Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian

For the boss in Stratholme, see Atiesh (demon). For the achievement, see  [Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian].

File:WarCraft Samwise038c.jpg

Medivh, the Guardian of Tirisfal, wielding Atiesh.

Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian is a powerful staff originally wielded by Medivh, the last Guardian of Tirisfal. It is currently wielded by Khadgar, Medivh's former apprentice, and formerly by Med'an, Medivh's son. It was born from the "seed of hate" and grants its wielder "power unending". It was passed down by each Guardian of Tirisfal to its successor.

Atiesh can be used to open up portals to Karazhan and is also known for attracting ravens towards the wielder. Atiesh is what allows Khadgar and Medivh to take on the form of a raven.

History

Medivh holding Atiesh while talking to Thrall in a vision.

Its date of creation is unknown, but it is known that Atiesh was forged from the "seed of hate" and was wielded by each Guardian of Tirisfal until the line ended with Medivh. This would set the age of Atiesh at thousands of years.

Following the assassination of Medivh, the staff was brought to Dalaran where it was held by successive members of the Kirin Tor, who all found their deaths soon (except for highborne sorcerer Tarsis Kir-Moldir, it appears). After all these deaths, it was decided that the staff was to be put "behind impenetrable barriers of magic" and a "watcher" was appointed: Angela Dosantos. The shattering of the staff came about following the destruction of Dalaran by Archimonde, probably due to the failsafe system of the magical barrier. Atiesh was shattered into forty-two pieces which were scattered across all of Azeroth. Brann Bronzebeard held the [Base of Atiesh], which he somehow lost to C'Thun. The Scourge captured the forty-one other pieces, twenty of which were initially held by Tarsis. Forty pieces of Atiesh were each entrusted to a different lieutenant of Kel'Thuzad within Naxxramas, while the fallen mage himself held the staff's head.

When Naxxramas appeared over the Eastern Plaguelands, the Argent Dawn attempted to prevent this powerful focus of power from falling into the hands of the necromancer-lich, Kel'Thuzad, and were apparently successful in this regard.

Later, Meryl Winterstorm sent Garona Halforcen on a mission to retrieve the base of the shattered staff from within the remains of C'Thun. Garona succeeded and gave the base to Med'an, who restored the whole staff simply by holding it while being imbued with the powers of the New Council of Tirisfal.

Khadgar with Atiesh.

During the War against the Iron Horde, Medivh's former apprentice Khadgar is seen wielding Atiesh (or a weapon with the same model as Blizzard hasn't clearly confirmed whether it's Atiesh). It is unclear how he has obtained it, as it was last seen in Med'an's possession. The most likely answer is Med'an gave it to him for one reason or another, as Med'an seems to have stepped down from his role as Guardian.

Khadgar continues to use it in Legion.

In World of Warcraft

The subject of this section has been removed from World of Warcraft.

A tauren wielding Atiesh, with lured ravens in the background.

Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian, is a legendary caster staff which could be assembled via a quest prior to the release of Patch 3.0.2, when Naxxramas moved back to Northrend. The quest begins inside Naxxramas and involves obtaining several parts of the staff.

• The staff could be obtained by mages, warlocks, priests, and druids.
• The item stats vary slightly for each class.
• The cloth portion of the staff varies based on which version it is: green for druids, red for mages, white for priests, and blue for warlocks.
• The staff provides the ability to open a portal to Medivh's tower of Karazhan; however, at the time of Atiesh's release into World of Warcraft, Karazhan had yet to be implemented. It was opened upon the release of Burning Crusade. The portal leads to the front door of Karazhan.

Assembling the staff

• Kel'Thuzad's underlings in Naxxramas each have a chance to drop a  [Splinter of Atiesh].
  • Once all 40 Splinters have been found, they may be combined into the  [Frame of Atiesh], which gives a quest to visit the dragon Anachronos. Players were then given a quest to obtain the staff head and base of Atiesh. They had to be at least neutral with the Brood of Nozdormu to be able to talk to Anachronos to complete the quest and hence be able to pick up the following quest to obtain the head and base.
• Kel'Thuzad drops the  [Staff Head of Atiesh].
• The  [Base of Atiesh] drops from C'Thun in the Temple of Ahn'Qiraj.
• The final step was going to Stratholme to cleanse the staff, followed by slaying the demon Atiesh. The summoning location was in the Festival Lane west of the Alonsus Chapel, in between the western ("Scarlet") and eastern (Scourge) districts of Stratholme.

Notes

• In Warcraft III, Medivh was seen with Atiesh. This was apparently retconned given Angela's story.
• In Karazhan, the ghost of Medivh's father, Nielas Aran, is an optional boss encounter. When he sees Atiesh equipped by a raid member, he shouts out "Where did you get that?! Did HE send you??" believing that Medivh gave his staff to the wielder.
• It was the first legendary caster item added to the game.
• Although the quest chain can no longer be started, players on the Quest:Atiesh, the Befouled Greatstaff step or later who have already obtained all of the items from the original Naxxramas can still complete it.
• Atiesh means "flame" in Persian.
• Aegwynn has been portrayed several times as wielding Atiesh, which seems to be contradicted by  [Aluneth], which is said to have been used by her during her entire tenure as Guardian. Despite this, even artwork released after the retcon portrays her using Atiesh. A key example of this is artwork in Chronicle showing her battle with Sargeras, which was released long after the changes were made to the current lore. As no mention of Aluneth nor Atiesh are made in Chronicle, it is possible it was merely a mistake.
• In Legion, Khadgar confirms he wields Atiesh. He used it on Draenor but according to Ultimate Visual Guide - Updated and Expanded, it was still in Med'an's hands at the time of the war on Draenor.

Patch changes

• Patch 3.0.2 (2008-10-14): With the removal of original 40-man Naxxramas, the Atiesh quest-chain is no longer available, as  [Splinter of Atiesh] has been removed from the drop tables of the bosses.
  
• Patch 2.3.0 (2007-11-13): Can no longer open portals in battlegrounds.
  
• Patch 2.1.0 (2007-05-22):
  • The mage version of the staff changed to +28 critical strike rating from a flat +3% critical strike.
  • The party aura from these items will now be reapplied correctly when a player logs into the game while already mounted.
    
• Patch 1.12.1 (2006-09-26): Fixed a bug where the warlock version would cause all healing done by party members under the effects of the staff to be reduced to zero.
  
• Patch 1.11.0 (2006-06-19): Added.
  

See also

•  [Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian], Feat of Strength achievement for equipping this staff.
•  [60D] Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian, the quest item.
•  [Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian], the druid version.
•  [Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian], the mage version.
•  [Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian], the priest version.
•  [Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian], the warlock version.

External links

ImageLink.org Gallery of Tarsis in Naxxramas

Template:Legendary items