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    Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne

    Game » consists of 2 releases. Released Jul 01, 2003

    The Frozen Throne is the official expansion for Warcraft III that continues the campaign story as well as introducing new units, environments and more. The game also made a lot of balance changes to further improve the gameplay.

    Short summary describing this game.

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    Overview

    Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne is the expansion to the third game in Blizzard Entertainment's Warcraft real-time strategy franchise, Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. It was released in the United States on 1st July, 2003 for PC and Macintosh platforms. The game requires an installation of Reign of Chaos to be played.

    New Blood Elf Characters
    New Blood Elf Characters

    After the destruction of the Burning Legion in Azeroth and the rise of the Scourge, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne takes place approximately 1 year after Reign of Chaos. It details Arthas' transformation into the Lich King, Illidan awakening the Naga, the introduction of the blood elves, the forming of the Forsaken, and the Horde-Alliance relations in Kalimodor. While the "main" campaign focuses on the death knight, Arthas ascending in the Frozen Throne and those whom must stopped him, it also focuses on Illidan Stormrage, after being freed from Tyrande in Reign of Chaos and the consumption of the Skull of Gul'dan. Also, the agreement to Kil'jaden, to destroy the Frozen Throne. The bonus campaign details on the Horde-Alliance relations in Kalimodor, setting its own campaign, The Founding of Durotar.

    There are 4 campaigns total in this expansion(with the exception of the 4th one), starting off with the Night Elf campaign which details Maiev pursuing, Illidan Stormrage with the allegiance of the naga, former night elves of the Highbourne whom was transformed after the destruction of the Well of the Eternity(in the War of the Ancients). This "hunt" as Maiev called it, first starts off in Kalimodor, then to the depths of the Tomb of Sargaras and finally to the scourge-infested lands of Lordaeron. Whilst her "man-hunt", she encountered many other roles from the original game as well as new faces. The Human campaign details the aftermath of Lordaeron's destruction, but follows a blood elf prince, Kael'thas renaming the High Elves into Blood Elves, as he assisted Lord Garithos into retaking Lordaeron, but not all went well when this racist leader, imprisoned Kael'thas and his blood elves for "consorting" with the Naga. Lady Vashj whom assisted Kael through the chapter, helped him out of Dalaran's Prison and promised to help Kael and his blood elves' addiction to magic. And that promise leads to Illidan whom now resides in the Outland, after the last campaign, whom failed destroying the Frozen Throne. Officially, the last campaign details, Arthas, the self-proclaimed king of Lordaeron whom was heeded the call of Ner'zhul, a former orc warlock during the Second War but imprisoned in the Frozen Throne telling Arthas to go to Icecrown Glacier in Northrend from the wrath of Kil'jaeden. Whilst his journey, the Dreadlords tries to take back Lordaeron for the Burning Legion and the newly formed Forsaken under the leader of Sylvanas Windrunner, a ranger general of Quel'Thalas whom was turned into a undead from Arthas, taking a vengeance on him. In Northrend, he was assisted by the Nerubians whom led Arthas into the depths to a shortcut into Icecrown Glacier, where Illidan duels Arthas in their final fight to the destruction or ascension to the Frozen Throne.

    The 4th campaign is a bonus one. Although it doesn't focus on the main campaign, it focuses on the Horde-Alliance relations in Kalimodor, and the introduction of Rexxar, a Beastmaster. This bonus campaign doesn't feel like a RTS but rather than a RPG which was the last bridge until the introduction of World of Warcraft. It details on a wanderer, Rexxar and his bear companion Misha, who help an Orc messenger which leads to defending and developing a home for the Orcs. On his adventures, he meets heroes from Reign of Chaos and also new ones too. This bonus campaign through story and the elements officially leads to World of Warcraft, with more old hatreds from both factions and more surprises in each subsequent patches and expansions.

    In addition to the units in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, The Frozen Throne gives each race additional unique units, and adds a neutral race and heroes, further neutral heroes were added in subsequent patches.

    The powerful Custom Map Editor was further upgraded, spawning the popularity of many custom maps such as Defense of the Ancients, the first Blizzard endorsed custom game map.

    The current patch version is 1.22.0.6328.

    New Heroes

    Each race was given an additional Hero unit, bringing the number of Heroes per race to four.

    • Race-specific Heroes

    HeroPrimary Attribute1st Skill Slot2nd Skill Slot3rd Skill SlotUlimate

    Blood Mage (Human)

    Intelligence

    Support Caster
    Flame Strike

    Conjures a pillar of fire that damages ground units in target area over time. This spell takes a few moments to cast and damages friendly units, so aim it accordingly. Can destroy trees. Each level increase initial strike and duration damage.

    BanishTurns a unit ethereal, slowing them, preventing them from attacking or being attacked, and increasingly the damage they take from Magic by 66%. Use this on your own fragile units that are being attacked, or on an enemy before casting Flame Strike on them for massive damage. Duration increases with level.Siphon Mana
    (Channeling) Drains mana from an enemy unit. Updates eventually allowed the Blood Mage to cast on a friendly unit to transfer his mana to them. Drained mana can push your mana over your maximum, but it drains off quickly.
    Phoenix
    Summons a flying Phoenix to attack enemies and passively burns them. The Phoenix also burns itself. If the Phoenix dies, it turns into an egg, which if hatches, spawns into another full health Phoenix. Spell immune.
    Shadow Hunter (Orc)Agility

    Support Caster
    Healing Wave
    Essentially a healing chain lightning. Heals the target unit then bounces to nearby friendly units, healing them for less. Initial heal amount and number of bounces increase with level.
    Hex
    Turns an enemy unit into a critter, preventing them from attacking or casting, and greatly slowing them. Extremely short duration on Heroes.
    Serpent Ward
    Plants an immobile Serpent Ward. Serpent Wards have a ranged attack that can target air and ground and are immune to spells. Provides Orcs with early game ranged support. Each level increases Ward health and damage.
    Big Bad Voodoo
    (Channeling) Turns nearby friendly units other than the Shadow Hunter invulnerable. Extremely powerful, but this means the Shadow Hunter will be targeted.
    Warden (Night Elf)Agility

    Solo Hero Killer
    Fan of Knives
    Throws a flurry of knives that damages all enemies around the Warden. Despite the animation, the damage occurs instantly, as soon as you cast the spell.
    Blink
    The ultimate Hero movement spell, Blink teleports the Warden a short distance. Level 2 decreases the mana cost while Level 3 decreases the cooldown to 1 second.
    Shadow Strike
    Hurls a poisoned dagger, dealing large initial damage and slowing the target. The unit takes damage every 3 seconds for 15 seconds and gradually recovers speed.
    Vengeance
    Summons an Avatar of Vengeance, which raises a maximum of 6 Spirits of Vengeance from corpses. Spirits are invulnerable and have a ranged attack.
    Crypt Lord (Undead)Strength

    Melee Tank
    Impale
    Slams the ground, shooting spikes in a straight line which throws enemies into the air, damages and stuns them. Enemies are thrown into the air for about a second, during which they invulnerable, so time other area effect spells appropriately.
    Spiked Carapace
    (Passive) Gives the Crypt Lord additional armor and returns damage to melee attacks. Combined with his high strength gain per level, turns the Crypt Lord into a real tank.
    Carrion Beetles
    (Autocast) Raises a melee Beetle from a corpse. Beetles are permanent until killed, maximum of 5 can be controlled at once.
    Locust Swarm
    Releases locusts that follow and swarm around the Crypt Lord. They attack enemies and return to him, restoring health each time.
    • Neutral Heroes

    Also introduced were new Neutral Heroes, purchasable by any race at a Tavern. Through updates, more Neutral heroes were added.

    HeroPrimary Attribute1st Skill Slot2nd Skill Slot3rd Skill SlotUltimate
    Naga Sea WitchIntelligence

    Range Support
    Forked Lightning
    Hits units in a cone with lightning. Maximum of 3 units hit, but the damage is high.
    Frost Arrows
    (Autocast) Adds bonus damage and a slowing effect to each attack. Each level increases bonus damage and slow amount.
    Mana Shield
    When activated, any damage the Sea Witch takes is subtracted from her mana pool instead. Each level increases the amount of damage each point of mana absorbs, with level 3 being 2 points of damage per mana point.
    Tornado
    (Channeling) Summons a massive, controllable Tornado that damages buildings, greatly slows enemies and can randomly cast a mini-cyclone on enemies. This absolutely wrecks bases and is a great disabler against a large army.
    Dark RangerAgility

    Range Support
    Silence
    Stops all enemies in an area from casting any spells.
    Black Arrow
    (Autocast) Adds bonus damage and any enemy unit under the effects of Black Arrow will generate a skeleton Dark Minion unit. Great for early game creeping. Each level increases bonus damage and Dark Minion health/damage.
    Life Drain
    (Channeling) Like the Blood Mage's Mana Drain, but with life, though you cannot heal friendly units nor can you be pushed to above maximum health.
    Charm
    Permanently take control of an enemy unit. Cannot be used on Heroes or Creeps above level 5. Use it on big powerful enemies, casters or even workers if you want to try to access their tech tree.
    Pandaren BrewmasterStrength

    Melee Tank
    Breath of Fire
    Deals damage to enemies in a cone. If cast on enemies that have been Drunken Hazed, deals damage over time. The duration damage almost doubles the total damage dealt, so it's usually worth it to Haze enemies first.
    Drunken Haze
    Drenches an enemy unit and enemies nearby in alcohol, which reduces their movement speed and gives them a chance to miss their attacks. Using this before Breath of Fire is a must.
    Drunken Brawler
    (Passive) Basically Critical Strike and Evasion combined, though with less chance to activate. Each level increase dodge chance and critical damage.
    Storm, Earth and Fire
    Splits the Brewmaster into 3 elemental Pandas who each have unique abilities. If any of them survive, the Brewmaster is reborn. Storm has Windwalk, so it's good idea to run him away and let Earth/Fire attack, so your Brewmaster doesn't die.
    BeastmasterStrength

    Melee Tank/Summoner
    Summon Bear
    What do you think it does? Summons a big bear.. Level 2 Bear has Bash and Level 3 also has Blink, so it can teleport. Great for tanking.
    Summon Quillbeast
    Summons a ranged Quillbeast. Level 2 has Frenzy, which increases attack speed, while Level 3 also deals area damage. The Quillbeast deals the most damage per second of the Beastmaster's summons.
    Summon Hawk
    Summons a flying Hawk that has True Sight. Level 1 has no attack, Level 2 does, while Level 3 can attack and is permanently invisible. Good at scouting.
    Stampede
    (Channeling) A herd of stampeding lizards run out from behind the Beastmaster. If they run into an enemy, they explode, dealing damage.
    Pit LordStrength

    Melee Tank
    Rain of Fire
    (Channeling) Like Blizzard, but with duration damage. Calls down waves of fire that damage enemies and set them on fire, dealing damage over time.
    Howl of Terror
    Reduces the attack damage of enemies around the Pit Lord. Each level increases the damage reduction.
    Cleaving Attack
    (Passive) The Pit Lord's attack now does area of effect damage. Each level increases the amount of splash.
    Doom
    Marks an unit for death, preventing it from casting spells and dealing 40 damage/second until it dies. When the unit dies, it spawns a Doom Guard for you. Use it on big powerful units if you want them gone, or on fragile units to get your Doom Guard faster.
    Goblin Tinker (added via patch)Intelligence

    Melee Support
    Pocket Factory
    Creates a Factory at a target location that automatically produces Clockwerk Goblins. Clockwerk Goblins have a melee attack and explode upon death, dealing damage.
    Combined with Engineering Upgrade, this makes a TON of Goblins.
    Cluster Rockets
    Bombards an area with missiles, dealing damage and stunning enemies for 1 second. It takes a few moments for all the missiles to be released. Has a fast cooldown and low mana cost so don't be afraid to spam it.
    Engineering Upgrade
    (Passive) Gives bonus damage and increases movement speed. Also improves the Tinker's other abilities.
    -Pocket Factory spawns Goblins faster
    -Cluster Rockets has a larger area
    -Robo-Goblin increases strength/armor bonus and demolish effect
    Robo-Goblin
    Can be toggled on or off. Turns the Tinker in a Robo-Goblin. Gives him bonus strength and armor, and Demolish, which multiplies the damage he deals to buildings. The Tinker is mechanical while in Robo form, meaning he is immune to most spells.
    Firelord (added via patch)Agility

    Range Disruptor
    Soul Burn
    Sets an enemy on fire, dealing damage over time, preventing them from casting and reducing their damage by 50%.
    Summon Lava Spawn
    Summons a ranged Lava Spawn to attack enemies. Once the Lava Spawn has attacked enemies 15 times, it splits into 2, full health Lava Spawns, who can continue to split.
    Incinerate
    (Autocast) Adds cumulative bonus damage to each attack and any enemies killed while under the effect of Incinerate explode, dealing area damage.
    Volcano
    (Channeling) Creates a Volcano at a target location, which spews molten rocks every 5 seconds. Damages both units and buildings (for 2x damage). Units hit by Volcano are stunned for 2 seconds.
    Goblin Alchemist (added via patch)Strength

    Melee Hero
    Healing Spray
    Shoots waves of healing goo in an area. Be careful because this can heal enemies too.
    Each Level increases healing amount and number of waves.
    Chemical Rage
    Temporarily increases the Alchemist's movement speed by 50% and increases attack speed. When Raged, the Alchemist pulls out 2 blades and attacks with them instead, which while not doing anything additional, looks cool.
    Acid Bomb
    Throws a flask of Acid at a target enemy, damaging over time and reducing armor of enemies in that area.
    Transmute
    Instantly kills an enemy unit, converting it into an appropriate amount of gold for you. Cannot be used on Heroes or Creeps above level 5. Has a short cooldown for an Ultimate (45 seconds) so don't forget to use it.

    Custom games

    Warcraft III's multiplayer on Battle.net has a mysterious custom games button where everything can change. In Warcraft III the maps decide the complete gameplay experience, that allowed the community to divert from standard Warcraft skirmish gameplay and make brilliant map types such as TD's. This chapter will describe some of the most popular types of custom games you will find.

    Tower Defense

    The standard objective of a tower defense, or TD, is to destroy or survive from several waves of creeps traveling through the maze of towers you build. Every creep kill yields money, which you can use to upgrade your towers to thwart newer, tougher creeps. Some TD's throw in unique objectives, but almost all adhere to these basic elements. Since the appearance of a Flash version of this gametype on the web a lot more people have been made aware of the tower defence concept. If you like one of them, you will probably want to try them all. Here are just a few of the more popular TD's:

    Tower Defense
    Tower Defense
    • Line Tower Defense
    • Green TD
    • White TD
    • Mafarazzo TD
    • Circle Green TD
    • Dixel's TD
    • Element TD Survivor
    • Ryoko TD
    • Mini TD
    • Wintermaul
    • Other themed Mauls such as: Pokemaul, Final Fantasy Maul, Counter Strike Maul etc

    Footman Frenzy

    Footman Frenzy (commonly referred to as "Footies") is another popular custom map for Warcraft III. This map has 4 separate teams each can have up to 3 people per side. These sides automatically have a human footman spawn beginning at the start of the game every 4 seconds. The goal then is to kill the other teams footmen while trying to save your own, upgrading your units' defence, attack, and attack speed or saving to upgrade your fortress which then will change your unit to a more powerful one. To win this game usually requires a mix of knowing when to upgrade your units and when to save for a new unit for maximum efficiency. Heroes also play an important role in this map and can often turn the tides of battle, every player may pick a hero at the start, but a strategy may be to not pick one and save the gold to upgrade their units.

    Run Kitty Run

    One of the first custom maps released for Warcraft III this map pits up to 8 players playing as Priestess of the Moon hero's to complete a inward spiral of 'hallways' filled with enemy wolves that kill the player upon contact. These wolves randomly move about their hallway with safe places at the end of each hallway, players can be resurrected by other players touching their left behind 'gravestone- a circle of power' or completing the whole current level. All the skills and items within the game are focused on speeding up the player or trapping a single enemy wolf to slip by him.

    Defense of the Ancients

    Defense of the Ancients (or DotA) is a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) and one of the most popular custom games available for Warcraft III. The game is split between two factions, scourge

    DotA v6.53 is loading
    DotA v6.53 is loading

    and Sentinel, each on their own corner of the map. Players control a Hero unit from one of the many taverns and attempt to destroy the rival team by gaining experience, abilities and weaponry. Groups of non-playable troops are dispatched in timed periods from their respective bases, and they meet somewhere in the middle to fight. Players aid their team by manipulating the tides of battle and gaining gold from successful kills. As the Heroes get stronger, the stakes become higher and troop balance becomes unstable, until eventually one team dominates the other through troop progress and the killing capacity of their heroes. A user known only as IceFrog is the curator of the current version of DotA Allstars. He was hired by Valve and now works on the upcoming Dota 2.

    Castle Fight

    Castle Fight is a Warcraft III Custom game made by Gex. The game can support up to twelve players; six on the West team and six on the East. The object of the game is to destroy the opposite team's castle. Each player only controls one builder. Players don't engage each other directly; they can build unit spawning buildings, towers, support buildings, artilery buildings, treasure boxes and buy items at the side's castle. The unit buildings will create non-controlable units that move towards the enemy's castle and will engage any enemy unit or building on it's way. The towers will defend incoming enemy units. Support buildings can alter the status of on-screen units and buildings like added evasion, reduced defence or increased health regeneration. Artilery buildings will directly attack the enemy's buildings. Treasure boxes increase the player's income. Finally, items are carried by the worker and have various abilites like damaging enemy units, giving off auras and increaseing damage of allied units and healing nearby buildings. The players gain gold, to build and buy the buildings and items, by killing enemy units and buildings and the income from their own unit buildings. The unit buildings also create wood that allow the player to create the support and artilery buildings. There is a food limit of one in Castle Fight that is reserved for the race's ultimate building. Players can buy one additional food at the castle through the item called cheese. The races of Castle Fight are:

    • Human
    • Elves
    • Northern
    • Murlocs
    • Choas
    • Corrupted
    • Orc
    • Night Elf
    • Mechanical

    The resuce strike is a powerful move that each player can only use once per match, It will destroy every enemy unit in the large area of effect.

    The red player can modify the game with various commands. The player can chose if all the players will pick the races or they will be drafted randomly, how many rounds the game will last, the amount of time fog of war will be in effect, if bot players will replace the human players when the leave and a wide variety of other things.

    Minimum System Requirements

    Minimum System Requirements:

    • 400 MHz Pentium II or equivalent, or a 400 MHz G3 processor or better.
    • Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000, or Windows XP. Warcraft III requires Mac OS® 9.0 or higher, or Mac OS X® 10.1.3 or higher
    • Warcraft III requires 128 MB of RAM. Virtual Memory should be enabled on computers running pre-Mac OS X versions of the Mac OS®.
    • A keyboard and mouse are required.
    • A hard drive with at least 550 MB of free space
    • 8MB 3D video card (TNT, i810, Voodoo 3, Rage 128 equivalent or better) with DirectX 8.1 support. For Mac OS® systems, a video card consisting of an ATI Technologies or nVidia chipset with at least 16 MB of memory is required.
    • A DirectX-compatible 16-bit sound card is recommended. Warcraft III will work with the built-in sound features of the Mac OS®.

    Recommended System Requirements:

    • 600 MHz processor or better
    • 256 MB of RAM
    • 32 MB 3D Video card

    Multiplayer Requirements:

    • Access to Blizzard Entertainment's online gaming service, Battle.net, requires a low-latency, active Internet connection rated at 28.8 Kbps or faster.
    • Multiplayer games played over a LAN require an active connection to a TCP/IP network.
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