The best fight in the Stormlight Archive is Kaladin vs Szeth above the colliding storms at the end of Words of Radiance. Our ranking of the ten best fights weighs stakes, staging and what each fight changes, from Szeth killing Gavilar to Adolin’s last stand against Abidi in Wind and Truth. Full spoilers for all five books follow.
How did we rank the best Stormlight Archive fights?
Dalinar.com ranked the ten best Stormlight Archive fights on three criteria: what is at stake for the characters, how clearly Brandon Sanderson stages the action, and whether the fight changes the story afterward. A fight scores high when the outcome reshapes a character, as when a duel ends with an oath, a broken legend or a lost Shardblade. Pure spectacle scores lower. The ranking covers the five main novels, from The Way of Kings through Wind and Truth, and leaves out the novellas Edgedancer and Dawnshard. Every detail below was checked against the Coppermind wiki rather than written from memory, and each entry names the book where the fight happens, so first-time readers can stop before they reach their place in the series.
Which Stormlight Archive fights rank 10 to 6?
10. Adolin vs Eshonai at Narak (Words of Radiance)
Adolin Kholin’s duel with Eshonai during the Battle of Narak is a fight between two of the finest Shardbearers on the Shattered Plains, and neither of them gets to win it. According to Coppermind, Adolin had already lost his horse Sureblood and ambushed a group of singers from behind before Eshonai engaged him. The duel ends with both fighters falling into a chasm. Adolin survives only because the bridgemen Skar and Drehy catch him, while Eshonai disappears and later drowns. The fight earns its place on emotional weight, not choreography: readers have spent chapters inside Eshonai’s head as she struggles against stormform, so watching her fall in the middle of a war she never wanted is one of the quietest tragedies in Words of Radiance.
9. Kaladin vs Leshwi at Hearthstone (Rhythm of War)
Kaladin’s duel with Leshwi during the evacuation of Hearthstone is the series’ best example of two warriors who respect each other fighting anyway. Leshwi, a Heavenly One, carries a raysium spear with a gemstone at its base that can drain a Radiant’s Stormlight, which makes every exchange dangerous for Kaladin. According to Coppermind, Leshwi stabs Sigzil with that spear but spares his life, as a sign of respect for Kaladin sparing a Heavenly One earlier in the battle. After another exchange leaves both of them wounded, Leshwi accepts a draw and lets Kaladin go defend civilians under attack by Lezian. The duel matters because it plants the respect that later sets Leshwi against the Fused leadership. Our Fused vs Knights Radiant breakdown covers the rest of her arc.
8. Dalinar kills Tanalan at Rathalas (Oathbringer)
Dalinar Kholin’s assault on Rathalas, told in the flashbacks of Oathbringer, is the fight that shows who the Blackthorn was before the visions. During Gavilar’s campaign to unite Alethkar, Dalinar sought out Brightlord Tanalan in the middle of the siege and killed him, winning the Shardblade later called Oathbringer, according to Coppermind. Dalinar also disobeyed an order to kill Tanalan’s heir and let the boy and his mother flee. That single act of mercy becomes the seed of the rebellion that brings Dalinar back to the Rift years later, and of the atrocity that destroys Rathalas. Few fights in fantasy land a harder echo, because the Blade Dalinar wins at Rathalas is the same Blade he later gives up to buy Bridge Four’s freedom.
7. Szeth attacks the Kholin palace (Words of Radiance)
Szeth’s attack on Elhokar’s palace in Words of Radiance is the fight where Kaladin first faces a full Surgebinder at close range. According to Coppermind, Szeth emerges from a dark hallway where every sphere has been drained, and Kaladin, Dalinar and Adolin take him on while Renarin and Bridge Four escort the king out. Adolin goes down, and Szeth strikes Kaladin’s arm with his Honorblade, leaving Dalinar to fight alone. Kaladin then pushes Dalinar and Szeth through a hole in the wall, and on the way down he draws Stormlight from Szeth’s own reserves to survive the fall. Szeth denies that the Knights Radiant have returned, then flees when he watches Kaladin heal the arm. The assassin’s horror at that sight sets up their final duel at Narak.
6. Bridge Four charges the Tower (The Way of Kings)
The rescue at the Battle of the Tower is the moment The Way of Kings turns from a survival story into a story about Radiants. Sadeas pulls his army off the plateau and strands Dalinar’s eight thousand men against the Parshendi, a betrayal Coppermind describes as a trap engineered to murder Dalinar. Kaladin first plans to use the chaos to escape with Bridge Four, then turns back because Syl cannot accept leaving Dalinar’s men to die. Bridge Four organizes the retreat, and Kaladin rescues Dalinar from his duel with Eshonai, swearing the Second Ideal during the battle. Dalinar later gives up his Shardblade to buy the bridgemen from Sadeas. Few climaxes in the series pay off an entire book this cleanly, which is why the charge still lands on every reread.
Which are the five best fights in the Stormlight Archive?
5. Adolin’s four-on-one duel (Words of Radiance)
Adolin’s duel against Relis Ruthar, Elit Ruthar, Abrobadar and Jakamav is the best duel in the series because a sporting event turns into a rescue. Relis tricks Adolin into a one-on-four match, and Renarin enters the arena to help his brother and quickly falls. Kaladin, guarding Dalinar and Elhokar, declares honor dead and jumps in. According to Coppermind, Kaladin breaks his own legs with a lashing-enhanced kick that cracks Relis’s Shardplate, then uses Elit’s helm as an armored gauntlet. Adolin beats Abrobadar and pins Jakamav in a wrestling grip, and Relis, the last man standing, swings at Kaladin, who catches the Blade between his palms. Relis runs from the arena and forfeits the duel. The bridgeman and the prince become real friends in that arena.
4. Szeth kills Gavilar (The Way of Kings)
Szeth’s assassination of King Gavilar Kholin in the prologue of The Way of Kings is the fight that taught a generation of readers what Surgebinding looks like. Szeth, sent by the listener Council of Five, cuts through the palace with his Honorblade and uses Lashings to send guards falling onto walls and ceilings. According to Coppermind, Gavilar wears Shardplate and fights back with real skill, pushing Szeth onto a wooden balcony, but the assassin lashes the balcony downward and drops it to the ground. Gavilar dies pierced by wood from the balcony, and his last message, that Dalinar must find the most important words a man can say, becomes the thread the whole series pulls on. The assassination also starts the War of Reckoning.
3. Adolin vs Abidi in the Bronze Palace (Wind and Truth)
Adolin’s final duel with Abidi the Monarch in Wind and Truth is the fight that proves a man with no Surges belongs near the top of this list. Abidi is a Heavenly One whom Coppermind calls one of the best Fused duelists, and by day ten of the siege of Azimir he is wearing Adolin’s own stolen Shardplate. Abidi lures Adolin into the Bronze Palace throne room, which is lined with aluminum so that Adolin cannot summon Maya as a Blade. Adolin is nearly beaten until his platespren return at the last moment and strip the Plate from Abidi. In the reversal, Adolin throws the Fused through the throne room doors and crushes his ribcage with a Plate-enhanced stomp. Our Adolin character guide explains why his spren matter so much.
2. Kaladin vs the Pursuer (Rhythm of War)
Kaladin’s last fights with Lezian the Pursuer in Rhythm of War are the smartest fights in the series, because Kaladin wins by attacking a legend instead of a body. Lezian is a Fused who, according to Coppermind, always hunted down and killed anyone who killed him, and never failed. In the tower atrium, with Heavenly Ones watching, Kaladin realizes that each loss erodes Lezian’s legend, goads him through body after body and forces him to run, which breaks the Pursuer’s title. When Lezian returns for revenge, Kaladin binds his final body to the atrium window with one Lashing and lashes his head toward the floor, tearing him apart. El later destroys Lezian permanently with an anti-Voidlight dagger, so Kaladin’s win is the last fight the Pursuer ever has.
1. Kaladin vs Szeth above the storms (Words of Radiance)
Kaladin vs Szeth at the climax of Words of Radiance is the best fight in the Stormlight Archive. Szeth has just lashed Dalinar into the sky to fall to his death when Kaladin, freshly sworn to the Third Ideal, catches him and brings him down, according to Coppermind. Kaladin and Szeth then fight above the collision of the highstorm and the Everstorm, the most dramatic stage in the series. The duel is won by an idea: Szeth realizes Kaladin is truly a Radiant, which means Szeth was never Truthless and every killing he did under that label was a lie. Szeth releases his Honorblade and falls through the storm to his death, and Kaladin recovers the Blade. For a full head-to-head breakdown, read Kaladin vs Szeth: Who Would Win in a Duel.
What are the ten best Stormlight Archive fights at a glance?
The full ranking, with the book where each fight happens:
| Rank | Fight | Book | Why it ranks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kaladin vs Szeth above the storms | Words of Radiance | Won by an idea, ends Szeth’s life as Truthless |
| 2 | Kaladin vs the Pursuer | Rhythm of War | Kaladin breaks a legend before he breaks a body |
| 3 | Adolin vs Abidi in the Bronze Palace | Wind and Truth | No Surges, no Blade, and the platespren choose Adolin |
| 4 | Szeth kills Gavilar | The Way of Kings | The fight that starts the whole series |
| 5 | Adolin’s four-on-one duel | Words of Radiance | A rigged duel that turns into a rescue |
| 6 | Bridge Four charges the Tower | The Way of Kings | Kaladin chooses Dalinar’s men over escape |
| 7 | Szeth attacks the Kholin palace | Words of Radiance | Szeth sees a Surgebinder heal and runs |
| 8 | Dalinar kills Tanalan at Rathalas | Oathbringer | The Blackthorn wins the Blade he later gives away |
| 9 | Kaladin vs Leshwi at Hearthstone | Rhythm of War | Two enemies who respect each other call a draw |
| 10 | Adolin vs Eshonai at Narak | Words of Radiance | A duel neither fighter gets to win |
Which famous Stormlight Archive fights just missed the top ten?
Several famous Stormlight Archive fights missed the top ten because they matter more for what happens around them than for the fighting itself. At the Battle of Thaylen Field in Oathbringer, Szeth swears the Third Ideal of the Skybreakers, chooses Dalinar as the ideal he will follow and unsheathes Nightblood against Odium’s army, according to Coppermind. The moment is enormous, but the battle belongs to Dalinar’s choice to accept his past, not to a duel. Adolin’s clash with Szeth at Narak is also memorable, yet Szeth simply beats him before moving on to Dalinar. Readers who want to argue the order can settle it in our character bracket, where sixteen Stormlight characters face off over four rounds.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best fight in the Stormlight Archive?
Our pick is Kaladin vs Szeth above the colliding highstorm and Everstorm at the end of Words of Radiance. Kaladin catches Dalinar after Szeth lashes him into the sky, and the duel ends when Szeth realizes Kaladin is a true Radiant, releases his Honorblade and falls to his death.
Who wins the fight between Kaladin and Szeth at Narak?
Kaladin wins. According to Coppermind, Szeth realizes during the fight that Kaladin is truly a Radiant, so Szeth was never Truthless. He releases his Honorblade and falls through the storm, and Kaladin recovers the Blade. Nale later revives Szeth and gives him Nightblood.
How does Adolin beat Abidi the Monarch?
In the aluminum-lined throne room of the Bronze Palace in Wind and Truth, Adolin cannot summon Maya as a Blade and is nearly defeated. His platespren return at the last moment and strip Abidi of the stolen Plate, and Adolin kills him with a Plate-enhanced stomp.
Which book has Adolin’s four-on-one duel?
Words of Radiance. Adolin faces Relis Ruthar, Elit Ruthar, Abrobadar and Jakamav at once, Kaladin jumps into the arena to help him, and Relis forfeits after Kaladin catches his Shardblade.
How does Kaladin defeat the Pursuer?
Kaladin beats Lezian the Pursuer twice in Rhythm of War. First he forces Lezian to flee in front of the Heavenly Ones, which breaks his title. Then he lashes Lezian’s final body to the atrium window and his head toward the floor, tearing him apart. El later destroys Lezian permanently with an anti-Voidlight dagger.
The Way of Kings is the perfect entry point. Available in print, Kindle, and audiobook.
The Stormlight Archive audiobooks - narrated by Michael Kramer & Kate Reading - are 40–57 hours each. The best use of a commute in fantasy history.
