Gameplay

All-in-all

The changes Blizzard has made are spectacular, and have really made playing the races a truly different experience. Whereas, back around version 1.03 when I last played, it was frustrating to play as Orcs or Undead. I’d be forced to cast Purge on Tauren because a Human player turned them to sheep, or retreat to scourge as Undead to heal.

Now, all the races not only feel competent, but powerful. If I lose, I know it’s because I didn’t use my units well enough, not because some intern designer at Blizzard decided it’s a good idea to leave Orcs helpless against buffs. In fact, so many of these problems were glaringly obvious for months, it’s a rather sad thought that Blizzard would hold out necessary balancing for an expansion.

Cheapness? What cheap?

A nice little line

My big mistake, I thought it was his base

Still, not all is happy in expansion land. There are too many heroes now and they’re too easy to get, if you purchase mercenaries. While it’s understandable that the focus is supposed to be on the heroes, the armies have gotten larger with the 100 food limit (and higher tolerances for no upkeep and low upkeep as well.) Yet, at the same time, the forces we players are dealing with haven’t reached the size necessary to allow split attacks. In StarCraft it was a sound idea to use multiple armies as harassment in preparation for a main strike. Splitting forces in WarCraft III vanilla or the expansion is suicide, since either one of the forces won’t have any heroes, or they’ll both be short-handed compared to the One Huge Army your foe brings against you.

WarCraft is at a very uncomfortable middle ground now, between tactics and strategy. In fact, it’s almost safe to say it doesn’t have an optimal level of either. Armies are big enough now that it’s almost established doctrine to get a ‘nice, balanced mix’ of forces. There’s no such thing as a hydralisk rush, a 5 pool or a reaver drop. On the other hand, the armies aren’t so big that you could create two large, competent forces and send them against two expansions while still having enough at home to defend yourself from a surprise attack. And while there’s no doubt you can and should micromanage your army, the armies have gotten to the size where the micromanagement isn’t as effective – relatively speaking, of course. A smart player with quick reflexes will still have the advantage, but it isn’t as pronounced as it was back when WarCraft III vanilla was launched and we had yet to discover Spellcasterpalooza.

He used that to catch me creeping

So I'm doomed

Stupid hoomans

It really seems like Blizzard is at a crossroads now. Either armies shrink down to the size where every single unit matters, or they increase the food cap to the point where you can create two armies, and one of them will be still competent even if it doesn’t have a hero.

Don’t get me wrong – Frozen Throne has done wonders for WarCraft III and it enhances distinction between levels of skill among players. Experience, intelligence and reflexes all matter. But in the end, it’s not as deep as StarCraft, for all the tactical elements, spellcasters and spells.

(Yes, I know, if I want StarCraft I can play StarCraft. But that doesn’t mean that WarCraft III couldn’t be as deep and complex as StarCraft..)