Codex Gamicus
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Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos is an RTS released by Blizzard Entertainment in 2002. It expanded upon the universe established in the original Warcraft: Orcs & Humans and its sequel, Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness.

An expansion for this game was later released under the name of Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne.

It consists of several single-player campaigns, allowing the player to control different races to completed different goals in the game. There is also a multi-player community based around the game that works through Battle.net wherein players may skirmish against another, or against computer opponents.

Gameplay[ | ]

There are various heroes in the game that have higher hit points and bigger spells or attacks they can wield against enemies. These are most useful when leading battles of other troops because the hero can usually either tank the enemy or heal the friendlies. They also gain experience over time and get access to better spells and higher hit points, so it is best to keep them in battle at all times so they continue to advance in power.

The main aspect of the game is to build a town, create units to maintain the town's resources in gold and lumber, as well as meat (which allows you to produce more units), while managing an army from the barracks and other areas of unit production. The most common method of 'winning' the game is to destroy the enemy's town so that they cannot continue to produce an army to fight you. A proper dividing line between defense and offense is the key to winning the game, as it is important to always have an army on the offensive, but not to leave your town open to attack.

Races[ | ]

The game consists of four playable races: Humans, Undead, Orcs, and Night Elves (in order of their playable appearances in the single-player campaign, excluding the prologue).

Humans[ | ]

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The Human Alliance is a conglomeration of Humans, Elves, and Dwarves. They are the most versatile army in Warcraft III, with good ground and air troops, excellent siege capability, and powerful spellcasters.

Racial Advantages[ | ]

Peasant Militia

The workers of the Human Alliance can be converted into Militia when the need arises. You can transform Peasants individually by clicking on the Call to Arms icon on each Peasant's command card or convert them en masse by ringing the Call to Arms bell at your Town Hall. Peasants will then rally to the Town Hall, where they don armor and wield axes to fight invaders. After a set amount of time, Militia will revert back to Peasants, or you can prematurely end their military tenure at the Town Hall with the Back to Work bell. This is a very useful tactic when all other troops are in the field and your town comes under attack.

Improved Lumber Harvesting

Two upgrades can be researched at the Lumber Mill to improve the wood gathering of the Human Alliance. Each successive upgrade increases the carrying capacity for those Peasants harvesting lumber.

Defensive Capabilities

The Humans have the best Towers with full upgrades. There are three separate tower options. The Canon tower, which is good against large groups of people from a distance. The Guard tower, which is good against individual units. And the Magic tower, which is good against any unit that is vulnerable to magic.

The Humans' Defend ability is very effective against ranged troops.

Orcs[ | ]

The Horde possesses the game's most powerful ground units, including the savage Grunt and gargantuan Tauren. The Orcish Horde has modest air and ranged capabilities, but their true strength lies in their brute strength and raw melee power. Even the magic of their spellcasters is designed to enhance their frontline troops.

Racial Advantages[ | ]

Spiked Barricades

The buildings of the Orcish Horde can be outfitted with spikes that damage all enemy melee units that attack them. There are multiple upgrades, each empowering the spikes to do more damage. The Spiked Barricades upgrades are researched at the War Mill.

Pillage

Certain Orc units can be upgraded to salvage gold and lumber when attacking enemy buildings. Once trained, Pillage enables Peons, Grunts, and Raiders to add gold to your coffers every time they hit an enemy building.

Protective Burrows

The Orcish food supply building is the Orc Burrow; however, it also doubles as a defensive structure. When garrisoned with Peons, it can provide defense against land and air units in the form of a ranged attack.

Night Elves[ | ]

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The Night Elves of Kalimdor are a mighty race that emphasizes mobility, ranged firepower, and spellcraft. They do not have the brute strength of other races, but their skills with bow and magic more than compensate for this deficiency.

Racial Advantages[ | ]

Ancients

Several buildings of the Night Elves are actually sentient trees that can move. They are the Tree of Life, Tree of Ages, Tree of Eternity, Ancient of War, Ancient of Wind, Ancient of Lore, Ancient Protector, and Ancient of Wonders. These buildings can be uprooted with the Uproot command, and moved around at will. When walking they can attack land units, but they cannot engage in their normal activities, such as receiving resources or creating units. To return to building form, they must re-root themselves. Ancients can benefit from the following abilities:

  • Eat Tree: If damaged, Ancients can consume trees to regain health.
  • Nature's Blessing: This ability is researched at the Tree of Ages, and once completed improves the movement speed and armor of Ancients.
Shadowmeld

Night Elf females possess the Shadowmeld ability. This enables them to turn invisible when they are not moving or attacking. The Archer, Huntress, Warden, and Priestess of the Moon all possess this ability. To force these units to remain motionless, even when enemy units would otherwise provoke response, you may use the Hide button. Shadowmeld only operates during nighttime.

Enhanced Night Vision

Night Elves can be upgraded to see as adeptly in darkness as they do in daylight. This ability is called Ultravision, and is researched at the Hunter's Hall. Ultravision does not increase the sight of buildings.

Moon Wells

The Moon Wells of the Night Elves, in addition to providing food, have mana reserves that can be used to restore the hit points and mana of nearby Night Elf units. Mana spent in this way slowly regenerates, but only at night time. This is particularly useful when defending one's town because health and mana can be easily gained from these wells.

Undead[ | ]

The Undead Scourge is a well-balanced faction that can field enduring ground forces and powerful air units. Their spellcasters possess a variety of powerful magics, including the dreaded ability to raise fallen allies and foes alike into an army of walking dead. In this way, the Undead can field armies more numerous than any other race in Warcraft III.

Racial Advantages[ | ]

Summoned Buildings

The Undead do not build structures, but instead summon them into being. Once an Acolyte is told to build a building, it begins the summoning spell, and the building gradually appears. During this time, the Acolyte can return to its duties, since it does not need to stay with a building while it is being summoned. The Undead can also Unsummon their buildings and recoup a percentage of the gold and lumber cost originally used to summon the building.

Corpses

In addition to gold and lumber, the Undead Scourge harvest corpses as a tertiary resource. Corpses are not used for purchasing units or raising buildings, but instead are used to fuel some of the powers of the Undead. The Necromancer unit uses corpses to create Skeleton Warriors, while the Ghoul and Abomination consume corpses to rapidly restore health. Corpses disappear over time, but the Undead can store and create them in their Meat Wagon units, where they will not decay and can be unloaded for use when the need arises.

Defense

The Undead can have very tough defenses thanks to Their Spirit Towers and Nerubian Towers with Fortified Armor that can also be repaired during battle. There is also the advantage that these buildings work to increase the amount of units you can produce, while still remaining a defensive structure rather than an obstruction to further building.

Burrow/Stone Form

Crypt Fiends can burrow under the ground making them invisible to the enemy and gaining increased health regeneration. Stone Form can be used to regenerate Gargoyles.

Regeneration

Undead can bring Obsidian Statues with them to regenerate their hit points and mana. There are also units that can be taught cannibalisation and will feast on the corpses of the dead to regenerate life. Finally, while standing on Blight (the dark, dead substance that they build most of their structures on), they regenerate at a higher rate.

External Links[ | ]

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