User blog:JWarrior89/Season 4 Episode 2: Alduin vs Flemeth



Alduin: The immortal dragon of Nordic legend, whose return would signal the end of the world...

V.S.

Flemeth: The mysterious shapeshifter, known as the "Witch of the WIlds", whose ultimate goals remain unknown...



Who... is... DEADLIEST!?



Alduin
Alduin is a dragon whose return was a result of an Elder Scroll. He was first removed from Tamriel through the last resort of the ancient Nord heroes who used an Elder Scroll to force Alduin to become lost in time and hopefully never return. Instead, he was sent forward to the Fourth Era, to the timeline of events in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and the Dragonborn's story. Alduin's triumph would ensure Nirn's destruction.

(Info taken from http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Alduin)



Flemeth
Flemeth is a shapeshifter, known as 'the Witch of the Wilds' or Asha'bellanar ("woman of many years" in Dalish). She is widely recognized as the eponymous character of an age-old legend, described variously as extremely powerful and long-lived (or even immortal). The name "Flemeth" belongs to a fearsome personage that walked the Wilds centuries ago. The "Witch of the Wilds" is not a true title so much as a superstitious name the locals of the Korcari Wilds gave to these terrifying women. (Although Morrigan at first considered her mother an abomination, she later realized that Flemeth "is not a blood mage, not an abomination and not even truly human.")

(Info taken from http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Flemeth, http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Flemeth_the_Shapeshifter)



Weapons/attacks
Alduin destroyed his opponents with:


 * Fire breath


 * Frost breath


 * Unrelenting Force shout


 * Dragon Fireball shout


 * Dragon Tail


 * Meteor Storm

Flemeth tore into her victims using:


 * Flame Breath


 * Fire Spit


 * Roar


 * Massive Attack


 * Sweep


 * Buffet

X-Factors
95 Strength 92

EDGE: Alduin. Alduin's attacks are much more varied than Flemeth's, and overall pack a more powerful punch.

99 Endurance 89

EDGE: Alduin. Flemeth is a powerful individual, able to take tons of physical punishment due to her shapeshifting abilities. However, she is capable of being "killed" by like any other monster. Alduin, on the other hand, is essentially invincible; he can only be killed by a Dragonborn, and only in Sovngarde.

(NOTE: While Flemeth cannot kill Alduin in this battle, he can be injured to the point that he is forced to retreat)

75 Intelligence 95

EDGE: Flemeth. Alduin, while powerful, is not the smartest enemy. He is extremely overconfident, leading him to seriously underestimate his opponents. In addition, at the beginning of Skyrim, he prevents the execution of the Dragonborn, the one threat to his power; if he had waited just 10 more seconds, his ultimate victory would have been assured. Flemeth, on the other hand, is shown to be extremely intelligent, manipulating people and events from behind the scenes for countless years. She saves Alistair and the Warden from death at the hands of the Darkspawn just to send her daughter Morrigan with them, in a sceme to get her pregnant with the soul of the Archdemon. She even anticipates and plans around her own possible death, giving Hawke an amulet with a piece of her inside it to enable her to come back to life in the event Morrigan betrayed her.

80 Experience 95

EDGE: Flemeth. As the first dragon, Alduin has been around for countless years. However, for most of that time, he merely ruled over humans and elves alongside his fellow dragons. It was not until humans rebelled in The Dragon War that he really saw any major combat, and was defeated in the end. He was sent forward in time to the events of Skyrim, where he was finally killed shortly afterward by the Dragonborn. Flemeth, on the other hand, has seen much more conflict on a constant basis; it is implied that she has been raising daughters and possessing them in succession for ages. She has fought Darkspawn, Templars, and other creatures, even teaching a young Morrigan to lure in Templars to their doom, calling it a "game".



Overall
In the end, I have to give my personal edge to Flemeth. While Alduin is stronger and has a larger variety of attacks, Flemeth's far superior intelligence will ultimately produce a winning strategy, outsmarting Alduin or taking advantage of his tendency to underestimate his opponents. In addition, while Alduin may have been around longer (depending on how old Flemeth actually is), Flemeth has seen more actual combat overall, giving her a valuable edge in experience.