Talonclaw

Talonclaw, also known as the Eagle Spear and the Spear of the Wild Gods, is the artifact used by survival hunters in World of Warcraft: Legion.

The spear allows its wielder to fly while dead.

Source

Talonclaw is obtained from   [10-45] The Spear in the Shadow.

History

The Highmountain tauren crafted this spear, which predates the first demonic invasion of Azeroth more than ten thousand years ago. Talonclaw's wielders have fought alongside many guardian animal spirits, also known as Ancients, to defend the world of Azeroth and its wildlife in particular. Over the millennia, these Ancients have bestowed their blessings on the weapon, imbuing it with a portion of their power.^[1]

Ohn'ahra, an eagle Wild God, was once saved from fire elementals by Moren Highmountain, a tauren chieftain of the Highmountain Tribe. In thanks, Ohn'ahra infused a portion of her power into Moren's spear, gifting it with magical abilities. Moren carved Ohn'ahra's name into his spear in honor, and his people would take to calling it the Eagle Spear. To commemorate other heroes he encountered, enemies he bested, and events he witnessed, Moren carved their names onto the Eagle Spear. As the spear was passed down to his descendants, they too carried on this tradition. In this way, the spear has become a living history of the Highmountain tribe. Moren's granddaughter, Eruna Highmountain, received a blessing on the Eagle Spear from the bear Wild God Ursoc after fighting alongside him against the forces of the Old Gods. The Eagle Spear was used by Huln Highmountain during the War of the Ancients, and before Omen succumbed to demonic corruption he blessed it as well.^[2] After Huln's life was saved by Jarod Shadowsong, he promised to carve Jarod's name on it in honor.^[3]

It is apparent that with the blessings of no less than three Wild Gods, the Eagle Spear also became known as the Spear of the Wild Gods, although nowhere is it stated that this was ever used as an official name.^[4]

At the final battle for the Well of Eternity at Zin-Azshari, Huln grievously wounded a doomlord named Xyburn by taking out the demon's left eye, forever earning himself, his species and the Eagle Spear Xyburn's enmity.^[5]

Two of Huln's descendants, twin sisters Arien Highmountain, the Protector of the Mountain who had bestowed the name "Talonclaw" to the Eagle Spear, and Chieftain Gardrel Highmountain, led the Unseen Path to a mountain nearby Thunder Totem. On approaching the summit, Arien noticed Talonclaw begin to glow. Holding it up to the sky, all were amazed as a cascade of golden energy poured from the spearhead and took the shape of a great eagle. The twins realized that Ohn'ahra herself had just blessed the site, and the newly sacred area was renamed to "Talon Peak". After the Highmountain helped to build Trueshot Lodge and the Three Talon towers, Arien herself eventually joined the organization.^[6]

Generations later in Stormheim, Chieftain Dorro Highmountain lost Talonclaw and his life in battle to a fierce nightsaber, a magically corrupted monstrosity called Dakarr that had been hunting the tauren. All attempts to retrieve it failed.^[7]

Artifact traits

Base

Ability	Ranks	Linked powers
[Aspect of the Skylord]	1	Explosive Force
[Bird of Prey]	4	Embrace of the Aspects; My Beloved Monster; Talon Strike
[Eagle's Bite]	1	Fluffy, Go; Lacerating Talons
[Embrace of the Aspects]	1	Bird of Prey; Fluffy, Go
[Explosive Force]	4	Aspect of the Skylord; Hunter's Guile; Raptor's Cry
[Fluffy, Go]	4	Eagle's Bite; Embrace of the Aspects; Hunter's Bounty
[Fury of the Eagle]	1	Iron Talons
[Hellcarver]	4	Iron Talons; Raptor's Cry
[Hunter's Bounty]	4	Fluffy, Go; Lacerating Talons; My Beloved Monster; Raptor's Cry
[Hunter's Guile]	4	Explosive Force; Lacerating Talons
[Iron Talons]	1	Fury of the Eagle; Hellcarver; Sharpened Fang
[Lacerating Talons]	4	Eagle's Bite; Hunter's Bounty; Hunter's Guile
[My Beloved Monster]	4	Bird of Prey; Hunter's Bounty; Sharpened Fang; Terms of Engagement
[Raptor's Cry]	4	Explosive Force; Hellcarver; Terms of Engagement
[Sharpened Fang]	4	Iron Talons; My Beloved Monster
[Talon Strike]	1	Bird of Prey
[Terms of Engagement]	1	My Beloved Monster; Raptor's Cry
[Voice of the Wild Gods]	1	None

Hidden trait: [Call to the Eagles]

Empowered

Ability	Ranks
[Ferocity of the Unseen Path]	1
[Jaws of the Mongoose]	4
[Talon Bond]	1
[Echoes of Ohn'ara]	1
[Concordance of the Legionfall]	50

Appearances

Classic

Achievement:  [Fighting with Style: Classic]

This is the default appearance	Recover one of the Pillars of Creation	Recover  [Light's Heart]  [10-45] Light's Charge	Complete the first major Campaign effort with your order   [10-45] Signaling Trouble

Upgraded: Eagle's Rebirth

Achievement:  [Fighting with Style: Upgraded]

Complete the hunter Order Campaign  [Forged for Battle]	Unlock every artifact trait  [Power Realized]	Research the full history of the artifact  [Part of History]	Obtain eight rare archeological finds  [This Side Up]

Valorous: Spear of the Alpha

Achievement:  [Fighting with Style: Valorous]

Complete the Balance of Power questline  [Improving on History]	Kill eight world bosses  [Unleashed Monstrosities]	Complete a Mythic Mode Dungeon using a level 15 keystone  [Keystone Master]	Earn the achievement  [Glory of the Legion Hero]

War-torn: Serpentstrike

Achievement:   [Fighting with Style: War-torn]/  [Fighting with Style: War-torn]

Participate in Player vs. Player combat and reach  [Honor Level 10]	Reach  [Honor Level 30]	Reach  [Honor Level 50]	Reach  [Honor Level 80]

Challenging: Forest's Guardian

Achievement:  [Fighting with Style: Challenging]

Complete the Xylem Challenge questline	Defeat Heroic Kiljaeden after unlocking a Challenge artifact appearance	Win 10 rated battlegrounds after unlocking a Challenge artifact appearance	Defeat all Legion dungeon bosses after unlocking a challenge artifact appearance

Hidden: Bear's Fortitude

Achievement:  [Fighting with Style: Hidden]

Acquire  [Last Breath of the Forest]	Complete 30 Legion dungeons after unlocking a Hidden artifact appearance	Complete 200 World Quests after unlocking a Hidden artifact appearance	Kill 1,000 enemy players after unlocking a Hidden artifact appearance

Trivia

• At the Gamescom 2015 event, it was introduced as The Eagle Spear. When the Artifact previews were revealed on the main World of Warcraft website on the first day of BlizzCon 2015, the name had been changed, but is the same weapon referred in the lore of the novels.
• Like its famed wielder Huln, Talonclaw made its debut in the War of the Ancients Trilogy. At the time it was known simply as "the eagle spear", not receiving a proper name or expanded backstory until Legion.
• Talonclaw is the only artifact to have three different names.

Videos

• The Story of Talonclaw, Spear of the Wild Gods

Patch changes

• Patch 9.0.1 (2020-10-13): Stats, item level and level requirement modified due to level squish.
  
• Patch 7.0.3 (2016-07-19): Added.
  

References

External links

• Wowhead
• WoWDB