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PART II: The Magic of Azeroth [page 4 of 5]

Spells for the Dead and the Horde

When the Orcish Horde mobilizes, even the dead have to join the army! In the second part of the description of all WarCraft II spells, we give you all the details on the ogre-mage and death knight spells. Once again, the Blizzard programmers have provided a variety of insider secrets.

Some say that most WarCraft players prefer the part of the Orcish War Chief. That we can't verify, but if you are in that group, then read closely to learn about the evil spells you need to conquer Lordaeron. If you command the Alliance troops, you should at least know which demonic forces undermine your efforts to proudly defend humanity against the Horde.

Dark Forces

The ogre-mages may not be able to count to three, but they know three (out of nine) Orcish spells. It's funny to watch two-headed sumo wrestlers snap their graceful fingers every time they cast a spell. In order to give them magic abilities, you have to construct an "Altar of the Storms", where you can upgrade the regular ogres into ogre-mages for 1,000 units of gold. The Altar of Storms can only be constructed after you have upgraded the Great Hall twice (first to a stronghold, then to a fortress).

The fortress is also required to build the Temple of the Damned, where death knights are summoned. Death knights take care of the other six Orcish spells. Those are, as we will see here, at least as powerful as the ones available to the Humans have available. On the other hand, the death knights "live" a dangerous life: they are quite susceptible to the Exorcism spell of the paladins (as previously in the Human spells section).

The fortress (bottom) is needed to build the Altar of the Storms (left) and the Temple of the Damned (right), if you want to turn the ogres into ogre-mages (upper left) and train death knights (upper right).

Every ogre-mage is initially given a spell called "Eye of Kilrogg"; the death knights start out with the "death coil." The "Touch of Darkness", however, is another name for the regular attack function of the death knight (comparable to the "lightning attack" of the mages). Like their Human counterparts, the warlocks of the Orcish Horde also need some regeneration time to get their magic batteries recharged. They can have up to 255 mana points at a time, which takes about 1 second (40 program cycles) per point (up to four minutes for a complete recharge (0 to 255).

The previously described cheat code "every little thing she does" affects the Orcs and the Humans in the same way. That cheat makes all spells available (as though they had been researched) and resets the mana points of all magic units to 255. If the cheat code is entered again, mana becomes a limited resource again, but all the spells remain available.

Eye of Kilrogg
	unit: ogre-mage research: upgrade ogres to ogre-mages (1,000 gold) shortcut key: E mana consumption: 70

The Eye of Kilrogg has flown diagonally across the map to watch the enemy's encampment.

While the Holy Vision of the paladins is heaven-sent, the Orcish ability to explore enemy territory is provided by a long died warlock named Kilrogg. The Eye of Kilrogg that results from the spell is an "air unit" and is controlled as such. You can summon several Eyes of Kilrogg at the same time.

Every Eye of Kilrogg has a limited lifespan. Unless previously eliminated by the guard towers and arrows of the archers, it lasts 765 program cycles, which is about 20 seconds. It disappears just as quickly as appears when summoned.

Twenty seconds may seems brief for all there is to explore. The Eye of Kilrogg unit, however, can cover a lot of territory in that time. It's the fastest of all WarCraft II units (2.5 times as fast as the "second-ranked" zeppelin). As figure 22 shows, it can easily cross the map from one corner to another. Be sure to move the Command Map along with the Eye of Kilrogg so you really get a full view.

Bloodlust
	unit: ogre-mage research: Altar of the Storms; 1,000 gold shortcut key: B mana consumption: 50

Rage gives a fighter strength ­ at least in WarCraft II ­ and for 50 mana points, you can let one unit lose its mind. When the Bloodlust spell is active you'll see a blood symbol next to the unit; you can also hear the affected unit crack out with rage. Be careful, though ­ if you miss your target, you may end up strengthening your enemy.

A group of crazy Orcs under the Bloodlust spell.

The spell cannot be used on non-organic units (catapults or ships). An ogre-mage can't enter the Bloodlust state, but several ogre-mages can turn each other into raging monsters.

The Bloodlust spell can be cast up to 6 matrices (three quarters of the distance of a catapult shot). Its effect is to double of the attack power of a unit for a duration of 1,000 program cycles (approximately 25 seconds). The damage calculation for this spell is similar to that described in Part I ("WarCraft's Inner Workings"),but the basic and piercing damage are both doubled. Here's an example of the doubling effect:

Let's say a grunt with Bloodlust attacks a footman. Under the spell, the basic damage increases from 6 to 12 hit points and the piercing damage from 3 to 6 hit points. Actual damage is calculated as such: From the basic damage subtract the armor of the defender (2 in this case), which now results in 10 (instead of 6-2=4 when Bloodlust is not active). Now add the piercing damage (6 instead of 3). The subtotal of those values is 16, half of which is 8. So the attacked units loses between 8 and 16 hit points with every strike (as opposed to the normal 4 to 8) as long as the attacker is under Bloodlust.

Everything may sound different, but [a unit's] speed and attack are not affected by the Bloodlust spell.

Runes
	unit: ogre-mage research: Altar of the Storms; 1,000 gold shortcut key: R mana consumption: 200

The Runes only show up once in awhile. Our own axe thrower stepped into a Rune he didn't see. Be careful, oil tanker! These runes are hidden in the sea.

Runes are kind of like land mines. Cast into the ground five at a time by ogre-mages, runes will explode once any unit (your own or those of an enemy) runs into them. Like land mines Runes are hard to spot and only show up intermittently (figure 26) as red symbols. Furthermore, you can place them across a relatively long distance (10 matrices ­ farther than the towers can see) from the casting ogre-mage.

An exploding rune causes a damage of 50 hit points to the unit that touches it. That damage is independent from armor and chance. Some ground units (particularly injured ones) can die from one rune, but a second one means the end for any unit. In the heat of battle, especially when fighting on various fronts, you can't always react fast enough and save a unit after the explosion of the first rune before it's already stepped on the next one.

The five runes are always arranged in the same pattern. Each rune has a damage power of 50 but can only explode once. The Rune spell can be active for up to 2,048 program cycles (about 50 seconds), after which the runes themselves disappear.

Runes can also be used as water mines (figure 28). Only air units are not vulnerable to the Rune spell.

Runes are somewhat useful in single-player games against the computer, but they are most fun when you engage in multi-player battles.

Some incorrect information on the Runes has been (and still is) circulating on the Internet. There were descriptions of cheat codes that were said to deactivate the Runes, and others, which activate them once again. All untrue, according to Blizzard ­ and they would know.

Death Coil
	unit: death knight research: construct Temple of the Damned shortcut key: C mana consumption: 100

The Death Coil spell is a powerful weapon, and beyond that has a "bloodsucking" function: The death knight that casts it increases its own health (hit points left) at the expense of the victim. On the screen, the Death Coil is displayed in a yellowish color. The reach of the spell is up to 10 matrices (one fourth farther than a catapult).

The knight hit by a death coil has no chance of escape.

The death coil only affects organic units, including the gryphon riders. The damage caused by the death coil amounts to 50 hit points. With two death coils, you can kill any gryphon rider, even a healthy one.

Every hit point that the Death Coil takes away from the enemy is credited to the attacking death knight. The unit restores its health at the expense of the defender's vitality. So if you have a wounded death knight, let it cast the Death Coil from a safe distance on some healthy opponents. Even after the death knight has all of its hit points restored, the death coil continues to cause damage.

The Death Coil optimizes its effect in a manner comparable to that of the Exorcism spell of the paladins ­ but this spell is more powerful. When you cast the spell, you select a target location (reach: 10). In an area of 5 by 5 matrices, which is centered around your selected target location, all organic enemy units are identified. The complete damage power of 50 (independent of armor and chance) is allocated among all units so it always kills the most damaged unit first. If there is still damage power left, it goes on to the next unit ­ theoretically, there could be 25 units with 2 hit points left each, and one death coil would drain all their lives!

On screen, it may sometimes look as though a quickly moving unit could escape the death coil. Not true. The death coil will find its target no matter how fast it's moving.

Continues...

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