Elemental The elementals are potent and volatile elemental spirit s of pure elemental energies and were once the minions of the Old Gods ( and some may still be ) . Many are commanded by the most powerful elemental lieutenants called the Elemental Lord s — Ragnaros the Firelord , Therazane the Stonemother , Al ' Akir the Windlord , and Neptulon the Tidehunter — whilst others are commanded by primordial elementals known as Elemental Spirits . There are four types of elementals , each corresponding to the basic elements of the world : earth , fire , wind , and water . Each elemental tends to be immune to damage from their element type . For instance , fire elementals are immune to fire damage . History . When the Old Gods were defeated and imprisoned by the Titan s , the Titans banished all elementals to the Elemental Plane . The Elemental Plane is a violent and dangerous place where elementals of one type battle with all others in a never - ending conflict to expand their territory . It is no wonder , then , that some elementals attempt to escape from the unceasing struggle by traveling to Azeroth , where they establish solitary lairs in suitable environments . Such transplanted elementals find it difficult to shake off the warlike existence they lived on the Elemental Plane ; they guard their new territory viciously and constantly seek to expand their boundaries . Over the centuries , they have been finding ways to return to Azeroth , and now run rampant in many areas , though it ' s usually only the weakest of their ranks that are able to slip through the " cracks " . All but the most powerful elementals are mindless beings , who carry out tasks at the whim of their masters . Recently however , more and more elementals have begun appearing on Azeroth , serving an as yet unidentified purpose . In Warlords of Draenor . From " Beasts of the Savage Lands – Nagrand " : There are many similarities between the elemental spirits of Draenor and their counterparts on Azeroth , but also many differences that Alliance or Horde shaman will be forced to adapt to . Whereas the elements of Azeroth are in constant conflict , the elements of Draenor strive for balance within themselves . This is especially evident in the Throne of Elements in Nagrand , where the greatest elemental furies of Draenor have convened peacefully since the dawn of the world . Be warned , however : if the chaos of war on Draenor throws the elements out of balance , they may lash out at each other . . . and anyone caught between them . Culture . All elementals speak Kalimag , a mysterious language . They also seem to have a complex royal power hierarchy . The most powerful elemental beings have titles such as Baron , Lord , and Duke . The closest , most powerful offspring of the Elemental Lieutenants are even known as Princes and Princesses . The elements have also historically been slaves to the evil Old Gods however recently , they have broken away from their rule resulting in the four lieutenants ( True Elemental leaders ) finding new ways to wage war against each other , and it ' s possible that one or more of their factions are working for the good of Azeroth . Though they fight each other , they still maintain an Abyssal High Council . Whether summoned to Azeroth or there of their own free will , wear a set of magic bracers . These bracers form automatically when the elemental leaves the Elemental Plane . They tie the elemental to Azeroth and allow it to exist outside of the Elemental Plane . If the magic of the bracer ' s is disrupted , usually by prolonged physical or magical attack , the elemental loses much of its power and may inadvertently return to the Elemental Plane . Shamans and summoning . Shamans are known to be the masters of Conjuration of Elementals , attempting to study / understand the mysterious elemental plane . Also , many peoples and societies hold elementals to a religious regard with the shamans acting as priests . Some intelligent creatures of Azeroth have found ways to summon elementals and bind them to their will as servants or guards . Human mage s are fond of summoning Water Elementals for their brute force and imposing size . Ragnaros was summoned into the material plane by the Dark Iron Dwarves three centuries ago , and now resides in the Molten Core , though he is but a shadow of his original self there . When he was first summoned into Azeroth by Sorcerer - thane Thaurissan , the dwarf was killed by the unmitigated fiery powers that he had unleashed . True elemental types . Air elemental . Air elemental s are creatures made of air , wind , storms , and weather . Earth elemental . Earth elemental s are creatures made of the rock , and energy of the earth itself . Fire elemental . Fire elemental s are creatures made of fire elements . Water elemental . Water elemental s are creatures made of water and various other liquids . Some water elementals have become corrupted , appearing green or red instead of blue . See also : Elemental Conglomerate . Elemental Conglomerate s are elementals that share two or more aspects of the basic elemental types . " See also : " Elemental rulers . There are 4 Elemental rulers : Al ' Akir the Windlord , Therazane the Stonemother , Ragnaros the Firelord , and Neptulon the Tidehunter . Elemental Sprites . Elemental Sprites are small elementals from Elemental Plane of various elemental types . Entropic Beast . Entropic beast s are Fel corrupted elementals found in Felwood . Mana Surge . Mana surge s are a magic - based elementals which are a type of air elementals ; described as " burning elementals crafted of pure mana " , They exist in Azeroth as physical manifestations of pure arcane magic , or even of mana energy itself . Nature / Plant elementals . Bog Beast . Bog beast s are classified in World of Warcraft as Elementals . They look like swamp monsters . You can find Bog Beasts and similar type creatures in Teldrassil ( timberling s / swampwalker s ) , and Swamp of Sorrows ( Mire Lord s and Tangled Horror s ) , Wetlands ( Fen Dweller s and Fen Creeper s ) , Tanaris ( Thistleshrub s ) , Dustwallow Marsh , Un ' goro Crater ( tar beast s ) and Zangarmarsh . Bog beasts may represent a type of conglomerate elemental of earth and water as tar beasts suggest . Denalan , the botanist and questqiver NPC in Darnassus , notes that timberlings are connected to the land around them : " The Timberlings are elementals of nature . In some ways they reflect the natural order of the plants and animals on our great tree . " Brann also describes thistleshrubs as plant elementals . Tar beasts are conglomerate elementals of earth and water . Phoenix . Phoenix es are large elemental birds of fire . Revenant . Revenant s are minor elemental creatures who once served as foot soldiers for the malefic Old Gods when the world was young . Salamander . Elemental Salamander s are flame - loving cousins of the fire elementals . Unconfirmed or false elemental types . These are creatures that are classed as elementals in " World of Warcraft " for gameplay purposes , but may not actually be true elementals . Ancient . Ancient s are huge plant creatures , relatives of the treants and other plant creatures . Often affiliated with night elves , these gigantic treefolk occasionally fall sway to demonic corruption and become twisted , hateful versions of their former selves . Ivus the Forest Lord is also a ancient who is found in Alterac Valley . Golem . Some types of golem s are mechanical constructs and are classified as elementals in World of Warcraft . They can be found in many places , mostly around Dark Iron dwarf lairs . You can find them in Darkshore ( Cracked Golems ) , the Badlands ( Siege Golems , War Golems and Stone Golems ) and in the Searing Gorge ( Heavy War Golems ) . Lasher . Lasher s are ambulatory plants shaped like flowers . Obsidian Destroyer . The Obsidian Destroyer s are huge creatures made out of stone to serve the Qiraji . Treant . Treant s are Ancient s who can be fought in the game . You can find Tree Ancients in Felwood ( Irontrees ) , Ashenvale ( Withered Ancients and Crazed Ancients ) , and Stonetalon Mountains ( Blackened Ancients and Charred Ancients ) . Unknown types . Primordial Essence . The Primordial Essence are probably a group of elementals that , instead of focusing on common elements like fire and air , focus on unique aspects of nature like the night and poison . One such example in - game is Murmur , the essence of sound . Manual of Monsters . Appendix Three of " Manual of Monsters " has the elementals entry and are similar to the elementals mentioned in the article , however the validity of the source is disputed . Myth . An elemental is a mythological being that first appeared in the alchemical works of Paracelsus .