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Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne Walkthrough

This guide provides complete walkthroughs for the story campaign and offers multiplayer strategies for all four races with hero overviews, sample strategies, specific combat tips, and a complete set of cheat codes.

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By Doug Radcliffe
With contributions by Allen Sheu and Rodney Tsing

Design by Collin Oguro

The Frozen Throne is Blizzard's expansion pack to GameSpot's 2002 PC Game of the Year, Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. Blizzard has successfully expanded on Warcraft III's already classic real-time strategy gameplay with additional heroes, units, and a brand-new single-player campaign to challenge even the most experienced Reign of Chaos veteran.

This GameSpot Complete game guide for Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne provides complete walk-throughs for the story campaign and offers multiplayer strategies for all four races with hero overviews, sample strategies, specific combat tips, and a complete set of cheat codes. This game guide features:

Section One: Sentinels Campaign--Terror of the Tides Walk-Through

This section features the complete walk-through for the sentinels campaign in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne.

Chapter One: Rise of the Naga

Quest One: The Demon's Trail
Objectives: Follow Illidan's trail. Maiev must survive.

Initial orders are to hunt down the demon Illidan and recapture him before he can harm other innocent civilians. You begin with the warden Maiev, the new hero available in The Frozen Throne, a small band of archers, and Naisha, a powerful huntress. Bust through the nearby elven gate and approach the decimated village. You'll encounter some wild mur'guls in the northeast corner of the village. Nothing Maiev can't handle. If you do suffer damage, grab the rune of lesser healing from the northwest part of the village.

TIP: Explore close to the eastern shorelines and you will see the tip of an adjacent island. Maiev has the "blink" ability, which she can use to teleport a short distance. Use blink to teleport to this island, where you'll find more monsters, some of which drop items like runes or tomes. You can also find crates that contain items, and there are secret areas near the fountain of health found later in the mission. Look for areas to the west and south of the fountain and use blink to send Maiev there.

Exit the village moving west. You'll encounter a few ferocious beasts. Utilize Maiev's fan of knives attack. Allow your hero to absorb most of the punishment and keep your fragile archers in the rear and out of melee range. Let your archers damage the beasts from a safe distance. Encounter Illidan's servitors in the southwest corner of the map. Again, avoid a close-quarters battle with your archers and allow Maiev to do most of the work. Continue north and encounter a friendly hunting party--they offer a new quest.

Quest Two: Enraged Beast
Objective: Slay the wildkin.

Due to Illidan's presence, some of the wild animals in the area have gone berserk. This one in particular--the wildkin--is causing a great deal of trouble. Maiev should level up for the first time during the mission. Spending the skill point on her fan of knives ability isn't a bad idea. Seek and destroy the wild mur'guls in the waterfall north of the hunting party.

Continue east and you'll encounter the wildkin and its two escorts. This can be a tough battle if all three beasts surround and attack Maiev. Move all units into battle but try and keep them alive (retreat any severely damaged unit). Use Maiev's fan of knives liberally. There's a rune of greater healing nearby, so you can heal your units after the battle easily. After killing the beast, grab the reward--a tome of agility.

Lead with Maiev in your attacks against the naga forces.
Lead with Maiev in your attacks against the naga forces.

Head north and grab the rune of greater healing to mend your party's wounds. Go northeast to the river, which triggers a cutscene revealing the naga. Battle a small group of naga. Lead with Maiev, then send in your other troops for support. Go around to the west and use the fountain of health to heal your units. There are also runes of mana nearby to replenish Maiev's mana supply. Take out the wild mur'guls to the north. You'll encounter more Illidan servitors in the north, engaged with some allied forces. Rescue the night elves to receive an additional quest.

Quest Three: Search and Rescue
Objective: Rescue the imprisoned night elves.

Satyrs captured members of Maiev's scout party. Find the satyrs and destroy the cages to free your sisters. You'll find the imprisoned forces due north. Defeat the small group of servitors, then free the night elves from the two cages. Return to the fountain of health if needed, then continue east. Crush the demonic gate and trigger the cutscene.

Quest Four: Burning Ships
Objectives: Save at least two ships. Maiev must survive.

Illidan has fled to the sea--and you must follow. Illidan's naga minions are setting fire to the remaining transports. You must save at least two ships to complete the mission. Move in quickly and attack anything firing on the ships. Use Maiev's fan of knives. Ensure all your troops are engaged with enemy units. Focus your fire on specific units to kill them quickly. Work your way south and eliminate the naga troops to save the ships and complete the mission.

Chapter Two: The Broken Isles

Quest One: Locate Illidan

Illidan and his forces are located somewhere in the chain of islands. Orders are to hunt him down and put an end to the chase. You begin with a small base, but there are some additions to be made. First, upgrade to the tree of ages. Second, start acquiring unit upgrades at the hunter's hall. You will also want to use a wisp to build additional moon wells to support more combat units. Construct an ancient of lore to produce spellcasters. Finally, bolster your defenses to the west and north of your base--naga forces attack from these areas. Build three to four ancient protectors at each spot. Keep a wisp nearby to heal damaged protectors.

Start reinforcing your initial army with more archers, huntresses, and spellcasters. Lead Maiev and your army west from your base and start killing creeps. There's also a goblin merchant to the west. When you've combed the west and southwest areas of the map, look east from your base for more creep opportunities. Search everywhere but north.

The naval vessels from the goblin shipyard can assist in the battle against the naga base.
The naval vessels from the goblin shipyard can assist in the battle against the naga base.

You may also notice the goblin shipyard south of your base--plus you have a couple of transports. You can use the transports to search the islands southwest of your base. There's a hydra over there for added experience. Plus, just northwest of this are some turtles with eggs containing gold. The goblin shipyard offers more transports and even naval frigates. You can use the frigates later in the mission to aid in the destruction of the naga bases.

Once you've cleared out the southern area of the map, proceed north from your base and encounter an orc named Drak'thul. He'll offer a quest.

Quest Two: Silence the ghosts.
Objectives: Destroy all three summoning pits. Return the skeletal artifact to Drak'thul.

A new island is revealed on the map. It's located northeast from your start location. Use transports to shuttle two groups of units to the island. You can receive another transport from the shipyard if necessary for even more units. The summoning pits continue to produce ghosts, so it's best if you simply destroy the pits as soon as possible and then mop up the remaining ghosts. Utilize Maiev's fan of knives in tight clusters of enemy units.

There's a western naga base just across the waterway. It's the one responsible for the attacks on your base. It's very lightly defended. Two to three groups of units should mow down all opposition there. Use frigates to provide naval support. Destroy the base and search the area north of it for more creeps--they carry the claws of attack +6.

Fill three transports with fresh units and send them to the far northwest. There's an ancient library there with some more creeps and items. You can find another gold mine north of the summoning pits and a health fountain just to the west (sea giants protect the fountain). With three groups of units and frigate support, annihilate the northern naga base.

Quest Three: Naga Guardians
Objective: Kill the naga guarding the Tomb of Sargeras.

Illidan escapes into the Tomb of Sargeras--you must follow. It's mop-up time. There are some naga forces around the tomb, but nothing you shouldn't be able to handle. If you do need to reinforce your army, collect more units from your base using the transports. You could also visit the health fountain just south of this northern naga base. Kill the naga defenders and enter the tomb to complete the mission.

Chapter Three: The Tomb of Sargeras

Quest One: The Search for Illidan
Objectives: Find Illidan. Maiev must survive.

Illidan continues to elude Maiev. Now he's fled into the Tomb of Sargeras--you must discover what he's up to. This is an underground level. There are many dangers in these corridors. You must protect your units well and keep them healthy to make it to the end of the mission.

From the start position, explore the areas to the north and east. You'll find creeps in the north, plus crates containing a rune of shielding. To the east, note the tome and rune in the normally unattainable location--but Maiev can get there with her blink ability. Get used to using blink; it comes in handy during this mission, and it's vital to completing a valuable optional quest.

Head south from the tome and kill some tomb guardians. Recover a mantle of intelligence +3 from them. Go east through the gates. Look south for more guardians and west for more skeletal orcs and a pit lord. It's around here you can begin the hunt for an optional quest. On the series of staircases to the east, use the blink ability to reach the pillar in between them. From there Maiev can blink to a southern walkway. Follow it around the southwest corner of the map to find a shadow orb fragment.

Quest Two: Find the Shadow Orb Fragments

There are 10 shadow orb fragments scattered throughout the tomb. Each one you collect adds to the orb's abilities (increasing damage and armor, primarily), so collecting even a few of them is certainly useful. If you manage to get all 10, you'll complete the quest and have a nice item to boot.

Look for the clues when searching for the shadow orb fragments. There's usually a rune of mana where Maiev can blink. Nearby, there's typically a fragment.
Look for the clues when searching for the shadow orb fragments. There's usually a rune of mana where Maiev can blink. Nearby, there's typically a fragment.

TIP: You must use Maiev's blink to reach the shadow orb fragments, so finding them can be tricky. Walk against every wall you reach within the tomb and look for runes of mana in otherwise unattainable locations. These are big clues on where to blink. Usually near the rune of mana is the shadow orb fragment.

Continue east up the stairs until you reach a rock barrier.

Quest Three: Destroy the Rock Barriers

Maiev should destroy the rock barriers to rendezvous with her scout troops already trapped within the tomb. Near the first barrier is a glowing set of squares--this is a switch. Stand on it. It opens up a path to the west of your position. Go south through this path. Blink over to the tomb guardian and go west to find the second orb.

Bust through the rock barrier and receive a couple of druids. Look to the west just inside this cavern. You can blink over those rocks and find the third orb.

The only available path is north from the floor switch. Head that way and kill more creeps. Spot the rune of mana to the west over the water. It's another secret location. Blink to that rune and grab the fourth shadow orb fragment.

Resume your course north and fight more creeps. Go west at the bend. Continue west through a few hydras and rescue the dryads. There are several other hydras in the area. You'll even see a gargantuan sea turtle in a northern alcove. After you kill it, blink just southwest of it and find the fifth orb fragment.

Go to the middle of this area and find the tree. Use a huntress' sentinel ability to receive line of sight at the area. Blink up there to get the sixth fragment.

Move east along the northern edge of the map. Look for another tree in which to use your huntress' sentinel. Get the seventh orb fragment here.

Continue east and blink across the river. Use the floor switch on the other side to rendezvous with your troops. Move east to trigger the cutscene. Now you must battle naga forces. After eliminating them, go east up the steps. Blink north to the hydra. Kill it, then climb the ramp on the right side--there's a rune of mana on the far left. Blink there and get the eighth shadow orb fragment.

Destroy the rock barrier to the east and rescue the druids. Go through the southern gate. Follow the winding corridor and encounter more naga forces. Break the east gate after the cutscene. Look north and spot the rune of mana. Blink there, grab the rune, and then blink to the next rune of mana to the north. Get the ninth shadow orb fragment.

Return to the entrance and look south. There's another rune of mana in the water. Blink to it and grab the nearby 10th and last fragment.

Go east and battle your way through naga forces. Bust down the eastern gate to receive the mission's last quest.

Quest Four: The Tomb of Sargeras
Objectives: Bring Maiev to the tomb entrance. Maiev must survive.

Illidan has another trick up his sleeve. The walls of the tomb begin to crumble, and Maiev must escape in less than three-and-a-half minutes. This requires retracing your steps back to the level's entrance. The fastest way is to use blink a lot. If you've upgraded blink to full, then that should be easy--at level three, blink has a recharge time of just one second. Along the way, you will encounter heavy opposition. Thankfully, they are mostly engaged in battle and you can easily blink by. Just ignore them, blink, and keep moving. Grab the runes you encounter to add speed and health. Reach the entrance in the time limit to complete the mission.

Chapter Four: The Wrath of the Betrayer

Quest One: The Runner's Transport
Objectives: Rescue the night-elf transports. The runner must survive. Your base must survive.

Illidan's forces have applied significant pressure to Maiev's base. She needs to escort a runner to a transport to seek assistance. Orders include ensuring your base survives the mission. Therefore, it's important to add additional defenses. Build ancient protectors (two to three at each location) wherever night-elf units are already placed, as well as east of your tree of eternity. You should also add some moon wells to heal your nearby defending units. An extra wisp at each location can be used to heal the protectors.

Maiev can't return to the base, at least not initially, so reinforcements are out of the question. Any unit built in the base will remain there. You can also purchase unit upgrades--don't hesitate to do so, because it will aid in protecting the runner and in defending your base.

Line your base with ancient protectors to hold off the enemy attacks.
Line your base with ancient protectors to hold off the enemy attacks.

Gather Maiev, your units, and the runner (which heals your units, by the way) and go south. Kill the nagas you find on the right side. It's a dig site. You can grab the staff of teleportation and open up a new quest. The staff can be equipped by Maiev and used to get inside your base. There you can acquire items from the ancient of wonders, if you wish.

Quest Two: Naga Excavators
Objective: Kill the naga excavators.

Naga excavators are working in the strange caves in the surrounding units. Kill them and deny use of any powerful artifacts they find. There are four excavating teams. Go up the southern stairs and battle more naga beasts. Look nearby for another set of excavators and gold, which can be used for more base defenses and upgrades.

Continue around to the north. Find the third excavator on the right side of the path. This particular one possesses the orb of slow, which is quite useful. Follow the path and reach the transports. You receive reinforcements here--glaive throwers and hippoglyphs.

Quest Three: Escape to the Sea
Objectives: Take the runner out to sea in a transport. The runner must survive. Your base must survive.

Move inside the transports and sail south. As you move, you'll hear the last excavator to the west. When you reach a nearby shoreline, deposit your units and go kill the fourth and final excavator to complete the quest.

Head around the bend and sail north. Destroy the gate by removing the units from the transports. There's another gate further north. You must disembark your units, move them around the gate, and then destroy the gate from the rear. Return to the transports and continue north to the end of the mission. Remember that the runner can heal units, so don't hesitate to take some time between battles so the runner can restore your units to full strength. Monitor your base defenses carefully and use extra funds on more protectors or units.

Chapter Five: Balancing the Scales

Quest One: Maiev's Distress
Objectives: Reach Maiev's base. Tyrande and Malfurion must survive.

It's been weeks since the previous battle--Maiev and her forces are still holding off aggressive attacks from Illidan. Defenses are weak, and the gold supply is nearly exhausted. Your forces begin to split. Two level-10 heroes, Tyrande and Malfurion, begin to the west, and Maiev's base is found to the east. Before moving Tyrande and Malfurion, tend to Maiev's base. Resources are very limited at the moment. Build a wisp and use it to repair the protectors and moon wells. You'll need additional gold for anything else.

Gather Tyrande, Malfurion, and the western troops and head north. Search the area just off the road to the east for lots of gold. You should use this gold to bolster Maiev's defenses--such as more ancient protectors, more units, and all upgrades starting with the ancient of war and hunter's hall upgrades. Move your western troops north from the ruins to trigger the cutscene, which opens a new quest.

TIP: There's a room in the ruins blocked by trees. Use the force of nature spell to remove the trees. You'll find tomes and gold in the room.

Quest Two: Night-Elf Fleet
Objectives: Reach the first ship. Reach the second ship. Reach the third ship.

A night-elf fleet was separated when crossing the ocean; the three ships are stranded offshore and unable to land. Clear a path for these ships to receive reinforcements. Continue to guide Tyrande and Malfurion onward. There are lots of creeps to kill and money to gain. Continue to spend money at Maiev's base, fortifying defenses, purchasing upgrades, and training more units. Continue south toward the first ship. Search the side areas for more gold.

You have plenty of powerful spells at your disposal--such as tranquility and starfall.
You have plenty of powerful spells at your disposal--such as tranquility and starfall.

Clear the creeps from around the first ship and gain some reinforcements. Head east toward Maiev's base. Battle the war golems standing guard, then trash the naga base just to the east. Use the powerful spells at your disposal, including force of nature on nearby trees, entangling roots on the tougher naga enemies, and starfall. Cast tranquility to mend your troop's wounds. Decimate the base, then continue on to Maiev.

Quest Three: Illidan's Minions
Objective: Destroy Illidan's base.

Illidan's base lies to the far north. With your combined forces, search east from Maiev's base to discover the second night-elf ship. Clear out the nearby units and receive two mountain giants for your trouble. There's also a mana fountain here.

Meanwhile, it's time to migrate to a new base. Use the gold mine to the west--it's the same one the naga were using, but since you annihilated their base, they won't need it any longer. Move every structure you can, rooting the ancient protectors around your new base. Start mining gold and getting lumber. Finish researching any upgrades you've neglected. Upgrade to the tree of eternity. You should also use your forces to rescue the third ship, which is just north of your new base. You receive two druids of the claw for the trouble.

Bolster your forces with additional archers, huntresses, and spellcasters. You have three heroes with powerful spells, so you're well equipped to battle Illidan's troops. Speaking of Illidan, expect him to continue to launch raids against your former base. You may wish to counter him there initially and kill him off. While he regenerates at the altar, make the assault on the northern base.

TIP: There's another gold mine north of your new base, as well as a fountain of health.

With three unit groups, you should be able to decimate Illidan's base. Target the towers and enemy units first. You should also try to destroy the altar of the depths as soon as possible to keep Illidan from returning. Don't forget the wealth of spells at your fingertips. Crush all the buildings in the north to complete the mission.

Chapter Six: Shards of the Alliance

Quest One: Escort Kael'thas and His Caravan
Objectives: Lead the caravan across the river. At least two supply wagons must survive. Tyrande, Maiev, and Kael must survive.

You don't control the humans or the caravan, just the night-elf units. The caravan automatically moves forward as you do. If you stop, the caravan stops. You must seek out undead units both in front and behind the caravan. If you are wounded, move your units near the caravan and they'll be healed.

Begin by moving along the road to the south. You'll find a couple of undead groups, but nothing too serious. You should move Maiev near the back of the caravan after the second group to prepare for the rear attack. You will be ambushed frequently, so be prepared to always react quickly.

You'll encounter a mercenary camp just to the west. Upon reaching it, you receive a new quest.

Quest Two: Retrieve Supplies
Objectives: Recover the gold caches.

Kael'thas has established three caches on the map--they contain gold and lumber, which can be used to acquire mercenaries from the nearby camps. The first cache is just to the west. You'll battle the undead scourge here. More appear behind the caravan, so be prepared to react. Recover the stash, then use the resources to acquire a mercenary. In the battle, utilize the mountain giant's war club ability by using a tree from the nearby forest.

Continue south, then head east. When you move your troops forward, shift the camera behind the caravan to watch for ambushes. If any undead appear, move your units back behind the caravan to counter. As you head east, you'll enter a town, where the caravan will be automatically repaired.

Guard the caravan with mercenary units purchased at camps.
Guard the caravan with mercenary units purchased at camps.

Exit the town and discover another mercenary camp. The second Kael'thas cache is just to the east. It's much more heavily defended. Use starfall and vengeance to assist you against the undead. Secure the cache and acquire more mercenaries. Proceed north, around the bend, and beware of the crypt fiends that materialize from the woods. Follow the road into the next town, where the caravan is repaired again.

Go north from the town to the crossroads. You can choose which way to go--the left path is longer but much easier, and the right path is shorter but much harder. Choose the left path. Before you proceed to the left, go to the right, then head due south--there's the third mercenary camp and cache. Destroy the undead here, grab the cache, and purchase additional mercenaries.

Return to the caravan and go north. At the very top of the map, encounter a small group of undead protecting their gold mine. Destroy them all. Face off against gargoyles as you turn south.

TIP: Maiev can blink into the forest west of the gargoyles. There's a talisman of evasion inside a crate.

Proceed southeast toward another town. You're south of the bridge--but your last stand is in the town. The undead surround the caravan and attack from all sides. Use starfall, vengeance, and fan of knives frequently. If you haven't lost many units and you acquired a full complement of mercenaries, you should have little trouble. Successfully defend the caravan to complete the mission.

Chapter Seven: The Ruins of Dalaran

Quest One: Spell of Destruction
Objectives: Destroy the summoners before time runs out. Spells and magic attacks kill the summoners.

Illidan is using summoners to channel a powerful spell through the Eye of Sargeras. You must slay all four summoners before the timer runs out (30 minutes). The summoners can be harmed only by magic. You can use faerie dragons' mana flare, chimera attacks, druid of the talon attacks, Maiev's fan of knives and shadow strike spells, and Malfurion's entangling roots spell.

This mission is fairly straightforward. The first half is spent on upgrades and bolstering your attack force with the appropriate units. You may also need to defend your base slightly. The second half is spent annihilating the summoners. A new quest opens up within moments of the mission's start.

Quest Two: Save the Paladin

There's a paladin imprisoned in the far northeast. You can free him easily and should get it over with immediately. Group all your starting units and send them northeast. You'll face some naga defenders but not many. Use your spells to assist in the battle; you'll have plenty of time to replenish mana before your assault on the summoners. Get the paladin and send all your units back to your base.

Build a couple of ancient protectors near the others around the northwest side of your base. Build enough moon wells to maximize the cap at 100. Upgrade to tree of eternity and build two chimera roosts. You'll find chimeras are mighty powerful against the summoners. You should produce a group of at least seven or eight of them. You can also construct a group of faerie dragons to support them. Reinforce your group if you suffer any losses.

Attacks will be launched on your base and the adjacent alliance base. Holding off the attacks shouldn't be tough. Your ally's forces will help repel attacks against your base. Research the chimera's upgrade at the roost and use the hunter's hall to research strength of the wild and its counterparts.

Faerie dragons and chimera can carve a path to victory.
Faerie dragons and chimera can carve a path to victory.

With around 12 to 15 minutes left, you should begin the advance toward the northwest. That should be more than enough time. Go west, then head north once you're directly underneath the summoners. The defenses are heavy, so move slowly and destroy the towers with your chimeras. Use Malfurion's tranquility after each little skirmish to heal your air units. If you lose any, you should have time to produce more and reinforce your group.

Continue north slowly and engage in battles where you have the advantage. Stay out of tower range if possible. If you are fired upon, wipe the offending tower out fast with your chimera. There are more towers around the summoners. You should destroy the two bottom towers and then retreat and use tranquility (and reinforce if needed). Then advance and take on the summoners. You need only eliminate the four summoners to complete the mission--not all the naga structures. The summoners should fall quickly to your chimera group.

Chapter Eight: The Brothers Stormrage

Quest One: Tyrande's Rescue
Objectives: Use Illidan's forces to destroy the red undead base. Use Malfurion's forces to defend the night-elf base.

Illidan and Malfurion have teamed up to rescue Tyrande, the woman they love. You must use both forces separately--Illidan in the northeast and Malfurion in the west. Even their resources are independent.

You should leave Malfurion to defend. Upgrade to tree of eternity, build additional ancient protectors to the north and south (line them up in a row), and produce more ground forces. Add more moon wells as needed. Keep Malfurion and his escorts in a tight group and move them to intercept any attackers. Cast tranquility between battles to mend your troops' wounds. Also, be careful with force of nature. Though it's useful against the attackers, it also destroys the forest around your base, which serves as a natural barrier.

Illidan will be the aggressor in this mission, but that doesn't mean you don't need some defense. Attacks will arrive from the west, so bolster that area with more tidal guardians. Build additional coral beds to support more units, then construct two full groups of melee, ranged, and siege (the turtles) units. Head south with your large groups, and Illidan will automatically discover the dams.

Quest Two: Dam Troll
Objective: Slay the trolls and their chieftain.

The trolls have constructed several dams that prevent easy strikes against the red undead base. To destroy the dams, you must slay the trolls. Take Illidan and your other units south along the river. Go east up the riverbank. You need to kill three sets of trolls and finally the chieftain, Krag'jin, in the south. Killing Krag'jin destroys the dam and gives you the mask of death.

Eliminate the trolls to destroy the dams.
Eliminate the trolls to destroy the dams.

Continue south and search the southeast corner of the map. You'll discover a couple of ancient sasquatches guarding a fountain of health. Defeat them to gain access to the fountain.

A green undead base lies to Illidan's west and southwest--it blocks your path into the red base. It's easiest to destroy green completely before moving against the red undead base. Attack the northernmost green base first. This frees up a gold mine that you can use if needed. Just south of this is a secondary green base blocking access to the red undead.

After each battle, regroup, heal, and reinforce your group with more units. Use the naga siege weapons against buildings and leave your other ground forces to tackle the undead units. Don't forget to pay some attention to Malfurion. You'll be notified when he's attacked. Move him and his escorts as needed and repair the ancient protectors once they're damaged. The mission ends once you've destroyed the red undead base and its units.

Section Two: Alliance Campaign--Curse of the Blood Elves Walk-Through

This section features the complete walk-through for the alliance campaign in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne.

Chapter One: Misconceptions

Quest One: Observatory Repair
Objective: Find and repair the observatories.

To complete this mission, you must find and repair three observatories. Each observatory provides a large sight area allowing you to see ahead toward the next observatory and task at hand. You begin already repairing the first observatory. Wait until it's complete and check out the revealed map. Note the creep north of your current position. Search east and spot the trees blocking a path to the north. Use the blood mage's flame strike to destroy the trees. Kill the murlocs and get the maul of strength for your trouble.

TIP: Make sure you move up your original peasant--you'll need him when you move to a new island!

Go south and navigate through the winding streets. You'll face plenty of creeps along the way, including mutants, felguards, wizards, and a tough overlord. During the exploration, a new quest opens up.

Quest Two: Hidden Caches

There are four caches of gold, lumber, and items hidden around the map. The first one is nearby. Go west and kill the rogue wizards, then turn north to face more wizards. Break down the western door and grab the first cache. Pick up the tiny castle too--it builds a town hall when placed. Continue through the area to the mana fountain and the overlord.

Go south to the second cache marked on the map. Use flame strike to burn down the trees blocking the cache. Snag gold, the tiny barracks, and a tiny altar of kings. Continue west along the southern edge of the map until you trigger the cutscene. The naga greet you and offer help in the form of a couple of transports.

Begin a base on this new island. Be sure to drag your peasant along so he can build farms to sustain the new population.
Begin a base on this new island. Be sure to drag your peasant along so he can build farms to sustain the new population.

Use the transport to shuttle to the island with the gold mine. Kill the pesky creeps, then place your tiny structures--put the castle near the gold mine. Use the peasant to build a farm, then build more peasants at the town hall. Start gathering gold and lumber.

The undead attack from the south, so adjust your unit positions accordingly. Continue to gather resources and upgrade the town hall. Build footmen at the barracks, research upgrades at the barracks, and then build spellcasters at the arcane sanctum. Clear out all the creeps on the island, then repair the second observatory just northwest of your base.

The third cache is in the southwest corner of the map. Reach it by using the transport to go south and then heading west on foot. Send a full group, including your blood mage, and battle the numerous ogres that protect the cache. You'll gain a rune of rebirth, which awards you the ogre chieftain himself!

Build up two large forces and transport them over to the northern island, where you'll find the fourth cache and the third observatory. Kill all the creeps. Use flame strike to reveal the cache. Transport over several peasants. Start repairing the observatory. Remember it requires lumber to repair, so make sure you have a large reserve of lumber or are still gathering it. Shift all remaining peasants to lumber. It's unlikely you need any more gold at this point. Repair all three observatories and the mission ends in success.

Chapter Two: A Dark Covenant

Quest One: Crush and Destroy
Objective: Destroy the green undead base.

Orders are straightforward--destroy the green undead base. Unfortunately, the beginning of the mission is anything but straightforward. You have several other bases around the map, but they're about to be annihilated. You can save some of the units from these bases if you wish. Allow the peasants to continue to mine gold until it's almost too late, however. Send the units east, out of harm's way.

After the destruction of your outlying bases, the naga arrive to offer some support in the form of a collection of units and a sturdy hero. Use these units to help defend your initial base. It soon becomes apparent that you have no resources and must venture forth to find more.

Quest Two: Acquire Gold Mine
Objective: Secure a gold mine and build a town hall.

Build a group of dragonhawk riders using your remaining gold. Don't worry about using all your gold--you'll still be able to make a town hall if you follow this walk-through. Send your ground forces into a transport and tag along with the dragonhawk group. Go to the undead base to the north of your initial base. Land just to the east, then move in for the attack. Use the dragonhawk cloud ability to disable undead towers. You may suffer some casualties but will be able to destroy all the undead structures around this gold mine. Once through, search the crates for a tiny castle--time to build the town hall!

Place the tiny castle near the gold mine. Produce peasants and start base construction as funds become available. The undead attack your initial base from the west and northwest. Defend the area with a collection of upgraded towers. Place the naga units there to assist. Keep a peasant close for repairs and a priest close for healing.

Do the same on your northern base--place a row of upgraded towers on the western side to hold back the undead attacks. Build a barracks and another aviary. Build farms as needed and reinforce your troops with swordsmen and dragonhawk riders. You may also want a few more priests for inner fire and healing. And sorceresses come in handy for their polymorph and slow abilities.

The new dragonhawk riders can disable towers with their cloud spell.
The new dragonhawk riders can disable towers with their cloud spell.

To get to green, you must move through the second orange base in the northwest corner. Defeat it as you defeated the first. After the battle, return to your northern base and regroup. Maximize your population and heal all your units.

The battle against green is tough. He sends many tough units to defend against your attack. Polymorph as many units as possible and disable the towers with the dragonhawk riders. You should also snare some air units if possible. Work through the initial line of structures and push as much as possible. You may fail in the first attack, but you'll weaken him. Return to your northern base and start reinforcing your army once again. Three groups should be sufficient (all swordsmen, all dragonhawk riders, and then the blood mage with a mix of archers and spellcasters).

Chapter Three: The Dungeons of Dalaran

Quest One: Blood-Elf Lieutenants
Objectives: Free the blood-elf lieutenants. Kael and Vashj must survive.

Garithos has imprisoned your blood-elf lieutenants in magical cages. You must break them out and prepare for the inevitable battle against Garithos.

Head west and free the first lieutenant and the blood elves in the cage just across from him. These blood elves will scamper to the nearby armor and weapon racks and join your group as a spell breaker and a priest. Look for these blood elves throughout the dungeon, as they will become useful units to add to your group. Continue west, then head south to the spiders. There's another blood elf in danger in a cage on the left. Free him quickly, then retreat and regroup. Take time to heal your units before pushing against the spiders again.

The spiders are tough and cause poison damage. Use flame strike and forked lightning to make quick work of them. Monitor your units' health carefully and retreat any unit that's severely damaged. Bust apart the egg sacks for items and secure the medallion of courage from the largest spider. Don't neglect the blood elf in the nearby cage.

Return to the start position and go east. Stop the guard sounding the alarm (he's pulling the lever). Kill him quickly or use Kael's banish spell to make the alliance footman ethereal. There's a nearby stone token in the water. Flame-strike the barricade, then use Vashj to swim to it. Continue through the south gate. As you go inside, another quest appears.

Quest Two: Ghosts of Dalaran
Objective: Slay the ghostly archmagi.

There are four archmagi trapped in the decrepit ruins of the prison. Orders are to slay the ghostly archmagi to release their tormented souls and give them peace. You're also presented with a little tutorial: Stand a unit on two floor runes of matching color to open doors or reveal items. Stand on the two green runes, which opens a door to the east.

It's the first of four archmagi. Kill it and grab the fragment of the ring of the archmagi. Remember to grab all fragments with the same hero. Also, use the spell breakers' control magic ability to capture any water elementals summoned by archmagi.

Go south, where you'll encounter a battle between undead and alliance forces. Use long-range spells (flame strike and forked lightning) to weaken the group. Mop up the remaining enemies. Free the second lieutenant and the adjacent blood elf.

There are two pink floor runes here. Stand on them to open a door leading to the second archmagi. Kill it as you did the first. Between these battles, take time to heal using your rescued priests. If you go west, you can snag the claws of attack +3 from a cell.

Cross the eastern bridge. Note that the lever releases caged experiments onto the alliance troops. Go for it. Attack the experiments when you enter the battle, then mop up the remaining alliance forces. There's a green floor rune in the room; its counterpart is under the war golems on the north side of the room. Grab the scroll of mama to activate the war golems. Kill them both, then stand on both green floor runes to spawn a tome of agility.

Continue forward, and don't let the footmen get to the lever. There's a yellow rune down a nearby ramp. Use anyone but Vashj to stand on that floor rune. Its match is around to the south. Use Vashj to swim to it. Grab the tome of intelligence that appears.

Proceed north and locate the purple rune. The other purple floor rune is just south in the water. It opens the passage to the third archmagi. Kill it and grab the claws of attack +6 from the water. Go east, then head around south to the third lieutenant. Beware of the alliance soldiers here. Rescue a couple more blood elves to the west and grab the rune of healing from the crates.

Here's the secret room. Press the floor switches in the correct order to open the secret level.
Here's the secret room. Press the floor switches in the correct order to open the secret level.

Continue south and note the huge battle between undead and alliance troops. Eliminate any unit left alive and go around to the west. You'll find three caged sheep behind three floor switches. Step on the switches in the following order: top, bottom, center. If you mess up, just stand on the remaining switch or switches to reset the puzzle. A new passage opens to the north with flying sheep on fire encircling a question mark--it's a secret level power-up. Grab it to activate the secret level, which loads after you complete this mission.

Backtrack to the cave on the eastern wall. Send a unit through it to appear on the far northern side of the map. Stand on the red floor rune. Send another unit back to the red rune passed a moment ago. This opens a western door to the last archmagi. Kill it and grab the last ring fragment.

Go east. Destroy the lever to open the door. Defeat the large alliance group with your spells and units. Flame-strike the blockage to the north and expose the rune of restoration. Battle Garithos' enforcers.

You can open an optional passage into a room containing an arcanite golem. You must stand on floor runes to accomplish the task. The first is under the rune of restoration you just got. The other is in a hall you've already passed (just backtrack to it). Killing the arcanite golem rewards you with the essence of aszune, a frost wyrm skull shield, and a shamanic totem. Rescue the fourth lieutenant in the nearby cage and receive the final quest. Be sure to rescue the priest just east of the lieutenant.

Quest Three: Jailor Kassan
Objectives: Slay Jailor Kassan and his guards. Kael and Vashj must survive.

You must battle through a large collection of alliance forces and defeat the jailor to complete the mission. Go north and begin the huge battle. Move slowly so you don't trigger too many enemies. Use flame strike and forked lightning frequently. Set a priest on inner fire to improve your troops during the battle. Only Kael and Vashj must survive, so don't worry if a lieutenant or two perishes during the fight.

Secret Level: The Crossing

Quest One: Defend the portal.
Objectives: Build towers to stop Garithos' men. The portal must survive.

Garithos is sending his men on a suicide mission to destroy the portal. You must hold out long enough for all the blood elves to get through. You have two workers to build towers in strategic locations to destroy the oncoming horde, which will attack in 30 waves. If you managed to survive all the waves, you receive a neutral hero for the next mission.

Gold is slowly creeping into your reserve during the mission. You'll use the gold to fund the towers and their upgrades. Begin building towers immediately and as quickly as possible. Build towers on all accessible locations, particularly at corners. You receive stronger towers as the level moves forward, so leave spots for them. You can upgrade each type of tower; just click on the tower and select the upgrade option on its menu. Upgrade towers during the brief downtime during attacks. The towers upgrade fairly quickly, but you definitely want to be sure you don't have a series of towers upgrading while the next wave of enemies is moving through their firing range.

Towers, towers, and more towers. And after that, more towers.
Towers, towers, and more towers. And after that, more towers.

You do have Kael and Vashj to assist somewhat. Their spells can prove useful against any units that get through your collection of towers. Cut straight down through the path to intercept the charging enemies and cast appropriate spells in their path. If you fail in the mission, you can still continue on to the next. Successfully completing the bonus mission simply unlocks an extra hero to use (the pandaren brewmaster) in the next mission.

Chapter Four: The Search of Illidan

Quest One: The Demon Within
Objectives: Use your heroes to recapture Illidan's cage. The cage must not reach the night-elf base.

Lord Illidan has been captured by Maiev and is being held in a cage of magical enchantments. Slay the guardians of the cage and take it from the night elves.

Support units are constantly pouring in from your base. You control only Kael and Vashj, though you can purchase some mercenaries from a camp just south of your start position. Get your heroes to the cage quickly. Defeat the units guarding the cage and the cage becomes yours. You won't control the cage--instead, it will automatically begin moving toward your base. The key is to hold it by maintaining control around the cage. If you lose all units around the cage, the cage comes under Maiev's control once again.

It's a fierce battle for control of Illidan.
It's a fierce battle for control of Illidan.

Should Kael or Vashj perish during any fight, check the altars in your base for their return. Immediately send them back to the cage to help in offense or defense. Once you recover the cage, a new quest appears.

Quest Two: Escort Illidan
Objective: Bring Illidan's cage to the blood-elf base.

Keep Kael and Vashj in the fight and away from the cage when it's heading toward your base. The night elves will engage your forces and won't make a charge for the cage--keep them fighting! When they are fighting, they aren't capturing the cage. That's a good thing. The mission ends once the cage reaches the blood-elf base. As mentioned, keep Kael and Vashj active. If they die, move them back to the battle after resurrection.

Chapter Five: Gates of the Abyss

Quest One: Dimensional Gates
Objectives: Close each dimensional gate. Bring Illidan to each dimensional nexus. Illidan must survive three minutes at each gate.

A pit lord named Magtheridon commands an army that pours through the dimensional gates. Illidan has the power to close each gate by stepping on its corresponding nexus.

Illidan is already on the first nexus, which means the first dimensional gate (located just to the northwest) is in the process of closing. This doesn't make Magtheridon too happy--he begins to send units through the gate. Protect the northwest side of your base from this onslaught. Reinforce your units with more swordsmen from the barracks.

After the battle, it's time to catch your breath and prepare for the long haul. Your current gold mine has plenty of gold. There's a second gold mine just north of the dimensional gate. Expand as soon as possible so your gold income increases dramatically. Enemy attacks will arrive from the northeast section of your base and the southwest section of your base. Begin to build a series of guard towers here. Add a couple of arcane towers as well.

Line the north side of your base with tons of towers to counter the fel orc attacks.
Line the north side of your base with tons of towers to counter the fel orc attacks.

You should also upgrade your town hall to a castle and research all blacksmith upgrades. The naga unit upgrades are also available--select the temple of tides and research them. You should also upgrade your priests and sorceresses to receive inner fire and polymorph, respectively. Build additional houses to maximize your population cap and add a mixture of blood-elf and naga units to your two-group army.

At some point, venture south from your base and discover a fountain of health and an optional quest.

Quest Two: Draenei Village
Objective: Destroy the orange fel orc base.

There's a draenei village in the southwest corner of the map. They're in a constant battle with the fel orc bases on this map. You won't control the draenei (though you can rescue some that will come under your control). Instead, the draenei periodically launch their own assaults on the orc bases. You should strive to launch your attack on the orange fel base as soon as the draenei begin their own.

The orange fel orc base isn't too tough and should fall easily to two groups of units. The naga sea turtles make excellent siege weapons. Use them against the fel orc structures while your other forces concentrate on the orc units. Utilize your spells--you have three heroes at your disposal, so use them wisely and ensure they're in the battle and casting frequently. Wipe out the orange fel orcs to complete the mission.

You can expand to their former gold mine if you wish. It's possible to accumulate a lot of gold for this mission, which will be useful in defending your base. Monitor your base and repair the northeast towers as needed. Other fel orcs will launch frequent attacks there, so you will have to replace or repair towers often.

The second dimensional gate is located in the southeast corner of the map. Wipe out any enemies surrounding the gate before putting Illidan on the nexus--which causes more enemies to emerge from the gate. Hold off the onslaught for three minutes to close the gate.

To get to the next gate, you must battle through the green fel orc base just north of the second gate. The draenei have probably already begun their attacks there. Although it's a bit tougher than the orange base, the concept remains the same. Annihilate structures with siege weapons and utilize all three of your heroes against the orc units. Lure the orc blademasters away from the other units, if possible. As soon as you eliminate the orc heroes, destroy the altar quickly to prevent a return.

The third dimensional gate is north of the green orcs' former base. As always, clear out the area around the gate before stepping on the nexus. It's much harder if you stand on the nexus immediately.

The last gate is in the northwest corner. You can avoid the purple orc base completely. You won't need to destroy it to reach the last gate. Look just south of the purple orc base for a health fountain and a couple of cages containing usable draenei units--a vindicator and a seer. You can also find Khadgar's gem of health in the crates.

Kill the demons around the last gate first, then put Illidan on the nexus. Look south and discover a mercenary camp. This is the last gate, so purchase all the mercenaries you can. Put Illidan on the nexus and hold off the final assault for three minutes to complete the mission.

Chapter Six: Lord of Outland

Quest One: Shadowkeys
Objectives: Slay the master of pain. Slay the mistress of torment.

Magtheridon is in a locked throne room. To gain access, you must eliminate his two dark lieutenants--the master of pain and the mistress of torment. Once they're dead, you can grab the shadowkeys, which will give you access to Magtheridon's throne room.

Quest Two: Disable Defenses
Objective: Destroy the power generators.

The black citadel has a series of tough defenses, but destroying the power generators can disable these defenses. There are four power generators for four defenses. The draenei are your best option here--their cloaked ability allows the draenei to sneak by defenses and reach the generators unharmed.

Your forces are essentially split up into two groups: the blood elves and the draenei on the western side of the map, and the naga on the eastern edge of the map. You can advance either at any time. There's no right or wrong. The naga face a series of orc ships on their way to a fountain of health. There's also plenty of gold to be had in the naga's path. Also, when you reach the fountain, look for a path just south of it for tons of tomes and gold.

Speaking of gold, you have no means of mining gold. You must recover gold from the map to fund any reinforcements. The blood elves and the naga have barracks and a spawning pool, respectively, but you can't produce additional draenei units.

The draenei's invisibility comes in handy as they sneak through the level looking for the power generators.
The draenei's invisibility comes in handy as they sneak through the level looking for the power generators.

On the blood-elf side, search the southwest corner for some gold. Eliminate the enemy units surrounding the draenei with your blood-elf group. Grab the nearby coins. Proceed west through the gate and clear the area of enemy forces to secure the fountain of mana. Search the southern area here for a couple of cages containing additional draenei units (add them to the draenei group) and gold. The northern area has more enemies and gold to recover.

West of the fountain is a tough enemy--the butcher (straight from Blizzard's other series, Diablo). He's tough, so utilize your hero's spells to weaken the beast during the battle. You'll gain writ's other leg and a stone token as a reward for defeating the monstrosity.

It's time to move the draenei. Send them north, beyond the defenses, to the first generator (you can just select the draenei and click on the closest generator location to move them there without fear of losing any draenei units. Once at the generator, destroy it to eliminate the defenses.

Rendezvous the blood elf and draenei forces in the orc base. Use the blood elves to lure the orc hero out of the base. It's tough to tackle the entire group. It's better to lure some of the enemies out of the base. Send the draenei through the north side of the base to assist, but be careful not to lose too many draenei units--you need them for their sneak ability. Use healing wave from the draenei saboteur to heal your fellow draenei. Blood elves should use priests for healing. Be sure to have at least one priest set on inner fire. Destroy the altar of storms quickly to prevent the orc hero from returning.

Chapter Six: Lord of Outland - cont.

Quest Three: Siege Bastion
Objective: Slay the demolisher guards.

As you move beyond the first orc base, a new quest appears. You can receive four fel orc demolishers--siege weapons--for destroying the guards and recovering the units.

Keep your naga aligned with your western troops by moving them north once again. The purple orc base--the legion of anguish--lies just ahead of the fountain of health. You have a specialty naga unit for the mission, the naga royal guard. This unit possesses some nice spells, including a summon elemental spell and a damaging tidal wave. Use these as you enter the purple orc base. Use tactics that are similar to the ones you used against the western orcs. Return to the fountain of health to replenish your health. At all times, reinforce your western and eastern units with the blood-elf and naga production centers.

The draenei can be moved to the next generator. Just click on the generator's location with the draenei selected. Destroy the generator and its surrounding units (or just use the draenei's hide ability to avoid the attack). As you move the blood elves north, beware of some enemy siege weapons behind a gate (use your war demolishers). Go west from the siege weapons to find some creeps defending gold and power-ups. Demolish the western purple orc base just south of the master of pain. Use your demolishers, but beware of friendly fire.

Go north from the purple orc base and battle the master of pain. Between and before all battles, reinforce your army with new units from your southern bases. Set rally points to your current group location so you can reinforce your army quickly. Defeat the master of pain and break nearby cages to receive blood fiends. Push the switch behind the throne to open a room containing gold, a potion of greater healing, and a ring of protection +5.

Send the naga north, destroying the barrel of explosives along the northern edge of the walkway. If you continue west, you can find more orc ships and a manual of health for Vashj. Grab the gold to the north and then go west to a switch. Move the draenei to the switch on the other side--hitting both switches creates a bridge, which you can cross to combine your forces.

You must kill the mistress of torment and the master of pain before reaching the final battle against Magtheridon.
You must kill the mistress of torment and the master of pain before reaching the final battle against Magtheridon.

You'll find a locked gate just to the west of the bridge and a fountain of health just to the south. The third generator is located in the northeast corner. Move the draenei there to destroy the generator. Hide immediately after destroying the generator to avoid battling the surrounding foes. Send your combined naga and blood-elf forces to the next orc base below the mistress of torment. Use siege weaponry to bombard structures from long range. Lure out the orc hero and tackle him away from the orc defensive structures and units. Continue north and defeat the mistress of torment to open the locked doors of Magtheridon's chamber. Break the cages for fel orc warlocks and grab the mask of death upon defeating the mistress of torment.

Quest Four: Slay Magtheridon
Objective: Slay the mighty pit lord Magtheridon.

Return to the now opened lair door. Move the draenei to the last generator. Just click on it on the map and they'll automatically move there. Move your other forces slowly to the north. Tackle the first room only, then heal your force and reinforce your armies. As you continue north, lure the blademaster away from his escorts and battle him separately. Keep moving north, doing more of the same--lure forces away from their cohorts so you can battle the smallest number of enemies possible at a time.

The battle against Magtheridon will be tough. Use all your units, including the draenei, in the battle. Utilize all your spells--don't forget the naga royal guard spells as well. The mission ends once Magtheridon has been defeated.

Section Three: Scourge Campaign--Legacy of the Damned Walk-Through

This section covers the complete walk-through for the scourge campaign in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne.

Chapter One: King Arthas

Quest One: Slaughter Human Refugees
Objectives: Destroy the refugee towns. No more than 20 refugees may escape.

There are nine refugee camps on the map. Your forces are split into three groups: one controlled by Arthas, one controlled by Slyvanas, and one controlled by Kel'Thuzad. You should use all three groups to eliminate the refugee camps. The escaping refugees try to leave the map through your three bases. As long as you keep some defending units near the bases at all times, you should be fine. The toughest escape route is Kel'Thuzad--his necromancers have a tough time keeping up with the escaping humans, so pay extra attention to this area of the map when you're notified that some humans are attempting to escape.

In a unique twist, each hero's small base can produce only two types of units. All three can produce ghouls, but only Arthas can train abominations, only Sylvanas can train banshees, and only Kel'Thuzad can train necromancers. Also, you have no ability to increase your population cap--it's fixed at 40 for each hero. Thankfully, you have nearly limitless resources. Don't worry about replenishing your units.

TIP: Make sure Kel'Thuzad's necromancers are set to autocast raise dead. This makes offense and defense much easier. Also, Sylvanas' banshees can possess the alliance units. Be sure to possess any useful units, particularly powerful knights or spellcasters.

Each base also features a tomb of relics, which can be used to purchase items such as potions. The bases around Arthas are fairly weak. Destroy the northern camp first. You'll soon realize that each of the bases has paladin support. These paladins use the town portal scroll to quickly teleport to the camps to aid in their defense. The paladins arrive with two knights, and they cast healing spells to replenish the knights' health. The paladins also use divine shield to make themselves impervious to your attacks for a short period of time.

Quest Two: Slay the Paladins
Objective: Destroy the three altars.

It's very difficult to attack the camps with the paladins still in the picture. Their camp is located in the map's center. As long as the three altars remain intact, the paladins can teleport to the camps. The center area is insanely defended. It's nearly impossible to mount a successful assault--it's much easier to go on specific altar-killing missions. The altars won't be repaired, so inflict as much damage as possible on each run. Kel'Thuzad is effective here; use his death and decay spell during the assault.

Be sure to leave some forces at your camp at all times (a few ghouls and accompanying units) to intercept any fleeing humans. After you have destroyed the altars, you must deal with the paladins just one more time (three total) during the camps. Once they're dead, the paladins won't return.

Thorough exploration uncovers Timmy, who has some nice ice shards to sell.
Thorough exploration uncovers Timmy, who has some nice ice shards to sell.

Here's a secret that should help: Search along the western side of the map for a narrow forest path. You'll find little Timmy at the far end. He'll sell two ice shards, each of which summons an ice revenant for 180 seconds.

Completing the mission may be a slow process. Some of the camps are tough--with towers and plenty of defensive units. Further, you'll encounter other alliance units along the roads that lead to each camp. Don't worry about unit losses. Just be sure to reinforce your forces and keep the escape routes plugged with units.

Chapter Two: The Flight from From Lordaeron

Quest One: The King's Exit
Objectives: Bring Arthas to the city exit. Arthas must survive.

The dreadlord's forces are closing in--Arthas must make a quick retreat from the city. You begin with Arthas alone. Defeat the ghouls surrounding him. Grab the reinforcements through the gate and grab the potion and goblin land mines. Head east. You'll face a couple of abominations but can grab the staff of reanimation. Keep going east to get abomination reinforcements and gold.

Continue around to the west and south again for more encounters, gold, and a ring of protection +2. Go north up the eastern side of the map. Battle more insurgents near a fountain (not usable). Rescue the crypt fiends from the cage to the east.

TIP: Arthas has the death coil spell, which heals undead units. Activate death coil during battles, then click on the damaged unit (in your unit grouping window) to heal it.

Head up the east side to a camp filled with scourge. Grab the claws of attack +3. Proceed to the west and find a shade near a fountain of mana. You can use the shade to scout ahead. Replenish your mana at the fountain as needed. Continue west to face some enemy crypt fiends, then rescue the ghouls further west.

Break the elven gate to the north and use the switch to raise a platform elsewhere in the city. Go north up the western side of the map to locate another quest.

Quest Two: Meat Wagon Surprise
Objectives: Kill the armory guards. Rescue the meat wagons.

The meat wagon siege weapons will help demolish the undead towers you'll encounter through the rest of the mission. Kill the armory guards, then go west to rescue an abomination. Go south through the gate and gain two meat wagons. Due north are a couple of towers--perfect for meat-wagon bombardment. Destroy the towers and get the gold.

Return to the armory entrance and go east. Break the gate and use the meat wagons on the towers. Get the gold and use the floor switch to open the passage. Head north. Snag the orb of venom and circlet of nobility nearby. At the intersection, go east. There's a tomb of relics here with some items. Go up the side of the map. There's a pile of corpses nearby. Look just east of the corpses for a regeneration potion.

Rescuing the meat wagons proves quite helpful when you begin to encounter towers.
Rescuing the meat wagons proves quite helpful when you begin to encounter towers.

Go west. You're now on the other side of that intersection. To the north is a fountain of health. Return to the intersection and go west. Before going north, bust the crates and get a rune of shielding, then fight the tough flesh golems. Kill them, then go around east. Head north through the arch.

Destroy the towers with your meat wagons. Search the west side for a rune of the revenant and a tome of strength. Search the east side for a couple of ghouls in cages. Go through the north gate, then head through the city gates. The western and eastern paths feature the same obstacles and items. First kill the doom guard and his minions. Then, be sure to grab the rune of shielding from the crates before going through the city gate.

You'll face the bloodfeast and his guards before the mission's exit. Only Arthas must survive, so don't worry if all your other units perish. Heal your troops with Arthas' death coil. Once bloodfeast has died, go north through the city gate to end the mission.

Chapter Three: The Dark Lady

Quest One: Varimathras
Objective: Destroy the red undead base.

The key to this mission is ample use of the banshee's possession ability--it's the best way to build an army here. Take some time to set up some base defenses first, however. Use your acolytes to build ziggurats on the northern and western edges of your base. Upgrade the ziggurats to undead towers.

Don't forget to also utilize the new undead unit, the obsidian statue, which can be set to automatically replenish health or automatically replenish mana--very useful when trying to get the banshee's mana up to the possession requirement. Speaking of the banshees, be sure to disable their autocast of curse. Remain in your base for the first few waves of attacks. Possess these abominations and add them to your attack groups. Replace your banshees as necessary.

Use banshees to possess the first groups of attackers.
Use banshees to possess the first groups of attackers.

There are groups of gnoll creeps in the southwest corner of the map. Take some banshees along and possess them (particularly the higher-level ones). Return to your obsidians for healing. There's also a gold mine in the southwest corner if you need it later in the mission.

With a small attack force and a set of banshees, proceed northwest from your base. Possess the ogres patrolling here to gain a quest.

Quest Two: Ogre Warlord
Objective: Possess the ogre warlord Mug'thol.

Go north toward the mercenary camp guarded by ogres. Move your banshees ahead of your group and micromanage them to possess each ogre in turn. Continue around the northwest corner and head back down south, toward Mug'thol. Possess each and every ogre you can. When you possess Mug'thol, the ogres around him are automatically converted. You can use the mercenary camp to purchase more ogres.

You should monitor your base while you're away hunting. Be sure to build a full complement of ziggurats and upgrade them to towers. Keep a few units behind for defense (and banshees for possession). Use acolytes to repair the towers.

Regroup in your base and heal up. Defend against a few attacks (once again, possess as many attackers as you can, then prepare to head northeast. As you enter the bandit camps, a new quest appears.

Quest Three: Bandit Lord
Objective: Possess Blackthorn, the bandit lord.

Use your possessed group of ogres and bandits to lay waste to the enemy base.
Use your possessed group of ogres and bandits to lay waste to the enemy base.

Move up a group of banshees and start possessing the bandits--particularly the wizards and certainly Blackthorn himself. When you possess Blackthorn, you receive the adjacent bandits. There's also a mercenary camp near the middle (east side) where you can purchase more bandits. Plus, a gold mine here can be mined, should you need the extra funds.

If you've possessed a lot of troops, you should have plenty to make the assault on the red undead base. Don't forget that the dark lady herself has a possession spell--charm. Use it to possess some of the tougher defenders. Bring along some banshees if you can fit them under your population cap, and possess defenders to make the job easier.

Chapter Four: The Return to Northrend

Quest One: The Landing
Objective: Destroy the blood elves' island stronghold.

Move your heroes around your current island and eliminate the creeps. Search to the west for some polar bears--you can cross the shallow water. Upon clearing out the island, board the transports. Purchase at least one more battleship from the shipyard--you'll need it. The battleships are awesome against the blood elves' towers and unit defenses along the shoreline. Move your ships north toward the adjacent island, the blood-elf base.

Bombard the towers from a safe distance using your battleships. As archers attempt to fire on your ships, bombard them with your cannons. Once you've cleared the shore of towers and units, unload your units. Use the meat wagons against the remaining towers and structures, and intercept any attacking units with your heroes.

Quest Two: Breakthrough
Objective: Slay the guardians.

You must break through the pass to Azjol-Nerub. To get there, you must slay the guardians that surround the pass. But before you can do so, you must at minimum capture the naga base located to the northwest of your current location. You will suffer frequent attacks from the naga (from the northwest) and the blood elves (from the east and southeast) throughout the mission. Line up a series of ziggurat towers along these locations and set your combat units nearby for quick interception. Leave a few acolytes handy to repair any towers.

Soon after the second quest begins, an optional third quest opens.

Quest Three: Dragon Hoard
Objective: Slay the dragon Sapphiron.

Prepare your groups before visiting Sapphiron--he's very powerful.
Prepare your groups before visiting Sapphiron--he's very powerful.

The dragon lies in the northeast corner of the map, and he's protected by many other high-level creep dragons. To defeat the group easily, you should have a group of crypt fiends (which can launch their web on air foes) and abominations--at least six or seven of each. Support these with your heroes and you can take down Sapphiron. Your reward is plentiful. You gain tomes, gold, and power-ups (such as the horn of the clouds). Plus, you gain Sapphiron himself!

Break the barrels on your current island for additional gold and lumber. Build a crypt, a graveyard, plenty of ziggurats, and an altar of darkness and upgrade to the halls of the dead (and eventually the black citadel). After the town hall upgrades, build a temple of the damned and a slaughterhouse. You should acquire as many upgrades as possible, particularly graveyard upgrades and specific unit upgrades, such as those for the abominations. You'll need a tomb of relics to produce the obsidian statues, which are useful for healing your unit groups.

As mentioned, the naga base lies to the northwest, and you'll need the transports to get there (purchase another if you have three unit groups). The naga base isn't easy--it's filled with towers and units. You may need to soften it up in the first attack and then crush it completely in the second. Once it has been decimated, use the naga's former gold mine for your own. Make sure you protect it, though, because the blood elves will attack there if you aren't paying attention.

Ignore the blood-elf ships and base and just push westward. At the far western edge of the map, you can move north or south. Head north toward the passage.

The penguin king enjoys your company so much he offers this ring of protection +4.
The penguin king enjoys your company so much he offers this ring of protection +4.

Tip: If you go south when you reach the western edge of the map, you can fight some more creeps and scamper through a narrow forest to the map's southern edge. Here you'll encounter the penguin king! He gives you a ring of protection +4 for finding him.

There are tons of creeps on the way to the passage. When you encounter the nerubians, attack their production centers or they'll keep coming. Mow down everything in your path and take time to heal using your obsidian statues. You'll want groups of crypt fiends, abominations, necromancers, and heroes, all supported by the mighty Sapphiron.

Chapter Five: Dreadlord's Fall

Quest One: Sneak Attack
Objective: Destroy the sleeping forces.

Detheroc and Garithos' forces are currently in a state of slumber--you have the opportunity to strike their bases without the fear of reinforcements. Initial orders are to destroy as much of the enemy forces as possible before the entire stronghold is alerted to your presence. You have eight minutes to complete the first part of the mission, at which time a significant counterattack will arrive at your base.

The easiest way to deal with the two enemies is to decimate Garithos' two bases during the first eight minutes. By decimate we mean eliminate as many units as possible and take out the barracks, altars, and castles. Bring along plenty of banshees and use possession and charm to assume control of the knights and mortar teams. Meanwhile, you should attempt to conduct some base maintenance while rampaging through Garithos' base. Build ziggurat towers along the southeastern edge of the base.

As the eight-minute mark approaches, attempt to return to your base quickly. Detheroc will launch a massive offensive. Your towers will delay the onslaught. Repel the enemy forces and prepare for the remainder of the mission.

Quest Two: Detheroc
Objectives: Destroy Detheroc's base. Destroy Garithos' base.

Haunt the gold mine in the northwest corner if you need more resources.
Haunt the gold mine in the northwest corner if you need more resources.

The remainder of the mission involves holding off attacks from Detheroc (you shouldn't have to worry about any human attacks) while amassing a force large enough to wipe him out. If you need additional gold, find a mine in the northwest corner. You must protect it however--Detheroc just won't let you mine gold without some retribution.

Work your way directly south from your base when you launch the attack. Use attack groups filled with abominations, crypt fiends, and necromancers. Make sure you've upgraded all your units to their maximum abilities. You also must complete the destruction of Garithos' two bases, though it's just mop-up work at this point. The mission ends once all enemy bases have been leveled.

Chapter Six: New Power in Lordaeron

Quest One: Balnazzar
Objective: Destroy Balnazzar's purple base.

Balnazzar is the most powerful of the dreadlords. You have the help of Garithos' human army for this mission. You'll need the humans, as well as the undead led by Sylvanas, to capture Balnazzar's immense stronghold. His defenses are extreme. His network of towers, his demon gate, and his entrenched units will prove quite difficult when you launch your assault.

Start with Garithos. Build at least three more peasants and send them to chop lumber. Upgrade their carry capacity at the lumber mill. Upgrade your keep to a castle.

Soon after the mission begins, a scout returns with news on the missing dwarves. This opens up an important optional quest--completing it gives you access to siege weaponry, which you will certainly need.

Quest Two: Ironforge Dwarves
Objective: Locate the missing dwarves.

Continue with Garithos. Build a blacksmith and begin researching all its upgrades. Start building towers (upgraded) on the northwestern and southwestern sides of your base.

At Sylvanas' base, upgrade your town hall to the black citadel. Use the shades to scout the base below you and the area east of your base--attacks arrive from these two positions. Research the graveyard upgrades, unit upgrades, everything. Like with Garithos, you'll want defensive towers along the southern and eastern sides of your base to protect you from attacks as you build up your forces.

As Garithos, reinforce your army with plenty of upgraded knights. When you've amassed a full group of knights, go up the east side. Battle some sasquatches. Continue around and face Balnazzar as you move toward the dwarves. Use Garithos' holy light spell to heal your knights during the fight. After the battle, utilize the nearby fountain of health as you press north.

As you near the dwarves, you'll encounter kobolds guarding caged riflemen. Kill the creeps and free your allies. Destroy the rock chunks to the west. Rescue the dwarves here. You can now build a workshop, which lets you build siege engines--a vital tool against Balnazzar.

Remain in your bases as you build your forces and amass a large pool of resources. You may need more over the course of the mission. Sylvanas should annihilate the orange undead base just south of her. It won't take much, but you should wait until you have upgraded abominations with plenty of support from obsidians, necromancers, and crypt fiends. Don't forget to use Sylvanas' charm spell. There's a gold mine here that you can use. Garithos can use the gold mine up the eastern side of the map.

Alliance siege weapons are your best offense against the heavily defended enemy base.
Alliance siege weapons are your best offense against the heavily defended enemy base.

The siege engines are your best tool against Balnazzar's base. But even with a full group of 12, you still may need to assault the base multiple times to achieve complete victory. You should go after structures first and level all the towers, the demon gate, the slaughterhouses, the crypts, the gold mine, and the town hall. A group of siege engines can make quick work of these structures. You can choose to save your heroes or just let them perish and simply resurrect them from your altars. The biggest danger is if Balnazzar launches a counterattack right after you've failed to destroy him. Make sure you have plenty of towers. Also, queue up additional troops to replace those that die during your attack. That way, if he does counter, you'll have some defenders in place.

Chapter Seven, Part One: Into the Shadow Web Caverns

Quest One: The Old Kingdom
Objectives: Locate the entrance to the Old Kingdom. Kill Baelgun. Bring the blood key to the Old Kingdom lock. Arthas and Anub'arak must survive.

Go east and use the meat wagon to destroy the explosive barrels, which resets the floor. Step on the nearby floor switch to open the eastern door. Go through. The dwarves blow up the bridge. Eliminate the dwarf forces in this room, including the tough siege engine and the mortar team. Bust the barrels and find some gold, which triggers an optional quest.

Quest Two: Find the Gold Stashes
Objective: Find the five gold stashes.

Remember to use Arthas' death coil throughout the mission to heal your small band of troops. Destroy the barrels to open caverns to the east. You'll face off against some nerubians in the caves. Grab the gold in the southeast corner to secure the second stash, then use the lever.

Go north. Bust the crates to find a tome of intelligence. Bust the rocks to the north, then use the lever. Continue ahead. Search the room for the third gold stash. Use the western lever--the top one--then bust open the nerubian safe to get the orb of frost. Eliminate the dwarves that enter from the west.

The dwarves aren't too bright--they sure stand close to those explosive barrels.
The dwarves aren't too bright--they sure stand close to those explosive barrels.

Go west and destroy the barrels to get rid of the dwarves in a messy explosion. Continue west to the siege engines and riflemen. Use a couple of levers to permit access onward. Kill all the nearby dwarves, using the barrels to assist. Go into the west room with barrels and search for the fourth gold stash.

Use the lever. Go north into the room with the fountain of restoration. Grab the last gold stash from the waterfall. Go south from the waterfall, then head east to the dungeon gate. Enter to face Baelgun.

The best way to beat Baelgun is to get him attacking anyone but Arthas. That way, Arthas can simply heal whoever is sustaining Baelgun's heavy damage. Also, you can search the room's crates for runes and items to help you in the battle. Grab the blood key upon Baelgun's death and head north.

Chapter Seven, Part Two: The Forgotten Ones

Quest One: The Old Kingdom
Objectives: Locate the exit of the Old Kingdom. Arthas and Anub'arak must survive.

Go north. Anub'arak informs you about the towers. Destroy the rocks to the left, then destroy the lever. Next, go down on the right side and battle the creeps. Once you've killed them, destroy the second lever. Return to the path with the towers--it's now flooded. Before going onward, grab the gold coin in the lower-right corner of the chamber to initiate an optional quest.

Quest Two: Find the Gold Stashes
Objective: Find the five gold stashes.

Go north to the icy gate and break it down. Eliminate the nerubians in the next chamber. Go to the north side of the room and rescue the crypt fiend, which initiates another new quest.

Quest Three: Rescue the Crypt Fiends
Objective: Find and release the crypt fiends.

Bust the crates in the room to find another gold stash. Heal the freed fiend, then go north. Eliminate the spider crags and snag the ring of protection +3. Go east. Grab the belt of giant strength +6 and get ready for the ambush. Snag the ruined bracers left behind.

Finding the crypt fiends is a quest worth undertaking.
Finding the crypt fiends is a quest worth undertaking.

Go south. You'll find more captured crypt fiends. Rescue and heal them. Go northeast from this room, destroying the rolling door in the process, to use the fountain of health. Bust the egg sacks in the room to find another gold stash.

Go through the iron gate to the east. You're in the breeding grounds. Quickly kill the queen and destroy the four levers around the room to close off the passages. Retreat to the fountain of health if necessary. Destroy the egg sacks in the room to get the fourth stash.

Go east and encounter more nerubians around the corner. Break the crates in the room to get the final gold stash and a tome. You'll encounter the faceless ones next. Destroy them all and rescue more crypt fiends to the south. Save the rune of greater healing in the room for after the battle. Go east and initiate the final quest of the level.

Quest Four: The Forgotten One
Objectives: Kill the forgotten one. Arthas and Anub'arak must survive.

Attack the forgotten one! Use all available spells and don't forget to use Arthas' death coil to heal. The combined power of Arthas, Anub'arak, and the rescued crypt fiends should be more than enough.

Chapter Seven, Part Three: Ascent to the Upper Kingdom

Quest One: Escape the Caverns
Objectives: Escape before the timer expires. Arthas must survive.

You've been separated from Anub'arak and have just 10 minutes before the cavern collapses. Go south and get through the jets by watching the pattern and moving through when the jets aren't firing. Try not to get hit or you'll suffer significant damage. Get the gold in the left corner to open an optional quest.

Quest Two: Find the Gold Stashes
Objective: Find the three gold stashes.

Move into the next room with the flame jets and floor switches. Navigate to all three switches when the jets turn off. Hit all floor switches to disable the jets. Use the lever at the top of the room. Kill the creep inside for the claws of attack +15, plus the second stash of gold.

Go into the next room for a fountain of health. Go north and use the lever. Run west and destroy the generator. Kill the faceless ones along the way. Use Arthas' death coil to damage them. You should kill all of these troops instead of avoiding them, or the fight will be much tougher down the line--nearly impossible, actually.

Navigate the perilous traps carefully.
Navigate the perilous traps carefully.

Keep moving around the walkway, destroying each generator and all the faceless ones in the area. Go to the top and destroy the last generator, which creates a light bridge to the next area.

The next room contains the hood of cunning. To get it, you must press both switches at once. Drop an inventory item on one switch and stand on the other. Go east and cross the moving platforms to the far east side. Battle the faceless ones as necessary. Meet up again with Anub'arak.

Quest Three: Escape the Caverns
Objectives: Escape before the timer expires. Arthas must survive. Anub'arak must survive.

Go south, then west, then south again. The crates here contain the last gold for the optional quest. Defeat all the enemies you encounter. Don't just run past them. Use death coil and Anub'arak's spells to assist. Snag the orb of darkness in the last room. Kill the last set of creeps and grab the crown of kings +5 as a reward. Exit through the gate into the last level.

Chapter Eight: A Symphony of Frost and Flame

Quest One: The Frozen Throne
Objectives: Capture the four obelisks. Stop Illidan from capturing all four obelisks.

The key to Ner'zhul's tomb is controlling the four obelisks surrounding the Icecrown Glacier. Destroy the forces guarding the obelisks and bring Arthas to the nearby obelisk circles to capture them. This mission is the latest in the long Blizzard line of very difficult final missions. Prepare for a long struggle against three enemy heroes, all aggressively intent on not letting you control any of the obelisks.

You begin with nearly nothing--a small army, and a few acolytes, but no base. There's a small naga outpost just to your south. You can destroy it easily with your starting force--and you must. Use the meat wagons to soften up the base from long range and attack with your heroes and support units. Once it's destroyed, move in an acolyte and haunt the gold mine. Build a necropolis nearby. Use one of your heroes to grab the sacrificial skull near where the acolytes stood. You need this to create blight, what the undead use to build upon. Create some blight near the necropolis, then use the third acolyte to build a crypt.

You need ziggurats to build more units and acolytes, so build them along the northern and eastern edges of your base. You'll want more acolytes soon, too--you need additional acolytes to haunt the mine and gain the maximum amount of gold.

At some point early in the mission, Illidan gains control of his first obelisk, the northern one. He'll move around the map and gain control of the other obelisks in turn. If he controls all four at any point, you lose the mission. So once he possesses three, it's definitely time to make a move. It's better to make a move once he has two, however. You'll target the southern obelisk first.

Fortify your expansion with towers, then hunt down Vashj's and Kael's bases before hunting down the remaining obelisks.
Fortify your expansion with towers, then hunt down Vashj's and Kael's bases before hunting down the remaining obelisks.

But first you must continue base construction. Upgrade your necropolis to the halls of the dead. Build a graveyard and altar. Build five or six ghouls at the crypt and send them to gather lumber. Upgrade to the black citadel. Build a slaughterhouse, a temple of the damned, and a tomb of relics. Start unit upgrades at the graveyard, the crypt, and the slaughterhouse. You'll also want plenty of frost wyrms from the boneyard.

TIP: The ice revenants drop power-ups, but since Illidan is eliminating the ice revenants himself, you're unlikely to see many of them. The southern ice revenants carry the talisman of evasion.

You should be able to take the southern obelisk with your initial units. It's defended by ice revenants. Use your spells--particularly Arthas' death coil to heal your units--during the battle. Once you control the obelisk, use another sacrificial skull (the second one grabbed at the beginning of the mission) to create blight and start dropping tons of ziggurats (upgraded to spirit and nerubian towers) for defense around the obelisk and the nearby gold mine. Attacks arrive from the east, southeast, and northwest. You should also build a forward slaughterhouse and crypt here so you can reinforce your army at the obelisk quickly.

The best way to proceed is to eliminate two of the annoying pests that constantly attack your base: Kael and Vashj. Illidan will remain in the mission and be a nuisance, but if you get rid of two of the three enemy heroes, the remainder of the mission becomes much more manageable. Vashj is located in the southwest corner of the map. Her base is relatively light. Your two heroes, with a group filled with upgraded abominations, frost wyrms, and crypt fiends, should suffice.

TIP: Defeating Vashj reaps a power-up reward: the amulet of spell shield.

The alliance base led by Kael in the upper left corner is tougher. The area is heavily defend with towers. Use a group of meat wagons to pound the towers into rubble from long range while your heroes, frost wyrms, and abominations decimate the alliance units (watch out for the sorceress' polymorph). Wipe out all important structures (altar, barracks, castle--anything that produces units) to reduce the base to shambles. Now you won't have to worry about Kael or Vashj any longer.

TIP: Defeating Kael awards you the helm of valor.

The remainder of the mission involves holding off Illidan while cleaning out the naga defenses around each obelisk. None are defended too heavily. Meat wagons can demolish the towers and structures while your units concentrate on the defenders. Beware of rebuilding--those naga units will attempt to rebuild their structures, so you need to mop up until they're entirely destroyed.

TIP: Use the Kael's and Vashj's gold mines when you're done destroying their bases. There's also a gold mine just north of your initial base. Beware, however, as naga forces may destroy these if left unattended. Be prepared to rebuild them if necessary.

Start in a clockwise motion around the map, beginning with the western obelisk. It's lightly defended and should be a piece of cake for your attack groups. Place Arthas on the obelisk to gain control of the structure. Move to north and do the same thing. Remember, you don't have to level everything on the map--just control all four obelisks!

When you have just two obelisks left, you can try to get Arthas to capture one while your other units are used as defensive forces. If you get it, move Arthas and your remaining units to the last obelisk. You can try the same thing--just get Arthas on the obelisk for a quick capture. You might get lucky. But if it fails you may be a bit behind and need to reinforce quickly. In the late stages of the mission, build extra slaughterhouses and boneyards so you can reinforce your army of abominations and frost wyrms quickly. The mission ends once you control all four obelisks.

Section Four: Bonus Campaign--The Founding of Durotar Strategies

Fans of the Warcraft series may be disappointed to see the orcs missing from the story campaign missions. But Blizzard had something else in store for the orcs. The Frozen Throne includes a bonus campaign, available upon installation of the game before any story campaign missions have been completed. It's called The Founding of Durotar, and although it's much different than the story campaign, Warcraft III fans will find it quite easy to slide into.

The bonus campaign is as much like Blizzard's popular Diablo series as it is the Warcraft series. Warcraft III multiplayer gamers will feel right at home, as the combat in the bonus campaign is much like hunting down creeps in a Warcraft III multiplayer game--you'll use similar tactics to eliminate the many monsters you'll encounter throughout the bonus campaign. This section offers some general strategies for completing the campaign and provides a quick walk-through of the opening quests to get you started.

Misha is a valuable companion to have at your side in battle.
Misha is a valuable companion to have at your side in battle.

You begin the bonus campaign with Rexxar, a beastmaster, and Misha, one of his summoned creatures. You gain a second hero, Rokhan, a shadow hunter, at the completion of the first quest. Both of these heroes possess their own unique skills. Killing creeps increases your experience points, which will enable you to eventually level up (much like killing creeps in multiplayer Warcraft III or monsters in Diablo). Upon leveling up, you can spend one of your skill points on a new skill or choose to increase your attributes instead of enhancing a skill. This concept should be very familiar to all Warcraft III players. The charts below reveal the skills for both Rexxar and Rokhan and their abilities at each level. Note that the level indicates the level of the skill, not the hero's level. The hero must be a certain level as a prerequisite for the skill. For instance, to acquire "summon Misha" level 2, Rexxar himself must reach at least level 3.

REXXAR'S SKILLS

LEVEL 1LEVEL 2LEVEL 3LEVEL 4
Summon Misha (lasts until destroyed)900 hit points, 28 to 31 damage1,200 hit points, 38 to 41 damage, has bash1,800 hit points, 46 to 49 damage, has maul2,250 hit points, 59 to 69 damage, has maul
Summon Quillbeast (lasts 70 seconds)425 hit points, 13 to 15 damage515 hit points, 26 to 30 damage, has frenzy600 hit points, 39 to 45 damage, has frenzy700 hit points, 52 to 60 area-effect damage, has frenzy
Storm Bolt100 damage, 5-second stun200 damage, 7-second stun300 damage, 9-second stun450 damage, 12-second stun
Stampede (lasts 30 seconds)Each exploding lizard inflicts 80 damageEach exploding lizard inflicts 130 damageN/AN/A

ROKHAN'S SKILLS

LEVEL 1LEVEL 2LEVEL 3LEVEL 4
Healing Wave130 hit points healed, jumps three times215 hit points healed, jumps four times300 hit points healed, jumps five times425 hit points healed, jumps six times
Hex70 mana, 15 seconds70 mana, 30 seconds70 mana, 45 seconds25 mana, 45 seconds
Serpent Ward (lasts 40 seconds, attacks land and air units)75 hit points, 11 to 13 damage135 hit points, 23 to 26 damage135 hit points, 41 to 45 hit points135 hit points, 41 to 45 splash damage
Voodoo Spirits (creates a swarm of angry spirits that drain the life energies of nearby units; use it to replenish Rokhan's hit points)20 spirits35 spiritsN/AN/A

Killing creeps in this bonus campaign follows the same principles as killing creeps in the story campaign. You should utilize your spells often, though it does take some time for your mana reserve to regenerate, so it's important to gauge the necessity of something like serpent ward. If you're up against a large creep force, conjure up a couple of serpent wards to assist in the fight. You may want to summon more quillbeasts as well. Utilize Rokhan's healing wave to keep both your heroes and your summoned beasts alive for as long as possible--especially Misha, who stays alive until destroyed, unlike the quillbeasts, which disappear after 70 seconds.

The creeps generally attack the first unit that enters their radius of influence. If the creeps are concentrating on your hero and he's significantly wounded, don't let him continue to fight. Select the wounded hero and pull him back out of the fight. The creeps will then target another hero or one of your summoned minions. Return your wounded hero back to the battle or use a potion or scroll to mend the wounds (or use Rokhan's healing wave).

You can find better items for sale in goblin merchant shops--but you'll need plenty of gold to purchase them. You acquire gold by killing creeps and finding it on the map. Therefore, it's in your best interest to search every alcove of each map for creeps to kill, hidden gold, and items. Fighting creeps will provide you with experience and gold. There's no hurry--comb the map and level up!

Resurrection shrines denote where your hero will reappear after death--like a waypoint system. Approach a resurrection shrine to activate it. If you die, return to the resurrection shrine to find your hero and resume the quest. Also, Rexxar has extra inventory slots available in Thrall's orc camp. It's labeled "Rexxar's Stash," and it's a large crate that appears just to the left of Rexxar after he speaks with Thrall.

Bonus Campaign Initial Walk-Through

This section provides a walk-through for the first couple of quests in the bonus campaign.

Quest One: Dying Wish
Objective: Deliver Mogrin's report to Thrall.

The first resurrection stone is located in the southwest corner of the map. Should you perish before finding another resurrection store, return to the southwest corner to gather Rexxar and continue the quest. You can search the area around your starting point for plenty of low-level quillboars. You begin with Misha and can add quillbeasts as needed. Work your way to the orc camp revealed on the map to the northeast. Enter the camp to automatically deliver Mogrin's report (which is actually in your inventory) to Thrall.

Quest Two: Earning Your Keep
Objective: Solve Gazlowe's problem.

Talking to Thrall opens up three separate objectives as part of the Earning Your Keep quest. This walk-through will focus on the first of those objectives, solving Glazlowe's problem. You'll notice a few changes when you regain control of Rexxar. First, you have your own stash in the orc camp. This stash holds an extra six items. You can drop off potions, scrolls, or other items here for safekeeping while you're off fighting creeps or solving a quest. Second, there are orcs around the camp with information. These orcs have an exclamation point above their head. Lastly, you've gained a new party member: Rokhan, a shadow hunter. You can spend one of his skill points; put it in serpent ward.

Go south from where you spoke with Thrall to find the engineer, Gazlowe. Speak with him to begin a cutscene that initiates his quest.

Gazlowe's Quest: Seal the Tunnel
Objectives: Enter the goblin tunnels beneath Orgrimmar. Destroy the support columns. Report your success to Gazlowe.

The goblin tunnels are revealed on the minimap. There's no need to rush to the location, however. Exit the goblin camp to the east and start moving down alleys and into alcoves in search of creeps to combat. You can explore the map at your leisure. When ready, proceed to the tunnel. Be sure to snag the two gold coins near the alcove's entrance. When you move inside the tunnel, your summoned creatures disappear.

Move east and greet four goblin sappers. They'll help you destroy the support columns, but they can be used for other purposes too, including finding a secret item in the north. After you use a sapper, another appears at this location, so just look back on the minimap to see if one has reappeared. Also, there's a goblin merchant just east of the sappers. Check out the store and purchase an item. Some are rather expensive, however--you'll need to collect gold in the tunnels or back near the orc camp before you can afford the wares.

Serpent ward comes in handy for defeating monsters.
Serpent ward comes in handy for defeating monsters.

The three support columns are located in the northwest, northeast, and southeast corners of the map. There's no rush, so explore every inch of the map for all combat opportunities. Approach each set of creeps as its own battle. Don't run around triggering creeps and fighting larger battles than you need to fight. Make ample use of your summoned creatures, healing wave, and serpent ward to assist in the fights.

TIP: Look just west of the northwest support column. You'll find a line of mushrooms in front of a small alcove. Use a goblin sapper to destroy the mushrooms. You'll uncover a ring of superiority, which increases your attributes by one. Also search the southern edge of the map, just west of the southeast column, for some claws of attack.

You should gain some levels as you move through the tunnels (and possibly before you enter them). Consider storm bolt as your next skill, as it can be used to stun the stronger kobold creeps found in the tunnels. Rokhan can also learn hex, which transforms a creep for a short period of time. Destroying all three support columns completes the objective, but you should move through all the tunnels and grab any gold (such as that in the southeast corner, just south of the column) before completing the final objective of the quest--returning to Gazlowe.

When you're finished, exit the tunnels and return to the orc camp. Speak with Gazlowe to complete the quest and receive your rewards!

Section Five: General Multiplayer Strategies

This section covers general strategies for multiplayer games in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne.

In team games, stick together. Don't ever engage the enemy alone. You should also kill creeps together and always keep moving. Never let your army or hero sit there and do nothing. Don't engage the enemy alone, unless your opponent is also alone and you know you can win the battle.

Look for opportunities to creep-jack--which means running into your opponent while he's killing some creeps. If successful, you may be able to trap your opponent between your army and the creeps. He'll have to fight your army while sustaining damage from the creeps or wisely use a town portal scroll to escape. Either way, you'll have the advantage. Plus, once your opponent leaves, you have some already wounded creeps to finish off!

In the early game, set your barracks (or equivalent) rally point to your hero. That way, your lower-level units will automatically run to wherever your hero is moving (typically going around the map, killing creeps).

There's no rhyme or reason to when you should build an expansion. But too early and you've spent a lot of resources, and your opponent probably spent them on units. If he or she happens to engage your forces, you will be outnumbered and outgunned. An ideal time might be after tier two, when you aren't pressured, you have the extra resources, and you can pull it off without getting caught.

Beware of building "non-vital" structures too early, such as a lumber mill or a blacksmith. Even just the small amount of resources spent on these can put you behind in units, and if your opponent is aggressive, you may not be able to catch up. If you're playing for the long haul (for instance, you don't expect a tier-two assault), then building these structures early could actually pay off.

Your upkeep certainly plays a role, though most players just keep building units. But if you're on the line--for instance, right at 50 supply--then kill a gatherer and return to no upkeep until you need more units.

There are circumstances where it's important to put your hero into all your preset groupings. For example, if you have a paladin, always put him into every preset group. That way you can just click on any preset group and heal those units by just clicking on their portraits and not the unit itself. Moving your mouse over all your units looking for the hurt one is a waste of your time.

Always try to fight on a hill--with you being the higher army, of course! Also, try to draw enemies into small choke points where you can blast them with area-effect spells like flame strike or blizzard. Pull back weak units or units that are being targeted. Not too far back, just enough so the AI makes the enemy turn and target another unit. At that point, send your weak unit back into battle.

Units like spellcasters and archers are fragile and susceptible to damage. Keep them back so you can keep them spellcasting and/or launching ranged attacks without being the main target. A hero like the blademaster or demon hunter can cause severe damage if it's running around in your back lines and wasting your spellcasters and ranged units.

There's a trick called "squeezing" that the humans and orcs can use to maximize their gold collection. Use it on maps where the gold mine is diagonal from your initial town hall (or equivalent). Attempt to place farms or burrows in such a manner so the gatherers travel a shorter distance back and forth between the mine. Place one farm or burrow on either side of the gathering path. If successful, you will need only four gatherers on gold. The general rule of thumb here is that if you always see three gatherers outside the mine at any one time, then you were successful. On vertical or horizontal mines, always use five gatherers.

If you're trying to kill your opponent's hero unit and have stunned it, move your units beyond the opponent's hero before clicking on it to attack. That way, once some of your units have moved past the enemy hero, your units will return to attack on other side--the enemy hero is surrounded. A surrounded hero is more often than not a dead hero!

As with all real-time strategy games, scouting is extremely important in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. Always attempt to keep a gauge on your opponent's whereabouts (for creep-jacking!) and current base makeup. If you know what units he's producing, you can counter his strategy that much better.

Section Six: Human Multiplayer Strategies

This section covers multiplayer strategies for the humans in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne.

Human Heroes

Mountain King - The mountain king is definitely a popular choice as a first hero in team games or a second hero in one-on-one games. Go with thunder clap or storm bolt with your first spell point. Thunder clap helps more for killing creeps in the early game but storm bolt can be handy if your opponent decides to harass you with a hero early in the game. Storm bolt is a safer choice, though you will sustain more damage while you're creeping. In the late game, storm bolt is great for interrupting other hero spells, and thunder clap devastates lower-tier units like ghouls. The mountain king is a bit low on mana, however. He operates well with the human archmage as a support hero--the archmage's brilliance aura (increases mana regeneration) makes the mountain king much more effective. Consider this spell-point distribution: storm bolt, thunder clap, storm bolt, thunder clap, storm bolt, avatar.

Archmage - The archmage is another popular first human hero and an excellent support hero for team games. The archmage is excellent at killing creeps because of his water elemental spell--the water elementals are excellent for soaking up damage. Use blizzard against casters or ranged units. Since it's a channeling spell, keep your archmage safe, or it may be interrupted by an enemy attack. If your opponent masses air units, blizzard isn't as effective; water elementals are better as antiair units. Brilliance is also vital, particularly to support a teammate. Consider this spell-point distribution: water elemental, brilliance, blizzard, blizzard, brilliance, ultimate.

Paladin - The paladin isn't recommendable as first hero--he just doesn't do enough damage at high levels for most players. But he's an excellent support hero. The paladin's holy light spell is essential for healing, particularly other heroes. And divine shield can keep your paladin alive during an important battle. Devotion aura isn't as useful as the paladin's other two initial spells--it's more useful to keep your paladin alive during battles. The paladin becomes more effective against an undead player, as holy light can damage undead. Consider this spell-point distribution: holy light, divine shield, holy light, divine shield, holy light, resurrection.

Blood Mage - The new human hero is better as a support hero, but he does have some surprises for unsuspecting victims. He's not the best for hunting creeps in the early game--flame strike hurts your own troops, which makes it difficult to use to kill creeps faster (though expect some opponents to use flame strike to broil your gatherers early in the game). Though mana-intensive, flame strike's highest level can be a game-turning spell. Banish can be effective against heroes because of the increased magic damage. For instance, banish a hero, then storm-bolt him for increased damage. Consider this spell-point distribution: flame strike, siphon mana, flame strike, siphon mana, flame strike, phoenix. You could also include banish in there for use against enemy heroes (or even higher-level creeps).

Sample Human Build Order

The following is a sample human build order to get you up into tier-two-level units. As with all Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne strategies, adjustments must be made for success. For instance, perhaps your opponent is rushing you, or perhaps he or she is vulnerable to a rush. Use this build order to help get you started.

  • Of your initial five peasants, send one to build an altar of kings (send him to wood when he's done) and the remaining four to mine gold.
  • Queue up peasants at town hall.
  • Next one trained builds barracks, then goes to wood.
  • Next one trained builds farm, then goes to wood.
  • Next one trained goes to the gold mine
  • Next one trained builds a farm, then goes to wood.
  • Next one trained gathers wood
  • Next one trained gathers wood.
  • You should have six on wood and five on gold at this point. If you want to reach tier two faster, use seven peasants on wood.
  • At the altar of kings, train the archmage.
  • Once the barracks are complete, train three footmen, then research defend (helps keep your footmen alive much longer in battles).
  • Build another farm.
  • Keep training footmen and kill creeps.
  • When you have enough wood, upgrade to keep.
  • If you have enough resources during the upgrade, build a lumber mill (near your gatherers) and a blacksmith. Though it's also wise to delay these structures well into tier two. Delaying their construction can put you ahead in units in tier two, though it may make you weaker in the long run. But if you're gunning to control the map at tier two, delay these structures until just before you're ready for tier three.
  • At keep, build two arcane sanctums and arcane vault.
  • Support footmen with priests (for healing) and spell breakers (for their durability, spell immunity, and ability to steal spells. Feedback ability can starve heroes of mana also).

Note: If you think the enemy hero will harass you early, build an arcane tower as soon as possible. Make sure it targets the enemy hero--it doesn't do much damage to regular units. Towers can help discourage harassment of your peasants.

Human Multiplayer Strategies - cont.

Sample Two-on-Two Human Strategy

The following is a sample two-on-two team game strategy for when both players choose human. Both strategies follow the sample human build order above, but with the noted changes.

First Team Member: Complete the first human build order to tier two. Use the archmage as the first hero and train footmen until reaching tier two. Upon reaching keep, build at least two arcane sanctums, then train two sorceresses, five to six priests, and as many spell breakers as possible. If it turns into an extended game, reach tier three and support with knights instead of footmen.

Second Team Member: Use the mountain king as the first hero and train riflemen instead of footmen. Upon reaching tier two, get the paladin as the second hero, then build a workshop for mortar teams.

When you're in battle, the three human heroes complement each other amazingly well. The archmage provides the brilliance aura to the other two heroes, the mountain king casts storm bolt and thunder clap, and the paladin heals whichever hero is sustaining damage (plus, he has divine shield to fall back on). Be sure to use your priests to dispel enemy spells.

Note: If you're playing against a night-elf opponent and he or she uses faerie dragons, turn off autocast on all your casters. The faerie dragon's mana flare does damage to any enemies using mana, so your priests will keep casting heal, and each time they do so they will actually do more damage to everyone nearby.

Tips for Human Players

  • Farms only give 7 supply, so you must keep up with your build queues or you'll fall behind your opponent. As a human player, you must build a lot more supply buildings than the other races.
  • Remember to summon more water elementals if your archmage has high mana. The spell has a short cooldown. If you wait for a battle to cast water elemental, you'll start with only one elemental, but if you cast before the battle, you could enter with two or three elementals.
  • Keep your footmen alive when creeping! Retreat damaged footmen. Eventually heal them with priests or with an item from a shop or arcane vault.
  • The human militia are awesome for defending a base, particularly as an anti-rush measure. If used correctly, militia can trap an enemy's hero within your maze of farms and other structures. Just make sure you turn them back into peasants and return them to work quickly or you'll fall behind in resources!
  • Target enemy heroes with arcane tower and spell breakers. Excellent mana drain abilities.
  • Riflemen and sorceresses are good units, but not against a human opponent. Riflemen have reduced damage against spell breakers and defended footmen. Also, sorceresses are almost completely countered by spell breakers.
  • Scroll of regeneration is a great item to acquire from a shop or arcane vault. The scroll regenerates the hit points of all friendly nonmechanical units in the area around your hero by 225 over 45 seconds.
  • The new dragonhawk rider is a solid antiair unit, but costly at 3 food. He's a must if your opponent is going heavy air late in the game, however. Furthermore, the cloud ability aids in the final base assault by disabling towers.
  • The new spell breakers are now a mainstay of the human army. They're very strong because the spell breakers are immune to spells--so don't blizzard them thinking you'll have any effect. Anything with a normal attack counters them, however. For instance, the human knights are the perfect counter for spell breakers. Not only does the knight do extra damage against the spell breaker, but the spell breaker does less damage against the knight.
  • If you're using mortar teams, don't neglect flare, which--like the far-sight skill for the far seer hero--reveals a large area of the map. Scouting is always essential.

Section Seven: Night- Elf Multiplayer Strategies

This section covers multiplayer strategies for the night elves in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne.

Night-Elf Heroes

Demon Hunter - This fast warrior is most night-elf players' preferred first hero. He's a powerful melee unit, which is good for killing creeps (he's buff enough to go at it alone), and good for early harassment. If you're good at micromanagement, you may be able to kill off a few of the enemy's gatherers in the early game. Your first skill is usually mana burn--it's good for killing creeps that have mana, and it's also good if the enemy hero harasses you. Consider this as your spell distribution: mana burn, evasion, mana burn, evasion, mana burn. If you feel your demon hunter is being targeted a lot, it may be better to get evasion level three at skill point five. Always put the sixth point in the demon hunter's ultimate. Immolation is usually not advisable in your first six skill points, though some like to use immolation to harass an enemy's gathering line.

Keeper of the Grove - The keeper is usually a good second hero (he's a bit frail for a lead hero), but he can also be useful in killing creeps, since you can use the entangle spell for bigger creeps. Entangle is also good against stray enemy units--entangle, then pick them off. The keeper has been improved slightly. In the past, entangled units could still attack, but now entangled units are completely disabled. Use entangle when chasing a wounded hero (though it entangles them for only half as long). Consider this spell-point distribution: entangle, force of nature, force of nature, entangle, force of nature. Your sixth point isn't necessarily tranquility (the keeper's ultimate). It depends on if you're solo or with a teammate; in team games where the combined forces are larger, the value of tranquility goes up. Force of nature is also useful for killing creeps. Small creeps target the trees. A lot of times you can send in the trees and finish the creeps before they even get to your real units.

Priestess - The priestess isn't recommendable as a first hero, because she's pretty frail, just like the keeper. The priestess isn't a solid creep killer, either--she shoots slow and does small amounts of damage. Her low-level abilities don't compare to having entangle, force of nature, or mana burn in the early game. In a long game, however, the priestess becomes better because of her ultimate, starfall, which is undoubtedly one of the most powerful spells in the game. For your spell distribution, consider: true shot, fire arrow, true shot, fire arrow, true shot, starfall. True shot helps if you have archers early on, which a lot of night-elf players do currently. Fire arrow adds some damage to each shot. Owl scout isn't that useful except in the late game. For instance, if the game is long, purchase a tome of retraining and shift points to owl scout for late game scouting.

Warden - The new night-elf hero is fairly straightforward. She's a solid addition but doesn't necessarily excel at any particular attribute. The fan of knives spell is a nice attack that does damage to multiple units--very potent at its highest level when you're surrounded. Blink can save the warden from certain danger. Put one point in blink within your first six. If you're surrounded, use blink to get out of danger. You can also use it to catch up with a fleeing enemy or wounded hero. At its maximum, blink has a cooldown of just one second. Consider this distribution: fan of knives, shadow strike, blink, fan of knives, shadow strike, vengeance.

Night-Elf Multiplayer Strategies - cont.

Sample Night-Elf Build Order (Archers and Druids of the Talon)

The following is a sample night-elf build order. As with all Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne strategies, adjustments must be made for success. For instance, perhaps your opponent is rushing you, or perhaps he or she is vulnerable to a rush. Use this build order to help get you started.

  • Out of the five wisps, one builds an altar of elders the other four gather gold.
  • Queue wisps.
  • First wisp trained builds a moon well.
  • Second wisp goes to mine gold.
  • Third wisp builds an ancient of war.
  • You'll eventually want six total wisps on wood and a demon hunter hero.
  • Build another moon well when you have 40 wood.
  • Train two archers.
  • Build the ancient of wonders when possible.
  • Keep training archers.
  • Upgrade to tree of ages when you have the wood.
  • When upgrade completes, build an ancient of wind.
  • Train a second hero (keeper for entangle and hero killing)
  • Train druids of the talon to complement the archers.

Talons have faerie fire, which lowers armor by five. Cast it on an enemy hero, then entangle with the keeper, then focus fire on the hero. Reinforce your army of talons and archers with a unit that can withstand more damage, such as the mountain giant or druid of the claws (both require ancient of lore). If you notice your enemy going heavy on spellcasters, throw in faerie dragons.

Tips for Night-Elf Players

  • If you have a keeper, always be on the lookout for opportunities to entangle stray enemy units. It can be very helpful if you manage to pick off a higher-level unit.
  • Always remember to mana-burn with the demon hunter and keep doing so! If enemy heroes have no mana, they can't do anything except attack. It also damages them, burning units like archmagi and other spellcasting heroes.
  • When you're killing creeps, send your weak units home to heal at the moon wells, then put them back into your presets after they're healed. If you have a keeper, entangle the big creeps first. If you have force of nature, use it and send in the trees first, then send in your army to minimize damage to your units.
  • If you're fighting near your base, try to conduct the battle near your moon wells for healing and near your trees if you're using the keeper and can use forces of nature.
  • The popular strategy of using ancients of war to rush has been "nerfed," meaning the latest patches have rendered it useless. The ancients of war used to have building armor, making them very hard for early units to kill. Players would build tons of ancient of wars and rush them into the opponent's base. Their armor is now lowered when uprooted and they can be killed much more easily.
  • The new The Frozen Throne unit faerie dragons are awesome if the enemy has a lot of spellcasters. If you have spellcasters and the enemy has faerie dragons and you don't turn off autocast, it's like shooting yourself in the foot.
  • The other new night-elf unit, the mountain giant, is a brawny beast. These units are durable damage soakers, especially with hardened skin researched (available upon reaching tier three with the tree of eternity).

Section Eight: Orc Multiplayer Strategies

This section covers multiplayer strategies for the orcs in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne.

Orc Heroes

Blademaster- The orc blademaster is a good melee hero, a "tank" that can survive a long time and dish out plenty of damage in battle. Consider this spell-point distribution for the blademaster: mirror image, critical strike, mirror image, critical strike, mirror image, bladestorm. You could also consider wind walk early, as it's is useful for scouting, killing creep leaders, or even taking your opponent's hero by surprise. Wind walk, walk up behind the enemy hero while invisible, and then attack. However, to create a durable melee hero, sticking with mirror image and critical strike are more important.

Far Seer - The far seer is fast and an excellent first hero. Feral spirit--the wolves--are helpful for killing creeps early in the game, as well as for harassing your opponent. When the wolves are almost dead from killing creeps, send them around the map as scouts. Chain lightning offers effective damage. Consider this spell-point distribution: feral spirit, chain lightning, chain lighting, feral spirit, chain lightning, earthquake. In the late game, you might consider buying a tome of retraining (which can be used to redistribute skill points) and getting high-level far sight, because in the late game, feral spirit isn't as useful. Instead, far sight can provide awesome scouting ability to gauge what your opponent has planned or where his or her defenses are weakest.

Tauren Chieftain - The tauren chieftain is a bit on the slow side and not ideal for early hero pressure. His endurance aura helps grunts move and attack faster--plus it even affects nearby peons. Shock wave can inflict a good amount of damage if placed right, and war stomp is decent, but mana requirements mean you may want to be more focused on the other skills. The tauren chieftain is a decent melee "tank" with good durability, but he may need help staying alive for an extended period. Consider this spell-point distribution: shock wave, endurance aura, shock wave, endurance aura, shock wave, reincarnation.

Shadow Hunter - The new orc hero is already a popular new hero and very popular as a second, support hero. The implications of heal wave are readily apparent--can't get enough healing! The serpent ward is good for killing creeps early because it has a quick cooldown, which means you can cast it faster and place many at a time. Hex can be useful against enemy heroes and can interrupt their spells. Consider this spell-point distribution: healing wave, serpent ward, healing wave, serpent ward, healing wave, big bad voodoo. Switch one to a hex if you need the added ability against an enemy hero. The shadow hunter's ultimate is powerful--30 seconds of invulnerability to surrounding units--but the shadow hunter remains vulnerable during this time and the spell can be interrupted.

Sample Orc Build Order (Fast to Wyverns)

The following is a sample orc build order that focuses on rushing quickly to produce wyverns. As with all Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne strategies, adjustments must be made for success. For instance, perhaps your opponent is rushing you, or perhaps he or she is vulnerable to a rush. Use this build order to help get you started.

  • Of the five starting peons, use one to build an altar of storms (then to wood) and the other four to mine gold.
  • Queue up peons.
  • First one trained builds a burrow (then wood).
  • Next one trained goes to the gold mine.
  • Next one trained gathers wood.
  • Next one trained gathers wood.
  • Next one trained gathers wood.
  • Next one trained gathers wood.
  • Build another burrow.
  • Build a war mill at your convenience. If you feel you're getting rushed, build a war mill early and build a tower.
  • Select far seer as your hero and pressure your opponent with feral spirit.
  • Upgrade to stronghold when you have enough wood.
  • Build two beastiaries.
  • Train a second hero at the altar of storms.
  • Begin pumping wyverns out of the beastiaries.
  • Build barracks and complement the wyvern with grunts. You could also build this earlier.

Tips for Orc Players

  • The use of healing salves to keep grunts alive early on is wise. Just remember it's a noncombat item, meaning that if someone attacks the grunt using the healing salve, the effect ends. A good way to use it is when you are killing creeps, pull back the injured grunt so the creeps no longer target him. Then you can apply the healing salve and put the mended grunt back into battle.
  • Witch doctors provide good battle support--healing ward and stasis are invaluable. But if an opponent dispels the wards with priests, the witch doctors become much less useful. With witch doctors, use the sentry ward often so you can maintain good vision on the map and keep an eye on your opponent's whereabouts and doings.
  • Place your burrows in the back so people don't kill them early. This is crucial to surviving rushes. Place the burrows close to your peon lines, so your peons can get to them easily--if someone attacks the burrow, get the peon inside. Likewise, if your peons are attacked, get them in the burrow. If your enemy is targeting a burrow, repair it with a peon taken from inside the burrow. If the enemy starts attacking the repairer, pull out a healthy peon from the burrow and put the damaged one in. Keep switching between damaged and healthy so your enemy never manages to kill a peon or destroy the burrow.
  • Use the spiked building upgrade against footmen or even a ghoul rush--ghouls die fast at the hands of loaded burrows.
  • If you're playing a large team game (such as three-one-three or four-one-four) and have beastiaries, add a kodo beast with war drums aura. The more people on your team, the greater the benefit. The kodo beast with war drums aura provides a 10-percent damage increase to all units within the kodo's radius--including all allied units!
  • The new The Frozen Throne unit, the troll batrider, is a good antiair unit and a must if your opponent is massing heavy air units. Use the unstable concoction as an explosive way to end an air fight.
  • The new The Frozen Throne unit, the spirit walker, can help keep your units alive much longer with its spirit link. Also, disenchant is like the priest's dispel--invaluable in large battles where bloodlust or inner fire become prevalent. Finally, if you're using a heavy tauren strategy, the spirit walker's ancestral spirit revives a tauren.

Section Nine: Undead Multiplayer Strategies

This section covers multiplayer strategies for the undead scourge in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne.

Undead Heroes

Death Knight - Awesome for healing your troops--and himself! Death coil heals other units and can use death pact to heal himself. Death coil, which heals the undead, is also an offensive weapon. It's like the mountain king's storm bolt, but death coil doesn't stun. But it's not useful against undead heroes. You should use death pact if you have trouble keeping him alive, but your spell points are better spent in death coil and unholy aura. Consider this spell distribution: death coil, unholy aura, death coil, unholy aura, death coil, animate dead.

Dread Lord - A wise first hero choice. The dread lord's sleep spell is an effective tool against an opponent's hero pressure. You can also use sleep when killing creeps to make it easier. Carrion swarm is decent, though not as strong as it used to be. Vampiric aura is good with ghouls--if you're going ghouls, it's pretty necessary. Plus it's also mighty helpful in team games. Consider this spell-point distribution: sleep or carrion swarm, vampiric aura, sleep or carrion swarm, vampiric aura, sleep or carrion swarm, inferno. Typically focus on either sleep or carrion swarm, not both.

Lich - Could arguably be the least used first hero, but he's decent for killing creeps, and frost nova does excellent damage for a level-one spell. Consider this spell-point distribution: frost nova, dark ritual, frost nova, frost armor, frost nova, death and decay. You might want to use more for frost armor or dark ritual, though frost armor drains the lich's mana quickly. The dark ritual can allow him to cast more frost novas, which is definitely a plus.

Crypt Lord: The new The Frozen Throne undead hero is a popular newcomer. The crypt lord's beetles are excellent for killing creeps. If you build an early graveyard (which has corpses), you can make a few beetles before killing creeps, which helps. He's a durable warrior and sturdy against hero killers (particularly with added spiked carapace). He works well alongside the death knight, as the death knight can heal the crypt lord and keep the tank alive during a crucial battle. Consider this spell distribution: carrion beetles, impale, impale, spiked carapace, impale, locust swarm. Impale is nice because it stuns a radius of units and can interrupt channeled spells.

Sample Undead Build Order (Crypt Fiends)

The following is a sample undead build order that focuses on using crypt fiends. As with all Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne strategies, adjustments must be made for success. For instance, perhaps your opponent is rushing you, or perhaps he or she is vulnerable to a rush. Use this build order to help get you started.

  • Two acolytes gather gold, and one summons a graveyard near trees and then goes to mine gold.
  • Send a ghoul to wood.
  • Train two acolytes.
  • Summon a crypt, then go to gold.
  • Summon an altar of darkness, then go to gold.
  • All five acolytes should be on gold. When you need to summon a building, do so, then return the acolyte to mining gold.
  • Queue two ghouls and rally to wood. Make sure ghouls are delivering wood to the closer graveyard.
  • Use the crypt lord as your hero with carrion beetle.
  • Summon a ziggurat.
  • Train crypt fiends exclusively at the crypt.
  • Upgrade to halls of the dead when you have enough wood.
  • When the crypt lord arrives, turn graveyard corpses into beetles, then go kill creeps with any crypt fiends.
  • Summon a ziggurat.
  • Summon a tomb of relics.
  • Research crypt fiend upgrades at the graveyard.
  • Upon halls of the dead, summon a slaughterhouse.
  • Support crypt fiends with obsidian statues with an eventual destroyer upgrade.

Tips for Undead Players

  • The new The Frozen Throne undead unit, the obsidian statue, is a solid new addition to the race, particularly in team games. It's a tier-two level that offers an area-effect heal and a mana regenerator. The other new undead unit is the destroyer. It's an air unit, and its most exceptional trait is its ability to devour spells. The obsidian statue provides excellent support for an aggressive tier-two strategy.
  • Many undead players get an early tomb of relics and purchase a rod of necromancy for killing creeps early in the game. In battles, use the rod of necromancy right when a unit dies, especially if you're going against another undead player, as they will likely try to use one also.
  • If you're going to use a ghoul-heavy strategy, get cannibalize. If you're going with crypt fiends, get burrow. Both help heal units and keep them alive for another fight.
  • The death knight and lich are good as hero killers--the death coil and frost nova spells in particular.
  • Get the scroll of healing from the tomb of relics (or a general shop). It's particularly useful for the undead because it heals so many units at once--and the undead, with their ability to raise dead and generate more units from corpses, gain from this benefit greatly.
  • If you're using a ghoul-heavy strategy, allow your ghouls to gather wood as you train more ghouls from the crypt. Rally your crypt to the forest. When those new ghouls go to collect wood, take the previous wood gatherers and add them to your battle group. Don't allow for any downtime during wood collection. Have a seamless transition between gathering wood and going to fight!

Section 10: Cheat Codes

Here are the Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne cheat codes. Using these will certainly unbalance the game and possibly ruin your enjoyment--use them as a last resort!

To activate the cheat mode, hit the Enter key and type in "greedisgood 100000," followed by the Enter key again. You should see "Cheat Enabled!" on the screen in the lower left corner. Now you can enter any of the following cheats. Hit the Enter key, type in the code, and then hit Enter again.

allyourbasearebelongtous - Win the scenario instantly.

somebodysetusupthebomb - Lose the scenario instantly.

iseedeadpeople - Remove fog of war so you can see the entire map.

strengthandhonor - Play again after dying in campaign mode.

pointbreak - Units don't need farms (or the equivalent) for support.

thedudeabides - Receive instant spell performance.

synergy - Removes technology tree.

itvexesme - Disable victory.

whosyourdaddy - Invulnerability.

leafittome # - Adds # lumber to your reserves.

keysersoze # - Adds # gold to your reserves.

greedisgood # - Adds # gold and lumber to your reserves.

motherland [race] # - Level select.

iocainepowder - Instant doom.

whoisjohngalt - Quick research.

sharpandshiny - Researches all upgrades.

riseandshine - Shifts world to morning.

lightsout - Shifts world to night.

thereisnospoon - Provides infinite mana.

Index

Campaign Walk-Throughs
Section One: Sentinels Campaign--Terror of the Tides Walk-Through
Section Two: Alliance Campaign--Curse of the Blood Elves Walk-Through
Section Three: Scourge Campaign--Legacy of the Damned Walk-Through
Section Four: Bonus Campaign--The Founding of Durotar Strategies
Multiplayer Strategies
Section Ten: Cheat Codes

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