WarCraft III is a Real-Time Strategy (RTS) fantasy game where two factions (Alliance and Horde) fight for dominating each other. You take control of one of the available races (Humans, Orcs, Undead, Night Elves) and play through the campaign, melee maps (against the AI or vs. other players) or custom games created by the community.
Gameplay
You can play the game in 3 ways: Campaign, Melee or Custom. The first two are the primary components of WarCraft and have a common set of gameplay elements and mechanics.
The game follows a more complex pattern than its predecessors: establish base, gather resources, train army, create a hero, level hero, destroy the enemy. You can play 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, 4v4, FFA or Custom Teams.
Races
WarCraft features 4 races: Humans, Orcs, Undead and Night Elves. Each has its own units, structures, heroes, abilities and playstyle.
Heroes
One of the most important features in WC3 is the presence of Heroes. They are special units with increased power that benefit from 3 stats (Strength, Agility and Intelligence), level up, earn and use abilities, carry and use items, etc.
In campaign, in every mission you are in control of a hero, offering the game an RPG-style experience. However, in melee battles, you must choose the heroes you want to use in combat and summon from the Altar structure.
Stats
Heroes have 3 stats: Strength, Agility and Intelligence. Every hero has a main stat out of these 3, which he demands more than the others to become stronger. E.g. a spellcaster hero will require more Intelligence than Strenght, while an archer will require more Agility than the other two.
Inventory
The heroes have 6 slots in their inventory where they can carry and use items. These items boost their Stats, offer new abilities or act as consumables that refill hero's health and mana.
Health and Mana
Every unit in WarCraft has a certain amount of Health Points (HP). Once the unit runs out of HP, it dies. Some units like Heroes and spellcasters, also have Mana - the rechargeable resource used when casting spells or using abilities.
Leveling Up
Every Hero can reach the maximum level of 10. Everytime you level up, you will be awarded a Skill Point which you can invest into learning an ability. To level up, you must earn experience by killing enemy units, neutral units or others.
Skills / Abilities
A Skill or an ability is a special attack or spell that makes your Hero unique. Casting a skill or ability demands a certain amount of Mana and has a specific cooldown (time needed until you can use the ability again).
Basic Mechanics
To win (most of the time) a game of WarCraft, you must pass through the following phases:
- Establish Base: You start with a main base and 5 workers. Order some of them to gather gold, and some to gather lumber. Start by constructing a Supply Building (like a Farm / Burrows / Moon Well / Tower), a Barracks (where you train combat units) and an Altar (to summon a hero).
- Gather Resources: There are two main resources in the game: Gold and Lumber. Gold can be gathered using workers from the Gold Mines and Lumber can be gathered from any tree.
- Train Army: Using the resources you've gathered, you must construct an Army Building and start training combat units.
- Create a Hero: You must build an Altar and summon a hero of your choice.
- Level Hero: Once you've summoned a hero and created a few basic units, you can start leveling your hero by killing small neutral groups of units (which you can find using the minimap).
- Destroy the Enemy: Once you've got an army big enough to withstand the enemy force, attack its base and destroy every structure to win.
