Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-25343239-20150319182007/@comment-260563-20180309032127

Busiao No Laughs wrote:

Lightsabers or not. Magic from common footsoldiers from the Thalmor doesn't have that overwhelming advantage as you believe to be.

Magic IS an overwhelming advantage. Having a sword and a shield blocks melee and arrow attacks. Having plate mail armor does so as well. But if someone shoots you with fireballs or shoots a steady stream of fire at you, then your shield melts, and your plate armor fuses to your skin. You become a twisted husk of your former self, and that's if you're lucky.

Every time I see Stormcloaks go up against the Thalmor, they get royally fucked in the ass. Heck, just this night, I was on my way to face the Ebony Warrior, only to spot a Thalmor battle squad going up against some Stormcloaks. They annihilated the Stormcloaks with no casualties. Thalmor soldiers would add magic with melee attacks, and then back up to heal themselves if they get too damaged. The Stormcloaks had no moves outside of charging forward and hammering away with melee attacks.

Magic allows the Thalmor soldiers to bypass the armor and shields of the Stormcloaks, while it allows them to heal, essentially giving them unlimited health packs in the middle of a battle. And that's just the regular Thalmor soldiers. The Thalmor battlemages are more devastating, throwing fireballs and summoning Daedra onto the battlefield.

So yeah, magic is an overwhelming advantage on the battlefield. Armor-bypassing attacks, health regen, and summoning elemental monsters onto the field. That's the kind of advantage that even modern armies would want, let alone Dark Ages-style armies like the Stormcloaks.