Power Rankings - Cosmere

[Skylano]

Obviously #1 is probably going to be Retribution due to the alignment of the two Shards he holds, but in terms of non-Shard or god individuals in the Cosmere, I think that the power scaling is very interesting.

Taln - Brandon himself has said that there is pretty much no one in the Cosmere who could 1v1 prime Taln and actually win, especially against Taln with full abilities. Maybe not number 1 in terms of Investiture but otherwise I think he comes close.

Elantrians - Some of the most highly invested and can Elsecall short distances, their magic system is pretty much code that you can play with until you get something right. I think once they get to a higher technology their surges will be stronger but the AonDor has some untapped potential I think.

Yumi and Yoki-Hijos - Even more highly invested than Elantrians, but I don't think that she could win against very many invested individuals in a fight, especially as a Cognitive Shadow. Tons of raw Investiture, not much else going for her.

Wit - Another near-god and someone who Shattered Adonalsium, but his Torment screws him over. Being unable to do physical harm (as far as we know) means he's probably unable to fight back. If he got rid of his Torment, then the ability to use different forms of Investiture, especially being both Mistborn and a Lightweaver could come in handy.

Whimsy - From the mouth of Brandon Sanderson himself, lethal to your sense of decorum and self-worth. Getting smoked by Retribution though.

Susebron - Can Awaken pretty much anything and incredibly highly Invested. If he has control of his powers, he could be almost impossible to kill via normal means, except maybe by Nightblood. He has very little fighting experience though, so I'm having trouble gauging his power.

Szeth and Nightblood - Probably could tag team most Invested individuals and Szeth is incredibly good with the sword. His recent choice not to kill or fight would drag him down, so I'd prefer him stay out of it but he could stand a chance against a good number of people.

Herald Kaladin - Best spear fighter that we've seen on Roshar, and now immortal and has a nearly unlimited time to train in between Returns. I don't know exactly what powers the Heralds have and whether they're restricted to Ashyn, but he has a huge amount of potential that we might see in the future.

Rashek, Lord Ruler - This is referring to Rashek during the first Mistborn book, with a thousand years of experience and still alive. Immortal, nearly invincible, and only defeated when Vin drew on the power of Preservation via the mists. Outside of any more Shard interference, his weapon training, Mistborn and Feruchemical compounded abilities and highly Invested status may put him pretty high on the list. If he had access to god metals, he'd be even higher, but I don't want to count that.

Vin - Incredibly strong in her own right, especially with Duralumin being added and with the ability to control Koloss. She was strong enough to be assumed Hero of Ages and not only defeated Rashek but fought off multiple Steel Inquisitors at once. With her ability to draw on the mists and Preservation, I think she could be one of the strongest, but her lack of Investiture is somewhat limiting, along with the limited amount of Duralumin that could be burned and when.

Nale/Ishar: Both more Heralds that have proven exceptionally good at fighting. Ishar is able to fight off multiple Windrunners and Szeth at once, and Nale was able to manipulate his speed to beat Kaladin in a duel. Also both invested, and Ishar can open Perpendicularities that allow him to gain Investiture from the Spritiual Realm, and his ability to make Connections that can incapacitate opponents. For this ranking I'm going with peak Ishar during Stormlight 3 and 5, and Nale before and during his duel with Kaladin.

Blackthorn: We only see the Blackthorn at the very end of WaT. This would be Dalinar, but without any of the reservations that he gained through the years. Additionally, Dalinar was distraught at the events of the Rift and losing Evi. This Blackthorn has been influenced by Retribution and believes that he was right in his actions and likely has none of the setbacks that affected Dalinar.

 

My list:

Shard-wise:

Retribution

Harmony

Autonomy

Other Shards + Cultivation

Whimsy

 

Cosmerian-wise:

1. Taln

2. Rashek

3. Ishar

4. Susebron

5. Nale

6. Herald Kaladin

7. Vin

8. Elantrians

9. Szeth and Nightblood (in the world currently)

10. The Blackthorn (with current knowledge)

11. Yumi

12. Wit

 

If there's anyone else that's significantly strong please feel free to add them here. Additionally, if you disagree with rankings, I'd love to hear why since this is just based off my own opinions.

Edited April 24, 2025 by Skylano
Clarified time period of living/dead people

[Through the living jeff he/him(straight)]

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

Rasheks dead

 

 

I think nightblood should be higher up, considering it kinda killed odium 1.0

Edited April 24, 2025 by DAVEY
Completely misunderstood

[Skylano]

Maybe separate Szeth and Nightblood? So it would look like this:

1. Taln

2. Ishar

3. Nightblood

4. Rashek

5. Susebron

6. Nale

7. Herald Kaladin

8. Vin

9. Elantrians

10. Szeth

11. The Blackthorn (with current knowledge)

12. Yumi

13. Wit

 

I think above that, Ishar has already fought Szeth with Nightblood and still didn't lose 1v1. Taln is better than Ishar and Susebron (I think) maybe be able to create more swords like Nightblood.

This is assuming the strongest version of Nightblood though and he does choke himself on Investiture fairly quickly compared to how many Breaths Susebron may have, Susebron just isn't good at using them.

Edited April 24, 2025 by Skylano

[SpartanBrigade He/Him]

On 4/24/2025 at 10:07 AM, Skylano said:

Obviously #1 is probably going to be Retribution due to the alignment of the two Shards he holds, but in terms of non-Shard or god individuals in the Cosmere, I think that the power scaling is very interesting.

Taln - Brandon himself has said that there is pretty much no one in the Cosmere who could 1v1 prime Taln and actually win, especially against Taln with full abilities. Maybe not number 1 in terms of Investiture but otherwise I think he comes close.

Elantrians - Some of the most highly invested and can Elsecall short distances, their magic system is pretty much code that you can play with until you get something right. I think once they get to a higher technology their surges will be stronger but the AonDor has some untapped potential I think.

Yumi and Yoki-Hijos - Even more highly invested than Elantrians, but I don't think that she could win against very many invested individuals in a fight, especially as a Cognitive Shadow. Tons of raw Investiture, not much else going for her.

Wit - Another near-god and someone who Shattered Adonalsium, but his Torment screws him over. Being unable to do physical harm (as far as we know) means he's probably unable to fight back. If he got rid of his Torment, then the ability to use different forms of Investiture, especially being both Mistborn and a Lightweaver could come in handy.

Whimsy - From the mouth of Brandon Sanderson himself, lethal to your sense of decorum and self-worth. Getting smoked by Retribution though.

Susebron - Can Awaken pretty much anything and incredibly highly Invested. If he has control of his powers, he could be almost impossible to kill via normal means, except maybe by Nightblood. He has very little fighting experience though, so I'm having trouble gauging his power.

Szeth and Nightblood - Probably could tag team most Invested individuals and Szeth is incredibly good with the sword. His recent choice not to kill or fight would drag him down, so I'd prefer him stay out of it but he could stand a chance against a good number of people.

Herald Kaladin - Best spear fighter that we've seen on Roshar, and now immortal and has a nearly unlimited time to train in between Returns. I don't know exactly what powers the Heralds have and whether they're restricted to Ashyn, but he has a huge amount of potential that we might see in the future.

Rashek, Lord Ruler - This is referring to Rashek during the first Mistborn book, with a thousand years of experience and still alive. Immortal, nearly invincible, and only defeated when Vin drew on the power of Preservation via the mists. Outside of any more Shard interference, his weapon training, Mistborn and Feruchemical compounded abilities and highly Invested status may put him pretty high on the list. If he had access to god metals, he'd be even higher, but I don't want to count that.

Vin - Incredibly strong in her own right, especially with Duralumin being added and with the ability to control Koloss. She was strong enough to be assumed Hero of Ages and not only defeated Rashek but fought off multiple Steel Inquisitors at once. With her ability to draw on the mists and Preservation, I think she could be one of the strongest, but her lack of Investiture is somewhat limiting, along with the limited amount of Duralumin that could be burned and when.

Nale/Ishar: Both more Heralds that have proven exceptionally good at fighting. Ishar is able to fight off multiple Windrunners and Szeth at once, and Nale was able to manipulate his speed to beat Kaladin in a duel. Also both invested, and Ishar can open Perpendicularities that allow him to gain Investiture from the Spritiual Realm, and his ability to make Connections that can incapacitate opponents. For this ranking I'm going with peak Ishar during Stormlight 3 and 5, and Nale before and during his duel with Kaladin.

Blackthorn: We only see the Blackthorn at the very end of WaT. This would be Dalinar, but without any of the reservations that he gained through the years. Additionally, Dalinar was distraught at the events of the Rift and losing Evi. This Blackthorn has been influenced by Retribution and believes that he was right in his actions and likely has none of the setbacks that affected Dalinar.

 

My list:

Shard-wise:

Retribution

Harmony

Autonomy

Other Shards + Cultivation

Whimsy

 

Cosmerian-wise:

1. Taln

2. Rashek

3. Ishar

4. Susebron

5. Nale

6. Herald Kaladin

7. Vin

8. Elantrians

9. Szeth and Nightblood (in the world currently)

10. The Blackthorn (with current knowledge)

11. Yumi

12. Wit

 

If there's anyone else that's significantly strong please feel free to add them here. Additionally, if you disagree with rankings, I'd love to hear why since this is just based off my own opinions.

I'm probably biased BUT I feel like Final Empire Kelsier should be in the spot just above Vin. He's about equally as strong as she is and he has the advantage of being older with more experience and less emotional volatility.

[Skylano]

He's also stronger with Steel and Iron (as seen with the tornado of metal he had in Final Empire) so I can definitely see that.

1. Taln

2. Ishar

3. Nightblood

4. Rashek

5. Susebron

6. Nale

7. Herald Kaladin

8. Final Empire Kelsier

9. Vin

10. Elantrians

11. Szeth

12. The Blackthorn (with current knowledge)

13. Yumi

14. Wit

[SpartanBrigade He/Him]

I also think for the Shardic list Autonomy and Harmony should be reversed since she was able to blind and outmaneuver him. She had him completely bested it was only the last minute save from Wayne and Marasi that saved Scadrial.

[QuantumAce]

2 hours ago, SpartanBrigade said:

I also think for the Shardic list Autonomy and Harmony should be reversed since she was able to blind and outmaneuver him. She had him completely bested it was only the last minute save from Wayne and Marasi that saved Scadrial.

Harmony and his agents still defeated Autonomy and her agents. You can't give Autonomy the moral victory just because Brandon thought it was more entertaining to make it close. 

[SpartanBrigade He/Him]

1 minute ago, QuantumAce said:

Harmony and his agents still defeated Autonomy and her agents. You can't give Autonomy the moral victory just because Brandon thought it was more entertaining to make it close. 

Harmony's agents defeated them not Harmony himself. He alone can't really do anything. The Shardic power scale is based on the power of Shards alone not their agents or armies
(I think)

[The Great Wyver She/Her]

I think you could also put Elend on there (before he died), because he has pure Allomancy (and as we already know, pure Mistborn powers are pretty strong). In a bad fight he could really just Zinc (Riot)+Duralumin depression or something onto his enemy or something too.

[The Druid of the West He/Him]

I’m going to keep this short but if we are talking about who is the best 1v1 character in the cosmere then I think your list is very good, if we are talking in terms of sheer power I think, although he can’t hurt anyone, Hoid/Wit, from what he’s shown already and because there is so much we don’t know about him, would be far far higher.  As we know, there are many aspects of power, not just brute strength or fighting abilities and Hoid has had the means to influence almost every event in the cosmere behind the scenes

 

Edited May 4, 2025 by Some guy named hoid

[SpartanBrigade He/Him]

On 4/25/2025 at 1:53 PM, Wyver said:

I think you could also put Elend on there (before he died), because he has pure Allomancy (and as we already know, pure Mistborn powers are pretty strong). In a bad fight he could really just Zinc (Riot)+Duralumin depression or something onto his enemy or something too.

Yeah he could probably be directly below Vin

[A Begger from Scadrial]

Shardic-wise, I think you may need to place the Dor up there.

[SpartanBrigade He/Him]

3 hours ago, A Begger from Scadrial said:

Shardic-wise, I think you may need to place the Dor up there.

So far it doesn’t seem like the Dor cancel anything. It’s great as a resource but on its own it can’t really act or fight, it’s just two corpses.

[Through The Living Ash he/him]

On 4/24/2025 at 11:18 AM, Skylano said:

Maybe separate Szeth and Nightblood? So it would look like this:

1. Taln

2. Ishar

3. Nightblood

4. Rashek

5. Susebron

6. Nale

7. Herald Kaladin

8. Vin

9. Elantrians

10. Szeth

11. The Blackthorn (with current knowledge)

12. Yumi

13. Wit

 

I think above that, Ishar has already fought Szeth with Nightblood and still didn't lose 1v1. Taln is better than Ishar and Susebron (I think) maybe be able to create more swords like Nightblood.

This is assuming the strongest version of Nightblood though and he does choke himself on Investiture fairly quickly compared to how many Breaths Susebron may have, Susebron just isn't good at using them.

I think that Wit should go much higher up. We've never seen him fight (excluding the short skirmish at the end of Tress), but I think that while he may not be able to inflict harm on others, he would be highly effective at trapping them or mitigating their threat. I would also take into consideration his skill with manipulating others into doing the fighting for him. I would put him below Herald Kaladin, given his skillset. 

[Nitpicking]

3 hours ago, epl2 said:

I think that Wit should go much higher up. We've never seen him fight (excluding the short skirmish at the end of Tress) ...

He did memorably beat up Kelsier in Mistborn: Secret History.

[Through The Living Ash he/him]

1 hour ago, Nitpicking said:

He did memorably beat up Kelsier in Mistborn: Secret History.

I somehow forgot about that! 

He did seem like he was holding back, even there. 

On 4/25/2025 at 2:43 PM, QuantumAce said:

Harmony and his agents still defeated Autonomy and her agents. You can't give Autonomy the moral victory just because Brandon thought it was more entertaining to make it close. 

Well, Harmony essentially defeated Autonomy's scouting party. There was definitely the sense that Autonomy had more and greater dangers that they were going to throw at Scadrial. 

[Qianweilian He/him]

11 hours ago, Nitpicking said:

He did memorably beat up Kelsier in Mistborn: Secret History

To be fair, I don't remember the last time Kelsier had to get in a fistfight. Even before he snapped, he likely had at least a knife.

[Skylano]

15 hours ago, Nitpicking said:

He did memorably beat up Kelsier in Mistborn: Secret History.

I also forgot about that lol

So probably put him a bit higher if he can find a way to maneuver around his Torment (especially since we don't know exactly what it is) and the fact that he's a Mistborn, Surgebinder, and a couple of others. Definitely above Yumi in that case since she's already a Cognitive Shadow. Also probably the Blackthorn, Szeth, and Elantrians but only because he is an Elantrian himself.

Also moving Nightblood above Ishar because I think that if it was wielded by someone good enough and more stable than Szeth was it could mess him up more than just blowing up a perpendicularity.

Also also putting Elend because I think it's a good idea. However, I still think that an Elantrian Power Aon would make him explode given that he trained 80% of his life as a scholar and is missing some of Vin's sense of combat.

1. Taln

2. Nightblood

3. Ishar

4. Rashek

5. Susebron

6. Nale

7. Herald Kaladin

8. Final Empire Kelsier

9. Vin

10. Hoid

11. Elantrians

12. Elend Venture

13. Szeth

14. The Blackthorn (with current knowledge)

15. Yumi

Also x3, Blackthorn is still feeling off on the list and I'm tempted to move it down just in terms of raw Investiture, and I also feel like Yoki-Hijo vs Szeth is too weird of a comparison to properly gauge outside of him just stabbing her  

Edit: I'm also planning to reread Mistborn Era 2 so I might add Miles Hundredlives and Wax here.

Spoiler

Now that it's pretty much confirmed that Wax is a Mistborn and is just beginning to get his powers.

Also also also also Marsh might be somewhere between Elend and Szeth, but I don't know exactly how strong he is in terms of Allomancy even though he's an Inquisitor.

Edited April 28, 2025 by Skylano

[The Great Wyver She/Her]

Maybe pre-Harmony Sazed could at least be above the Blackthorn, because how do you beat someone who can increase their speed, senses, strength, and more all at once?

[Through The Living Ash he/him]

2 hours ago, Wyver said:

Maybe pre-Harmony Sazed could at least be above the Blackthorn, because how do you beat someone who can increase their speed, senses, strength, and more all at once?

By stabbing them. A lot. 

 

I would also like to see Vasher added to the list. Maybe right above Szeth? I would love to see a fight between those two, I think it would be really close. 

[The Great Wyver She/Her]

1 minute ago, epl2 said:

By stabbing them. A lot. 

I'm pretty sure Sazed could use a tinmind to look at his opponent's movements and use his zincmind to outmaneuver them. I probably spelled outmaneuver wrong.

[Qianweilian He/him]

22 minutes ago, Wyver said:

I probably spelled outmaneuver wrong.

No, you spelled it correctly.

[The Great Wyver She/Her]

1 hour ago, Qianweilian said:

No, you spelled it correctly.

Oh wow yay

[Riino He/Him]

On 4/25/2025 at 1:07 AM, Skylano said:

Taln with full abilities. Maybe not number 1 in terms of Investiture but otherwise I think he comes close.

Ok yeah, probs by pure skill of the sword and unassisted physical strength. But I feel that Nale would match up pretty well, especially with the powers we saw in his fight vs. Szeth in the Temple (I can't remember which one, though). Nale's strength and speed were remarked to be incredible even by Kaladin, and Nale wasn't at full strength. But as their power currently stands, Nale would beat Taln, but at full strength, probs not. But I think that would be a great fight to see nonetheless. 

[Skylano]

4 hours ago, Riino said:

Ok yeah, probs by pure skill of the sword and unassisted physical strength. But I feel that Nale would match up pretty well, especially with the powers we saw in his fight vs. Szeth in the Temple (I can't remember which one, though). Nale's strength and speed were remarked to be incredible even by Kaladin, and Nale wasn't at full strength. But as their power currently stands, Nale would beat Taln, but at full strength, probs not. But I think that would be a great fight to see nonetheless. 

#1 Taln Fan

Who in the Cosmere could beat Taln in a fight back when he was in his prime?

Brandon Sanderson

Depends what level of abilities he has access to. If you're saying access to full abilities, I don't know of anybody who could beat him in an actual one-on-one.

Dragonsteel 2023 (Nov. 21, 2023)

 

This specifically is why I have Taln at #1, not including Shards it sounds like he's the strongest Herald but also strongest fighter in the Cosmere. (also he lived through like 8000 years of torture)

16 hours ago, Wyver said:

Maybe pre-Harmony Sazed could at least be above the Blackthorn, because how do you beat someone who can increase their speed, senses, strength, and more all at once?

I think I might add him and Miles too because Miles as a compounder is just incredibly hard to beat without any kind of aluminum. I think Sazed himself pre-Harmony is just a below average Feruchemist though because he specializes in Copperminds which aren't specifically good for combat. During the end of Well of Ascension during the fight against the Koloss he uses up several years worth of strength to hold for a few hours, so I think that anything specifically on hand isn't quite enough to get him super high on the list.

Edited April 29, 2025 by Skylano