Alduin the World Eater vs Smaug - Who Would Win

Alduin the World Eater vs Smaug - Who Would Win

 

Dragons are cool. Being an amazing idea for a bumper sticker aside this is a statement that often goes through my head. So for my next who would win I decided to take one of gaming’s most iconic dragons and pit him against one of films most iconic dragons and see who would come out on top. Let’s look at Alduin.

 

Alduin the World Eater is a dragon in the Elder Scrolls 5 Skyrim. He is the leader of all dragons and the games primary antagonist. This battle I should mention will involve Alduin’s physical formfighting until he can no longer continue, not until death, anyone interested in Elder Scrolls lore will understand why. Alduin I a black dragon covered in spikes. Using some admittedly crude calculations I found out Alduin is in the region of 9 to 10 metres long at around 30 feet. This is about 5 times the length of an average man. Like all dragons in Skyrim he can fly at great speeds and he is equipped with a terrifying set of teeth. A dragons scales are also extremely tough making him very durable. It should be noted in the game he has a 50% resistance to all attacks.

 

Dragons is skyrim are immortal, they do not age. There are no dragon eggs or birth, instead they are believed to be created by the chief deity of the nine divines, Akatosh. Akatosh is basically the leader of the nine Gods of Tamriel, the continent in which Skyrim is located. Alduin calls himself the first born of Akatosh as he is the chief deity’s most acclaimed creation. The Nords of Skyrim actually see Alduin as the God of Destruction.

 

Alduin is profoundly intelligent. He is also however extremely arrogant. He believes it is his birth right to cause the apocalypse as well as lead the other dragons. Despite this multiple dragons have questioned his rule, with two dragons in particular standing out as they helped in his innevitbale defeat.

 

The World Eater possess multiple magic abilities. Interestingly a dragons magic comes from its voice. When a dragon uses what looks like a magical attack it is simply speaking in its native tongue. The voice of a dragon is the greatest power it possesses. It is likely that Alduin can use every dragon shout but I’m going to limit him to the ones he uses in the game to avoid assumption. He uses fire breath, which is pretty self-explanatory. The same can be said about his frost breath. He uses the famous unrelenting force which for those of you who don’t know will throw smaller enemies into the air and stagger larger enemies. It is like a very strong gust of wind. Finally he can use a shout called Dragon Storm Call which is basically Draco Meteor from Pokémon. It causes meteors to rain down from the sky causing immense damage to anything they hit.

 

Smaug is the Dragon from The Hobbit. I am using his film portrayal since not only do I think more people will be familiar with it but it also appears to be more powerful. Smaug is supposedly 54 metres in length, over 5 times the length of Alduin. This makes him powerful. His has huge amounts of physical strength, in fact he can easily crush stone. His scales are tough to a point where they completely impenetrable by normal weapons. He does have a soft underbelly but after sleeping on top of jewels and gold for many years they have stuck to his belly, acting as a strong protective layer. Smaug can also breathe fire as well as his entire imbued being imbued with fire. Dragon also have a hypnotic power that can work on weaker beings.

 

Like Alduin, Smaug is highly intelligent. His sharp mind has allowed him to gain encyclopaedic knowledge of his treasure horde. Also he possesses keen sense and is always aware of what s going on around him. Like many villains though he is arrogant and greedy. He cares only for his gold and treasure and he likes to mock anyone who opposes him.

 

So how were these two dragons defeated? Maybe this can help us see who will win this bout. Smaug was hit by a black arrow on a bare patch on his soft belly. Kind of anticlimactic. Alduin ruled over men and elves and used them as slaves. The Nords of Skyrim retaliated and the dragon was begun. Dragons easily overpowered their enemy with the power of the voice until the dragon known as Paarthanax took pity on the mortal race and taught them the way of the voice. Men were still not strong enough so they created a new shout that would force a dragon to understand mortality, a terrifying concept for an immortal creature. Despite this they still could not defeat Alduin.

 

Three ledgendary heroes used the immense power of an elder scroll to defeat Alduin. Well the work defeat is an overstatement, they actually sent him forwards in time. The other dragons soon retreated and were thought to be extinct. Many years later Alduin and the dragons returned to plunge Skyrim into chaos. Only a Dragonborn, a mortal with the soul of a dragon could defeat Alduin. This is exactly what Skyrim got. A Dragonborn can absorb a dragon’s soul, killing it for good. The Dragonborn fought Alduin in Sovengarde, the Nord equivalent of heaven alongside the three legendary heroes and defeated the World Eater.

 

Comparing Smaug to Alduin is a mismatch. Smaug is bigger and more physically powerful but in every other regard Alduin clearly has the advantage. Let’s for a moment just focus and the physical form of Alduin. He is far quicker and more agile, he is easily as durable and he has not exposed weak point. Even if Smaugs scales could stand up to Alduins attacks and meteor shower, his soft underbelly certainly could not. Unrelenting force could quite easily remove the barrier of gold and treasure leaving the more sluggish Smaug wide open for attack.

 

Alduin meanwhile could easily take Smaugs fire with his 50% resistance and he is too quik for Smaug to get too close. Even if he could, the Dragon Storm Call would make it extremely difficult for Smaug to focus as he would be pounded by meteors. This would allow Alduin to think more clearly as he would be far less distracted.

 

Ofcourse you may try to argue Smaug could somehow win this. Even if somehow he could what good would it do? Smaug’s downfall is how these 2 series treat dragons. In the Hobbit dragons are powerful creatures. In the Elder Scrolls dragons are immortal beings who are specially attuned to time itself. Not only this, their souls endured physical death which is why a Dragonborn who absorbs their soul is needed to truly kill them. Considering the Dragonborn in Skyrim is the first dragonborn since Tiber Septim, the man who united Tamriel and ascended to Godhood you can see how much it requires to defeat Alduin. In fact the Dragonborn to defeat Alduin needed:

. To be dragonborn

. Help from the grey beards, a group of monks who didicate their lives to study the voice

. Help from the blades, an ancient group of warriors who assist the dragonborn

. Not 1 but three elder scrolls

.  To see an event far in the past to learn the powerful dragonrend shout

. The help of 2 dragons, including Paarthanax the dragon that taught the Norbs the power of the voice

. Finally the three legendary heroes who were in Sovengarde

Smaug was killed by one black arrow. But there’s more to it than that. Despite all that the Dragonborn never actually absorbed Alduin’s soul. Therefore Alduin is not dead. You can ask Paarthanax about this in the game and he says that Alduin may yet return to yield the apocalypse. Perhaps when the Gods deem the time to be right Alduin will return to end the world. Maybe he’ll do it by his own accord. Either way it almost seems an inevitability that Alduin will cause the apocalypse. It’s only a matter of time. Alduin is truly Godlike in his power. There’s a reason he’s called the World Eater. He will genuinely eat the world. Smaug is powerful but he was no match for the supreme might of the World Eater. The victory goes to Alduin.