How Long Do Titan Shifters Live? Do They Age Faster?

The Power of the Titans is an incredible power to have in the world of Attack on Titan because it allows the user to become a titan at will and decimate armies with the incredible power of a titan. However, the thing about being a titan shifter is that this isn’t something that is not without consequences, as there is something called the Curse of Ymir, which is related to the lifespan of the original titan or the Founding Titan. So, with that said, how long can a titan shifter live?

A titan shifter only has 13 more years to live after acquiring the Power of the Titans. As such, regardless of how many powers or titans the shifter has, they will only be able to live for 13 more years ever since acquiring their first power. This is because Ymir only lived for 13 years after becoming the Founding Titan.

As powerful as the titans are in the world of Attack on Titan, they are not too powerful to the point that they get to live for a long time. That is why not all of the Eldians that live on Marley want to be a titan, as they know that they won’t be able to live long lives after becoming one. So, with that said, let’s discuss more about the lifespan of a titan shifter in Attack on Titan.

Do Titan Shifters Live Forever?

Throughout the world of Attack on Titan, the titans were the most feared creatures that walked the land because of how large, powerful, and durable they were. For generations, the Eldians used the titans to their advantage to conquer different nations and kingdoms throughout the entire world. However, it was the Power of the Titans that the Eldians truly valued, as this allowed an Eldian to transform into a titan at will and use its power to decimate entire armies. And even during the time when the Marleyans had conquered the Eldians, they used the Power of the Titans to their advantage as well.

But while it was a great honor for an Eldian to have the Power of the Titans because it allowed them to become powerful enough to become an important military asset for Marley, the thing is that these titan shifters do have limits in terms of how long they can live. While regular human beings get to live for up to 70 or 80 years, depending on how healthy they are, the titan shifters don’t get to live for a very long time. In that regard, they don’t even get to live forever, no matter how powerful their titan powers are.

As such, the Power of the Titans comes at the cost of a person’s lifespan because it shortens their remaining years. That is why not all of the Eldians want to be titan shifters, as there is a considerable risk that comes with having the Power of the Titans. This is where it becomes clear that power comes at a price in the world of Attack on Titan.

How Long Do Titan Shifters Have Left?

We have established that titan shifters don’t live forever. In fact, they don’t even get to live the normal lifespan of a human if they turn into titan shifters quite young. But how long do titan shifters have left?

The story of the lifespan limit of a titan shifter goes back to Ymir herself. She was the original titan as she was the one who held the power of the Founding Titan, which is the titan from which all of the other titans came. During the early period of the Eldian empire, the king of Eldia relied on her powers to conquer different lands and kingdoms until the empire grew larger and larger. 

However, 13 years after she acquired the power of the Founding Titan, Ymir died taking an attack from an assassin that tried to kill King Fritz. After that, King Fritz forced his daughters to eat the remains of their mother so that they would acquire the Power of the Titans and pass it on to their children as well.

Since then, numerous titan shifters have inherited the power of the Nine Titans from Ymir’s daughters. All of them only had 13 years left to live after becoming titan shifters because Ymir only had 13 years to live after she became the Founding Titan. And that’s all because no other titan shifter should be able to surpass the Founding Titan.

So, if a person became a titan shifter at the age of 1, then that means that they will only get to live up to the age of 14. Meanwhile, a titan shifter that gains the Power of the Titans at the age of 50 will only get to live for up to 63. And this 13-year time limit is the reason why the Marleyans train Eldian Warrior candidates young enough so that they will acquire the Power of the Titans during their prime years while they are still quite young.

Before the titan shifter’s 13-year time limit passes, they should pass the Power of the Titans to someone else, or else the power passes on to a newborn Eldian child. That is why the Marleyans keep track of how many years a Warrior has left to live.

Of course, we saw Falco wanting to become a titan shifter not because he wanted the Power of the Titans but because he didn’t want Gabi to become a titan shifter due to the lifespan limit, as he wanted her to live a long life.

How Long Does Eren Have To Live?

Eren Yeager, the primary protagonist of Attack on Titan, was actually turned into a titan shifter by his father at the age of 10. He didn’t remember that due to the trauma that he experienced after he turned into a mindless titan and ate his father, who was the one who had the power of the Attack Titan and the Founding Titan at that time.

It was only when Eren was already 15 years old that he manifested the power of the Attack Titan for the first time. A few months later, he learned of the 13-year time limit of a titan shifter and said that he only had 8 more years left on his clock because he turned into a titan at the age of 10.

Meanwhile, there was a four-year timeskip between season 3 and the final season. During the final season, Eren was already 19 years old. That means that he only had 4 more years left in his lifespan before he would die. 

Can Titan Shifters Live Longer Than 13 Years?

At this point, there hasn’t been a titan shifter that has lived longer than the 13-year lifespan that comes with the Curse of Ymir. Not even Eren, who had the power of the Founding Titan, was able to find a way to get past this limit. But it was because no one could get past this limit, among other reasons, that Eren wanted to erase the titans from the planet.

As such, he became the villain that allowed the entire world to unite during the final parts of Attack on Titan. When Mikasa finally killed Eren for good, she killed the Founding Titan and erased it from existence. In that regard, the Power of the Titans, as well as the Curse of Ymir, were all erased.

So, when Eren succeeded in his plan of erasing the titans from the world, he was also able to find a way for Armin and the other titan shifters to live longer because the Curse of Ymir no longer existed due to the fact that the Power of the Titans no longer existed as well. As such, they were no longer titan shifters and were now allowed to live out the rest of their normal lifespans.