The Vampire Diaries explores the complicated relationship between brothers and eternal hotties Damon and Stefan Salvatore, and their shared love of the same woman, Elena Gilbert. They all reside in Mystic Falls: a town bursting at the seams with an assortment of supernatural creatures. The Salvatores and Elena find themselves fending off all sorts of mystical mischief along with some help with their friends.

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Throughout eight seasons, vampires both good and bad test the Salvatore brothers' resolve to balance their hunger and humanity. Just like mere mortals, no two vampires are alike, and some possess gifts and skills that make them useful foes or frightening enemies. But who would fans say would make the greatest asset to the team?

Updated on December 27th, 2021 by Kayleigh Banks: With The Vampire Diaries spinoff, Legacies, now making Hope Mikaelson's a full tribrid and Lizzie Saltzman a heretic, the residents of Mystic Falls will have to be more cautious as to where they hang around from now. It has also led to a huge debate on social media about how the original Mystic Falls crew would have handled this potential problem.

Since these two young women have only recently transformed and begun to realize the full potential of their powers, they're likely to be reckless and impulsive. However, since a lot of TVD vampires are more powerful and experienced, some would have no qualms stopping them. Only a select few would struggle.

Vicki Donovan

Vicki looking concerned in The Vampire Diaries

Killed before fans could see her full potential, Vicki Donovan was one of the first people fans saw turned into a vampire. However, from what fans could tell, she wouldn't have lasted very long due to the fact that she ended up being abandoned by her maker, Damon, who had no interest in mentoring her.

Since Vicki was left to her own devices, she was seen to become a lot more reckless and volatile. She even refused Stefan's help and hurt those who were closest to her, making her a huge liability (which ultimately contributed to her death). With her headstrong personality, Vicki certainly had the potential to become one of the strongest vampires. It just wasn't meant to be for her character.

Elena Gilbert

Elena Gilbert looking at Stefan in The Vampire Diaries

Although she had a great character arc, many Vampire Diaries fans would agree that Elena was a terrible vampire. While she did appear to be a fast learner in comparison to the other newbies, quickly getting a grasp on her superspeed and combat skills, Elena's greatest weakness in keeping her bloodlust under control.

This was shown to get even worse when she was placed under immense pressure as her anger often made her act out impulsively and recklessly. Since she also doesn't make the wisest of decisions due to the fact that Elena didn't have as much experience with the supernatural as her loved ones, many fans would agree that she was one of the weaker members.

Caroline Forbes

An image of Caroline looking concerned in Legacies

While she didn't want to become a vampire in the first place, The Vampire Diaries fans believed Caroline had one of the best character arcs. Initially an uptight and pompous person, fans watched as Caroline became one of the most compassionate individuals on the show, always running to her loved ones' aid whenever they were in danger or suffering.

While she was eventually was mentored by Stefan, Caroline had already proven she would be an efficient vampire since she taught herself about compulsion, illusions, and hallucinations. Her great transformation was one of the reasons why fans keep coming back to the show.

Stefan Salvatore

An image of Stefan looking worried in The Vampire Diaries

At the start of the series, Stefan Salvatore doesn't even fully possess the strength of a vampire proportionate to his age because of his refusal to drink human blood. Stefan's greatest source of power is also his greatest weakness: his humanity. Without it, he gives in to his insatiable need for blood and goes full "Ripper." But when his switch is flipped on, he's even able to fight Klaus' compulsion if it means keeping Elena safe.

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Stefan's also able to manipulate others' thoughts and dreams, bringing Katherine Pierce comfort as she's "dying" by conjuring up memories of her childhood home. Compared to newbies, Stefan's age works in his favor, but he's just as vulnerable when it comes to sunlight, vervain, wooden stakes, bullets, and werewolf venom as the average vamp.

Lorenzo "Enzo" St. John

Enzo standing in a tuxedo in The Vampire Diaries

Although Enzo St. John was one of the later editions to the show, it didn't take long before he ended up becoming a fan-favorite character. Not only did fans love his sarcastic and charming personality but they also came to thoroughly enjoy watching the romance between him and Bonnie blossom.

Given his age and how he regularly feeds on humans, Enzo is a lot more powerful than some of the newbie vampires (as well as some of those who live on an "animal" diet). Compared to the other characters on the show, what also makes Enzo a powerful asset is his strong resilience and fierce loyalty. He would do whatever it took to protect his friends, even if it meant putting his life on the line.

Damon Salvatore

Damon smiling in The Vampire Diaries.

Damon can manifest fog and either take the form of crows or control them, or at least he does on The Vampire Diaries pilot. These Dracula-like magic tricks disappear quickly. Damon is stronger than Stefan early on thanks to a steady diet of human blood.

Damon's greatest power is his moral relativism: he's willing to do the wrong thing for what he feels is the right reason, especially when it comes to Elena and Stefan. His powers are amped after he's injected with the "Ripper virus," and he begins to crave vampire blood.

Lexie Branson

Lexi looking unimpressed in The Vampire Diaries

Lexi's most obvious source of power is her physical strength. Clocking in at over 300 years old, she's easily able to best a younger vampire. Like other vampires, Lexie can get inside someone's mind and crawl around, but she has a particular talent for messing with Stefan's brain.

RELATED: The 10 Worst Things Caroline Did With Her Humanity Off On The Vampire Diaries

She can create vivid hallucinations that make Stefan believe he's feeling the effects of things that aren't happening. Lexie is the first one to teach Stefan self-control, and she pulls him back multiple times after going full-on Ripper, even doing so once as a ghost. So Lexie's greatest power? She's a devoted friend.

Tyler Lockwood

Tyler Lockwood

Tyler is the first werewolf Klaus successfully turns into a hybrid. Tyler no longer has to go through the pain of a full moon transformation every month. Tyler is initially so grateful to Klaus for releasing him from his curse, he doesn't mind being sired to the Original.

He is less vulnerable than normal vampires since removing his head or heart is the only ways to kill him. Two things make Tyler a dangerous vampire: his werewolf aggression, and his lack of remorse or restraint. Being a vamp brings out all of Tyler's undesirable character traits and as Klaus' minion, Tyler turns against his friends and Caroline.

The Heretics

An image of the Heretics casting a spell in The Vampire Diaries

Because vampires are an abomination against nature, they can't be witches. Heretics manage to bypass this because as witches, they possess no powers of their own, only the ability to siphon it from others. After being turned into vampires, Heretics can siphon the mystical energy from their bodies and perform magic.

The three who figure in most prominently to the story arc of season 7 are Mary Louise, Valerie, and Nora. The heretics don't value human life, and it's their rampant feeding frenzies throughout Europe that land them in the Prison World. Their mere presence turns Mystic Falls into a ghost town. Nora and Mary Louise are volatile and act impulsively, especially when they are angry with each other, which, in turn, creates major consequences for everyone else. Therefore, it shouldn't come as a surprise that The Vampire Diaries fans hated the recurring characters so much since their function was mainly to create chaos.

Katherine Pierce

Damon and Stefan attempt to stake Katherine in the Vampire Diaries

Being strong isn't just about physicality - although being 500 years old does give Katherine Pierce an advantage over younger vamps. She is incredibly cunning, and despite her innumerable deplorable acts, there's the smallest part of her that can still elicit sympathy in others when she finds herself no longer one step ahead of a threat.

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Katherine's power reaches its zenith when she takes over Hell following Cade's death. She's no longer a vampire, but like Cade, she's able to leave Hell when necessary. She has untold resources thanks to all of the souls stuck there willing to do anything to escape eternal torment.

Alaric Saltzman

An image of Alaric Saltzman looking worried in The Vampire Diaries

The combination of the Gilbert ring, Elena's blood, and Esther's magic that turns Alaric into a vampire hunter is frightening enough to freak out Klaus. During multiple trips to the Other Side, Esther instills a deep-seated hatred of vampires and vampire sympathizers into Alaric. Esther creates Mikael 2.0. through Ric, and is stronger and faster than her husband, and he's tasked with wiping out every vampire in existence. He can't be killed, and his weapon, the white oak stake, is indestructible.

Ric isn't burdened with guilt or a conscience, and he blows the lid off every cover-up in Mystic Falls, leading to the capture and torture of every vamp in town. Ric murders people before Esther turns him, and all that hatred is magnified upon his transition. Too bad Esther's witchy workaround involves Elena's life being tied to Ric - his only weakness.

Mikael Mikaelson

Mikael talking to someone in The Vampire Diaries

Mikael is the vampire who hunts vampires and the father of all of the Original siblings except for Klaus. He only feeds on vampire blood, and he spends 1,000 years trying to kill Klaus whom he hates because of his werewolf side. Mikael's Terminator-like determination to take out his children makes him legendary.

Mikael can't be killed by Klaus' hybrids, and as an Original, he has the power to compel them. Mikael is cruel and lacks compassion: he's the Original bully and is determined to right the wrong he did when unleashing a plague on mankind. He is cold-blooded enough to murder his children once, and then chase them down for 1,000 years for the chance to do it again.

The Mikaelson Siblings

Rebekah, Klaus and Elijah standing together

In addition to being stronger and faster than all other vampires, Elijah, Rebekah, Kol, and Finn are also able to compel other vampires: another way to gain an advantage over their vampire foes forcing them to act against their will. Ironically, the biggest threat the Mikaelson siblings face is from the people who created them - their parents. But if one Mikaelson falls, so does every vampire in their sire line, and this is an effective insurance policy.

Originals can be slowed down by ordinary wooden stakes and enchanted daggers dipped in white ash, broken necks, and the occasional poison, but stopping them comes down to that stake made from the same tree that is the source of their immortality. Aside from this hard-to-procure weapon, the Mikaelsons' millennium of family dysfunction packs more punch than anything else.

Klaus Mikaelson

Klaus in The Vampire Diaries

One of TVD fans' favorite villains, especially on Reddit, Klaus is an Original vampire-wolf hybrid. Klaus enjoys all the benefits of being an Original vampire along with the perks of being a werewolf. He creates an army of hybrids sired to provide the unwavering loyalty he feels he doesn't always get from his family. Klaus' blood is the only cure for a werewolf bite, and he uses this to manipulate both Stefan and Tyler.

Klaus is indestructible except for his daddy issues and the white oak stake (another threat emerges post-Mystic Falls). Klaus daggers his siblings repeatedly, but he has a pact with Rebekah and Elijah that they'll have each other's backs "always and forever," so they close in ranks whenever a threat arises.

NEXT: The 7 Worst Things Stefan Did With His Humanity Off In The Vampire Diaries