Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian

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

Archmage Khadgar wielding Atiesh.

Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian is a powerful staff passed down through the line of the Guardians of Tirisfal up until and including Medivh, the Last Guardian. It is currently wielded by Medivh's former apprentice, Khadgar. The staff was born from the "seed of hate" and grants its wielder "power unending".

Atiesh can be used to open up portals to Karazhan. It is also known for attracting ravens towards the wielder, and gives them the ability to turn into a raven themselves.

History

The Guardian of Tirisfal Medivh wielding Atiesh.

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, including Aegwynn, until the line ended with Medivh. This would set the age of Atiesh at thousands of years.

Following the assassination of Medivh by Anduin Lothar and Khadgar, the staff was found by the Kirin Tor and brought to Dalaran. This was followed by a series of tragic events, leading to the death of every Kirin Tor mage that came into contact with Atiesh. The staff was put behind impenetrable barriers of magic and the mage Angela Dosantos was appointed to watch over it.

Following the Third War, the staff was lost and shattered, presumably due to the failsafe system of the magical barrier during the destruction of Dalaran by Archimonde. The forty-two pieces of Atiesh were scattered across all of Azeroth, and Archlich Kel'Thuzad sought to find the pieces and reform the staff. The Highborne archmage Tarsis Kir-Moldir, who had previously wielded the staff briefly, managed to gather twenty pieces of Atiesh, but he was found by the Scourge. Kel'Thuzad was then in possession of all the pieces, which he entrusted to his lieutenants, except for one, the  [Base of Atiesh], found by Brann Bronzebeard. However, Brann somehow lost it to C'Thun in Ahn'Qiraj.

When Naxxramas appeared over the Eastern Plaguelands, the Argent Dawn attempted to prevent this powerful focus of power from falling into the hands of Kel'Thuzad, and were apparently successful in their mission. Meryl Winterstorm later sent Garona Halforcen on a mission to retrieve the base of the shattered staff from within the remains of the Old God C'Thun. She succeeded and gave the base to Med'an, who restored the whole staff.

From the war in Draenor onward, the staff was wielded by Khadgar, the former apprentice of Medivh. It was unclear how he obtained it, as it was last seen in Med'an's possession. The most likely answer is that Med'an himself gave it to him.

When Xal'atath and the nerubians of Azj-Kahet attacked Dalaran, Atiesh was snapped in half as Khadgar fought the Harbinger, shortly before she destroyed the city with the Dark Heart and imprisoned him within it.

In World of Warcraft

The subject of this section has been removed from World of Warcraft but is present in Classic Era.

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 wielding Atiesh. This contradicts Angela's story which states that the staff was retrieved by the Kirin Tor after his death.

• An unused icon suggests that the staff was intended to have a role in Warcraft III.

• In Karazhan, the ghost of Medivh's father, Nielas Aran, reacts to raid members equipped with Atiesh: "Where did you get that?! Did HE send you??", believing that Medivh gave the staff to the player.
  • In Return to Karazhan, the Shade of Medivh also reacts, yelling "My staff... a relic, yes, but MINE!".
• Atiesh was the first Legendary caster item in World of Warcraft.
• Although the quest chain can no longer be started, players on the  [60R] Atiesh, the Befouled Greatstaff step or later who have already obtained all of the items from the original Naxxramas raid can still complete it.
• According to Ultimate Visual Guide, Updated and Expanded, Atiesh was still in Med'an's hands during the war in Draenor.
• Med'an was said to have restored Atiesh by holding it while imbued with the powers of the New Council of Tirisfal. However Med'an's stint as a Guardian has since been declared non-canon, so he accomplished this without the powers of a Guardian.

Gallery

• 

  Atiesh in Hearthstone.

• 

  Medivh holding Atiesh while talking to Thrall in a vision.

• 

  Atiesh wielded by Med'an in The Comic.

• 

  Khadgar with Atiesh in Hearthstone.

• 

  Atiesh brings light to Khadgar.

• 

  Medivh's staff in the film universe.

Videos

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• The Story of Atiesh

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.
•  [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