon as powerful: ANet simply pulled some 'mind tricks' out of the hat in order to try to justify what IMO was simply an implausible victory.

Kralk of course was another case of more powerful assistance and in this case an opponent who clearly wasn't entirely fighting to survive.

And let's not embarrass ANet by talking about the J/P farce.

No, GW2's main premise of 'normal' mortal without any demonstrable 'super powers' being a slayer of super-powerful beings is simply fantasy .. and in this case that word's meaning is accurate, or more accurately implausible.

Its literally stated in game that the Dragon's Stand meta event is happening at the same time as story, that Modremoth is being bombarded from the outside and cut off from his ley-energy, and the bulk of the effort came from Trahearne, who had bonded with Modremoth, not from us. We were just along for the ride so to speak.

 

Plus by this point we'd already defeated all his air superiority forces in Verdant Brink, destroyed all his Blighting Trees both in Verdant Brink and Dragon's Stand plus the saplings in Auric Basin, permanently disabled the Blighting Pods for his most powerful Champions, and had rebuilt the Pact including Itzel, Nuhoc, Exalted and even Nightmare Court.

 

We had also set the Chak against the Mordrem as well, who literally eat ley-energy.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by "there was no explanation for it". Just like with Zhaitan, by the time we get to Modremoth's mind he was relatively weak, only still a threat due to his immortality.

Edited September 2, 2021 by Hannelore.8153

[HnRkLnXqZ.1870]

Judging from the exposure of raw Ley Energy the Commander faced over the years, a regular humanoid would have been torn apart by now. The lines are powerful enough to break massive landslides, levitate buildings and fuel Elder Dragons directly. The long-term exposure to these enormous forces have strengthened the Commanders sustain.

This may be a reason, why we cannot utilize our champion abilities as much as Braham or Ryland. The bond does not empower us, due to our extreme resistance against magic. If Aurene interacts directly with us, we can use her magic. But her presence does not fuel us. If our Elder Dragon would die, we would probably barely notice it. We would feel it, but our body would not suffer from any negative side-effects. 

The Encounters with Estell and Joko however proved, that we cannot break out of magical barriers on our own. This is an issue of mind-strength and intellect. So I assume we are not significantly smarter than the average Tyrian.

Our sustain towards physical forces is above average, but nothing you would consider as super-natural. If something hits us hard, we get knocked back and are launched into the air. Compared to Koss, we are still puny. Neither are we very fast. 

How about raw strenght? We dealt a lot of final blows. Those require accuracy and determination. We do not lack bravery and willpower. I would not go farer than Logan or Rytlock. We are not a brute. 

As long as we have to deal with magic-related opponents, we may not find a worthy challenger anytime soon. 

Trahearne taught us how to be a leader. He showed us the importance of delivering tasks to others, while staying in control. Manage resources, especially under high pressure, and using them wisely without sacrificing them. The true power of the Commander is their guild. Each member alone can easily be outsmarted and bested, even by rather common individuals. But the Commander unites their talents, manages their weaknesses and strengths to create the maximum impact. Our guild is not an easy one, with plenty of personalities and conflicts. So a big part of our job is to keep the group united and its members focused. 

[Lord Trejgon.2809]

13 hours ago, HnRkLnXqZ.1870 said:

Judging from the exposure of raw Ley Energy the Commander faced over the years, a regular humanoid would have been torn apart by now.

There is a side story arc about just that 😉

[draxynnic.3719]

I think it is a worthwhile observation to make there that the Commander was empowered by Aurene partway through HoT, and therefore might not really be a 'normal' member of their race any more.

 

The Commander doesn't display any visual changes, nor do they display new abilities like the champions of other dragons. It might be the reason why the Commander is able to resist more magic than most, however, and she might be providing a boost to the Commander's combat skills without fundamentally changing them. Think about the attribute enhancements that the god blessings provided in GW1 - they made your skills more powerful but didn't grant new ones. Aurene might be doing something similar.

 

Might be worthwhile paying close attention to transformed Caithe and see if she displays any Aurene-themed skills.

[Sajuuk Khar.1509]

2 hours ago, draxynnic.3719 said:

nor do they display new abilities like the champions of other dragons

The abilities from the Crystal Champion, and Dragon Slayer, both of which are a result of our bond with Aurene, disagree.

[draxynnic.3719]

19 minutes ago, Sajuuk Khar.1509 said:

The abilities from the Crystal Champion, and Dragon Slayer, both of which are a result of our bond with Aurene, disagree.

Valid, but still relatively minor. Dragon Slayer in particular is basically being able to safely harness energy from other dragons to enhance abilities you're already using. While Crystal Champion is mostly mount skills.

 

Herald still feels more like a champion of Glint/Aurene, and that's still small potatoes compared to most champions of other dragons. It's also potentially telling that so much of Herald is simply 'casually pulse boons to yourself and your allies'.

 

The broad point is that just because the Commander isn't covered in crystals and throwing around crystal/light themed attacks (unless they were already part of the Commander's profession) doesn't mean that Aurene hasn't empowered them in some subtler way.

[Xenorak.2154]

The commander is strong, but still couldn't save Tybalt. Even they have their limits. 😭 I think PoF showed that pretty well though, that the commander kind of had to come to terms with the fact that they aren't immortal, that they too have their limits. 

[DaZeeHero.5210]

On 7/26/2019 at 1:04 PM, Dawdler.8521 said:

Considering the commander is known to be capable of conquering entire Tyria and enslaving all the lesser races... well that really say everything about your "powerful" characters. They obviously couldnt stop it.

This is of course assuming we're talking about the commander from the superior race.

The "Superior" Race who has to be saved from their own experiments every 5 minutes. Asura are not smarter. they have more advanced science and tech and place a higher value on such. and are shown to have critically low WIS score

. I love the little guys but let's not pretend one race is superior to all the others. if that was ever the case it would be humans if you look at most fiction. I'm more than satisfied with humans being an equal contender, which they should be. and are easily at least such once they stop worrying about gods and get to work.

Not to mention  I think this thread is about how powerful is the commander personally, not including huge robot armies. 

I'd say, not as much as the Warrior of Light and Darkness from  FF14, who's slain a longer list of gods and dragons than you could recite in 20 minutes, (and the first few, according to story alone) but still definitely legendary hero level by the late story chapters, at least as good as an average platoon of angry charr.

 

Edited September 19, 2021 by DaZeeHero.5210

[Gibson.4036]

I have a different take on how to measure this than I've seen in this thread so far.

There a number of things over the course of the story that NPCs clearly see as very powerful. The entire mission depends on me using whatever weapon or tech or magic thingamabob they've invented or we have to get from somebody. These things are the key to defeating whatever enemy.

Yet, when I finally use the thing, I am way less powerful than using my own abilities. That means, if these things are the game changers all the other characters seem to think they are, the commander's weapons and skills are the game-changiest of them all.

[Pax.3548]

By now I think the commander's strenght should be analized before and after their bond with Aurene, just like draxynnic said, I think Aurene, since absorbing Balthazar's magic, has powered up the commander in a subtle way, allowing them to absorb, manipulate or resist magic that could probably harm, kill, corrupt or mutate other living beings (take Matthias or Caudecus for example) while at the same time "strengthen" them without any physical change like Caithe, but also without letting them become gigantic and powerful beings like Ryland at the end of IB Saga or other dragon champions.

Before this draconic influence, I think the commander was on par, or perhaps a little stronger, than members of DE, who are known and pretty skilled heroes but still "mortal" like the rest of the people.