LOTR Characters Ranked by Power (Using Book Lore) - Tier List
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- Опубликовано: 8 фев 2025
- Many are the powerful and meek within Middle-earth, but how would they stack up against each other? Today, let’s take a look at it through a Tiermaker list! Thank you all for watching, let me know your thoughts about this in the comments below!
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Thank you all for watching and for your feedback! I will be sure to better quantify “power” for something like this in the future. I more or less blend physical, mental and spiritual power together. I suppose for me, I put Isildur where I did because in the books he didn't really take down Sauron, Elendil and Gil-galad did, and he simply took the weregild and fell under the influence of the Ring pretty fast. He had some great accomplishments, and I should have put him higher for his binding of the oathbreakers, but that's the fun of these lists! Thank you all again!
Yeah lists like these can never be completely accurate because many character's perceived "power" is based on deeds that are for the story's sake simply luck.
Merry killing the Witch King is for an example thanks to the Witch King's hubris, Merry's courage to even strike against him and the immeasurable amount of luck to hit and mortally wound him.
If you'd send a hundred Merrys against the Witch King any other day he'd likely have slain them all.
I liked listening to your vid, it doesn't feel very scholarly, but I'd happily watch more of those vids regardless :)
power isnt will power you weighted too heavily on that lol
Its all just opinion 😅 and fun to discuss.
Yeah one of my biggest cons for the movie is it makes people think Isildur cutting his finger off beats Sauron.. but cant have it all right...
Aragorn had full knowledge of his ancestors mistakes and the advise of gandalf to guide him. Isildur had just lost his biggest guides his father and brother... dont think he knew the ring was "evil" he traces what is written on the ring but he dosent know what it says.. just it was the ring of power and he tried to master it.. kind of not his fault... and he also realised that and at least had the intent to give it away.
Isildur was the son of one of the biggest numenorians at the absolute pinnacle of their power... all the structures that were built in his time... the knowledge he would of had... how he got into and out of Armenelos with the seed of the white tree. Not to mention years upon years of battle experience as a leader at war. Also he would of been a master of the palintir and hes got the strength of will that his curse held those men for thousands of years.
Dont think army of the dead can be used against Isildur😅
Pretty sure Aragorn would rightly be in awe of him. He makes Aragorn look like Aragorn makes regular men look....
Really loved this video. Would you consider doing a power tiers list for the individual different races. Perhaps making a series such as elves, hobbits, men, dwarves, beasts, orcs, maiar.
I believe that Tolkien's work is too complicated for a tier list and also a ranking is taking something out of the characters' charming. Just my opinion I like your channel.
You done my boy Faramir dirty. His strength is in his wisdom, he resisted the temptation of the ring, and sent it on its way with Frodo.....
And he faithfully defended Gondor even to his near death, was a loyal son even when it wasn't deserved, he accepted the return of the king, and he helped heal Eowyn with his caring love.
This absolutely.
Resisting the temptation of the ring alone puts him at least in B tier, but I argue A tier for his Numenorian blood. He also is cut from a different cloth than his brother, and would have made a good Stuart or king of Gondor in his own right.
Maybe he is a fan of Denethor? D:
You know nothing of this matter
I would have flipped him and Boromir personally.
Nice work, but Faramir’s moral courage deserves a higher rating. All of your content has been a pleasure to watch - keep up the good work!
Legolas and gimli below sam and Frodo is criminal
This has to be a troll list , Legolas seemed like a marvel superhero , its almost comical how poweful he seems in the movies , Gimli also jumps serveal times in the midle of dozen orcs and seems to have no problem . Counting "will power" in a list like this seems kinda dumb . Also Eowyn is higher than Boromir , Legolas , Gimli and even Eomer is dumb
@@uoiuo I get the hobbits power to resist the ring but so did most of the felllowship. Also if it came to it there’s no way the hobbits stand a chance against Legolas and gimli
Yeah. Arwin literally accomplished no significant feats in lotr and shes above legolas and gimli. Theoden should be higher than eowyn for sure.
@@Bt-cq6te oh yeah for sure, theodan did loads before lotr too
Yeah wtf
Bill the Pony #1, let's go! XD
👍👍
For real, this oversight negates the whole list. Also, Farmer Maggot needs to be on there for standing up to the Nazgûl and telling them to get lost.
You beat me to it haha
Poor Bill.
Bill, the greatest prospective Ring-lord.
Your logic you used for ranking the power levels was SUPER inconsistent. One such example is that Merry and Eowyn only together could've taken the Witch King but she got A and he got C?
Of course, because his importance during that fight was minor in comparison with merry.
@@onyx4974what about Frodo being higher than bilbo for not succumbing to the ring. Bilbo had it for 3 times as long(60 yrs)and Frodo succumbed to it at the end of his journey to destroy it (17yrs and 6 months).
@@Yourtimeis I mean... the ring's influence got stronger as Sauron presence became more palbable over time, so maybe that should be taken into account
@@onyx4974 saving somebody's life doesn't seem very minor. the arrogance of the witch king was is undoing believing an old prophecy.
I would rank Glorfindel higher. Guy was too powerful to go along with the Fellowship even though it included the likes of Gandalf and Aragorn.
I would have to say Glorfindel should be higher and here's the reason why it was he who helped wipe out the Nazgal with the river or he was the one riding with frodo holding him till he got to rivendell. Either way he took on at least four nazguls 😊
too high profile to walk amongst kings and angels is probably good trait on his resume
Maybe, but that was before his resurrection, we don't know much of his power after it.
@@weedragonauts4729 Yea that was my understanding, he wasnt allowed along because he'd bring too much attention lol
The only elf to die and be given his life back to assist in Middle Earth, not only given his life back but also embued with extra power for it.
It sounds like you equated “strength” with “power” & “killing”. I doubt that Tolkien would have agreed with that. He gives words into Gandalf’s mouth about knowing when “not to kill”. Strength may have more to do with achieving deeds without killing something!! Just saying!!!!
And Cirdan may not have been on many battlefields but he stayed in ME long enough to get the Elves on the ships to the Undying Lands. He could have left but gave up his place. That takes incredible strength!!!
I agree with your point of view.
@@unvunb7157 👍🏼
@@annecarter5181 Yes, but he is one of the weaker elves when compared to a full blooded noldor princess like galadriel.
Any list that uses power and killing as yardsticks, but then still has Tommy Bombs at the top makes little sense to me lol. Who has the most pimping hat? Sure, Tom is S tier in a walk.... but the Eldest doesn't seem one for killing at all.
If Bill the Pony isn’t number one I’m going AWOL from Sauron’s army
The problem is you haven't defined what is power, so your mixing willpower with magical powers, with physical prowess and it all becomes a big mess. If you want to do things like this, define the parameters first and only place those characters who meet those parameters.
Thanks! I will try to be more clear about that next time.
Tolkien also didn't define power, I think it's just one of those things where you know it when you see it.
Absolutely agree, plus circumstances seem to be a factor. Legolas consistently displays tier one strength, skill, bravery, arguably wisdom too, (obviously behind on magical power) but would you suggest he wouldn’t be able to merely stab Witch King in the face (who’s merely kneeling in front of him) if he had have been there? Of course he’d have to identify as female to kill him but having been born female shouldn’t put Eomyr up a couple of levels.
yeah.. and even lineage becomes a factor end up arwen is above legolas - son of king thranduil...?
@@stevindieselHe wouldn't even have to identify as female - Glorfindel's prophecy states "Far off yet is his doom, and not by the hand of man will he fall”. Legolas isn't a man, though - he's an Elf. So it could well have been him.
LOTR power scaling is absolutely awesome❤
P.s: I feel like Radagast got some unfair treatment here. I think that being a Mayar should automatically lend you an S tier spot.
I think Radagast is one of my favorite characters.
Also I feel like power of will should be rated higher, Faramir shows his superiority over Boromir when he doesn't fall for the Ring. Boromir redeems himself in the end, but, he still fell.
I would put Bilbo higher because he voluntary gave up the ring, Frodo didn't.
different situations. i would say it is fairly clear that the Ring was exerting greater influence and willpower the closer it got to its own doom and sauron himself. the shire is about as far from mt doom as one can get.
also frodo was starving, exhausted, beat down, and barely able to walk.
so its not quantifiable unless bilbo got put through the same ringer.
@@godemperorofmankind3.091 True 🤔
He killed those spiders to save the dwarfs too while tricking them. He is A tier. The only thing that drags him down is his mindset. He dreamt daily about home on the adventure
Terrible comparison. This is like saying one person is a better public speaker than the other because the first nailed it flawlessly alone in his bathroom mirror while the other guy stumbled a bit in front of a crowd of hundreds.
But Bilbo is the only person ever to give up the one ring... In my opinion he should be top of B. He's also, by book lore, willing to take on the quest of the ring at 130ish...
Nice, do a fortresses/castles tier list!
Utumno should be if not the top, then 2nd
Fun video! I watched the whole thing! There were many times though I shouted “What?!?” lol
It was fun though!
Eowyn above every member of the fellowship save Gandalf and Aragorn? C’mon.
Cirdan was a ring bearer and one of the oldest elves left in ME…
Boromir should've been A for sure. His willpower was highest when he realized his mistake and gave his life to protect Merry and Pippin. Also took 20 Uruks all by himself, fighting on with loads of arrows piercing through his body. Insane fighter.
Not to mention him and Aragorn's willingness to help Gandalf fight the Balrog.
Still did the mistake many wouldnt and proved they wouldnt like his brother
@vetlejose everyone would've fallen to the power of the ring he fell first because he was the most desperate to save his people and he had a great amount of pressure put on him by his father
Boromir is the second best fighter in the fellowship and deserves A tier! Not to mention that he was the commander of all Gondor forces in his time
Glorfindel. The only creature (other than sort of Beren and Luthien to come back and experience mortality). He was fast-tracked in death and sent back. Killed a Balrog. The Witch King RAN from him. He literally is not allowed in the Fellowship because it is a power beacon bigger than Gandalf. Glorfindel fought against Morgoth. Not Sauron, but Morgoth. Bombadil is first without a doubt as he exists both within and without the world. Great fun, this. Nice job as usual.
Clearly Gandalf was sent back too. Same plot-line, and wonderful contrasts as adversaries to the enemy of the free peoples.
Interesting perspective.
That was before his resurrection, we don't know how much of strength he has after it.
Btw did he fight Morgoth directy? I thought it was Fingolfin and he got slained.
Post resurrection hes more powerful it was said he was blessed by iru himself @user-or5ke5yn4w
This was fun! Just a bit of advice for future reference I would maybe make different tier lists for power of body versus power of will. That said I very much enjoyed this and would enjoy seeing more!
power of will is so subjective. unless you lined up each character and had them try to resist a mind control spell, i dont think its quantifiable.
for example, elendil could have had the most amazing wil in the whole story. cant control him at all. anyone who tries would fail. but i guess we'll never know for sure because he dies right away in the opening battle
"To war!"
Nice change of pace! Enjoy the list, very interesting to think about. Left out Bill the pony but I'll let that slide.
Wouldn't mind more listing vids, definitely of first age characters and Valar/Mair!
We all know Bill is Illuvatar level!
You are right - it's the discussion this generates that makes it worthwhile, so thank you.
Nah, you’ve done Faramir dirty there, definitely needs to be B tier. The guy’s been defending Gondor on the borders of Mordor for like 20 years and is incredibly well thought of because of that, and in terms of willpower, his lack of temptation by the ring surely puts him in B tier alone. Plus Eowyn’s quote of ‘no rider of the Mark could defeat him in battle’ is a pretty big endorsement of his fighting abilities
Good insight!
Must confess to not being terribly enthused with the idea, and seeing how it played it pretty much explained why. No clear criteria, sometimes inconsistently applied, and besides how can you have clear criteria in a world where the nature of your spirit (Sam, Faramir, Frodo too, but also for that matter Gandalf) can mean more than any raw physical prowess? You do seem to struggle with just this dilemma several times. Another issue I feel is so many different sorts of being. I don't just mean elf, man or hobbit, maiar - though some of that - but also their quality. Faramir I would argue is far more "powerful" than Boromir because of the nature of his spirit. Able to resist the One Ring, hold his men together against the Nazgul, and his long fight for survival until Aragorn heals him. A weaker person would have departed for Mandos and the journey beyond the circles of the world much swifter after such an encounter.
I guess my feeling probably best summed up by that marvellous line of Elrond's at the Council: "“Such is of the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere.”"
All this said, I know this is done in good faith and with sincerity. It may not be for me - but that's ok. I hope others got more out of it. More importantly, did you get something worthwhile out of this exercise? Before the comment discussion I mean, because whilst you are a Tolkien creator and trying to create activity for your channel, whether you should do this again as one vital question: did you find the process in some sense worthwhile/fun/enjoyable/etc. Because if this became for you nothing but a chore, and if the thought of another makes you begin to dread, then quite clearly you shouldn't do another. However, if the thought of another excites you, then maybe you should. (sorry, very preachy here),
Oh, ,my personal theory on why Celeborn is the Wise is because he listens to his wife: "Let Gimli forget my harsh words, I spoke in the trouble of my heart". Puts him several steps ahead of Thingol :)
I feel like this would've been better served as 2 separate tierlists. One of willpower/spirutal power, and a separate one for martial power aka physical strength/magic
Good concept however needs some changes to make it work. You don’t really define power meaning that you often have confusing placing and many contradictions. Arwen higher than her brothers or faramir so low despite resisting the ring. You need to make it clearer whether it’s mental or physical or both. Also extremely top heavy listing makes the tier system almost void. U need to break it up more with characters more evenly spread across each tier.
Frodo, Legolas, & Gimli all deserve to go up a tier. Frodo fought the dark magic of the Morgul knife for more than two weeks, longer than nearly anyone else in Middle Earth history, and he did it while travelling hundreds of miles to get to Rivendell on foot. He wasn't even able to rest, and he had the evil magic of the One Ring acting on him at the same time! On top of that, he made it all the way to the Sammath Nauer still bearing the One Ring and intent on destroying it even after being stabbed by the Morgul knife and stung by Shelob. That takes serious strength! Sam is one of the story's major heroes, and Frodo would not have made it to Mordor without him, but between the two of them Frodo is not the weaker. Sam was there by his side the whole trip, but he only had to deal with the oppression and torment of the Ring for a few hours. Frodo had to fight it for months...not including the seventeen years he had it before setting out on his quest. Sam deserves all the praise he gets, whereas Frodo deserves far more than he gets. Interestingly enough, even Sam himself agrees with this!
Legolas & Gimli killed dozens of orcs and Urukhai between them while fighting in Moria, Amon Hen, Helm's Deep, the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, and the Battle of the Morannon. Other than Aragorn himself, they see more combat than anyone else in the whole story. They are always hugely outnumbered. They slay orcs by the dozens, and they always walk away mostly unscathed. That speaks to their incredible prowess as warriors. Legolas even shoots down a flying Nazgul with his bow, AT NIGHT, not to mention the mumakil scene in the movie. ("Well, it still only counts as one!" That line always cracks me up!) They also do much to heal the divisions between their two peoples in the years after the War of the Ring.
When you take into account all we know about Glorfindel, I think it's safe to say that he was the most powerful elf in Middle Earth save, possibly, Galadriel with Nenya before the destruction of the One Ring. Glorfindel's power is well above that of the Witchking even at the height of his power. Remember, the Witchking of Angmar fled at the mere sight of Glorfindel at the Battle of Fornost! He also slew a balrog during the fall of Gondolin (Yes, I know, the balrog killed him back, but hair pulling is a dirty trick!), and that was before he was resurrected and sent back to Middle Earth with a major power boost courtesy of the Valar.
Bilbo > Frodo
Bilbo was more badass on his journey, did a lot of combat and carried a lot of weight for the team, I feel like a young bilbo would’ve done better than Frodo did.
The 1 ring is probably the reason why he lasted so long to be fair... But your right completey
While I think there is a temptation to go overboard on tier rankings, I am happy to see it and welcome this new content.
I would put Frodo above Sam. Sam is very loyal. But Frodo is the only mortal that could carry the ring from the beginning to almost the end. After posessing it for a while, Sam even admits that he couldn't carry it for him.
Gandalf ranking should be broken out between the Gray and White.
While I want legolas or elrond or galadriel to be at the top, we all know its bill the pony
Like others have said, Any Maia is automatically S tier, even as transformed into the Istari. The only Elves that should be S tier are Cirdan--who was born in Cuivienen, and Galadriel and Glorfindel, who were born in Valinor in the Noontide. But Galadriel is the most powerful Elf in Middle Earth.
I think Celeborn should also be in s tier? Galadriel calls him the wisest and i think they both power comes much from their marriage.
The question is whether we take Galadriel with or without her ring. With the ring she is right up there. I am not sure how powerful she would be without the ring.
@@jakobm.4183 Well her father is still King of the Noldor in Aman and her halfuncle declared war on everyone who would touch his shiny rocks...
@@Agent-bh9tk I'd agree Celeborn is up there, as he's basically as old as Galadriel and Glorfindel, maybe older, BUT he never lived and learned under the boughs of the Two Tree's from the Valar, like they did. He'd maybe go bottom of S tier.
@jakobm.4183 have you not seen Rings of Power? Lmao 🤣
This discussion was a nice, chill watch to go along with my dinner, so it's much appreciated! My 1 barely-registered disappointment is that I'd like to see a separate picture for Goldberry to go ALONG WITH Tom Bombadil, or a picture of them together as Middle Earth's best *background* Power Couple, but you mentioned them both and gave full coverage for a discussion, so this is a SEVERELY miniscule nitpick at best. Also bear in mind that power rankings for Legendarium characters is ALWAYS going to be a messy analysis due to Tolkien's cheeky belief in Power-Through-&-In-Subtlety and all that, ESPECIALLY for characters of the 3rd Age when power of ANY kind was greatly waning (even Sauron got pretty resource-conservative after he was messed-up in the War of the Last Alliance), so rambling on these types of topics is to be expected!
Man, this was fun, Long and Fun great to pass Important time with!!!
You saying how Young Eowyn was reminds me, I am turning Eowyn's age this October!!!
Thanks for a New Kind of Video, It's really Fun...Until, How Tolkien did Dwarven World Building?...Marion Baggins Out!!!
I ussually enjoy your videos, but this time i have to say, that you're quite messing this up.
You may have a diffirent judgement about certaint things based on youre personal interpretation - that's completely fine.
But you should ABSOLUTELY make a diffirence between the physical/magical *might* and the power of the *spirit* (aka wisdim, willpower, foresight). As you said, there are many ways that someone can be powerfull in Tolkoen's world.
The power of arms of Boromir is very different than the willpower of Frodo. The Shieldmaiden of Rohan is no way compareble in *power* to a milenia old elven princess. Yet her dedication to her loved ones and her fearlessness facing Witch-king is truly remarkible. Compered to Arwen, that just chills throuout the entire War of the Ring in Rivendell, because her daddy told her to do so. Denethor may be simply weak old man, but the wrestling with the Dark Lord throu the Palantír is something, that even Gandalf the White was afraid of. Not to mention, that Sauron himself was in the end owerpowered by the love and mercy of mere hobbits.
These are all simply not compereble in the same category.
It would be wiser to make two diffirent tier lists, or at least categories.
Tho, I still like you're general content. 😊
I like this kind of video, keep up the good work!! It’s a nice change of pace from mostly having lore videos
Merry and Pippin deserve more respect from the Scouring of the Shire and their leadership and deeds there. Fun video!
Also the killing of the witch king?
When Sam was plopped down on A it was obvious how many were going to be put on S.
Sam could fight Legolas and Gimli with his hands behind his back !
yep, that skewed the rest of the list right there
Nahhh Eowyn being higher on the list than Legolas and Gimly should actually be a crime lol 😂 also Radagast is a Maia which should put him in S tier automatically due to the inherent power the Maia possess imo
I respectfully disagree that wizards should all be in high tiers. Keep in mind that Istari are "powered-down" versions of their Maiar forms. Only Gandalf really utilizes his potential as an Istar, in that he mostly uses his magic to bolster his ability to lead/unify people--only occasionally whipping it out for combat purposes, preferring more subtle approaches that increase his influence throughout the world. Everywhere he goes, he has friends to call on and people who trust and respect him. That is his real power.
Personally, I thought even Saruman should have been ranked lower simply because of all the stupid decisions that he made. He might have been stronger than the other wizards in terms of might, but his lack of intelligence and wisdom resulted in utter failure for everything he did.
Hadn’t Sauron lost power from previous incarnations (deaths) and fusing his power into the ring? Therefore shouldn’t Durin’s Bane be higher?
Saruman didn’t really seem to display his full power, mostly arrogance.
Completely agree
@@stevindiesel Sauron was amongst the top 3 most powerful of the Maia which automatically puts him ahead of Durins Bane even with the times he loses some of his power. The only Balrog that could possibly rival Sauron in power would be Gothmog.
No doubt Maiar are great but they were also lesser Valar. I think I read that Sauron was one of the strongest Maiar with Melkor being the strongest Valar
Fun video! Nice to hear you off script and ranking all our favorites is a cool new format.
This is great! My daughter, Melissa wants you to do a Silmarillion tier list or a theory video on could Fingolfin have killed a balrog and lived?
Fingolfin would've wiped out every balrog from existence. Ecthelion of the fountain killed a bunch of them, and their boss gothmog. Fingolfin would've killed em all. Dude 1v1'ed a peak morgoth, who was the strongest valar ever. Dude was probably the most badass dude ever.
this seems like an interesting way to show lore, there are certain topics that could be better explained through tier lists, would like to see how you use them, keep up the good work and good videos
I love these types of videos where characters strengths are shown and talked about
Eomer over Legolas is crazy.
Eowyn over Legolas and Gimly is even crazier.
@@Destroyer94100 Frl💀
@@Destroyer94100 she litterally kill the witch king
arwen over legolas is crazier...
@@thewackykid Arwen defeat the 9
i think its cool youre powerscaling lotr but dude theres no universe where aragorn beats the witch king in a 1v1
I know right Witch King would totally destroy him when he was amped by Sauron
I would recomend either a servants of evil power tier list, or a Valar/Maiar ranking based on power. Love your work Yoysten!
Gimli single handedly healed the thousands of years of strife between elves and dwarves.
He created a new kingdom for the dwarves and did many feats including the fixing of the Minas Tirith gates and the embedding of Galadriel’s hair in his family heirloom.
He was also, importantly, the only dwarf to be let into Aman. As far as I’m aware he’s the only being not made directly by Ilúvatar to be allowed there. Aulë’s creation was allowed into the undying lands which is a complete perversion to the rules and puts him almost in the same real as Beren or Eärendil…
Plus the fact that he’s one of the best dwarves fighters of all time like you said
Bilbo had the Ring for like 70 years. His will was peak. And Eowyn slaying the Witch King was a happenstance of the moment. Her true even more badass moment is decapitating the Fell Beast in a single swipe.
We cannot really be living in a world where Faramir is on a lower tier than Frodo and Sam..
I would love to see a silmarillion tier power list
I will enjoy the mental gymnastics when ranking Feanor.
@@deanzaZZRMight just have to make a separate tier off to the side just for Feanor tbh
@@nordvestgaming1238 Biggest Arrogant Douche Canoe, Feanour S+ Tier.
Would like to see a power rankings on the top 15 most powerful elves based on strictly combat abilities like physical and magical
We need this but with more characters Ungoliant and Morgoth etc. great vid, could watch this all day
The “tier” system video is a great video idea. I’d love to see more of these
I agree with almost all of your tier choices and most of your horizontal position choices.
However: -
1. I think Treebeard should be in Tier A, and probably between Radagast and Celeborn. In combat, he would almost certainly have been more powerful than all of Tier B and most of Tier A being the leader of the Ents, who are stronger than trolls. He is a supernatural creature, one of the oldest beings.
2. I personally would have put Sauron as all-time #1 (assuming as you have that no Valar are on the list), because whilst Tom Bombadil _is indeed_ an enigma, one of the reasons Gandalf did not support the idea of leaving the Ring with him was (a) he might have just thought it unimportant and thrown it away and (b) even if he didn't, Gandalf doubted whether Tom could have withstood a sustained assault by all of Sauron's power (and note, the Sauron pictured is the one before his fall at the hands of Elendil and Gil-Galad). Now, it's _possible_ that Gandalf was wrong about that, but there's not much that he is wrong about in the end, so I trust him! (Tom's power also seems more limited to the rough environs of where he lives, so whilst he is more powerful than Gandalf in his own home, I wonder if he would have been the same somewhere else in Middle Earth? He also didn't have to survive the hardships Gandalf did or have to go around the continent rallying people for a thousand years. Still, I'm not going to quibble about that).
3. Glorfindel not only killed a balrog at the Fall of Gondolin but when he died and was sent back, he was given almost as much power as a Maia. So I think he should have been above Durin's Bane now on the list, as there's no evidence that Durin's Bane is a greater balrog than the one Glorfindel already killed (and was killed by). Glorfindel is certainly more powerful than Elrond in combat terms at least, and possibly in offensive magic - although Elrond had great power of another kind and was the bearer of one of the Three.
4. The films probably made Galadriel far stronger than she was in the books. To be clear, she _was_ of course extremely powerful, but for instance she was not the one who single-handedly drove Sauron from Dol Guldur as is depicted in the film; that was actually the entire White Council. I would probably put her on par with Glorfindel, but below Saruman. Almost Maia level but not quite.
5. I think the Witch King should be higher than Aragorn in the form that you showed him. Yes, Aragorn was able to fend off many of the Nazgul (including the Witch King) on Weathertop, but he surprised them with fire. Also at the point of the Battle of Pelannor Fields, the Witch King is filled with the power of Sauron and I don't think Aragorn could have defeated him or forced him to flee if they had directly faced off against each other (we know he couldn't have killed him). I would have put the Witch King on a par with Elrond, and it's debatable which of them would be marginally ahead.
So my Tier S would have looked like this (from left to right): Sauron, Tom Bombadil, Gandalf the White (not the Grey), Saruman the White (as he was originally, not of the Many Colours), Glorfindel/Galadriel, Durin's Bane, Elrond/The Witch King, Aragorn, The King of the Dead.
Mostly agree, though tbh we don't know that Aragorn 'couldn't' kill the Witch King, but simply that he wasn't fated to be the one to kill him. He was carrying the sword that brought down the Witch King's master, after all. There's no telling what Andúril would have done to the servant. Aragorn certainly had the willpower to withstand the Witch King's main weapon - the dread and despair he eminated.
Always a pleasure to discuss LOTR lore but maybe for these kinds of lists we need to quantify the values for example
A score in physical power then mental strenght and the renown of their most notable deeds from 1-5 maybe and then tally them up.We could use the decimals to differentiate the close calls 😅
Eomer took the throne of Rohan and immediately ventured with king elessar to reclaim all the fallen lands of both of their ancestors. Eomer definitely deserved a spot in A at least
Tierlists are always fun to watch :)
Any video you make is a great video. Please make more.
PS Legolas was a beast, at least in the movies. He never took a scratch!
I agree mostly.
I’d say that in reality Tom can’t be above Sauron. I think based on. Sauron with the ring as we see him in the prologue he dominates all of middle earth. Including Toms lands eventually.
Also you’ve done Isildur dirty. Literally Aragorns power stems from this bloodline. He cut the ring from Sauron himself and was a true leader of men in the same way Aragorn would be later. I know he fell too the temptation of the ring. But no one could have resisted. (Which is another reason why Sauron is clear of everyone, the ring must come into the equation, it’s fuelled by his will after all.) other than that. Great list.
I’m no Tolkien expert but some random rankings. Eomyr does well to slay Witch King but that was surely more right place right time. Legolas is a non-stop fearless, insanely skilled badass who often carried the fellowship through much of their trials (plus Hobbit journey). At times he was more effective than Aragorn (without the leadership depth), Eomyr almost poisoned Aragorn with her terrible cooking?
Bombadil and Goldberry were restricted to the Old Forest, their power was tied to place. That was their choice. Frodo is a C and was helped a great deal. Boromir is also a C. Samwise is a C, he also had things that helped him along the way. Denethor is a B. Elrond is just a A, not a S, he is a cut below and is only 3000 years old...Eomer is a C just a plain warrior. Eyown is a C for one deed, Gimil is a solid B, Aragorn is a A as he s just human, Legolas is a B, Arwen is a C, Bilbo is an A as he is a cut above Frodo by far. Faramir is just a C, Merry is a D, as is Pippen. Wormtoung is a D. Gollum is an A...ultimate survivor and resisted the ring even tortured by evil. Isildur is a C, he was a one time hit. Witch King is just a B and then an A not and S. Gandalf grey is a A and as a White an S, he brought it all down. Sauraman is a A and and S, Radagast is an A, Sauron is a S. Galadriel is a S, Theoden is a B, Glorfindel is a S, King of the Oath Breakers is a C, Mouth is a B, Watcher is a B, Elladan and Elrohir are B, Eagles are an A, Shelob is and A, Gothmog is a B, Cirdan is an A, general Nazgul are just a B...over rated...Celeborn is a B or A, Treebear is an A, Balrog is a A,
I’d say almost spot on, much more consistent than the video. Although I’d argue Legolas is an A and don’t see how Balrog can only be an A when surely only top tier opponents would be able to kill it? (Is DB same level as Sauron (who had lost power) and it took Gandalf several days and nights to eventually smite him?)
And separate question, wouldn’t any human or non-magical creature just die of burns fighting DB?
I usually do not enjoy tierlist but assumed, correctly so, that i would enjoy yours.
I'm not going to argue about the rankings, seeing as it's down to each individuals personal take on the characters. I also suspect that if you did a poll of say every viewer and subscriber, you'd see a general trend whereby, apart from a number of outliers, the answers aren't dissimilar to Yoystan's. 😊❤❤❤😊
Faramir was one of the few that refused the rings temptation. Also he volunteered to go to thw Elrons council. Also he kept the enemies at bay, great fighter Bolimer also said he is on his level in the extended scenes
Isildur literally bet sauron and took the ring
Bilbon is as least A tier, had the ring for so long time. Master of sneaking,..
Rank weapons next, but not by their power; rank them by how cool the dude who used them was. I expect Ringil to be S+ tier.
Only weapon that has a shot at topping Ringil is Anglachel. The Black Blade drank deep from many a legendary figure.
This was fun, thank you very much! I might have decided differently in some, maybe even many, cases, but as you say, the fun part is the debate and actually thinking about it. It also really depends on the basis for ranking (as you say in your comment, it depends on the definition of "power"). Since many were ranked based on their deeds, Frodo could easily have been S-Tier. On the other hand, I agree that he's not super powerful, only very important. I still think he should be above Sam, whose deeds are smaller than Frodos and his main strength is in the love he feels for Frodo and some others.
Anyway, super fun video, thanks and I'd love to see more of those :)
this ranking blows, respect though lol. Placing Isildur below Sam and Eowyn is really silly, and Glorfindel below Elrond is really strange. Surprised you didn’t add Elendil or Gil-Galad? Guessing they’d both be placed in S above or around Elrond.
I definitely like the tiering genre for evaluating via complete and contrast, and via some fixed criteria, aspects of middle earth. It can also be used to help understand in greater depth more on the differences. For example, comparing the Ainu this way would be very helpful to know their abilities, contributions, and their raw power.
My own preference would be to define how one gets on the various tiers before beginning to place folks. I love that you included a definition for needing to take down a specific MOB before placing anyone on tier A. Having those levels
Love the exercise and I do hope to see more.
This was so fun! Would love to see this video type for The Hobbit or The Silmarillion
Great vid, my only thought is Glorfindel slew a balrog in the first age (and died doing so) but like Gandalf was returned to the fray with a sizeable power enhancement, I think he would have gone toe to toe with Durins Bane to defend his friends!!
Everything checks out other than Gimli and Legolas, they should be slotted behind Radogast I think
The Arwen disrespect hurt my feelings man. She who saved the ring bearer and fought off the Nazgûl. I love Sam he is the real hero, but he wouldn’t stand a chance against even one of them. Also having the watcher over the eagles, that hurt.
This was fun. Maybe another tier list(s) based on averages of points given for stats (1-5). Some suggestions for the stat categories are: Feats, Will/Spirit, Strength of Arms, Wisdom/Knowledge, and Power(Magic/Supernatural).
Great video, enjoyed the different take on analysing Tolkien's world and an interesting way to compare characters!
I'd imagine Cirdan to be higher than mid-A considering he's; the only elf in the LOTR timeline to have taken part in the migration to Valinor, was the Lord of Falas and the Falathrim and later the Grey Havens, raised and shaped Gil-Galad into one of the mightiest elves post First Age, built Wingelot which could be considered the most significant ship ever built in Arda, and perhaps most impotantly was one of the three elves (where the other two are ranked S in this list) to be the ring bearer of the most powerful Rings Of Power bar The One Ring
Right on you on Cirdan. But, Glorfindel was part of the Valinor migration. It's tricky because of the resurrection and he got both powered up and powered down and was sort of a Maiar for a bit in the letters. In the sense of being blessed among beings. Sent back before Gandalf was.
@@bhkavanaghYou're right! I completely forgot about Glorfindel!
Him too being in S-tier makes it even weirder seeing Cirdan being A-tier imo.
@@ivordundic6095 This is just fun with few limits. Tolkien himself moved these goalposts as he was creating. Just super fun and your posts are a real pleasure. Recently reread the Tuan and Huan stuff. Dark dark stuff. Keep at it. It's a lifetime of imagination.
Glorfindel came back enhanced after killing the balrog. So I think he could have easily beaten Duran's Bane
I personally think lists are super low effort, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, and metrics dont lie, they are very popular on RUclips.
Could be something easier to add to your repertoire to break up your more quality content and alleviate potential burnout, while also playing to the algorithm.
I say more power to ya to branch out.
Watcher in the Water is definitely S tier for the sole fact that it made the entire Fellowship flee in terror at the gates
Also, there should be maybe 2 or 3 S tier MAX otherwise it just cheapens the rankings. No way Aragorn couldve taken Glorfindel in straight battle, and Glorfindel is peak A tier. Love this idea, would love to see you take another crack at it. The fact that none of the characters are F on a 6-tiered gradient is kinda wild.
Everything should at least been moved one rank down. Except some s tier like maiar and Galadriel , maybe Glorfindel.
Why is witchking the same rank as Sauron. That makes no sense.
Yes would love more of these ranking videos for sure.
A good tier video. I would like to see where Durin the Deathless fits on the list 😊 or perhaps you could do additional more focused tier lists (battle prowess, character growth, will etc.). I should say I still love the lore videos/discussions with a moral message at the end more 😊
It is said that Bombadil would fall in the end if Sauron focused his power upon him at the end and his whole power is only active in his own domain. Not sure that he takes the number one spot
And Wormtoung is very underrated. He manipulated Theoden and turned him against his own loved ones even without possessing a spiritual power of his own. This is a great potential for intellect here
"'He would, perhaps, if all the free folk of the world begged him to do so,' said Gandalf. 'But he would not do so willingly. For it would only postpone the evil day. In time the Lord of the Ring would find out its hiding-place, and in the end he would come in person.(25) I doubt whether Tom Bombadil, even on his own ground, could withstand that power; but I am sure that we should not leave him to face it.
IN THE HOUSE OF ELROND - History of Middle Earth
And:
>'I know little of Iarwain save the name,' said Galdor; 'but Glorfindel, I think, is right. Power to defy our Enemy is not in him, unless such power is in the earth itself. And yet we see that Sauron can torture and destroy the very hills.
The council of Elrond - The Fellowship of the Ring
In this version of the History of Middle Earth, Sauron was more powerful than demonstrated in the Silmarillion and Lord of the Rings versions. To the point that, if he took the 3 elven rings or dominated their possessors, his Shadow would reach even Valinor:
>'Now is the time for true speaking. Tell me, Elrond, if the Three Rings still are? And tell me, Gloin, if you know it, whether any of the Seven remain?'
'Yes, the Three still are,' said Elrond, 'and it would be ill indeed if Sauron should discover where they be, or have power over their rulers; for then perhaps his shadow would stretch even to the Blessed Realm.'
In the House of Elrond - History of Middle Earth
@@rafaelgustavo7786 Yet another example of Sauron being underrated as your quote made my claims a fact.
I am not sure if this version of Sauron was more powerfull tho. In many ways earlier drafts present much weaker beings in Lotr. Ringwraiths, Gandalf and Balrog being prime examples. Sauron’s influence extending to Blessed Realms is also not far fetched in Lotr version to me given that his influence in Mordor , even from Mordor itself, was able to cancel Elronds foresight powers and he was vastly diminished in the Third Age. He also , I think; was responsible for Numenoreans ability to pass through Enchanted Isles of Numenor and in one of the versions Melkor sends him to deal with Melians Girdle who we know was a very powerful being send by Valar to protect entire continent from the evils of Morgoth that would threaten the Elves as they were dealing with Melkor in Utumno
@@oguzhanenescetin5702 The Silmarillion talks about a clash between Sauron and Melian. What it seems to me is that the powers of these two maiar were equivalent, as neither overcame the other:
>Beyond lay the wilderness of Dungortheb, where the sorcery of Sauron and the power of Melian came together, and horror and madness walked.
Perhaps Sauron managed to break Doriath's barrier, but in doing so Beren was able to cross that gap and find Lúthien. The rest is history.
Remember that Morgoth owned the Silmarils. So, just as Carcharoth was able to cross, so could he.
@@rafaelgustavo7786 Yeah I also think they were more or less comparable going from this quote
Hmm yeah I probably would not put Tom in the power ranking at all because he is such a enigma within the world of Arda. A truly unique entity.
Fascinating watch dudo! I mostly agree, but I'd change these few...
Glorfindel- further up 'S', closer to Sauron. No, seriously! There's not too much detail on him, but by the time of Frodo's flight to Rivendell from Weathertop, he is LITERALLY an Ascended Being, on par with Eärendel... who slew Ancalagon, The Winged Death-Mountain 😄 in the 1st Age. In the books (not movies), Glorylocks piles into the pursuing Nâzgul... and they FEAR him. Imagine being THAT tough! Yeah, he's my fave, this insanely OP Elf badass who drops Balrogs in 'mortal' form- usually only a Gandalf could do that, a literal Maia!
Faramir- poss an 'A', simply because whilst not as doughty or glory-draped as his brother... he resisted the One Ring. That's no small thing! Without his assist Frodo wouldn't have gotten to Mount Doom at all...I really like that you put Sam so high, for this reason also- he just handed back the One Ring to Frodo! Willpower +255 😄
Gollum- although not particularly Heroic, or a skilled fighter, he survived an unnaturally twistedly long life, surviving in caves and swamps scavenging raw food, had his mind warped by the Ring, went through multiple torturings and kidnappings, and (inadvertently, tbf) was the one to destroy the Ring when Frodo finally broke. Endurance +255. Surely deserves something higher, not sure myself 🤔
Again man, thanks, keep up the great efforts 👍🏻👍🏻
I'm glad you put Durin's Bane below Gandalf. I mean, he was running away from Galdalf the Grey by the end of the fight. Not sure how I feel about him being above Glorfindel.
I think ranking characters by wisdom, by honour or by cunning could be an interesting way to take character ranking videos like this. It would give you a lot of interesting character details to talk about. Tolkien has way too nuanced and delicate of a world for something as simple as "power" to be a good ranking system imo.
Totally disagree with your positioning in few cases like Glorfindel and Cirdan. Glorfindel is extremelly powerful in combat and spirit and everyone who reeds Tolkien knows that so you had to put him right next to Galadriel at least. His deeds are numerous and tremendous throughout the ages of Middle Earth. As a warrior he is much more powerful than Elrond or Aragorn and could easily slained Durin's bane instead of Gandalf and surviving to tell the story. Also his spiritual powers reaching almost Galadriel's.
And of course Cirdan is way older than Galadriel herself so his true powers are at least terrifying and spectacular like hers. He also had the courage and willpower to give away his elven ring as a present to Gandalf, and we are speaking here about one of the three Elven Rings that was given to him as an Elf elder leader and this demonstrates his great mentality and wisdom. You had to put him at least next to Galadriel and Glorfindel. Imagine that he is by far much older than this newly shaped Middle Earth after cataclysm of First Age.
Also I believe Faramir deserves better positioning for his willpower and wisdom despite his young age.
Agreed. Glorfindel should be a teensy notch higher than Elrond IMO
Imrahil surely is more powerful than half that list. Regular Nazgul is not more powerful than Isildur.
I appreciate your use of Exiled Kingdoms soundtrack.
I actually did a tier list of my own, only concerning physical power, it contains silmarillion character it’s quite complex, I would love some feedback on this!
S
Eru Illuvatar
Melkor (original)
Manwe
Ulmo
Aule
Tulkas
Orome
A
Eonwe
Melkor (end 1 age)
Feanor
Fingolfin
B
Huan
Sauron
Eärendil
Gandalf the white
Ancalagon the black
Fingon
Turgon
Maedhros
Finrod Felagund
Gothmog
Glaurung
Hurin
Turin
Tuor
Beren
Gandalf the grey
Durin’s bane
Smaug
Gil-Galad/Elendil
Balrog (Silmarillion)
Glorfindel/Ecthelion
Beleg
Mablung
Elrond
C
Isildur
Aragorn
Witch-King
Thranduill
Chieftains of the dunedain
D
Theoden king at Gladden fields
Thorin/Daìn
Azog
Boromir
Gimli
Legolas
Faramir
Prince Imrahil
Eomer
Barde
Beorn
Shelob
Sam Gamgie
I think the only thing that I would change is I would at the very least put Glorfindel above the balrog if anything for consistency since you put Gandalf the Grey above Durins Bane. I mean both scenarios are pretty much identical besides the setting and specific characters involved. Though I do think there is an argument to be made that Glorfindel could be put above Durins Bane and potentially even Gandalf the Grey.
How could you not put worm tounge in "F" nah bro I'm done with this video haha
Having Faramir so low makes me question everything. Great leader of men, the blood of Numenor runs nearly true in him, he can resist the ring, and Eowyn says that she grew up around men of war and here is one that all the men in Rohan could not best in battle. That presumably also means Eomer.
Yeah, whether you’re talking about strength as in willpower, his ability to resist the ring has him pretty high up. If you’re talking about battle strength, his heritage basically makes him a slightly lesser version of Aragorn. He’s been keeping Mordor at bay for likely around 15 years based on his age, remains seated on his horse when pursued by the Nazgul, most (or all, can’t quite remember) of his men are unseated and then rode back to help, can ‘master beasts and men’ and then spends days holding off the forces of Mordor during the siege and he’s put in C? Should be above Eowyn, Arwen, Theoden, Eomer and even Boromir but certainly on a level with them. Way too lowly ranked
Im loving this...more tier lists please.
This was great, there is a good reason a lot of people make tier lists.
Denethor directly fought against Sauron in a battle of wits and resisted him for a very long time. I think thats A tier power.
My only disagreement would be with Glorfindle. He should be right up there with Gandalf and Sauruman. He was on par on the order of power with the Mayar. In fact it was because he was so powerful that he wasn't part of the fellowship. In arms or magic, few could stand up to him.
I disagree with your ranking of Bilbo. Granted, he did keep the ring for decades, but he was the only one to give it up willingly. Gandalf did strongly suggest it, similar to how Elrond did with Isildur, but Bilbo actually dropped it. I do agree he's still C-Tier, but I'd put him between Gimli and Frodo.
Yea this is hard to watch, you either have to do power of fighting ability or otherwise to mix and match is confusing and not satisfying in any way.
Love all your content
I really like your videos, but this one... I strongly disagreed many of your rankings. You had the most powerful and probably the wisest ruler of men (before Aragorn sat to the throne), Denethor of Gondor, two ranks below Sam?!
Bill the Pony is the most powerful being in Middle Earth. Change my mind.
All jokes aside, I think you did great on this. Could you do this with the difference places in Middle Earth? The question could be which place is the best place to live in Middle Earth and you can rank places like the Shire, Gondor, Rohan, Rivendell, Lothlorien, etc.
Eowyn and Merry deserve to share the same spot considering the witchking's death was a joint venture between the 2, not mention it was Merrys barrow-down blade that eventually caused the witchking to fall on his knees in agony if im not mistaken? Also i feel Eomer and Faramir also deserve more credit for sticking to their core belief inspite of going against their respect lords in aid of the fellowship and eventually the greater Middle Earth? In fact Eomer went as far as the black gates and certain doom with only one thing in mind, fulfilling his oaths! But to be honest with you, i really dig your content bro. Big ups man💪
This was awesome! I have to disagree on Isildur, though. He did take down Sauron, but it was his weakness that caused millennia of suffering. I would not put him in A. I also think you put Faramir too low, he is definitely stronger than his brother.
Loved this video, despite my disagreements on many of these rankings. You should do one for the Valar/Maiar
I legitimately want you to do this again, soon, but break it down into possibly three videos:
Ranked by physical power (or battle prowess)
Ranked by spiritual/magical power
Ranked by power of will
I like and agree with a lot of your takes, but definitely see what people are saying about it being a bit jumbled and inconsistent
You did my boy Merry dirty. This is a hobbit who survived capture by the orks, convinced the tree ents to join the war in a timely manner, scoured isengard from the map, rode into battle against orks and easterlings, and was crucial to the final defeat of the witch king.
Make no mistake, you put Merry on any battlefield or situation and the little guy is going to do something amazing. Without doubt he is one of Erus favorite chaotic agents of good.