Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos
Developer(s): Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher(s): Blizzard Entertainment
Latest version: 1.20b (December 12, 2005)
Release date(s): 2002
Genre: Real-time strategy
Mode(s): Single player, Multiplayer
Rating(s): ESRB: Teen (13+)
Platform(s): Windows, Mac OS and Mac OS X
Media: CD (1)
Input: Keyboard and Mouse
Warcraft portal
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, released
by Blizzard Entertainment in 2002, is a real-time strategy computer
game and the second sequel to Warcraft. It is the third game set
in the Warcraft Universe.
Contents
· 1 Overview o 1.1 Collector's Edition· 2 Gameplay·
3 Plot o 3.1 Prologue campaign: "Exodus of the Horde"o
3.2 Human campaign: "The Scourge of Lordaeron"o 3.3 Undead
campaign: "Path of the Damned"o 3.4 Orc campaign: "The
Invasion of Kalimdor"o 3.5 Night Elf campaign: "Eternity's
End"· 4 The Frozen Throne expansion o 4.1 Plot §
4.1.1 Night Elf campaign§ 4.1.2 Alliance campaign§ 4.1.3
Undead campaign§ 4.1.4 Orc mini-campaign· 5 Spin-offs·
6 Modding· 7 Custom maps· 8 Quotations· 9 External
links
Overview
One of the main innovations
Warcraft III offers
over the previous games in the series is the addition of several
powerful units called heroes. For instance, heroes within the game
can find or trade items to increase skills, defense, etc. With each
kill of an enemy of a certain level the heroes gain experience points,
eventually resulting in increased levels of their own, and new spell
options (thus introducing role-playing game elements to the series).
Certain heroes also can apply beneficial auras to allied units.
Another new innovation is the addition of creeps, which are computer
controlled characters the player fights even in multiplayer. They
guard key areas or neutral buildings and are designed to act as
a resource for the players to kill to provide experience points
to a player's hero and to provide hero items. The idea is to force
the player to be aggressive instead of "turtling up" (spending
all resources on defenses and technology, rather than attacking).
An in-game screenshot of humans (blue) fighting orcs (red).
Within the game there are four races at war: the Humans and the
Orcs, who also appeared in
Warcraft and
Warcraft II, along with two new character teams, the Night
Elves and the Undead. As an April Fool's joke before the game was
released, Blizzard announced that the Pandaren would be the fourth
race. The company didn't reveal the Night Elves until a month later,
and pandas are a running gag in
Warcraft now (to
the point that a Pandaren Hero — called the Brewmaster —
was available in the expansion pack,
Warcraft III: The Frozen
Throne). A fifth playable race, the Burning Legion, was
changed during play-testing to a set of non-player characters and
monsters (with a playable "cameo" on the last level of
the Undead campaign, as Kel'Thuzad summons Archimonde).
Players meet other players over the Internet to set up multiplayer
games via Blizzard's free Battle.net service, have their opponent
randomly selected using the Automatic MatchMaker (AMM), or may play
against the computer.There is also a ladder and the better you do
the higher up the ladder you will go.
Warcraft III also includes a very thorough scenario
editor. It uses a scripting language similar to the trigger system
used in StarCraft. As well as providing the ability to edit any
aspect of the units, buildings and spells, it has advanced features
as custom tilesets, custom cinematic scenes, dialog boxes, variables,
and weather effects. Many custom maps, featuring a large variety
of gametypes continue to be developed, and together with the expansion
pack have contributed to the longevity of the game.
The game was developed by Blizzard Entertainment, a subsidiary of
Vivendi Universal, and released in July 2002.
Warcraft III
proved to be one of the most anticipated and popular video game
releases ever, with 4.5 million units pre-ordered and over 1 million
additional units sold during its first two weeks.
Collector's Edition
Warcraft III: Collector's Edition contents.
Blizzard released two versions of the game upon its launch. One
was the regular edition, and the other was the limited Collector's
Edition. The collector's box contained the following items:
· The game on CD.
· The official
Warcraft III Cinematic DVD
containing behind-the-scenes features and the cinematics of all
prior Warcraft games.
· Collector's Edition Soundtrack.
· Collector's Edition manual.
· The Art of Warcraft book.
· Lithographic prints
Gameplay
An in-game screenshot of night elves (red) attacking a secondary
base belonging to the undead army (blue).
The four warring races have different advantages, most of them similar
to the racial attributes of the Terrans, Zerg, and Protoss from
StarCraft, another popular RTS from Blizzard. The different strategically
significant traits of the races in Starcraft have been combined
in new ways to form the
Warcraft III races. The
Warcraft III Night Elves, for instance, resemble
the Terrans in that their buildings can move and their base fighting
unit has a missile attack, but like the Zerg, their worker units
are consumed when they create most buildings. The Undead have the
Protoss's ability to summon buildings rather than constructing them,
so a worker unit is not tied up in construction; also like the Protoss,
they have a dedicated invisible spy unit, but their`buildings have
to be constructed upon dedicated infested terrain called Blight
(like the Zerg Creep), and their army line-up is strategically similar
to that of the Zerg.
However, unlike other RTS games,
Warcraft III has
introduced a new element of game play, special units called Heroes.
This element was used in the Warlord: Battlecry games to good effect
prior to
Warcraft III. Heroes are super units that
have special abilities that expand as the game progresses (as they
gain experience). For example, a Human Archmage hero can acquire
the ability to (temporarily) summon water-elementals, increase the
mana regeneration rate of surrounding magic casting units, create
a blizzard over enemy units, and teleport friendly units to other
parts of the map. In the course of a game a maximum of up to three
heroes can be built, but if they die, they can be revived at an
altar.
Between Heroes and a low food cap it is difficult to win through
sheer numbers, and micromanagement becomes more important. The upkeep
concept also keeps armies small as it penalizes anyone who gets
too big too fast. As a result gameplay is more tactical than strategic.
There are strong distinctions in the game between melee and ranged
units; between air and ground units; and (particularly in The Frozen
Throne) between mundane, magical, and antimagic units. Antimagic
units, such as the Humans' Elven Spell-Breaker (only in the expansion
pack) and the Night Elves' Dryad, have the ability to cancel the
effects of magic spells cast on other units.
Plot
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Similar to how Starcraft was told, the story in
Warcraft
III is told through all four races in a progressive manner.
The order is Human, Undead, Orc, and Night Elf.
Prologue campaign: "Exodus of the Horde"
Thrall, Warchief to the last of the Orcish Horde, wakes from a nightmare
that foresees the return of the Burning Legion. After a brief encounter
with the prophet, fearing that his vision was more than a nightmare,
leads his people in an exodus of Lordaeron to the forgotten lands
of Kalimdor.
Human campaign: "The Scourge of Lordaeron"
Prince Arthas, a paladin of the Silver Hand (a group of Knights
devoted to the defense of Lorderaeon and humanity), and former lover
to Jaina Proudmoore, investigates a strange plague that is spreading
across the lands of Lordaeron. To their horror, they find that the
plague turns unsuspecting people into hideous Undead Scourge, and
must move to stop the Undead's plans. Arthas proceeds to hunt down
the plague's originator, Mal'Ganis. Travelling northward to the
icy lands of Northerend in pursuit of Mal'Ganis, he aids an old
friend, Muradin Bronzebeard, who tells him of a sword called Frostmourne.
Arthas obtains Frostmourne, at the cost of Muradin's life, and uses
it to defeat Mal'Ganis. Frostmourne slowly destroys and eventually
consumes Arthas' soul, and he becomes the Lich King's first Death
Knight, an evil being of great power and a general of the Undead
army.
Note: Frostmourne was created to consume souls and bend those that
possess it to the will of Ner'Zhul, the Lich King. Arthas was the
very first soul Frostmourne claimed.
Chapter 1: The Defense of Strahnbrad
Chapter 2: Blackrock n' Roll
Chapter 3: Ravages of the Plague
Chapter 4: The Cult of the Damned
Chapter 5: March of the Scourge
Chapter 6: The Culling
Chapter 7: The Shores of Northrend
Chapter 8: Dissension
Chapter 9: Frostmourne
Undead campaign: "Path of the Damned"
With their new leader Arthas, the Undead Scourge move to complete
their purpose in Lordaeron, which is to destroy the remnants of
the Alliance, and to pave the way for a new invasion. In a series
of quests involving the destruction of the Silver Hand Paladins
and the overthrow of Quel'Thalas, Arthas succeeds in reviving former
adversary Kel'Thuzad as a Lich. After laying waste to the Blackrock
Orcs and communing with the Eredar Demon Lord Archimonde, the two
successfully open an inter-dimensional portal with the use of Medivh's
Spellbook for the true masters of the Scourge, the Burning Legion,
to enter the realm of Azeroth. Leader of the demonic forces, Archimonde,
makes his first blow against the remaining human resistance with
the destruction of the Wizard Utopia of Dalaran, the Violet City.
Chapter 1: Trudging through the Ashes
Chapter 2: Digging up the Dead
Chapter 3: Into the Realm Eternal
Chapter 4: Key of the Three Moons
Chapter 5: Fall of Silvermoon
Chapter 6: Blackrock n' Roll too
Chapter 7: The Seige of Dalaran
Chapter 8: Under the Burning Sky
Orc campaign: "The Invasion of Kalimdor"
After escaping Human captivity and fleeing to the shores of Kalimdor,
Orcish warchief Thrall must lead his brethren to safety and ensure
their survival in this strange and hostile land. With the help of
the Tauren, a nomadic group of Kalimdor natives led by Cairne Bloodhoof,
Thrall and Grom Hellscream head north to the Ashenvale Forest, but
during their journey, Grom Hellscream falls under demonic corruption.
Thrall is forced to go to great lengths to save him and face the
very demon that has cursed his brother. Thrall also discovers that
his fate is to help repel the Burning Legion, and allies his forces
with the human leader Jaina Proudmoore to accomplish this goal.
Chapter 1: Landfall
Chapter 2: The Long March
Chapter 3: Cry of the Warsong
Chapter 4: The Spirits of Ashenvale
Chapter 5: Hunter of Shadows
Chapter 6: Where Wyverns Dare
Chapter 7: The Oracle
Chapter 8: By Demons be Driven
Night Elf campaign: "Eternity's End"
With the coming of the Undead Scourge and Burning Legion as well
as the Humans and Orcs, Tyrande Whisperwind and her Night Elf Sentinels
fight a desperate battle to save their beloved home of Kalimdor.
She first reawakens her lover, Malfurion Stormrage, and then the
Druids of the Claw and the Druids of the Talon. She also decides
to free the great betrayer, Illidan Stormrage, who is eventually
instrumental in weakening the Burning Legion, but at a great cost.
Finally, she and Malfurion join forces with Proudmoore and Thrall
to delay the Legion's advance until a proper end can be arranged
for the demonic leader Archimonde. Overrun by the Legion and the
Scourge, Archimonde prepares his final blow - Nordrassil, the tree
of life, but moments before he can strike, Malfurion Stormrage summons
his trap. Unable to counter, Archimonde is destroyed in a blazing
inferno blast that destroys the tree of life, but unlike Archimonde,
the tree would heal and its roots would once again grow deep. Peace
once again came to Kalimdor, but only for a short while, as the
great betrayer, Illidan Stormrage would seek revenge for his imprisonment.
Chapter 1: Enemies at the Gate
Chapter 2: Daughters of the Moon
Chapter 3: The Awakening of Stormrage
Chapter 4: The Druid's Arise
Chapter 5: Brothers by Blood
Chapter 6: A Destiny of Flame and Sorrow
Chapter 7: Twilight of the Gods
The Frozen Throne expansion
Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne cover art.
On May 29, 2003, Blizzard announced that the expansion set,
Warcraft
III: The Frozen Throne had "gone gold" (release
version sent to presses). It was released in stores worldwide in
multiple languages beginning on July 1, 2003. It includes an additional
hero for each race and three to four new units per race, four campaigns,
five neutral heroes (an additional neutral hero was added April
2004 and 2 more were added in August 2004), the ability to build
a shop and various other improvements such as the ability to queue
upgrades. It requires the ownership of Reign of Chaos. Blizzard
regularly patches both the original game and the more popular expanded
version to fix bugs, add new features, and balance multiplayer play.
The latter is the reason Blizzard games remain popular long after
their initial release.
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Plot
Set a number of months after the events of
Warcraft III,
The Frozen Throne continues some of the loose ends of the original
game, and also spins off some new plots of its own and paves way
for the new conflict of World of Warcraft.
Night Elf campaign
The Warden Maiev Shadowsong pursues the former prisoner Illidan
Stormrage across Azeroth. Illidan has gained the allegiance of the
Naga, former Night Elves who adapted to underwater life, but they
do not stop Maiev, who pursues Illidan from Kalimdor to the Tomb
of Sargeras, then all the way to Lordaeron. During her chase, she
asks the assistance of Malfurion Stormrage and Tyrande Whisperwind,
but Maiev holds a grudge against Tyrande for her actions in releasing
Illidan in the first place, culminating in her lying about Tyrande's
death to Furion. Furion and Maiev successfully prevent Illidan from
using the Eye of Sargeras, but in the process, Maiev's treachery
comes out, and the brothers Stormrage join forces to save their
mutual beloved. Furion then pardons Illidan, though he does not
revoke his exile, and Illidan departs... with Maiev still dogging
his heels.
Chapter 1: Terror of the Tides
Chapter 2: The Broken Isles
Chapter 3: Tomb of Sargeras
Chapter 4: Wrath of the Betrayer
Chapter 5: Balancing the Scales
Chapter 6: Shards of the Alliance
Chapter 7: The Ruins of Dalaran
Chapter 8: The Brothers Stormrage
Alliance campaign
The Alliance campaign follows the adventures of Prince Kael'thas,
leader of the Blood Elves, a group of High Elves that survived the
invasion of Quel'Thalas by the Scourge. Originally helping the Alliance,
the Blood Elves are imprisoned by a racist Human knight, and eventually
rescued by Lady Vashj and her Naga. Vashj then takes Kael'thas to
the Outland, the remnants of the Orc realm Draenor, to meet (and
free) their master, Illidan. After fending off Maiev (again) and
gaining the allegiance of the native Draenei, Illidan is able to
conquer the Outland, where he hopes he will be safe from his failure
to use the Eye of Sargeras to destroy the Frozen Throne. But his
master, the Warlock Kil'jaeden, catches them nonetheless, and the
episode ends with Illidan renewing his vow to destroy the Lich King.
The Human forces in this campaign are very different than the ones
used in the multiplayer game. Instead of the full Alliance, only
the High Elven units are available, with the addition of a few new
units and a Blood Elf hero added to the expansion pack. The Draenei
and the Naga, with their lone heroes, are also eventually playable.
Chapter 1: Misconceptions
Chapter 2: A Dark Covenant
Chapter 3: The Dungeons of Dalaran
Extra: The Crossing
Chapter 4: The Search for Illidan
Chapter 5: Gates of the Abyss
Chapter 6: Lord of Outland
Undead campaign
In the blighted lands of Lordaeron, now known as the Plaguelands,
a civil war is taking place within the Scourge. The Undead forces
splinter into three major factions: Arthas and Kel'Thuzad, who are
loyal to the Lich King; the Forsaken, led by the Banshee Queen Sylvanas
Windrunner; and a third group still loyal to the Burning Legion,
led by the Dreadlords (Nathrezim) who are unaware of the Legion's
defeat on Mt. Hyjal. The campaign switches between Arthas' journey
to Northrend to assist the Lich King, and Sylvanas' war against
the Dreadlords for control of the Plaguelands. In the end, Sylvanas
emerges as the nominal ruler of the Plaguelands, while Arthas travels
to Northrend to defend the Lich King, meeting the subterranean Nerubian
race, and eventually defeating Illidan in a one-on-one duel. He
then ascends to the Frozen Throne and becomes one with the Lich
King. What will become of this unholy meeting will presumably be
addressed in World of Warcraft.
Chapter 1: King Arthas
Chapter 2: The Flight from Lordaeron
Chapter 3: The Dark Lady
Chapter 4: The Return to Northrend
Chapter 5: Dreadlord's Fall
Chapter 6: A New Power in Lordaeron
Chapter 7.1: Into the Shadow Web Caverns
Chapter 7.2: The Forgotten Ones
Chapter 7.3: Ascent to the Upper Kingdom
Chapter 8: A Symphony of Frost and Flame
Orc mini-campaign
The Orc mini-campaign is a departure from the rest of the
game. It has features more like an RPG similar to Diablo, featuring
a Beastmaster named Rexxar as he helps the Orcs defend and develop
their new home of Durotar from various enemies. The Orc mini-campaign
was created because the game designers felt that the Orc storyline
didn't fit naturally into the main plot of The Frozen Throne. The
mini-campaign allowed the designers to move away from standard real-time
strategy conventions and explore new level design and gameplay concepts
[1]. It also established plot and setting details in preparation
for Blizzard's MMORPG World of Warcraft.
The player controls a group of two to four heroes, primarily Rexxar
and a Troll Shadow Hunter named Rokhan. The player can also gain
permanent control of a Pandaren Brewmaster named Chen Stormstout,
or temporary control of Jaina Proudmoore, Tauren Chieftain Cairne
Bloodhoof, and his son, Baine Bloodhoof. Maps are interconnected,
with each one being set up as various areas of Kalimdor, such as
the Orc fortress city of Orgrimmar, and a Human city on the Theramore
Isles.
Spin-offs
A massively multiplayer online role-playing game set in the WarCraft
universe, entitled World of Warcraft, is the fourth WarCraft game
in a series produced by Blizzard. It picks up the WarCraft storyline
four years after the events of The Frozen Throne.
The strategy board game Warcraft: The Board Game was released in
2003 by Fantasy Flight Games, and is based on
Warcraft III.
It uses a modular game board, which allows many different scenarios
to be played with the same set of components.
Modding
With the
Warcraft III World Editor that came with
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, players were able
to create their own custom maps to play multiplayer or single player.
The world editor had features such as stat editing and triggers
(which allowed for almost infinite possibility for in game actions).
A small community of modders started up, and spawned several tools
for spell editing through SLK spreadsheets, customizing skins with
.BLP converters, JASS editing, and a file importer that opened up
.MPQs.
With the expanded World Editor that came with The Frozen Throne,
users could edit spells without using SLK spreadsheets, import their
own custom .BLP textures files,
.MDX models, various sounds, and any other file that the editor
was willing to put in.
This made modding infinitely easier and less reliant on third party
software.
After a long time, Blizzard began to recognize the modding community,
and released the
Warcraft III Art Tools plugin
for 3D Studio Max, which allowed skilled model makers to create
fully animated three dimensional models (which could be imported
via the expanded World Editor). In the
Warcraft III
1.10 patch, the World Editor was once again updated, to be able
to use caches and custom campaigns which allowed modders to create
entire campaigns for
Warcraft III.
In addition to custom maps, total conversions are available for
download. Total conversions completely replace one or more of the
original races with completely new units and upgrades. One high
quality total conversion for
Warcraft III is The
Tales of Raviganion. Another mod called Ominous Horizons adds the
Tauren race.
Custom maps
There are many player-created multiplayer maps (made with the included
Warcraft III World Editor tool) available. Among
the maps and genres popular on Battle.net are:
· Wintermaul Wars and derivatives
· Hero Arena -derived maps (eg. Angel Arena)
· Night of the Dead, and Resident Evil -derived maps
· Defense of the Ancients, one of the most played custom
games on Battle.net, and the
most popular in
Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne
· Dodgeball -derived maps
· Dragonball Z -derived maps
· Enfo's Team Survival
· Eve of the Apocalypse
· Final Fantasy -derived maps
· Footman Wars -derived maps
· Life of a Peasant
· The Lord of the Rings -derived maps
· =^-^= Run Kitty Run =^-^=
· Sheep Tag and derivatives
· Skibi's Castle Tower Defense (now an official Frozen Throne
Bonus Map)
· Tides of Blood
· Tower Defense -derived maps (eg. Wintermaul Tower Defense)
· Three Corridors
· Demise of Brotherhood Roleplaying (a.k.a. DoBRP)
· Hero Seige -derived maps
Quotations
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
Warcraft III
One of the features of
Warcraft III are the unit
quotes. If a single unit is clicked several times in a row, the
unit's voice samples change. The unit may start getting angry at
the player, or start saying silly things in reference to movies,
games, or other "inside jokes". For example, after several
clicks the Human peasant exclaims in a British accent, "Help!
Help! I'm being oppressed!" — a quote from the movie
Monty Python and the Holy Grail. They also say "What, you're
the king? I didn't vote for you." and "We found a witch.
May we burn her?", and footmen exclaim, "It's only a flesh
wound!" — all of which are from that movie. Knights remark,
"My favourite colour is blue... No, YELLOW!" and "I
never say ni."
External links
·
The official Warcraft III website
·
The official Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne expansion
website
·
The official Warcraft III strategy guide, ladder, patches,
and map downloads
·
The official Warcraft: The Board Game website
