***************************************************************************** Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne Orc FAQ Tim "Velmarg" Smith Copyright 2003-2004 Last updated March 18, 2004 ***************************************************************************** Table of Contents ---------------------------------------- I. Introduction and Contact Information II. Orc Heroes A. Tauren Chieftain A1. Shockwave A2. War Stomp A3. Endurance Aura A4. Reincarnation B. Far Seer B1. Chain Lightning B2. Far Sight B3. Feral Spirit B4. Earthquake C. Blademaster C1. Wind Walk C2. Mirrored Image C3. Critical Strike C4. Bladestorm D. Shadow Hunter D1. Healing Wave D2. Hex D3. Serpent Ward D4. Big Bad Voodoo III. Units A. Peon B. Grunt C. Troll Headhunter/Berserker D. Raider E. Kodo Beast F. Troll Batrider G. Wind Rider H. Shaman H1. Purge H2. Lightning Shield H3. Bloodlust I. Troll Witch Doctor I1. Sentry Ward I2. Stasis Trap I3. Healing Ward J. Spirit Walker J1. Spirit Link J2. Disenchant J3. Ancestral Spirit K. Demolisher L. Tauren IV. Structures A. Great Hall B. Altar of Storms C. Barracks D. War Mill E. Tauren Totem F. Spirit Lodge G. Beastiary H. Orc Burrow I. Watch Tower J. Voodoo Lounge V. Harassing Strategies A. Blademaster B. Far Seer VI. Building Orders A. Velmarg's Build Order B. Acidslayer57's Build Order VII. General Strategies A. Grunts and Casters B. Grunts and Headhunters/Berserkers C. Tauren and Casters D. Mass Wind Riders E. Grunts and Raiders F. Hero Combos (Coming Soon...) VIII. Team Strategies A. Two on Two a. Orc and Night Elf i. Grunts and Archers ii. Tauren/Casters - MGs/Dryads iii. Tauren - Chims iv. Raiders - Archers b. Orc and Human i. Grunts - Rifles c. Orc and Undead i. Grunts - Fiends d. Orc and Orc i. Mass Grunts IX. Credits Update ---------------------- March 18 '04: Not much of an update. Threw in a few contributions, and updated the contact information section. Anyone that has anything they'd like to contribute to this FAQ should see the Introduction and Contact Information section, as I've made a few changes. May 23 '04: More of an "I'm still alive" update than anything else. Added some contributed stuff. Planning on making a major update in the coming weeks. Introduction and Contact Information ---------------------------------------- This is my first FAQ, so bare with me if the set-up is a little shaky. The Orcs are my favorite race in WC3, primarily because of their unmatched melee power. Their ranged and air capabilities are nothing to get excited about, but when you've got units like the powerful Grunt, the beefy Tauren, and the excellent orcish casters, those seem like minor set-backs. This FAQ explains all of the orc units, structures, and abilities in detail, and I'll give my personal view on the capabilities of each. Might throw in some strategies for good measure. As for submissions, I apologize to anyone who e-mailed me and never had their strategies or tips posted. It wasn't because I didn't think what you sent was useful; it's because I'm a lazy schmuck and I don't check my e-mail as often as I should with a FAQ like this posted. That being said, if you want to submit something to the FAQ, I'd prefer that you do it directly by sending me an instant message on AIM at Link1893. Now that I've gotten back into the swing of things here, I'll probably be a little more watchful of what goes into my inbox, so if you can't get ahold of me on AIM, you can go ahead and e-mail me at remo12@hotmail.com AIM: Link1893 (I'd prefer to get it through this) E-mail: remo12@hotmail.com (if you can't, go ahead and do it the old fashioned way) I'd also like to note that I'm not a die-hard, hardcore, in your FACE WC3 player, and any significant changes in any updates are likely to slip right under the radar. If something's amiss on this FAQ, e-mail me and let me know and I'll fix it up. I'll give you a cookie, too. Or at least some credit. What kind of WC3 player is this Velmarg? -------------------------------------- Not a very good one... see my record on B.Net East for proof of that. Base building and micro-management seem to be my two biggest weaknesses. I'm pretty good at controlling armies in combat, and I can come up with some decent strategies, but other than that, I'm a pretty average player. The Orcs are the only race I have a really good understanding of. Orc vs. Orc games I tend to kick ass in; everything else is a hit or miss affair. I'm thinking of starting a FAQ on another race, if only to get a better understanding of the game. Keep an eye out for the Velmarg Human FAQ. That sounds kinda nifty, doesn't it? The Human FAQ; everything you ever wanted to know about... humans... Muaha... Muahaha... *Lightning Strikes*. ... Anyway, enjoy the FAQ... II. Orc Heroes ---------------------------------------- The Orc heroes are all very unique. Unlike the heroes of other races, the Orcish heroes aren't as supportive of their troops; by that, I mean that the Orc heroesare more focused on bringing down enemy forces that strengthening their own. TheShadow Hunter is an exception (as he is all about assisting). From the earth shaking Tauren Chieftain to the... well... earth shaking Far Seer, the heroes of the horde are all powerful, and for very different reasons. A. Tauren Chieftain Prim. Attribute: Strength ---------------------------------------- The Chieftain is a powerhouse; arguably the best melee hero in the game. His abilities focus on disabling enemy troops and empowering friendly melee attackers. He attacks land units. A1. Shockwave ---------------------------------------- The Chieftain slams the ground with his totems, causing a shockwave to ripple forth in a straight line. Any enemy units caught in its path takes damage. Shockwave is a very underrated ability. In the early stages of a game, it can wreak havoc on weaker enemy troops (footmen, archers, etc.). If you know your opponent is gathering a large force of weak units, it might be a good idea to put a point or two into Shockwave. A2. War Stomp ---------------------------------------- The Chieftain stomps the ground with such force that any enemy units near him are damaged and stunned. War Stomp is a very effective ability, if used with precision. It's main purpose is to stun attack melee troops, but it's also effective against ranged units and casters. Pulling the Chieftain out of the thick of battle, moving him near the enemy's ranged units or casters and War Stomping can take the heat off of of friendly troops for a while. It's particularly effective against Necromancers, when used in this manner (especially at level 3). A3. Endurance Aura ---------------------------------------- Any friendly units near the Chieftain are empowered with faster attack and movement speeds. Endurance Aura is my favorite aura in the game. Just putting one point into it increases your army's movement rate considerably. The attack rate boost doesn't seem like much, but it actually helps quite a bit. Couple that 15% increase with Bloodlust, and you've got yourself one powerful melee force. From Konrad Dalecki: The TC's endurance aura and the DK's unholy aura if used together with wyverns and gargs/wyrms is incredibly powerful. Hit an enemy base and run when the ranged comes. You have a (up to) 60% movement upgrade, so even the wyrms can make it safely. The sheer melee power of the TC and DK in shockwave and even death coil is very fun against ranged. People usually go for the air. A4. Reincarnation (Ultimate) ---------------------------------------- Nothing like seeing the look on your enemy's face when your Chieftain gets right back up after he's taken down. Not that you can see their face, since it's a game, but... y'know what I mean. Reincarnation in a very powerful ability that can easily turn the tide of a battle, but it has its downsides. For one, in comparison to the Ultimate abilities of other Orc heroes, it seems a little weak. For another, if your entire army is taken out before your chieftain gets up, it's basically a waste, since he'll get knocked right back down in a short amount of time. Still, it's good to know that if the Chief goes down in a fight, he'll be getting right back up. The cooldown for reincarnation is pretty significant, so the Chieftain is by no means invincible with this ability. B. Far Seer Prim. Attribute: Intelligence --------------------------------------- The Far Seer is the horde's mystical hero, with abilities like Chain Lightning and Feral Spirit. Ironically, the ability that gives the hero his name is one of the most useless in the game. Ah well... his other skills more than make up for it. He can attack both land and air units. B1. Chain Lightning --------------------------------------- The Far Seer sends forth a stream of lightning which bounces from enemy to enemy, weakening with each "bounce" until it fizzles out. The amount of times the spell can bounce increases with level. Chain Lightning is one of the best attack spells, and can really turn the tide of a fight. If two armies have been going at it for a good while and are both low on health, this spell can mop up a number of the opponent's units. It's also very effective against air units. B2. Far Sight --------------------------------------- While not entirely useless, Far Sight isn't a very powerful ability. The fact that you can send a Feral Spirit into your opponents base to accomplish the same goal puts this ability at the bottom of the list. Only put points into this if it's the only ability left to put points in. Ridel241@aol.com's take on the Far Sight ability: It was a little difficult to read (no offense to him, since he really does know what he's talking about), but he basically said that if you can manage it, having Far Sight at a high level can be very nice indeed, since you can look over a huge chunk o' the map for a little bit o' mana. I still think it's his weakest ability, but it's not useless. B3. Feral Spirit --------------------------------------- The Far Seer summons two spirit wolves to attack his enemies. The wolves increase with each level put into the ability. One of the Far Seers more useful abilities, the wolves are effective in combat, and near invaluable as scouts. The Feral Spirits ability makes the Far Seer an effective harasser as well. B4. Earthquake (Ultimate) --------------------------------------- Devastating against enemy structures (particularly defensive ones), Earthquake can quickly make short work of an opponent's base. It's ability to slow enemy troops is often over-looked. Some good uses for Earthquake, aside from tearing apart a base, are: a) If you have a number of ranged units or air, you can slow your enemy's units and easily pick them off (since you won't have to enter the area of the spell to attack them). b) If placed just right, Earthquake can have devastating effects on enemy melee units during a large confrontation. Wait for your two armies to clash, cast it on your opponents side, and let the slaughter commence. Bring in some master Shamans and Witch Doctors, and you've basically owned your opponent. C. Blademaster Prim. Attribute: Agility --------------------------------------- A quick and stealthy hero effective against single opponents, the Blademaster is the horde's best hero killer and the best harasser. His abilities focus on confusing the opponent and dispatching enemies quickly. He attacks land units. C1. Wind Walk --------------------------------------- This ability allows the Blademaster to disappear from enemy sight. While invisible, the Blademaster has increased movement speed. Attacking while Wind Walking gives a significant bonus to damage, but makes the Blademaster visible again. The movement speed and damage bonuses increase with level. Wind Walk is what makes the Blademaster the best harassing orc hero. The Blademaster can attack the worker units, Wind Walk to get away from the enemy's units that have come to assist, and then continue the assault. Annoying? Yes. Effective. Mm-hmm. On top of the excellent harassing capabilities, Wind Walk makes the Blademaster a capable scout. It also allows him to escape a fight that isn't going your way, if need be. C2. Mirror Image --------------------------------------- By use of this ability, the Blademaster creates phantom images of himself to confuse his opponent. The images don't actually inflict any damage, and are defeated much faster than the Blademaster himself. None of the Blademaster's abilities are really useless, but Mirror Image is probably my least favorite. At early levels, it's very easy to distinguish between the image and the real Blademaster; you can see who does damage on each strike, and the image's health will go down faster. The ability is most useful when the Blademaster's health is down, but you don't want to take him out of the fight. It's also useful to take some heat off of fellow troops in a large battle, as some enemy units may shift their focus from hitting one of your troops and attack one of the images instead. C3. Critical Strike --------------------------------------- A passive ability, Critical Strike gives a 15% chance that the Blademaster will do much more damage than he usually does. At level 3, you'll have a 15% chance to do 4 times the usual damage. Beefy. Critical Strike, along with Wind Walk, make the Blademaster the horde's best anti-hero hero. C4. Bladestorm (Ultimate) --------------------------------------- The Blademaster suddenly becomes the Blind Swordsman from the 60's samurai flicks, wreaking havoc on all enemy units in his vicinity. He spins in a fury of orc and sword, making him a mobile cyclone of metal death. Or... something. Bladestorm is one of the best ultimate abilities in the game. It's effective against melee attackers, but also against casters. Nothing like Wind Walking out of a fight, getting behind the enemy casters, and unleashing Bladestorm hell. D. Shadow Hunter --------------------------------------- The Shadow Hunter is the new hero introduced in Frozen Throne. Unlike the other orcish heroes, the Shadow Hunter is all about assisting the troops. Probably my least favorite of the orc heroes (though his ultimate ability is insanely powerful). Attacks land and air units. D1. Healing Wave --------------------------------------- Basically the opposite of Chain Lightning. Instead of bouncing from enemy to enemy, dealing less damage as it goes, Healing Wave bounces from friendly to friendly, healing less and less damage. Very effective. Healing Wave makes the Shadow Hunter an effective creeper. You can clear quite a few creep areas with a single attack force of 4 or 5 grunts with Healing Wave at your disposal. It's not just for creeping, though; Healing Wave is especially powerful in larger battles. Be sure to focus the spell on the unit with the least amount of health left, as it decreases in power with each bounce. To make it easier, hold ALT as the battle rages. D2. Hex --------------------------------------- Hex temporarily transforms an enemy unit into some random creature, disabling their special abilities. Hex is particularly effective against enemy heroes; nothing like turning that pesky Archmage who won't knock off the Blizzard into a sheep or something. The duration is much shorter for heroes, however... D3. Serpent Ward --------------------------------------- Through use of this ability, the Shadow Hunter summons a immobile snake-like ward that attacks enemy land and air units. It doesn't cost a whole lot of mana, and has a reasonable cool-down, which allows the Shadow Hunter to put up multiple wards. At first, I didn't think much of this ability. Healing Wave and Hex always seemed more useful. Then someone e-mailed me and brought it to my attention that at third level, Serpent Ward does about as much damage as a Wind Rider. As such, it's not really useless at all. While I still consider it the shadow Hunter's weakest ability, it's not as weak as I once deemed it. Fun with Serpent Wards: Ridel241@aol.com is the one who brought it to my attention that beefy Serpent Wards do some decent damage. He also pointed out that they're useful during a tower rush. I hate tower rushing as much as the next guy, but the man's got a point. Kudos to Ridel for bringing this to my attention. More from Konrad Dalecki:The SH and Paladin. Have a nice melee/ranged combination and healing wave and holy light, the two cheapest healing spells in the game, will make sure your units make it. Keep a couple of potions, and if you get up to lvl 6, you have won the battle. Ever resurrect knights? It is very fun. And so is voodoo. From this contribution has arisen the inspiration for... *drum roll*... The HERO COMBO SECTION. I'm too lazy to put it up right now, but look for it in the near to not-to-distant to months from now... future. D4. Big Bad Voodoo (Ultimate) --------------------------------------- One of the most powerful (if not, THE most powerful) ultimate abilities, Big Bad Voodoo makes all units in an area around the Shadow Hunter invulnerable. The Shadow Hunter himself isn't invincible, and since enemy units can't attack any of the other units, they all automatically shift their attention to the Shadow Hunter. This is bad mojo if the enemy has some ranged or air units. In my opinion, it's a bit overpowered. But then, the attack force on the other side of the spell can just run away, forcing the Shadow Hunter to cancel the spell to move on. Still, if a Shadow Hunter moves into the middle of an enemy base, surrounds himself with a considerable army of melee units and ranged or air units, and casts this spell... the enemy may as well throw in the towel. III. Units --------------------------------------- The horde's army focuses on melee power. The Grunt and Tauren are two of the best melee units in the game, and the casters only rub it in, with spells like Bloodlust, Healing Ward, and Ancestral Spirit. The ranged and air units are decent, but they're overshadowed by the horde's casters and front-line troops. The format I'll be presenting them in is... Name of the Unit. Structure the Unit is trained at. Cost to Build the Unit. Pre-requisites for building the Unit. Detailed description of the unit. A. Peon Great Hall, Stronghold, or Fortress 75 Gold - 1 Food --------------------------------------- The orc worker unit, peons mine the gold and gather the lumber for the Horde. They're the least effective lumber harvesters in the game. The Humans can upgrade the amount of lumber they carry, the Night Elves can stick 8 or 9 wisps on a group of trees and have a constant, steady supply of lumber, and the Undead have the ghouls, which harvest lumber quickly and efficiently. This is very bad mojo, since the orc structures and some of the more powerful units (such as the Tauren) cost a good bit of lumber. I'd recommend putting at least 6 peons on lumber. If and when you expand, move your lumber gathering units to that expansion and have them harvest lumber there, if possible. Chances are, by the time you're prepared to expand, they'll have cut through a significant portion of the forest they started at, and it'll take them longer to fetch and return the lumber. Aside from the basic gold and lumber gathering, the peons can repair structures, gather resources from enemy buildings if you've researched Pillage (though why you'd want to send peons in to attack an enemy structure is beyond me), and flee into the Orc Burrows, turning them into defensive structures. This makes it somewhat difficult to effectively harass an orc base, since the player can just burrow. Constant burrow fire plus an unhappy hero usually leads to an unsuccessful harass. B. Grunt Barracks 200 gold - 3 Food --------------------------------------- The Grunt is the basic attack unit of the Horde. They're the most powerful tier 1 melee unit in the game, and can easily hold their own against more powerful units such as knights and abominations. Grunts are known for their staying power; you can get through an entire game with an attack force composed of nothing but Grunts. Throw in some master Shamans and Witch Doctors, and you have a powerful attack force that's difficult to bring down. Grunts attack land units. The Grunts can pillage resources from enemy buildings, which can actually be helpful if you're running low. They can also be "beefed up" through the Berserker Strength upgrade at the Barracks. This increases their maximum health and attack damage. C. Troll Headhunter Barracks 135 Gold - 20 Lumber - 2 Food Requires: War Mill --------------------------------------- The Headhunter is the horde's basic ranged unit. They're overshadowed by the more capable melee units, but by no means are the Headhunters useless. A balanced force of grunts and trolls is a force to be reckoned with in the early stages of a game, and let's face it; if you're orc, and your opponent is making mass air, you don't have a lot of options (unless you're going to make a bunch of raiders, which cost more, take up more space, and aren't as effective if the enemy has a LOT of air units. Then again, there's always the Batriders.. hmm..). Once you have a Fortress, the Headhunters can be upgraded to Berserkers, which are stronger. The Berserkers also have the Berserk ability, which raises their attack rate by 50%, but also makes them take 50% more damage. This ability can be very effective against air units, but Healing Wards are a must. D. Raider Bestiary 180 Gold - 40 Lumber - 3 Food ---------------------------------------- The Raiders are an interesting unit. They do siege damage with their huge war blades, and can use the Ensnare ability, which holds enemies in place and can bring air units to the ground so that melee units can engage them. A massive amount of Raiders can quickly level a base, if met with little resistance. Unfortunately, that's rarely the case. The important thing to remember is that Raiders aren't melee units; they're siege units. If the opponent has nothing but Grunts, and you have nothing but Raiders, you're screwed. If you're battling air units with Raiders, you may want to take advantage of the hotkey for Ensnare. This makes it much easier to quickly bring down a large number of air units. It'd be nice if there was an auto-cast, but there isn't... so we have to make do. Also, Ensnare is useful against heroes. Just trap that pesky Archmage and surround him and he's good as dead. E. Kodo Beast Bestiary 255 Gold - 60 Lumber - 4 Food ---------------------------------------- Kodos are large, rhino-like beasts with orcs riding on top. The orc throws axes, and can attack land and air units, but its attack is weak. It's the Kodo's special abilities that make it an important unit. War Drums is a passive ability for the Kodo Beasts. It gives all units in an area around the Kodo a boost to their damage. Just bringing along one Kodo Beast can have a noticeable impact on the effectiveness of your troops. The other ability of the Kodo Beast is Devour. This ability allows the Kodo to... well... EAT an enemy land unit. Once a unit is devoured, the only methods of escape are to kill the Kodo, or let nature take its course (and your unit is lost in the process). One drawback to the ability is that the player still has the sight of the Devoured unit. It's a good idea to leave a Kodo that is digesting a unit somewhere away from your base, so you don't scout for your opponent. F. Troll Batrider Bestiary 160 Gold - 40 Lumber - 2 Food ---------------------------------------- Troll Batriders are air units effective against buildings and other air units. Unfortunately, their effectiveness against said air units comes with a price; you lose the unit in the process. The Unstable Concoction ability sends the Batrider forth in a Kamikaze rage. He crashes into one air unit, dealing an insane amount of damage, and moderately damaging all air units around the targeted unit. It's usually worth the trade, however. Taking out a more expensive, more powerful Wind Rider in one fell swoop leaves you with the upper hand. If you have no anti-air at all, and your opponent has nothing but air, Batriders may be your best bet. They make good scouts, too. The other ability of the Batriders is Liquid Fire. When a Batrider attacks a building with this passive ability researched, the building catches fire. It continues to burn and take damage, and can't be repaired while it's on fire. This is a nice touch, but it doesn't make the Batriders all that effective against buildings; at least not in destroying them. Now, if your opponent has a line of towers that's not sitting well with you, toss some o' that Liquid Fire on them and you'll reduce their attack power by 80%. Oof, indeed. They're cheap, they don't take a lot of food, and they have two very good uses. The Batrider may be the biggest bargain in the game. Ridel241@aol.com pointed out that Batriders are effective against Night Elf and Undead gold mines because they don't have much life. A good point, I reckon. G. Wind Rider Bestiary 265 Gold - 40 Lumber - 4 Food ----------------------------------------- Wind Riders are the primary air unit of the Horde. They make excellent scouts, as they're very fast and have great perception. Their attack power is decent, but not all that powerful in comparison to some of the air units of other races. Wind Riders are effective as support for ground troops, but not all that effective when built in bulk (at least not against a skilled player). When you've reached tier 3, you can upgrade the Wind Riders with Envenomed Weapons, which poisons enemies. It's a nice touch, but it doesn't help the Wind Riders a whole lot. In a 1v1 game, they can be effective if your opponent doesn't scout much. Other than that, they work best as scouts and supporting units. Want more information from Konrad Dalecki?: Wyverns (I am still attached to that name) are very very good against huntresses. A group of 6-8 and a TC can kill one in a series of hits, especially if they have been weakened be stomp or shockwave. They are not as good as gryphs or wyrms vs heros but they are very useful vs hunts and casters. H. Shaman Spirit Lodge 130 Gold - 20 Lumber - 2 Food ----------------------------------------- The Shaman is one of the three orc casters trained at the Spirit Lodge. Their abilities focus on weakening enemy units and beefing up friendly troops. H1. Purge ----------------------------------------- Through the use of this spell, the Shaman can remove any magical effects from a unit, friendly or otherwise. Purge also slows units, so if you're going to use it to remove a negative buff from a friendly unit, remember to give that unit time to recover from the spell. H2. Lightning Shield (Requires Adept Training) ----------------------------------------- Lightning Shield is one of my favorite spells in the game, since it can be used both defensively and offensively. A unit under the effects of Lightning Shield damages all other units in a close vicinity. Thus, it's probably not a good idea to throw this spell at a unit that's in the middle of a large battle, as you'll damage your own troops with the spell. If the opponent has ranged support, casting this spell on one or two of those units will considerably weaken the other ranged units around it, making it easy to mop them up after the enemy melee units are taken down. It's also effective against enemy casters and air units. H3. Bloodlust (Requires Master Training) ---------------------------------------- By use of this spell, the Shaman increases the effectiveness of a unit considerably, giving them a 40% increase in attack speed. This spell can be incredibly effective, as it doesn't cost a large amount of mana and can be cast on a few units before the Shaman is out of mana. An entire melee force under the effects of Bloodlust can be truly devastating. I. Troll Witch Doctor Spirit Lodge 145 Gold - 25 Lumber - 2 Food ----------------------------------------- The Troll Witch Doctor is the supporting caster, with abilities that scout, disable, and heal. I1. Sentry Ward ---------------------------------------- This spell allows the Witch Doctor to place an invisible ward that can spy on a target area for a significant amount of time. These are particularly effective when you're under the gun and need to know exactly where your opponent is at all times. Dotting the map with 3 or 4 Sentry Wards can give you a tremendous advantage, especially when your opponent is moving to engage your base. I2. Stasis Trap (Requires Adept Training) ---------------------------------------- Activated when an enemy troop walks near it, the Stasis Trap releases a shockwave that stuns all enemy units caught in its wake. This spell is particularly effective against an approaching enemy attack force. When used in tandem with the Sentry Wards, Stasis Traps can be incredibly effective. A nifty strategy with the traps is to set them in anticipation of an enemy attack force; then, pummel the enemy into submission with everything you've got. As the battle commences within your base, place another Stasis Trap on your opponent's escape route. If they try to flee, they'll find themselves stunned once again, allowing you to mop up whatever troops you can before it wears off. I3. Healing Ward (Requires Master Training) ---------------------------------------- The Healing Ward is the Witch Doctor's most powerful spell. Any friendly unit that enters a large radius around one of these wards slowly regenerates health. When used during combat, these wards can easily turn the tide of battle, considerably increasing the lifespan of your troops. And the more wards you lay down, the merrier. J. Spirit Walker Spirit Lodge 195 Gold - 35 Lumber - 3 Food ---------------------------------------- The Spirit Walkers are the new casters introduced in Frozen Throne. Their abilities focus on increasing the longevity of frontline troops, and removing magical effects. J1. Spirit Link ---------------------------------------- A unique spell, indeed. Spirit Link links several friendly units together so that the damage one unit takes is divided amongst the other units. This can increase troop longevity to some extent, but it's not all that effective during larger confrontations. J2. Disenchant (Requires Adept Training) ---------------------------------------- This spell removes all buffs from units in a target area, be they positive buffs on enemy units or negative buffs on friendlies. It also deals damage to summoned units. It's sort of like the Orcish equivalent to the Dispel spell of the Human Priest. J3. Ancestral Spirit (Requires Master Training) ---------------------------------------- The mother of all spells, Ancestral Spirit allows the Spirit Walker to resurrect a fallen non-hero Tauren from the dead; back to full health. I don't think I need to go into much detail about this spell; it kicks more ass than bacon and eggs (which kicks a considerable amount of ass). K. Demolisher Barracks 220 Gold - 50 Lumber - 4 Food ---------------------------------------- The Demolisher is the long-range siege unit of the Horde. Devastating against buildings, the Demolisher is also somewhat effective against enemy troops now. With the Burning Oil upgrade, Demolishers can ignite the ground enemy units stand on, slowly burning away at them. It's not THAT effective, but it can help. Watch that you don't get your own troops caught in the flames. Being that siege does extra damage to unarmored units, the Demolisher is also effective against these unlucky schmucks. If you're facing a force of huntresses, casters, or anything else that's unarmored, it couldn't hurt to bring along a few Demolishers to show 'em you mean business. L. Tauren Tauren Totem 280 Gold - 80 Lumber - 5 Food ---------------------------------------- The most powerful melee unit in the game, the lumbering Tauren are pure beef. Swinging their giant totems, they can make short work of any lesser melee force in a relatively short amount of time. The Pulverize upgrade gives a chance that the Tauren's attack will deal damage in a radius around him. Combine them with master Shamans, Witch Doctors, and Spirit Walkers, and you have an unstoppable melee force that can only be conquered if its outnumbered, out-teched, or attacked from the air. IV. Structures ---------------------------------------- A. Great Hall 385 Gold - 185 Lumber ---------------------------------------- The Great Hall is the primary orc structure. It allows you to build peons, it's the drop-off point for gold and lumber, and it needs to be upgraded if you have any intentions of making use of the more powerful units. It can be upgraded to Stronghold and Fortress. You can also research the Pillage and Backpack abilities here. B. Altar of Storms 180 Gold - 50 Lumber ---------------------------------------- The structure that allows the player to train hero units. With each upgrade of the Great Hall, you can train another hero unit. C. Barracks 180 Gold - 50 Lumber ---------------------------------------- The barracks is the primary training facility for combat units. Here, you train Grunts, Headhunters/Berserkers, and Demolishers. It also contained the Berserker Strength, Troll Regeneration, Troll Berserker, and Burning Oil upgrades. D. War Mill 205 Gold ---------------------------------------- The War Mill serves as the upgrade center for the hordes weapons and armor, as well as a drop-off point for lumber. The Spiked Barricades upgrades, which cover all buildings in spikes that damage melee attackers, are available here as well. Lastly, you can upgrade to Reinforced Defenses, which gives Orc Burrows and Watch Towers fortified armor. E. Tauren Totem 90 Gold - 200 Lumber Requires: Fortress ---------------------------------------- The Tauren Totem is the structure that allows you to train the powerful Tauren units. It also contains the Pulverize upgrade. F. Spirit Lodge 150 Gold - 150 Lumber Requires: Stronghold ---------------------------------------- The Spirit Lodge is where you can train the spell casters of the Horde. It contains the upgrades for said spell casters as well. G. Beastiary 145 Gold - 140 Lumber Requires: Stronghold ---------------------------------------- The Beastiary is the structure in which you train the Raiders, Wind Riders, Kodo Beasts, and Troll Batriders. It contains the Liquid Fire, Envenomed Weapons, War Drums, and Ensnare upgrades. H. Orc Burrow 160 Gold - 40 Lumber ---------------------------------------- The food structure for the horde, the Orc Burrow also serves as a defensive structure when Peons flee into them. Can be upgraded with fortified armor through the Reinforced Defenses upgrade at the War Mill. I. Watch Tower 110 Gold - 80 Lumber Requires: War Mill ---------------------------------------- The defensive structure of the Horde. Coupled with the Orc Burrows, these structures can put up a strong defense against enemy attackers. Can be upgraded with fortified armor through the Reinforced Defenses upgrade at the War Mill. J. Voodoo Lounge 130 Gold - 30 Lumber ---------------------------------------- The Orcish merchant structure. Here, you can purchase a number of upgrades, from the Scroll of Speed to the Orb of Lightning. V. Harassing Strategies ---------------------------------------- Harassing is evil. It's annoying. And... it's effective. "Harassing" in WC3 refers to the player using their hero unit to disrupt the other player's gold or lumber intake. Indeed, harassing has a much larger impact on a player than some people think. Some run into an Orc base and get upset when all of the peons flee to the burrows. The fact is, that's the best thing that can happen. As long as those burrows are full of peons, your opponent isn't getting any gold or lumber. If you want your own orc harassing strategy to appear here, e-mail or message it to me. The two heroes most suited for harassing are the Blademaster and the Far Seer. The Tauren Chieftain and Shadow Hunter can harass, but they're not as effective. A. Blademaster ---------------------------------------- There are a few methods of harassing with a Blademaster. The "Wind Walk and Run" is the most effective, but it's not the only one. Wind Walk and Run Game Type: Works best in 1v1 or 2v2 Against: Any race except Night Elves ð---------------------------------------- Have your Blademaster run into the enemy base, and immediately begin to attack their worker units. A number of things can happen from there. A) Orc Burrows: If you're playing against someone who's new to the game, often their first reaction to harassing is to have all peons flee to the burrows. This, of course, is exactly what you want them to do. Once they've burrowed, run away from the base, Wind Walk, and return. Wait for him to send his peons back to work, and then continue to the assault. If the player brings his hero and other units to stop you, Wind Walk out of there. During the harass, you may Wind Walk from time to time to get that bonus damage and quickly kill of a worker. If you do this, pay close attention to you mana. Nothing like getting stuck in an orc base with no mana, and all the burrows firing on you, and a hero and some tier one units cornering you. Bad Mojo. B) Militia: Rushing a Human base can be a bit more difficult than rushing an Orc base. If you're standing in between the gold mine and the Town Hall, and that player uses "Call to Arms", there's a good chance you'll be surrounded with no way out. Wind Walking won't help you here, as all the player has to do is stand there and wait for it to wear off. Of course, while he's doing this, his income is being severely hindered. On top of that, you'll probably end up killing a few of his workers. It's usually a good idea to harass a little, Wind Walk out of there, and then return. Don't worry about losing your hero in the process; when you take into consideration the damage you've done to his gold stockpile, you come out ahead in the game. C)Undead: The Undead are the easiest race to harass. The peons can burrow, the peasants can arm themselves, the wisps on gold can't be attacked... All the acolytes can do is run away like pansies. Unless there's some Spirit or Nerubian Towers, or they're teching and they get a Halls of the Dead quickly, you're free to go Acolyte Hunting. One thing to watch for is the Undead Heroes and the Ghouls. They can easily corner you by the gold mine the point where you can't escape; if that happens, your hero's basically dead (unless you can bring up some of your tier 1 units and start attacking the other side of his base to distract them). Remember that you can Wind Walk for bonus damage, but don't do it too much. It's usually best to just Wind Walk the hell out of there as soon as you meet resistance. Mirror Image Harassing Game Type: Works best in 1v1 or 2v2 Against: Any race except Night Elves ---------------------------------------- Against a good player, this usually isn't very effective, since they can tell which is which by watching the sword strikes and seeing who is doing the damage. However, if you can time it right to where the image and the Blademaster continue to land their strikes at the same time, it makes it more difficult for the player to tell who's doing the damage. Critical Strike Game Type: Best for 1v1 Against: Any race except Night Elves ---------------------------------------- Players will often choose Critical Strike as the first ability for the Blademaster, since it makes him a more efficient creeper. However, this can also make him an effective harasser. The problem is, you have no control over when the Blademaster is going to score a critical hit. He may not at all. I wouldn't recommend using this method unless you've already put the point into Critical Strike, and circumstances have forced you to harass the player. This doesn't mean Critical Strike is the worst ability for harassing. If you can creep quickly enough and reach level 2 with the Blademaster, having Critical Strike and Wind Walk at the same time can lead to very good results. Harassing a NE base Game Type: Best for 1v1 Against: Night Elves ---------------------------------------- Harassing a NE base is difficult. You can't hinder their gold income, and you can't take out their hero or supporting units due to the Moon Well. The best course of action is usually to just Wind Walk strike the lumber harvesting wisps and dispatch as many as you can before met with resistance. Once a hero unit and some archers are firing your way, it's best to just Wind Walk your ass out. B. Far Seer ---------------------------------------- The Far Seer, in my opinion, isn't as effective a harasser as the Blademaster; feel free to disagree with me there. Feral Spirit and Chain Lightning are both great harassing abilities, but if the player takes a defensive stance and burrows or calls arms, you're in trouble. While not as capable as the Blademaster, the Far Seer can still harass effectively. Feral Spirit Harassing Game Type: 1v1 or 2v2 Against: Any Race ---------------------------------------- Harassing with the Feral Spirits can be effective or completely useless. They're not very strong, and if the player takes advantage of basic base defenses, the wolves will drop pretty quickly. It's best to focus the attacks of both the wolves and the Seer on one worker unit. I'd previously stated that Feral Spirits might work against a Night Elf, but someone brought it to my attention that a Wisp detonation damages the wolves; something I wasn't aware of... Not sure how that got past me, but.. *shrug* Thanks to Brian Michaels (acidslayer57@hotmail.com) for pointing that out. Chain Lightning Harassing Game Type: 1v1 or 2v2 Against: Any Race(?) ---------------------------------------- I'm not entirely sure if Chain Lightning works against lumber harvest wisps. If it does, I suppose this would make the Far Seer the best hero for harassing a NE base. Anyway, this one's pretty self explanatory; you use Chain Lightning against worker units. Works well against Acolytes. Much like the Wind Walk/Critical Strike combination of the Blademaster, having both of the above abilities while harassing can increase the effectiveness considerably. It's often difficult to creep fast enough to reach level 2 and harass, but hey... if you can manage it, more power to you. More to come in the future, I hope. VI. Building Orders ---------------------------------------- Micro-management is a pain in the ass. As such, it's good to have a build order in mind; that is, a set order for building structures. Mine has served me well for a while. If you have an orc building strategy that you'd like to share, send it to me and I'll put 'er up. A. Velmarg's Building Order ---------------------------------------- Send three peons to the gold mine. Have the other two peons build a burrow and an Altar. Cue 2 peons at the Great Hall and set the rally point to the gold mine. When the mine has 5 workers on it, cue 3 more peons and set the rally point to a tree to begin harvesting lumber. When the burrow is done, have that peon build another burrow. When the Altar is complete, cue 2 or 3 more peons for lumber, and choose whatever hero you're going to use. When you have enough lumber, have the peon that built the Altar build a barracks. Continue to put peons on the lumber until you have 6 or 7. When the second burrow is complete, have that peon build a third. When your hero is ready, decide whether you're going to harass or creep. As soon as the barracks is finished, cue a grunt and have that peon build a second barracks. Have one of the lumber workers build a War Mill. As soon as you have a Grunt, cue another and have your hero and the grunt creep at the green areas. Continue pumping out Grunts to assist your creeping efforts until you have 5 or 6. Upgrade melee weapons. Upgrade to Stronghold. As soon as the melee upgrade is finished, upgrade armor. Build 2 more Grunts from your two barracks and continue creeping.Once you reach tier 2, upgrade to Berserker Strength, build whatever tier 2 buildings you're going to build (I usually put up 2 Spirit Lodges), and upgrade melee weapons. Be sure to build more burrows when necessary. When you have enough resources and room, build a second hero (or hire one at a tavern). Then, expand as soon as possible. From there, it's in your hands. B. Brian Michaels'(acidslayer57@hotmail.com) Build Order ---------------------------------------- -Put every peon in the Gold Mine. -Queue two peons at the Great Hall. -Right after the first one delivers the first bag of gold to your Great Hall make him build an altar. -Make the next one that comes to your Great Hall with gold build a Burrow. -Stay like this until the next Peon comes out of your Great Hall. When he does make him build a barracks. -After the barracks is started queue 3 peons and have them all harvest lumber. -When the two peons that are building the Altar and Burrow finish make them both go on gold. -Build your hero. -When the barracks finishes make that peon go to lumber as well. -Build some Grunts or whatever you are planning on doing. -Eventually build two more peons for lumber. Much more micro than my build strategy, and no doubt much more effective. Haven't tried it out yet, but it probably works well. VII. General Strategies ---------------------------------------- In this section, I'll list numerous Orc strategies that I've come across in my year or so of playing the game. The possibilities really are endless. If you've got a strategy you'd like to submit, you know what to do. A. Grunts and Casters Works Well Against: Any Tier 1 or Tier 2 Ground Force ---------------------------------------- An old favorite, none can deny that a load of Grunts combined with master Shamans and Witch Doctors can be very effective; especially if you've upgraded weapons and armor. Tauren combined with a group of all three casters can certainly be more powerful, but sometimes, Grunts will do. And often you won't have the resources or time to upgrade all three casters and build Tauren. I'd recommend following my building order (Velmarg's Building Order). Once you've reached tier 2, build 2 Spirit Lodges (you may want to build a third, but it's up to you). Continue to build Grunts. Upgrade Weapons and Armor where you see fit. Get a second hero as soon as possible. As soon as the Lodges are complete, upgrade to Adept Shaman and Witch Doctor. You make want to expand sometime soon. Upgrade to Fortress as soon as you have the resources to do so. As soon as you reach tier 3, upgrade to Master Shamans and Witch Doctors. If you built more than 2 Lodges, begin pumping out Shamans and Witch Doctors. Make sure you have a good force of grunts; at least 10. Once you have master casters, make sure Bloodlust is on auto-cast. During combat, lay Healing Wards as you see fit. If you're fighting an enemy force, and it begins to retreat, don't give chase right away. Let the Wards bring you army back up to full health, then pursue. Throwing in a few Demolishers is always a good idea, too. B. Grunts and Headhunters/Berserkers Works Well Against: Any Tier 1 or Tier 2 Ground Force, Any opponent that's combining Air and Ground Forces ---------------------------------------- Grunts and Headhunters together can be a deadly. Throw in some casters and/or air units and you've got yourself a well balanced force that can stand up to almost anything. It's not always a good idea to stick with nothing but Grunts and Headhunters, especially if your opponent is teching to third tier units such as Tauren or Knights. Grunts and Headhunters is more of a rushing force than anything else. Build this type of army if you plan on taking out your opponent quickly. Add some Demolishers for a well balanced base attacking army. C. Tauren and Casters Works Well Against: Any Ground Force ---------------------------------------- The Tauren are the game's strongest melee unit, and Spirit Walkers can revive them to full health; that's bad mojo for whoever's on the other side of the beef. Bring in some master Shamans and Witch Doctors, and unless your opponent has some powerful air units, they're in for a beating. If you're going for this type of army, MAKE SURE that your opponent isn't massing air. Put up some Sentry Wards or something; always keep an eye on them. There's nothing like building a be-all, end-all force like this, only to get slapped in the face by a wave of Gryphon Riders. Build a few Grunts as a starting force, and expand quickly. Build two Spirit Lodges and two Tauren Totems. Make sure you have a lot of burrows up as well, as Tauren take up 5 food apiece. Upgrade casters as quickly as possible. You may want to build a third Spirit Lodge so you can upgrade and build all three casters at once. D. Mass Wind Riders Works Well Against: Melee Ground Forces ---------------------------------------- Most 1v1 Orc games usually involve each player racing to get Wind Riders. Why? Because it usually works. I can't tell you how many games I've lost to a player that massed Wind Riders. Of course, if they player has mass Headhunters or some Raiders, you could be in for an ass whooping. If you're going to use this strategy, make sure your opponent isn't going for that anti-air. I'd recommend following acidslayer's build order. Have a starting force of grunts to creep and defend. Build two Beastiaries, and pump out the nasty. E. Grunts and Raiders Works Well Against: An opponent that's teching to tier 3 air --------------------------------------- This works nicely when your opponent's really teching up and not building a whole lot of tier 1 or 2 units. If you're going to do this, scout a lot, and try as hard as you can to leave your opponent in the dark. Building your Beastiaries away from your main base is a good idea, as he'll probably only see you pumping out Grunts. Be fast and efficient when using this attack force. It's common for Human players who are teching to Gryphs to build a lot of towers; with this in mind, I'd recommend teching your weapons and armor a bit so that your Raiders can drop them more quickly. If you meet too much resistance, pull out and bring in some Demolishers. Note that if you're forced to retreat, don't mess around. Get your ass back in there ASAP. The longer you wait, the more air units he gets. Ensnare is good and fun, but a few blasts from a Gryph will drop a Raider like third period French (Yeah, I got that from Ocean's Eleven. Damn, I love that movie). Throwing in some Troll Headhunter/Berserkers on the side can help out a bit. VIII. Team Strategies -------------------------------------- This section focuses on specific strategies when playing on a team, be it 2v2, 3v3, or the dreaded 4v4 (which is all but pointless with the backstabbing going on). Note that it's always best to adapt your strategy to what your opponents are doing. Don't just hop into a team game and say "TREN!". With that in mind, I've pointed out what type of enemy force these combinations are most efficient against. A. Two on Two -------------------------------------- Two on Two games are some of the most exciting games you'll play (or watch) in Warcraft 3. In a 3v3 game, a player can mass nothing but weak, un-teched tier 1 units and still come out on the winning side because of the skill of the other players. It doesn't always work that way in 2v2. If one player is new, the other player becomes a babysitter of sorts, distracting him from his own army; that usually leads to slow teching and, ultimately, defeat. a. Orc and Night Elf -------------------------------------- The Orcs are the most powerful melee force; the Night Elves are the most powerful ranged force. Put them together and you have a lethal combination. i. Grunts and Archers An excellent creeping force, and decent rushing force depending on the opponents' race. Watch that your archers don't get flanked by melee units. To prevent this, spread your grunts out in a circle around the Archers, creating a sort of Grunt barrier. Grunts basically serve as meat shields with this strategy, as its the focus fire of the archers that really puts the hurtin' on the enemies. ii. Tauren/Casters - Mountain Giants/Dryads Pure beef. Works well against just about anything. Healing Wards + Bloodlust + Ancestral Spirit = some incredibly powerful Tauren that can mop up any ground force. MGs handle the siege and take the brunt of the damage; Dryads handle the rest. Make sure the NE player on your team knows to focus Dryad fire on air units. iii. Tauren - Chimaeras A base destroyer of a force. Works well against any ground force. If your opponent has anti-air just focus the Tauren on them until they're mopped up. The only force this doesn't work all that well against is another mass of air (especially Gryphs). Throwing in some Orc casters always helps. iv. Raiders - Archers An anti-tech force, this works extremely well against an opponent that's working toward that tier 3 air. Timing is key when using this strategy. If you can arrive at the enemy base with Raiders and Archers just as he or she is building their first air units, you've just owned. The Archers will pick off the air units that come out and the Raiders will bring down the training facilities. Watch for back-up ground forces. In fact, bring some back-up of your own. Having 5 or 6 Grunts or Hunts is always a good idea. b. Orc and Human -------------------------------------- As versatile as the Alliance army is, the possibilities are truly endless. i. Grunts and Rifles An effective creeping/rush force. Upgrading the armor of the Grunts is a good idea. Be sure to focus fire with the rifles. ii. Grunts/Casters - Knights/Casters A very capable melee force. Throwing in a few ranged units on each side might be a good idea. Some Human siege helps. Make sure the Priests have Inner Fire on auto, as they won't need to do any healing with the wards up. Use the Polymorph hotkey with the Sorcs for best results. Beware of the air, though. Make sure that schmuck's not getting mass Gryphs, or you'll be in for a world of hurt. iii. Tauren - Gryphs This type of force works well under almost any circumstances (unless you're up against magic immune units). Throw in a few ranged units and siege here and there for good measure. c. Orc and Undead -------------------------------------- Coming soon. d. Orc and Orc -------------------------------------- Coming soon. IX. Credits ---------------------------------------- Blizzard: For making such a kickass RTS game. Konrad Dalecki: For some nifty lil' strategies. Brian Michaels (acidslayer57@hotmail.com), for pointing out the Feral Spirit weakness that I overlooked. Ridel241@aol.com - submitted a chunk of strategies and tidbits in one e-mail. Good stuff. IGN FAQs: For making me feel oh so special when they asked me if they could host my FAQ. CJAYC: Because Gamefaqs is as cool as bacon, if not cooler. To anyone who's ever bothered to look at this FAQ. And most importantly, to the people who message or e-mail me just to say, "Hey, great FAQ." You people provide the gas and oil to my monstrous ego.