Most of you may have heard talk of Warcraft III: Reforged during Blizzcon 2018, yet it appears that unlike Starcraft: Remastered, which was a logical decision, another hint at a remaster has come to our attention.
February 21 2018, some eight months before Blizzcon, a completely unexpected set of patch notes popped up on Battle.net. The last ambitious wave of patches to address race balance dates back from March 8 2011, some 7 years before. And the changes between these two dates? Several fixes designed to keep the game playable, but no significant changes between patches. Until recently, it would be fair to say that the game had been retired. And then all of a sudden, BOOM, a new patch out of nowhere, shocking the small but dedicated Warcraft III scene. This was followed up by a stream of smaller patches which would shake up the game's long established meta. These patches were so groundshaking that certain units and upgrades even changed production building.
Going off this embarrassment of riches, it wouldn't be a leap to expect an announcement, and Blizzard hasn't let us down.
Why play (or replay) Warcraft III: Reforged?
By no means is this an ambitious release from Blizzard, as this remaster is simply, from a player's perspective, just a reskin of the original game. This statement is made truer by the fact that you can even switch between classic and remastered textures in the settings menu. This is therefore a question of preference above anything. Everything else, besides the graphics, are the same. The gameplay is identical, with cross-version connectivity, so there's no obligation to buy it if you already have the original. Yet it should be noted that an enormous amount of work has gone into improving the code, the map editor, and implementing a variety of small improvements that often go unnoticed. The Reforged edition does change unit voices and some heroes' sex, so it's up to you to decide if these differences are worth upgrading for.
Campaign mode
Though I was a WC3 pro gamer from 2002-04, I do have one thing to admit: I never clicked on the campaign mode once. Looks like its time to revoke my gamer credentials.
All joking aside, the campaign modes have been well received for good reason. In addition, Blizzard has stated that they've reworked some of the more iconic cinematics. So why not experience one of the most famous RTS campaigns in the genre?
The only issue is that as I'm writing this, the campaign mode is not available. This itself is a bit worrying, but we'll cross our fingers for the launch.
Ranked Ladder
Well, this one isn't actually available right now either. The ladder system hasn't been implemented yet, so you'll have to make do with the auto queue for now. But don't worry, it'll be added in due course. While you wait, the 1v1 queue is quite an interesting, if imbalanced, experience given the fact that there isn't an ELO ranking yet.
I know there's a whole lot of players who would rather play 2v2+ and Custom Maps. So let's talk about them!
Custom Games!!
You may notice there I've used a fair few exclamation points in the title, and there's certainly a reason behind it. If a game must be evaluated on its direct influence on other titles, then Warcraft III is in a good place. We'll examine this concept later, but without being too heavy-handed, WC3 is the father of the MOBA (LoL & Dota2) and Tower Defence genres, but is also known for its immense number of exciting mods (Blood Bath, Footman Frenzy, Risk, Civilisation, Uther Party, Tank Wars...), and so on and so forth. Without having the figures to back it up, most players will agree that the game has mainly been played for its mods for some time now. This effectively makes the title a torchbearer for the sandbox genre, as it allowed its community to easily take a hold of the game and create their own world within it. For example, Overwatch's Workshop mode and Fortnite's Creative mode are directly inspired by WCIII. After all, a game survives through its community, and it seems like Blizzard has taken this to heart.
Therefore, all custom games created through WC3's history (more than 10,000) will be available in Warcraft III: Reforged! We'll put together a short list of our favourite custom games which you can be play with friends to your heart's content.
However, as I write this, custom games have been plagued with crashes, which in itself is quite frustrating...
Where Does Esports Fit Into All This?
Whether you were aware of it or not, the Warcraft III esports scene has been able to stay alive to this day. Admittedly, this is not the case in Europe, but in Asia this classic RTS title continues to keep its head above water thanks to a a consistent schedule of tournaments. Since 2015, NetEase, a Blizzard partner who are best known for developing Diablo Immortal, have put on the biggest series of tournaments in the scene: the Warcraft Gold League. As you can see below, most players who achieve podium finishes are veterans pros who have played for more than 10 years, as the scene has long since stopped attracting new talent.
With a $70k prize pool for its most recent tournament, alongside the ambitious patch notes and the announcement of Warcraft III: Reforged, the game seems to be hinting towards a future in esports. This combines nicely with ESL's recent announcement of its own Pro Tour for 2020, with just under $200,000 up for grabs.
Similarly to Starcraft II, Warcraft III is a game that provides an exciting and enjoyable viewer experience. Both games benefit from an open circuit model, with both looking and feeling fantastic in their new remastered states.
So why not? Of course, RTS games have certainly lost their lustre over the years, with the genre being relegated to relative obscurity in recent times, but the gaming public will always be receptive to the occasional RTS, that much is sure.
That is especially true of WC3, which still has legendary players competing in tournaments to this day, such as Jang "Moon" Jae Ho and Park "Lyn" Joon. Let's not forget Manuel "Grubby" Schenkhuizen either, who still consistently streams the game, nor Yoan "ToD" Merlo, also a streamer, who we can expect to return to the scene in 2020.
So Why Warcraft III: Reforged and not Warcraft IV?
Ah! Well there's the million dollar question!
Allow me to try out a few theories.
Because RTS games aren't popular right now
In truth, it's all too easy to say that over the last few years other genres, like MOBAs or Battle Royales, have claimed the throne once held by RTS titles, and a once receptive public no longer has a taste for real time strategy. Often considered too difficult to get into, too demanding, and too hard to learn, no matter the argument, the response is always the same. It may well be time to admit that these games are a dying breed.
Because releasing an innovative RTS title isn't easy
The impact that Warcraft III had on RTS games and gaming in general at the time was so significant that hoping for a similar level of innovation nowadays is pure fantasy (a cross genre RPG, with Hero xp, talents, collectable items, farmable creeps...).
If we take an even closer look, Starcraft II was never intended to be anything other than a "better" version of Starcraft I, and unlike its predecessor, did not revolutionise the history of the franchise in the same way. A good game, but was it ever an iconic game for a new generation? I'm tempted to say no, even when considering the incredible broadcasting talent that formed to cater to the game's many tournaments.
Diablo IV is another example of this deep-rooted trend: the title was seemingly destined to write the wrongs of Diablo III by taking inspiration from Diablo II, but nothing more than that.
Of course, the fanboy buried deep within me may dream of a return to the 2000s, when Diablo II, Warcraft III, and WoW made Blizzard the gold standard for developers. However, instinct tells me that if at some point we do infact receive Warcraft IV, the best we can hope for is a slight improvement on III.
Because Blizzard wants to cash in on WC3 one last time before eventually releasing WC4
This take is nothing if not condescending: Blizzard is a company that has to make a profit and it seems that the community reacts well to remasters of old titles. So why wouldn't a developer try to please its fanbase and earn a bit of money in the process?
It's not entirely surprising to see Blizzard tie talk of Warcraft IV to Reforged, even at the risk of sapping away nostalgia and sales that come with it. The game is certainly quite expensive at $30 minimum, and the fact that there isn't a discount on offer for players who own the original is a let down. But from the other side of things, Warcraft III is one of those games with a classic commercial model: without micro-transactions, and tirelessly updated by the developer to this very day. You should be expected to pay for all that, as servers and developers cost money.
Above all else, Warcraft III is a story of nostalgia and fun. There aren't many games that allow you to go pro, and there are even fewer started out alongside Federer, Nadal, Djokovic...well pardon my nostalgia, but it has been 15 years, so allow me to indulge myself a little.
It's very likely that players who loved the game in its heyday will relish the opportunity to rediscover WC3. After all, you knew that already, didn't you? It should also be stated that from the modding side of things, most have already been ported to Dota2, which itself is, well, free.
New players — if there are any of you actually reading this — will find the game tricky at first: the gameplay is a product of a bygone era, keybindings are unrecognisable to current titles, and campaigns are poorly explained, all of which may be too much for newcomers. But look beyond all its dated features and you'll discover an incredibly fun game, with a fantastic sound design. That alone is worth the money, Reforged or not.
The wait for Warcraft 3 Reforged is now over! Campaign, PvP, Custom Maps: all the modes are here to make you happy again with this legendary Blizzard franchise.
