[Altered Melee] WarCraft Legends [inspired by SC2 co-op]

AMarkov · Aug 26, 2024

v1.0.5

"The true question is... What is worth fighting for?..
For the Alliance!.. For the Horde!.. For Azeroth!..
No matter what you fight for...
You'll never... fight... alone!"

Warcraft Legends is a set of maps for Warcraft 3 Reforged focused on cooperative gameplay and unique races. The project, inspired by the cooperative mode of StarCraft 2, is adapted for the world of Warcraft, incorporating the experience and knowledge accumulated from World of Warcraft.

Minimum requirements: Licensed Warcraft Reforged with the latest patch

Legendary characters and unique races: Each race is based on a key character from Warcraft, reflecting their personality and abilities. The races are designed with the principle: easy to learn — hard to master.

Cooperative gameplay: The main emphasis is on team play, where synergy between characters and player skill are the key factors for success.

Multiple difficulty levels: The game offers several difficulty levels, including a random opponent from the standard races. For the most experienced players, there's the Mythic+ mode with random modifiers that increase the challenge and require maximum focus and mastery.

Emotional experience: The primary goal of the project is to evoke the same experience and emotions that the cooperative mode of StarCraft 2 delivers.

Alterac Justice

A syndicate is smuggling in the Alterac Mountains, and you and Stonebeard need to stop it.

Objective: Stop 5 waves of smuggling caravans

Defeat: Let 5 horses pass

Icon	Mechanics	Feature
Uther the Lightbringer (Paladins of the Silver Hand)	*Divine Intervention* - Protects a unit with Divine Shield when health is low, but no more than 1 time per X min *Summon Champions* - Summon 1 of 3 champions from one of the Paladin paths (Light, Protection, Retribution) to support the army with powerful auras	Easy to learn High armor High healing potential Low movement speed Low army attack speed
Varian Wrynn (Stormwind Kingdom)	Experience & Rank - Units gain experience in battle, increasing their rank and enhancing their core stats, becoming stronger and more resilient. Veteran Specialization - Upon reaching rank 3, units can learn a valuable ability that makes them even more effective in combat.	Easy to learn Balanced army Strong gold economy High price of food High cost of losing units Few healing abilities
Arthas Lich King (Army of Scourge)	Soul Harvest - Destroying enemy units leaves souls that Arthas can harvest. It is an additional resource. Runes - There are three types of runes: Blood, Frost, and Unholy, each with 3 levels. You can allocate only 3 points in any combination. Soul Reforging - Allows you to upgrade party with souls, granting him a specialization in one of the runes.	Easy to learn Adaptive army No mages Addiction to murder Low team interaction
Thrall (Warchief of the Horde)	Totems — Place totems on the battlefield within your line of sight to harness their ancient power. Active Totem Mode — Only one active mode at a time! Switching modes changes all totems to the selected element (Fire, Air, Water, or Earth), adapting to the battlefield. Amulets — Your forces have adaptive enhancements; each unit type can be upgraded with one specialized amulet for unique combat advantages.	Adaptability Broad Support Options Powerful Enhancements Limited Unit Selection Reliance on Totems Increasing Totem Costs
Tyrande Whisperwind (Sisterhood of Elune)	*Elune's Blessing- Tyrande draws power from the Goddess, allowing her to call forth powerful spells on the battlefield Under Night's Veil* - At night, the effectiveness of certain abilities is further increased	Easy to learn High damage Night advantages Mana-dependent Fragile troops Few control and support spells
Sally Whitemane (Scarlet Crusade)	Scarlet March – A special mode in which units gradually lose health but gain increased movement speed and attack rate. The effect intensifies the longer the Scarlet Crusade remains active	High Attack and Movement Speed Accelerated Construction Powerful Spellcasters Requires High Micro-Management Some Abilities and Effects Rely on Mechanics Reduced Health for Units and Structures

Github
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Mini-Wiki
Explore & adapt

Discord
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Youtube
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Roadmap

Thanks/Apologies

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v1.0.0-alpha
October 5, 2024

Mission Alterac's Justice

Legend: Uther

Legend: Varian Wrynn

Legend: Arthas

Legend: Tyrande

Legend: Thrall

Mutations: limited to Mythic+(1) for now (random)

Mutations UI

Discord-channel

Victory fireworks

Legends Pool #1: Hellscream vs Whitemane

Mini-wiki for the project: just general information

v1.0.5
February 23, 2025

Day 1 path

New character (Sally Whitemane)

Legends Pool #2: Hellscream vs Kel’Thuzad vs Malfurion

Next...

Items Reprocessing (1/3)

Add max level to Legends ½

ApiArmy rework

New map (Silithus - dev title)

Bangsgaard - thanks for the advice, it is very valuable to collaborate on the project, it is a pity that our paths diverged
Jake Turkle - thanks for the valuable advice and landscape! this is pure epic, I spent dozens of hours testing on the map, and I am still not tired of it
bakr - thanks to your models, the alliance armies acquired a completely new unique look, in many ways your models became a catalyst for a new active round of development of the project and allow us to realize the most ambitious goals for the legends of the Alliance
Yousef - Special thanks for testing
Tasyen - He quickly and to the point clarified the questions regarding the UI, and thanks for the solid work on frames
Wazz - I apologize, after the crushing results of the competition I was overly upset, so I flared up

If I forgot to include someone's resource, please let me know! This is very important—no one's work should be overlooked!

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Wowpedia

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Starcraft 2 Co-op - Commander Guides, Mission Data and more!

Your #1 Source for Starcraft 2 Co-op Information. Commander Guides, Mission Data, Unit Stats, Mutation Information and more!

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#1 Warcraft 3 Reforged Modding Community

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World of Warcraft (All expansion packs)
Heartstone
Heroes of the Storm
StarCraft 2 (All DLC)
WarCraft 2 Tides of Darkness
WarCraft 2 Beyond the Dark Portal
WarCraft 3 Reign of Chaos
WarCraft 3 The Frozen Throne
WarCraft 3 Reforged

CustomConsoleUI - Tasyen

Darker Ancients - EhrGhoul
Frame Border Effects - Hate
[N]EnchancedHPBar.blp - Nightcrime
Forsaken Manor UI [Reforged] SD - keepitmovin
Guardian Angel UI [Reforged] SD - keepitmovin
Radiant Entity UI [Reforged] SD - keepitmovin
Blizzard's Reforged UIs for SD - keepitmovin

BTNIceBolts - The Panda
BTNFlamedSpear - The Panda
BTNWindOrb - The Panda
BTNBloodSpray - The Panda
BTNBash - The Panda

The Seven Kingdoms of Human - Tunadil
Red orb - Original
Water Attack Tidal Waves - Darkfang
Human Far Sight - bu3ny
BTNGatlingGun - Archangel_Tidusx
BTNStones - PrinceYaser
BTNNightelfPriestess - Scias
BTNSpiritHawk - BLazeKraze
Paladin Libram - Aldeia
BTNPaladinBook - Mc !
BTNHolyBomb - Juice_F
BTNPoisonAbility66 - Marcos DAB
Red Arrow - WilliamBz
HQ Classic Wildkins - Aldeia
BTNTaurenTotem - Wildfire
BTNVarianWrynn - Sin'dorei300
BTNHorde - Maxwell
BTNuncheck - Lockheart
Wight icon pack - Villagerino
BTNLichKing - Kwaliti
BTNTyrandeHOTS - BLazeKraze
BTNImmolation - Zpider
BTNcheck - Lockheart
BTNEmptyHand - 4eNNightmare
BTNGreenBook - stonneash
BTNFrenzyCut - Praytic
Blue book - MartilloSalvaje
BTNSunKey - LiOneSS
BTNSkyfireGunship.blp - Eagle XI
BTNPaladinTome - lllLSDlll
Shaman and Derivates - Ilya Alaric
Blasphemy - San

Thank you for your attention and good game!

AMarkov · Aug 29, 2024

In developing Arthas, I was inspired by the Death Knight from WoW, class mechanics from Hearthstone, and HotS.

From Hearthstone, I liked the adaptive specialization of the character according to the rune, where you can either go for a mono-build or a combination of different paths. This is more adaptive than in WoW, where the class is strictly tied to one rune.

Unfortunately, due to this diversity, the development of Arthas has taken much longer. There is a choice of 3 runes, each with 3 levels, from which you can create a combination of 3 upgrades throughout the game.

Unit/Runes	Blood	Ice	Unholy
Role	Health reserve, interaction with health	Damage, magic, slow, mana dependent troops	Mass troops, curses, weakening
Basic property	Reduce damage -2 Increases health by 15%	Base Mana Reduce armor -2	Reduce maintenance cost -1 Reduce health by 20%
Advanced property	Higher regeneration on corrupted land	Increased mana regeneration	Spreading Plague - Damage over Time
Master property	Blood Plague - rebuilds personal vampirism, the enemy also loses health, and units are replenished when attacking	Killing returns some of the warrior's mana	Recover 75% of souls spent after a unit dies
Ghoul	Blood Frenzy - increases attack and movement speed for a while	Ice Shard - cause additional damage using mana (autocast)	Rotten teeth - causes additional damage over time (poison)
Crypt Fiend	Gluttony - the attack deals additional damage, but spends health depending on the strength of the attack (does not correspond to philosophy, needs to be replaced)	Frost Bugs - Deal damage and slow target (autocast)	Corrosion - reduces armor when attacking
Gargoyle	Blood Mark - reduces the armor of the selected target (controversial, but useful for increasing dps)	Ice needles - (active) ability burns enemy mana (need to autocast)	Necrotic Breath - reduces damage of target enemy unit, active (controversial, but consistent with philosophy)
Gargoyle (Stone Form)	Aura of Bloody Feast - restores some health (additional regen when attacking)	Winds of Northrend - reduce movement and attack speed in the area	Spread of corruption in an area over time
Abomination	Gluttony - cannibalism permanently increases the warrior’s health, but no more than 5 times	Cold Treat - get a temporary boost to attack instantly (devouring a corpse)	Spawn of Ghouls - get 1 reforged ghoul for each rune used Outbreak of infection (on/off mode) - causes damage to all enemies around and yourself
Meat Wagon	Meat Grinder - collects corpses increasing the mana pool, which is used to heal the player's troops (instead of Obsidian Statue)	Volley of ice shards - area damage with enemy stun (active)	Dead Horde - (passive) when fired, spawns zombies at the point of impact of the shot (temporary)
Dead Dragon	Absorb a unit - absorption does not cause damage, the absorbed unit can be dropped off in a convenient place (control spell)	Freeze building (standard)	Area attacks (the ability needs to be replaced)

Combinations: Pure Ice = Aggro, Pure Blood = Defense, Pure Unholy = Support, Blood + Ice = Balance, Blood + Unholy = Defense, Ice + Unholy = Aggro, Blood + Ice + Unholy = Balance

At the moment there are bottlenecks that are currently in the process of being resolved. Maybe someone has some ideas.

Yousef · Aug 29, 2024

This looks very cool! Can't wait to see more missions and heroes! I would like to see missions at important historical moments like battle of mount Hyjal or the fall of Silvermoon or fall of the Lich King, would be funny using Arthas to fight Arthas. There is so much potential! Heroes from all over the place at cool moments in time, Sally Whitemane and her Scarlet Crusade with Malfurion's druids battling the Twilight's Hammer at the Hour of Twilight, and that's just 1 idea! Is there a discord server for this project?

AMarkov · Aug 29, 2024

Yousef said:
This looks very cool! Can't wait to see more missions and heroes! I would like to see missions at important historical moments like battle of mount Hyjal or the fall of Silvermoon or fall of the Lich King, would be funny using Arthas to fight Arthas. There is so much potential! Heroes from all over the place at cool moments in time, Sally Whitemane and her Scarlet Crusade with Malfurion's druids battling the Twilight's Hammer at the Hour of Twilight, and that's just 1 idea! Is there a discord server for this project?

I am currently focusing on creating a variety of characters and aim to provide an engine that can be easily imported into other maps. I’m also considering working directly with other map authors to integrate my systems into their maps. My initial goal is to enable seamless porting of the project engine to standard Warcraft 3 maps.

In theory, this engine could be used to create PvP missions where pairs of players balance each other's weaknesses. However, this is a long-term goal. For now, I'm concentrating on achievable objectives.

The plans for characters are indeed ambitious, with both Sally Whitemane and Malfurion included in the design document. Unlike classic altered melee, this project features a central army mechanic that embodies the spirit of each character, and there is a shift in balance towards fun.

I’ve been working on this project since 2019, and while there are co-op versions of the standard campaign and some cool altered melee races, none match the emotional impact of SC2 co-op. I’m puzzled by the lack of similar projects; previous attempts have failed, likely due to the high effort required.

I feel compelled to pursue this myself, seeing it as my life's work and a significant contribution to the Warcraft 3 community. My goal isn’t to replicate SC2 co-op but to capture its emotions and spirit within the Warcraft universe.

Yousef said:
Is there a discord server for this project?

There is a Discord channel, but I'm not an administrator. As soon as I create a new one, I'll let you know. Is it better to conduct activity there: introduce concepts, create polls and ask questions?

Yousef · Aug 30, 2024

AMarkov said:
I am currently focusing on creating a variety of characters and aim to provide an engine that can be easily imported into other maps. I’m also considering working directly with other map authors to integrate my systems into their maps. My initial goal is to enable seamless porting of the project engine to standard Warcraft 3 maps.

In theory, this engine could be used to create PvP missions where pairs of players balance each other's weaknesses. However, this is a long-term goal. For now, I'm concentrating on achievable objectives.

The plans for characters are indeed ambitious, with both Sally Whitemane and Malfurion included in the design document. Unlike classic altered melee, this project features a central army mechanic that embodies the spirit of each character, and there is a shift in balance towards fun.

I’ve been working on this project since 2019, and while there are co-op versions of the standard campaign and some cool altered melee races, none match the emotional impact of SC2 co-op. I’m puzzled by the lack of similar projects; previous attempts have failed, likely due to the high effort required.

I feel compelled to pursue this myself, seeing it as my life's work and a significant contribution to the Warcraft 3 community. My goal isn’t to replicate SC2 co-op but to capture its emotions and spirit within the Warcraft universe.

There is a Discord channel, but I'm not an administrator. As soon as I create a new one, I'll let you know. Is it better to conduct activity there: introduce concepts, create polls and ask questions?

I see what you mean, if you need help with editing or testing, let me know.
I think this project can be really popular like SC2 co-op, although I think the thread title should reflect that more, most people will probably just see the altered melee tag and move along.

As for discord, yes, I think it's better, it's a lot faster if you want instant feedback on something or if you want to test something right away with other people, although for polls and major news I think hive would be great too.

AMarkov · Aug 30, 2024

Yousef said:
I see what you mean, if you need help with editing or testing, let me know.

Appreciate the help offer! I'll probably need it soon.

Yousef said:
I think this project can be really popular like SC2 co-op, although I think the thread title should reflect that more, most people will probably just see the altered melee tag and move along.

Actually, this is a altered melee. But I left a note in the title for recognizability.

Yousef said:
As for discord, yes, I think it's better, it's a lot faster if you want instant feedback on something or if you want to test something right away with other people, although for polls and major news I think hive would be great too.

At this stage, it's more important for me to present something that's at least somewhat interesting and playable. After the project launches, gathering feedback will be crucial. But I'll likely need a community manager since that's not really my strong suit.

AMarkov · Aug 31, 2024

It's finished! The Arthas build is complete, I played it in test mode. And I liked it. The combination of 2 runes does not stand out from the color palette. Everything is harmonious. There are a lot of bugs, no doubt. The balance is terrible. But for Arthas, the balance will have to be reconciled for a very long time.

I planned a build with 2 Unholy runes and 1 Frost rune, and I was very mistaken because my corruption had little effect on enemy undead. This turned out to be amusing since the enemy's race will influence the player's build when playing as Arthas.

Yousef · Sep 2, 2024

AMarkov said:
It's finished! The Arthas build is complete, I played it in test mode. And I liked it. The combination of 2 runes does not stand out from the color palette. Everything is harmonious. There are a lot of bugs, no doubt. The balance is terrible. But for Arthas, the balance will have to be reconciled for a very long time.

I planned a build with 2 Unholy runes and 1 Frost rune, and I was very mistaken because my corruption had little effect on enemy undead. This turned out to be amusing since the enemy's race will influence the player's build when playing as Arthas.

That looks very cool! Can't wait for more heroes!

AMarkov · Sep 2, 2024

Varian Wrynn - warrior, hero, and King of Stormwind.

Varian's life was filled with many tragedies and conflicts. He bears a great responsibility for his people. During the Cataclysm, he led the Alliance. I decided to reflect his experience and honor in battle within the mechanics of his character's army. For Varian's concept, I drew inspiration from various RTS games featuring experience systems (C&C, Armies of Exigo, and others), while also wanting to create a full-fledged mechanic, partially borrowing the troop specialization from HoMM5.

Mechanics:

Veterans: Troops gain experience in battle, and upon reaching a certain threshold, they receive a new rank that improves the army's combat stats.
Specialization: The ability for experienced troops to gain one useful ability of their choice.

I recreated the hero experience system for troops, with many unique features, and this has become a cornerstone of Varian's gameplay tactics. As a result, Varian focuses on small squads at the start of the game, which quickly rise in rank and gain bonuses to damage, health, and mana (for mages). Larger squads consume more experience, so each individual unit receives less experience when distributed.

The core of the army will closely resemble the classic Alliance with some deviations. For example, Griffons will be replaced by Skyfire Gunships, the proud aerial vessels of the Alliance, which proved their worth both in battles against the Lich King in Northrend and against the Legion.
I’m still considering the specific specializations. At this stage, I’m certain that specialization won’t create new types of troops, as that would be too costly. However, there will be a warrior ability to choose from. The question remains whether this ability will be granted at rank 1 and improved as the unit levels up, or if it will only be granted at the unit's maximum rank 3.

After testing the new mechanic in a trial game, I realized it significantly impacts the gameplay for Varian Wrynn, and honestly, I didn’t expect how much my approach would change with this experience and rank feature. Therefore, I transferred the first aid ability from Uther's workers to Varian's workers; healing after battle for resource payment fits perfectly with the army concept.

AMarkov · Sep 2, 2024

Yousef said:
That looks very cool! Can't wait for more heroes!

1. Initially, I'm planning to start with 5 characters (Arthas, Uther, Varian, Thrall, Tyrande), after which I'll need to work on fixing issues and balancing.

2. Next, I'll move on to production, which includes publishing a beta version on the website. I'll gather initial feedback and address any new issues that arise.

3. After that, I’ll attempt to integrate the data into one of the standard campaign maps in a test mode. This will help assess the workload, and I might make some adjustments to the development approach, possibly even creating a parser that can automatically transfer data across all related maps (likely in PHP, as I'm a web developer).

4. Of course, the development of new characters will continue, along with refining the current legends based on personal observations. I have a fairly strong concept for Sally Whitemane, but I need to maintain balance between the factions’ characters. I’ll likely take on Grommash Hellscream next, as I’ve worked on him before for Reforged. However, I must admit, I have more concepts for Alliance races—dwarves, blood elves, and the Alliance itself. I’ll aim to introduce significant gameplay improvements to make it feel fresh and innovative, especially since I’m not constrained by strict melee balance.

5. If you're really eager to try it out, there's access to the repository with the unpacked map on GitHub, linked in the first post. Just need to download and unpack it. However, be aware that the game is likely in test mode (However, be aware that the player has full map visibility, and in-game timers are visible on the screen), and there may be troops on the map that I'm currently testing. Otherwise, it's fully playable. This is for those who are really keen to play right now.

MogulKahn · Sep 2, 2024

I was hoping Blizzard will borrow this idea from SC2 when they announced Reforged, but sadly, they couldn’t even make an already existing assests properly in the end..

Amazing idea, really looking forward to it!

AMarkov · Sep 2, 2024

MogulKahn said:
I was hoping Blizzard will borrow this idea from SC2 when they announced Reforged, but sadly, they couldn’t even make an already existing assests properly in the end..

Amazing idea, really looking forward to it!

Thanks. I was hoping Blizzard would come through, but it looks like the fans have to carry the game themselves.

AMarkov · Sep 5, 2024

Post-Reflection on the Project:

Economics - I was very impressed with the Swann's Vespene Harvester mechanic from the SC2 co-op (This ability allows Command Centers to call down automated harvesters that gather extra vespene from your Refineries or your ally's vespene-gathering structures. It provides 2 gas for each player every 6.3 seconds). I believe this was an underrated mechanic, so I decided to develop it further and add some team-based economic interactions. This will enhance the impact of team cooperation. However, it will always take into account the individuality of the characters.

General Thoughts:

Horde - should have an economic advantage in battle (looting) and other aspects.
Alliance - focuses on income in various forms, with a strong emphasis on gold.
Night Elves - they possess powerful bonuses related to lumber.
Undead - involves interaction with the dead, where corpses can potentially become a valuable source of additional resources.

But most importantly, the heroes themselves and their individuality.

Upcoming Heroes:

Arthas - currently, Arthas does not support allies economically. From a character perspective, I consider this appropriate. As the Lich King, Arthas is a powerful leader who destroys enemies. He views his allies more as servants than partners.
Uther - Paladins of the Silver Hand should be honored and respected by ordinary citizens and, similar to religious institutions, live on donations from citizens. Thus, at their place of power - the Altar of Light - will generate income and, importantly, EQUALLY divide it among all allies. I find this very authentic.
Tyrande - as she is connected to her goddess Elune, it makes sense to allow her to provide additional resource bonuses to allies during the night.
Thrall - currently, Thrall's concept is quite weak (in terms of the theme). He is both the Warchief of the Horde and a shaman. I will likely form an opinion as the character development progresses.
Varian Wrynn - King of Stormwind. This will fully explore the urban theme. Therefore, he will have a unique mechanic available to allies: banks and banking deposits. This will allow investing money in the bank, receiving regular payments, and over time, not only recouping investments but also transitioning completely to a payout mechanism when mines are depleted. As a personal bonus, houses will generate a small rental income if near a bank.

I hope this will bring a fresh new element to the spirit of team play.

MogulKahn · Sep 5, 2024

Maybe for Thrall to have side-quest where finishing it, he would gain different bonuses for his units?

Like first part of the quest increases their health regen (Water), second part movement and attack speed (Wind), third armor (Earth) and fourth damage (Fire). Or you can go an extra mile and give them extra spells or passives based on which element you are calling for aid.

This way you are combining both aspects of Thrall.

AMarkov · Sep 5, 2024

MogulKahn said:
Maybe for Thrall to have side-quest where finishing it, he would gain different bonuses for his units?

Like first part of the quest increases their health regen (Water), second part movement and attack speed (Wind), third armor (Earth) and fourth damage (Fire). Or you can go an extra mile and give them extra spells or passives based on which element you are calling for aid.

This way you are combining both aspects of Thrall.

This makes sense. To some extent, I'm building upon your ideas.

Yousef · Sep 8, 2024

AMarkov said:
Varian Wrynn - King of Stormwind. This will fully explore the urban theme. Therefore, he will have a unique mechanic available to allies: banks and banking deposits. This will allow investing money in the bank, receiving regular payments, and over time, not only recouping investments but also transitioning completely to a payout mechanism when mines are depleted. As a personal bonus, houses will generate a small rental income if near a bank.

What if you also added an ability to buy lumber with gold in the shop for Varian? Or at least some gold sink, I can see a scenario where he ends up with so much gold and no lumber.

Also for Thrall, you could make his tech tree full shaman / Earthen Ring and have Garrosh at some point be the Warchief of the Horde tech tree.

AMarkov · Sep 8, 2024

Yousef said:
What if you also added an ability to buy lumber with gold in the shop for Varian? Or at least some gold sink, I can see a scenario where he ends up with so much gold and no lumber.

I’m building the gameplay of commanders around clearly defined strengths and weaknesses. You correctly pointed out that Varian's issue will be a lack of wood. This is a deliberate choice. It will be balanced by allies who have a strong economy focused on wood.

So far, there are no limits on resource investments, but if this becomes too much of an advantage, I will likely cap the maximum deposit per player.

AMarkov · Sep 8, 2024

And... I present to you all... Varian Wrynn!

History:
The mighty King of Stormwind, a warrior of strength and determination.
Born into royalty, Varian’s life was shaped by trials that tested his courage—from the fall of Stormwind to his betrayal and capture.
Despite these challenges, Varian emerged as a fierce and just leader, earning the name "Lo'Gosh" or "Ghost Wolf" for his battle prowess.
His reign was characterized by profound love for his people and unwavering commitment to the Alliance. Varian’s legacy of resilience, bravery, and leadership is forever etched in history.

Mechanics:

Experience & Rank - Units gain experience in battle, increasing their rank and enhancing their core stats, becoming stronger and more resilient.
Veteran Specialization - Upon reaching rank 3, units can learn a valuable ability that makes them even more effective in combat.

Features:

Easy to master
Balanced army
Strong gold economy
High price of food
High cost of losing units
Few healing abilities

Video report:

Self-Review:
My impressions are positive overall. However, as always, there are plenty of bugs. Unfortunately, because of them, I wasn’t able to showcase Skyfire in all its glory—one of the abilities involves firing while moving, but alas... it didn’t quite work as planned. Oh well, it is what it is.

That said, all the planned mechanics have been implemented and are working as intended. During gameplay, I realized that a visual indicator for veterans with unspent skill points is missing—something to address going forward.

As I expected, you can play with small, mobile groups to maximize army experience or rely on a strong central force, though that means missing out on veterans.

The bank mechanic isn’t a big advantage within the time constraints of the mission, but it becomes a solid asset in the late game when there isn’t enough time to secure new bases—especially in solo play.

Before release, I’ll make all the critical fixes. For now, we keep moving forward!

MogulKahn · Sep 9, 2024

Is there any playable demo we can check out?

AMarkov · Sep 9, 2024

MogulKahn said:
Is there any playable demo we can check out?

The link contains the latest version of the map, which can be downloaded. It unpacks as a directory. It is likely in test mode (full map visibility, all timers and console commands displayed), and there are probably test objects on the map. You can manually remove them and switch the TestVersion variable to false in the CurrentBuild trigger.

AMarkov said:
If you really want to download the current build for personal review,
Warning! The downloaded build may contain test units on the map, and debug mode may be enabled

Here is a link to the unpacked GitHub:
My GitHub repository

I do not guarantee a pleasant gaming experience, as there are still many bugs. However, this path is made specifically for those who want to evaluate the current progress of the project.

AMarkov · Sep 12, 2024

Hey everyone!

1. Data transfer parser
I’ve managed to create a parser that instantly transfers data to all project maps using a PHP (Laravel) parser.

Additionally, my parser will clean up unnecessary characters from the names of buildings/units/abilities, such as prefixes like [Uther], [Arthas] (which are there for ease of use in the editor). This way, it won't annoy the players.

The remaining challenge is integrating the map with the project. Ongoing support will be seamless. Careful work is needed to transfer triggers, link initialization with the map name variable, and properly handle custom object data. Right now, I’m still learning how to handle binary files properly, so I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to create a specialized tool that merges maps along with all data and renames duplicate raw codes.

But what’s been done so far—I consider a success. I’ve never gotten this far before. To be honest, I only started learning Jass 2-3 weeks ago, and here I am, already digging into the binary file structure inside the map archive.

An example of transferring data to one of my old maps— Stone Cairn Lake (Elwynn Forest) (PvP). It’s a bad map, so it won’t be in the release! I just used it for testing purposes.

2. Little tricks
I’d also like to share my experience managing the project with Git/GitHub. At one point, I broke the map and couldn’t fix it. Thanks to project version control with Git, I was able to restore the data, though it only worked on the second try due to some strange behavior with the Warcraft editor’s parser.

Working through my IDE also improves how I organize data within the project directories. It’s faster than importing data directly through the editor. All models are assigned to specific heroes and organized in a strict directory structure. After integrating, I simply save the map again, and the models are instantly available. The management and import efficiency are exceptional.

3. Tyrande in wip
Tyrande is still in development. It took me a week just to create the design document. Now I'm starting to work on bringing the idea from "paper" into the editor. I'll probably need another week of meticulous work to complete it.

Bye! Until the next update!

AMarkov · Sep 15, 2024

Tyrande Whisperwind

Race: Night Elf
Subrace: Sisterhood of Elune

History:
High Priestess of Elune, protector of the night elves, and a beacon of wisdom and strength.For millennia, Tyrande has led her people with grace and determination, balancing the serenity of her goddess with the ferocity of a warrior.

In times of war and peace, she remains steadfast, guiding her people through the darkest of times with unyielding resolve.Her devotion to Elune and her love for Malfurion have defined her long life, as she continues to stand as a symbol of hope, wisdom, and unshakable faith.

Mechanics:
Elune's Blessing - Tyrande draws power from the Goddess, allowing her to call forth powerful spells on the battlefield
Under Night's Veil - At night, the effectiveness of certain abilities is further increased

Features:

Easy to learn
High damage
Night advantages
Mana-dependent
Fragile troops
Few control and support spells

Video report:

Self-Review:
Slightly earlier than expected, as I’ve been working almost non-stop.

The experience has been quite exciting. Tyrande’s main feature—night-time advantages—forces me, as a player, to constantly monitor the time of day, playing passively during the day and more aggressively at night. It also makes planning the use of "Eclipse" during the day essential to react to various events.

In terms of atmosphere, I hope I’ve successfully captured the themes of mystery and night, reflected in the building skins and the choice of ability icons.

At the moment, this is the weakest concept. The gameplay feels somewhat incomplete. It might be necessary to grant access to all of Elune's abilities while adjusting their power as the base develops, since each spell serves its own purpose. This concept is a mix of ideas from two of my good friends. There are clear shortcomings in places. I have to juggle the idea of a basic hero and a damage-focused hero, fitting the concept of a "glass cannon." As a result, Tyrande's "Night Warrior" direction is currently overlooked but will be addressed later.

After release, the hero will be adjusted based on player feedback, and more thematic elements will be added as new Night Elf characters are introduced.

I also want to showcase some work from Tasyen—a custom interface. Now, each character has their own unique style. This has already been implemented for all previously introduced heroes, and it looks just as epic. I’m using redrawn interfaces from Reforged and keepitmovin, with adjustments to fit my needs.

Moving forward, next up is the final hero for the beta launch—Chris Metzen's favorite, Thrall. I’ll do my best to bring him to life with the same love and care.

And that's all for today, I'm off to get some sleep...

Yousef · Sep 15, 2024

Can't wait to play it after launch!

AMarkov · Sep 16, 2024

Minor Interface Update for Arthas. Testing the Idea. It was a Success.
Thanks to Tasyen for the advice!

Footman16 · Sep 16, 2024

Those interfaces look amazing! Do you think you'll make them publicly available?

In terms of the project I like the idea of Co-op for Warcraft, lots of cool ideas and map designs

AMarkov · Sep 16, 2024

Footman16 said:
Those interfaces look amazing! Do you think you'll make them publicly available?

The interfaces have already been uploaded to the site. The author is keepitmovin. I’m just working on adapting them to fit the character style, including integrating dynamic elements on top of the main interface (this idea kept me up all night).

Footman16 said:
In terms of the project I like the idea of Co-op for Warcraft, lots of cool ideas and map designs

I’ve been passionate about this idea for a long time, and I believe it fits even better than StarCraft 2 itself.

I’m finally ready to launch the project. I’ve been working on it for about 5 years, with varying levels of active development. The project has undergone two major revisions—first from SD 1.26a to Reforged HD, then back to Reforged SD. This is why the process has been so fast; there are many old notes and designs, including design documents.

Over these 5 years, I’ve changed a lot. I’ve delved deeply into programming, which has become my primary profession. This shift has influenced the project significantly. I plan to write part of the project’s code as an API, providing a gateway for other developers who want to expand the map pool.

AMarkov · Sep 22, 2024

Thrall

Race: Orc
Subrace: New Horde

History:
Born into slavery, Thrall rose from the chains of captivity to become a legendary leader of the orcish Horde.
Guided by honor and the teachings of shamanism, he sought to unite his people and lead them to a future free from the corruption that once plagued them.
Under his leadership, the Horde found new purpose, strength, and a home in the land of Durotar.
A champion of peace and balance, Thrall’s journey is one of redemption, wisdom, and unbreakable resolve in the face of overwhelming odds.

Mechanics:

Totems — Place totems on the battlefield within your line of sight to harness their ancient power.

Active Totem Mode — Only one active mode at a time! Switching modes changes all totems to the selected element (Fire, Air, Water, or Earth), adapting to the battlefield.

Amulets — Your forces have adaptive enhancements; each unit type can be upgraded with one specialized amulet for unique combat advantages.

Features:

Adaptability
Broad Support Options
Powerful Enhancements
Limited Unit Selection
Reliance on Totems
Increasing Totem Costs

Video report:

Self-Review:
Of course, the bugs significantly ruined the experience; I wasn’t even able to reach Tier 3, which was quite frustrating. The core gameplay, however, is conveyed well. It’s incredibly engaging to expand across the entire map, but due to the increasing cost of totems, you start to carefully consider which points are more strategically important.
Throughout the game, you’re constantly focused on the totem modes. In case it wasn’t entirely clear: Fire = damage, Wind = speed, Water = healing, and Earth = slowing effects. The hero could also overload totems, adding additional properties (I'll include a description later).
Despite having four heroes, Thrall still turned out to be unique and interesting, which is very important.

Roadmap:

So, the minimum required number of heroes for release is complete! Congratulations to me. What’s next?

Next, I'll focus on fixing all bugs and rough edges. I'll also make several improvements based on observations. For example, I'll give Tyrande full access to abilities on the extra panel. Arthas will get thematic towers

, and Frostmourne will likely not only speed up soul collection but also heal the hero . And many other little tweaks. After that, I'll need a volunteer to help test network synchronization (hopefully no desyncs). Then, I'll apply a final layer of polish and prepare for release.

Difficulty will be determined by the lowest difficulty selected by players, so make sure to discuss your preferences with your partner before starting. I think this is the most logical approach — a beginner shouldn’t suffer , and a pro shouldn’t be disappointed by their ally.

Mutations... these will work similarly to WoW’s Mythic+ system or like in SC2. However, there won’t be weekly mutations for obvious reasons. Instead, players can select +1 to +4 random mutations for a harder mode. I'll prepare the UI for displaying the chosen mutations .

Progression system: I’m still researching this. I hope to implement it by release. I won’t introduce gradual unlocking of character mechanics — everything will be available right from the start. Progression will mostly reflect the player’s in-game experience and performance with a particular Legend.

All created legends are not final. I’ll gather feedback and, based on that (if it’s interesting and fits the concept), I’ll make adjustments and rework the released commanders.

New map: I’d like to adapt the Alliance campaign map The Culling after release (This entire city must be purged). I'll transform the HD decor into SD and refine the conditions and scale. But that will likely be the first plan post-release .

For the current release map, I also want to introduce a few unique enemies—Syndicate villains —that will be exclusive to this map. This will give the map more identity and impact .

On the bright side, I've already set up a Discord channel and found a community manager to help with managing the group, as finding a partner for this game is critically important .

The next update will follow the bug fixes . For finding a partner (and definitely on Hive ), I’ll likely record a video , and finally demonstrate a difficulty level higher than easy!

Thanks for your attention, see you soon!

P.S.
I recreated the mutation system and created some mutations based on auras and a few abilities. In Mythic +4 mode, it looked like pure madness! I'll try to balance the mode based on player feedback. Initially, it might seem unbeatable, but ideally, it should keep an experienced player on the edge of death from the first minute to the last second of the game. I sincerely hope this will attract pro players (though I’m not one of them, as you’ve seen, I’m more of a casual strategy player).

Here’s a list of planned fixes: I will create a detailed checklist of issues/bugs/rough edges related to the legends and fix them. I will also refine the map preview. I'll adjust the game condition triggers (I found a way to exploit them, and it would be bad if players discovered it at release). I’ll probably nerf the final attack wave and buff the final caravan to ensure the difficulty curve is balanced. I’ll rework the shop items and significantly expand the selection. Their role will be to offset the weaknesses of heroes in the early-mid game, and all items will be charge-based. As for the dropped items from mobs, I’ll probably add a couple of unique items to the loot pool (currently, I’ve identified three drop pools, which differ from the standard ones since the goal here is to gather permanent items). That should cover everything regarding the fixes.

By the way, I experimented with a personal banner for the player in the form of a flag model with a unique icon that the player can choose, but I’m not happy with the result, so I had to cut it (I was testing this right before Thrall's release). I’m still considering a reward and motivation system, but for now, I’ve put that idea on hold.

AMarkov · Sep 24, 2024

The sections for current progress, completed tasks, and plans have been replaced with a concise Roadmap, pinned at the top.

Roadmap:

Develop Mission Alterac's Justice, with the main task
Develop Legend: Uther
Develop Legend: Varian Wrynn
Develop Legend: Arthas
Develop Legend: Tyrande
Develop Legend: Thrall
Mutations: Completed (limited to Mythic+(1) for now, will expand later). No choice, they will be random
Discord: Assistant in finding a gaming partner, main setup is complete, the link will be available with the release
Main quest: Bug fixes. No optional quest!
Enemy: Add 2-3 unique unit types for the enemy
Work on descriptions, ability adjustments, and minor fixes:
- Uther
- Arthas
- Tyrande
- Varian
- Thrall
Victory fireworks: The higher the difficulty, the more grandiose the display
Mutations UI: Need to add buttons with tooltips, once the pool of mutations is determined in-game
Release (Deadline: is November 23rd [though it will likely be earlier, around early to mid-October]): The project will also be labeled alpha-version (I expect a large influx of user-reported issues and aim to resolve them within 2 weeks). Afterward, the project will enter beta status (about a month). Going forward, there will likely be two versions: stable and test
In-game trailer: I'd like to create one before the release, but I fear I may not have the energy for it (status: uncertain)
Mini-wiki for the project: just general information (planned for right after release, or earlier if I find a layout designer)
Bug fixing, balance adjustments based on user feedback
New character (Sally Whitemane or Grommash Hellscream)
New map (The Culling)

AMarkov · Sep 25, 2024

I have assembled a mini-wiki for the project on GitHub Pages.

WarCraft Legends Wiki on GitHub Pages

I included the Blizzard copyright notice just in case. Let me know if publishing the company's materials violates Blizzard's rights!

The wiki link will also be available from the Discord group.
It will contain useful information from a gameplay perspective, and I might integrate video tutorials for the heroes in the future.

Currently, it features everything available on Hiveworkshop, except for the mutators that I implemented as a test on the map. Access to the list will be available only through the wiki; in the game, only those that are randomly selected for play will be displayed. I will also later populate the list of items that randomly drop from creeps based on the difficulty of the neutral-hostile group. This should also be exclusive to the wiki, as I don't see the point in displaying it in the game.

Additionally, I created fireworks for victory; it's a fun feature that doesn't have real utility, and there won't be a video for it, as I want to leave it for players' personal discovery.

Uther has passed all tests. The workers received a building defense aura to emphasize Uther's abilities in defense. Rapid Fire is now a full-fledged second mode for Rifleman; it synthesizes the shielded Footman and the Troll berserker. In the second mode, the Rifleman receives a boost to attack speed, but the movement speed drops to that of the Footman with an active shield, and as a downside, there is a chance to miss. This is meant to highlight the connection between Footman and Rifleman, while the debuff mitigates Rifleman DPS power.

UPD 09/26/24

Varian Wrynn has passed all tests

UPD 09/27/24

Add Syndicate units.
Now the Dwarf Sniper has a clear objective – to eliminate the special guard, who has high health and annoying abilities.

This is our "business" route—poke your nose in, and you'll get what's coming to you!

AMarkov · Sep 27, 2024

Pre-Alpha Testing

Hey everyone, especially those who've been actively liking my posts!

I'm looking for one volunteer this weekend (Sat-Sun) who can spare about 40 minutes for a test session (one round on medium difficulty). Please let me know what time works best for you! I want to check if the desync issue is fixed and make sure all network features are functioning properly — auto difficulty selection, character lock after selection, and more.

If no one is available, I can also provide my build for you to play with a friend upon request. All I’ll need is your replay and a brief report on your experience and any bugs you find.

Thanks so much for your help!

Yousef · Sep 27, 2024

AMarkov said:
Pre-Alpha Testing

Hey everyone, especially those who've been actively liking my posts!

I'm looking for one volunteer this weekend (Sat-Sun) who can spare about 40 minutes for a test session (one round on medium difficulty). Please let me know what time works best for you! I want to check if the desync issue is fixed and make sure all network features are functioning properly — auto difficulty selection, character lock after selection, and more.

If no one is available, I can also provide my build for you to play with a friend upon request. All I’ll need is your replay and a brief report on your experience and any bugs you find.

Thanks so much for your help!

Hey, I'd be glad to help any time of the day!

AMarkov · Sep 27, 2024

Yousef said:
Hey, I'd be glad to help any time of the day!

Glad to hear that! I’ve got some prep to finish up today and tomorrow. I’ll DM you to lock in the date and time for the game.

Yousef · Sep 27, 2024

AMarkov said:
Glad to hear that! I’ve got some prep to finish up today and tomorrow. I’ll DM you to lock in the date and time for the game.

Alright, I'll be waiting!

AMarkov · Sep 28, 2024

UPD 09/28/24

Add Mutation UI

When hovered it displays:
<Name>
<Description of mutation>

This took me a lot of time, as I was creating frames of this type for the first time.

On the bright side, the frame is animated, and credits go to emperor_d3st (Icon Border Sprites from Steam). Among all the available options, I had to choose a rather subdued frame without bright, sharp animations, unfortunately.

During the process, I had the idea to represent game time and additional resources for Arthas through frames. However, I haven't figured out how that should look yet, so I'll note it for post-release support.

Thrall - Test check passed! Once again, unexpected issues arose, along with extensive work on the descriptions.

But you know what? I'm truly amazed at how versatile a seemingly simple mechanic can become. I played over half the game using just one totem, even though I hadn't planned for this strategy in Thrall's design document.

What's the essence? Thrall's first totem is free, and with each subsequent one, the cost increases. To achieve quick economic growth in T3 (for testing), I cleared out my used totems and was pleasantly surprised to find that this could also be a viable gameplay tactic. In this case, the Wind Totem falls behind the combo of Healing and Fire Totems. However, since my opponent was undead, I had to use the overloaded Wind Totem to cleanse my troops of the banshee's curses.

I’m deeply impressed—this is something special! I believe players will discover similar unconventional tactics with their favorite characters, and that’s going to be awesome.

I also swapped out some models for newer ones; Thrall's army better aligns with the theme of shamanism, with subtle touches of the Frostwolf clan (credits to Jiok).

Tyrande - Test check passed!

nhs325 · Sep 29, 2024

I wonder are there gonna be heroes with special summons? Like Co-op Dehaka with the ability to call down the Primal Zerg bosses.

AMarkov · Sep 29, 2024

nhs325 said:
I wonder are there gonna be heroes with special summons? Like Co-op Dehaka with the ability to call down the Primal Zerg bosses.

Most likely, yes. As a mechanics, Uther can summon paladins from three specializations, but it's still far from what Dehaka has. As the project develops, I will think about it more; I’m inclined to believe this should belong to the Elves (for example, Shandris) with their powerful creatures—ancient chimeras, ancient giant mountain giants. But these are just thoughts out loud; I haven’t fully worked out this mechanic yet.

AMarkov · Sep 29, 2024

"The true question is... What if worth fighting for?.. For the Alliance!.. For the Horde!.. For Azeroth!.. No matter what you fight for... You'll never... fight... alone!"

Pre-alpha testing is complete!
While some minor issues were identified, everything is functioning as intended with no desynchronization. I’ll make a few small adjustments to the map.

After five years of development, this project has gone through multiple restarts (thanks to the chaos caused by Reforged), but each iteration has helped refine and improve the core concepts. The latest phase of development happened rather spontaneously—I was inspired by Bakr’s models, decided to develop concepts for a couple of heroes, and it ended up looking epic.

For the past five weeks, I’ve worked tirelessly, day and night, building this project solo. My only relief has been the posts on the Hive forum, which helped me keep my sanity amidst the flood of ideas.

Now it’s time to exhale, relax, and take a well-deserved break.

I’ll step away for a week and plan the release of the Alpha version next Saturday. During that time, I’ll finalize the graphic assets, make some minor tweaks, and get everything ready. I sincerely hope not to create too much hype, as I expect a wave of unexpected bugs and issues (I’m a bit intimidated by the large number of views on the forum

). I’ll spend the next 2-3 weeks fixing those before transitioning into the Beta phase.

Special thanks for testing Yousef!

In conjunction with the Alpha release, I’ll provide access to a Discord group where activities such as voting will influence the project's future development, as well as facilitate finding partners for gameplay.

Alpha release date October 5, 2024 - within a day!

Showcase Arthas + Uther:

AMarkov · Oct 5, 2024

Alpha is now available for download!

WarCraft Legends v1.0.5a

v1.0.5a "The true question is... What is worth fighting for?.. For the Alliance!.. For the Horde!.. For Azeroth!.. No matter what you fight for... You'll never... fight... alone!" Warcraft Legends is a set of maps for Warcraft 3 Reforged focused on cooperative gameplay and unique races...

www.hiveworkshop.com

Join us and be part of the project's journey!

Subscribe to our YouTube channel and enjoy fresh content.
Join our Discord to find gaming partners, chat with fellow players, influence development through voting, share your ideas, provide feedback, or just hang out.
Contribute on GitHub if you’re up for it – whether it’s translating or adding new content (reach out to me first for guidance).
Explore the Mini-Wiki, your pocket guide for new legends!

Good luck, heroes!

There's already a poll on discord right now asking who's next - Sally Whitemane or Grommash Hellscream

AMarkov · Oct 6, 2024

October 6, 2024
My research in the field of data synchronization has reached new heights

. This code allows me to take a project directory and package it into a .w3x archive, automating the finalization of the project

. Essentially, it creates a system that enables updating the file structure in all dependent projects, followed by the finalization of the project itself. The finalization process is achieved by connecting Laravel to the MPQEditor.exe console, which is a significant discovery for me!

Currently, the issue of smoothly integrating new projects remains unresolved. This problem arises from the mixing of similar codes and the merging of strings in the map descriptions (the latter being a minor issue)

. However, once I connect a map to a project, it will be fully synchronized with that project!

I will also conduct research on binary files

. I have managed to parse all the map files, but they still present significant challenges for understanding in their raw form. The data is not grouped in as user-friendly a way as I would prefer.
If this were a standard Altered Melee project, I could already connect countless maps with a standard landscape

. However, my project is different, and each map has unique features. Therefore, I see no alternative but to maintain one donor (the main project) and many dependent recipients (the maps)

. Additionally, I will improve the system to ensure that each map includes only its own import file and that it incorporates an automatic texture change for the loading screen

.

UPD. October 7, 2024

I don't see any critical errors in the feedback, so I’m continuing work on the project. Right now, I’m reworking The Culling, and I’ll be using the Reforged version with partial graphics migration to SD. I’ll have to redo the triggers, though, since the map’s code is really bad.

But my own code isn’t much better either. Currently, I’m thinking about how to properly design an API system for convenient troop creation in a new way. So far, I’ve been using the Chaos ability with levels, but it has several flaws, such as not working well with units of varying heights (like the Druid of the Talon, etc.) and requiring a 0.1-second wait. It works, but very poorly. Moreover, for co-op maps, there will be a requirement to generate a wave of attack on the player if no other conditions are met — the "gold standard," so to speak.

Later, I’ll provide documentation for developers, which will allow anyone to create maps for the project, and I’ll be able to support them. Unfortunately, it’s not a fully independent system and requires some interaction, but after the project is connected, there should be no issues with support.

Trigger sets for different maps will be loaded from a variable containing the map’s name, which I’ll generate at the parser level. This way, the code base will exist simultaneously across all maps, but it will still remain independent from one another.

The Culling is my first hands-on experience transferring data. The standard triggers will be redone from scratch. The decor will be mixed with the HD version (mainly the walls). The map itself will be expanded; this is the second expansion for the ally. Some closed-off areas will be opened up, with more houses added. Arthas will probably become an NPC, and, for fun, he’ll have a nostalgia joke line. That’s about it...

UPD. October 9, 2024

It’s time to make a strategic shift and swap horses midstream. Instead of The Culling, I’ve decided to create something similar to the Dead of Night mission, but I’ll completely change the setting.

I love the Dead of Night mission because players themselves set the pace, and they can finish the mission extremely quickly, depending entirely on their skill.

I’ll place the events in Silithus. Now, players will have to fight hordes of Qiraji, and the whole thing will have a bit of a Starship Troopers vibe. I’m really excited about this idea, so I’m changing the concept, especially since using standard campaign missions requires just as much, if not more, development time.

The random enemy will still be there, but in this mission, they’ll be called Twilight Cultists. However, there’s still the issue of wood, and I’ve got a couple of ideas about that. For the mission, I’ll design Qiraji from three different hives, and I might even add some dungeon elements for variety. I’m still working on the concept.

AMarkov · Oct 19, 2024

In a resounding victory that will echo through the halls of legend, Sally Whiteman has been crowned champion

, carried to triumph by the fervent loyalty of the Scarlet Order’s most devoted defenders

.

Her rise was inevitable, her influence undeniable, as her passionate supporters vaulted her to the pinnacle of the vote

.

Now, with the fire of her vision burning brightly

, Sally is etched into the roadmap, her path illuminated with promise

.

AMarkov · Nov 14, 2024

Hotfix alert!

With the launch of Reforged 2.0, we discovered a bug that caused the idle worker icon to stretch across the entire screen

.

The fix is now live!

Thank you for your patience, and good luck out there, legends!

AMarkov · Nov 16, 2024

Warcraft Reforged 2.0 Update Hype!

Hey, heroes!

We've been diving into the brand-new features from the Reforged 2.0 patch, and I'm using a sweet combo of SD+ and HD content for epic decorations. By the time you check this out, the graphical update unlocking all the shiny visuals will be live on Hiveworkshop and XGM.

The Return of Arthas
Y’all loved Arthas, so I’m bringing him back with a killer new build:

2 Frost Runes
1 Blood Rune

This setup brings maximum damage for ranged units while keeping the melee squad tanky AF. Let's break it down:

Early Game:
I went with Ice Spiders, which can summon icy beetles to dish out bonus mana-based damage. These little critters slap when spammed.

Mid Game:
Started swapping out my basic Ghouls for Blood Abominations. These beasts can absorb corpses to boost their max HP by up to +500! Talk about unkillable tanks!

Support Squad:
Deployed two Gargoyles — one ice-themed and one blood-themed. In statue form, they buff the army with slow and vampiric auras, keeping everyone alive and the enemy crawling.

Late Game Move:
Added Ice Dragons to the roster. Their freeze chance ability? Absolute chef’s kiss. Control the battlefield and watch the enemy crumble.

The Verdict?
This simple yet devastatingly effective build made me DOMINATE the map against a light AI.

Onward, Warriors!
Good luck on the battlefield! There's so much more to discover, and this patch is just the beginning. Join us in Discord for tips, tricks, and maybe even a new partner to crush your foes with. See you out there!

AMarkov · Nov 18, 2024

A Journey Through Time: From Warcraft 2 to My Magnum Opus

The story of my passion project—the cooperative adaptation of StarCraft 2 for WarCraft 3—has roots that stretch back to the 90s.

It was a magical time when I first discovered Warcraft 2 on a CD. My father, my friends, and I would gather around the computer, each of us mesmerized by the rich world Blizzard had created.

I remember those endless hours spent competing with my friends to see who could clear campaign missions faster.

It was simple and thrilling—our own makeshift cooperative mode. Even back then, the idea of teaming up to tackle campaign missions felt revolutionary.

Little did I know, those seeds planted in my childhood would someday grow into the project I’m working on today.

As the years passed, gaming became an inseparable part of my life.

But Blizzard’s creations—Warcraft 1–3, World of Warcraft, Hearthstone—held a special place in my heart.

The Warcraft universe, in particular, captured my imagination like nothing else.

However, life has a way of throwing curveballs.

Over time, I found myself losing interest in games altogether. What once sparked joy now felt hollow. All except for one beacon of light: my project in Warcraft 3.

This project isn’t just a game or a hobby—it’s a culmination of everything that inspired me as a child.

It's a tribute to the early days of gaming, to the excitement of playing with friends, and to the incredible worlds Blizzard created. It’s deeply personal, and I feel an immense responsibility to bring it to life.

Now, with the release of a Warcraft 2 remake, I find myself drawn back to its roots once again. One mission, in particular, stands out vividly in my mind: the very first Alliance mission from Beyond the Dark Portal.

Its imagery and themes have stayed with me all these years.

In the distant future, I dream of bringing characters like Alleria Windrunner, the iconic ranger of the High Elves, into my project, along with their elegant and mystical race.

On the Orc side, Grommash Hellscream would, of course, take center stage as a fierce and unrelenting force. And then there’s Teron Gorefiend, a lesser-known but fascinating figure—who could symbolize a fusion of the Horde’s strength with the eerie, necromantic powers of Undead.

These are just musings for now, but they spark my imagination.

But this is more than nostalgia; it’s my magnum opus.

This project embodies my love for Warcraft, my childhood dreams, and my commitment to crafting something extraordinary. There’s no room for distractions or side projects. This is it. This is the one thing I want to bring to the world.

Thank you to everyone who shares this journey with me. Let’s honor the past and forge something unforgettable together.

For the Alliance. For the Horde. For Warcraft.

AMarkov · Feb 3, 2025

Introducing WarCraft Data Sync – an essential tool for managing the WarCraft Legends project!

This internal tool is critical for handling multiple maps in the project. It syncs data across all child projects and allows you to quickly build them into maps whenever necessary.

Switching between maps has never been easier, with everything updated individually and seamlessly.

In addition, it cleans up technical tags and removes unnecessary assets, keeping each child map lean, clean, and optimized.

This is key for maintaining smooth performance as the project expands.

Without WarCraft Data Sync, the further expansion of WarCraft Legends would simply NOT be possible.

Its minimalist design keeps everything focused and ensures smooth, efficient growth.

GitHub Repository

Yousef · Feb 3, 2025

AMarkov said:
Introducing WarCraft Data Sync – an essential tool for managing the WarCraft Legends project!

This internal tool is critical for handling multiple maps in the project. It syncs data across all child projects and allows you to quickly build them into maps whenever necessary. Switching between maps has never been easier, with everything updated individually and seamlessly.

In addition, it cleans up technical tags and removes unnecessary assets, keeping each child map lean, clean, and optimized. This is key for maintaining smooth performance as the project expands.

Without WarCraft Data Sync, the further expansion of WarCraft Legends would simply NOT be possible. Its minimalist design keeps everything focused and ensures smooth, efficient growth.

View attachment 511706

GitHub Repository

It's a technical marvel!

AMarkov · Feb 3, 2025

Yousef said:
It's a technical marvel!

You flatter me, the project is actually quite simple; I just automated a piece of manual work. I've set it up on my work machine and restructured the architecture for the GitHub repository. I also tested the switch between projects and... it's awesome!

I've gotten a bit stuck with the development of Silithus, so I switched back to Alterac Justice, working on Sally Whitemane's development. After the Scarlet Order release, I’ll move on to the map development and fix any issues and bugs pointed out to me. The interfaces for Arthas have also been improved, and there will be a special upgrade for Uther, along with building design fixes for Uther to emphasize the strong visual differences in architecture, to make them stand out more from Sally Whitemane's style. And yes, as promised, I'll be releasing the project in mini-updates to avoid long gaps between updates.

Plan:

1. Sally Whitemane (Scarlet Order). After the Alliance release, they will go into a voting ban, and we'll choose the next Legend to add to the development list (this will definitely be Hellfire, and I haven't chosen the other one yet—maybe Kel'Thuzad (Cult of the Damned/Naxxramas) and Malfurion, though I don't have a concept vision for him). (Secretly, I have a lot of ideas for Alliance-like races, because they include dwarves, humans, and high/blood elves, but I'll try to create a truly unique concept.)
2. Bug fixes—there are quite a few even now, but luckily, I've received great help with this.
3. Silithus map – Voices of The Sands for cleanup (inspired by Dead in the Night).
4. Troops API.

With Warcraft Data Sync, I can finally breathe. I've implemented 98% of my desired features and can focus again on the actual project. This time, various AIs are actively helping me with concept development, as there are some bottlenecks and brainstorming is needed to activate the creative part of my brain.

Also, the current or next step is to finish the troops creation API in pure JASS. Right now, I’m using the Chaos ability to instantly change units, but it turned out to be pretty buggy—the heroes spawned by this system don’t disappear from the battlefield. I used a workaround by replacing the dying unit, and there are also major problems with flying units. If you replace a ground unit with a flying one, its Z-coordinate becomes zero. The workaround is that all units have an averaged Z-coordinate so that flying units stay in the air and ground units stay on the ground. BUT there are shapeshifters like the druid-owl form, and for them, the Z-coordinate always applies... it's a mess. That's why I started creating an API for troop creation in JASS. Later, it can be adapted to create custom troops, not just standard units, heroes, and buildings. This will be more streamlined and likely easier to use since the entry point for such an API on the map will be dummy units, which will be easy to place since they won’t have any Z-coordinate offset.

Additionally, in the back of my mind, I’m working on the leveling system... I had planned to create talents like in HOTS that level up during a game session, and you choose one out of three at certain levels, but there’s a growing demand for a continuous progression system for Legends and the player's profile. In theory, I know about the Preaload Exploit, which is a window for solving this problem... but I don't want to just create a copy of SC2 Coop, I want to do something unique... For now, I’m just thinking through and testing the exploit. There was even a thought to develop a client-server application around the exploit that would track progress and give a beautiful UI for displaying the leveling system, but this will probably scare off potential players (and there are some problems in developing the client; the server is fine, but again... it needs to be paid for, so it's a rough idea that will probably be scrapped, it would take too much personal time). However, a progression system does need to be developed, and I still have the desire to implement a talent-based build system, maybe for continuous progression directly in the game using a UI. You could quickly distribute talents for a selected Legend depending on the map, allies, enemies, or Mythic+ modifiers that pop up—not at the start of the game, but in the process... but it’s still an undeveloped idea, I haven’t really dived into it. For now, there are plenty of tasks as is...

Yousef · Feb 4, 2025

AMarkov said:
You flatter me, the project is actually quite simple; I just automated a piece of manual work. I've set it up on my work machine and restructured the architecture for the GitHub repository. I also tested the switch between projects and... it's awesome!

I've gotten a bit stuck with the development of Silithus, so I switched back to Alterac Justice, working on Sally Whitemane's development. After the Scarlet Order release, I’ll move on to the map development and fix any issues and bugs pointed out to me. The interfaces for Arthas have also been improved, and there will be a special upgrade for Uther, along with building design fixes for Uther to emphasize the strong visual differences in architecture, to make them stand out more from Sally Whitemane's style. And yes, as promised, I'll be releasing the project in mini-updates to avoid long gaps between updates.

Plan:

1. Sally Whitemane (Scarlet Order). After the Alliance release, they will go into a voting ban, and we'll choose the next Legend to add to the development list (this will definitely be Hellfire, and I haven't chosen the other one yet—maybe Kel'Thuzad (Cult of the Damned/Naxxramas) and Malfurion, though I don't have a concept vision for him). (Secretly, I have a lot of ideas for Alliance-like races, because they include dwarves, humans, and high/blood elves, but I'll try to create a truly unique concept.)
2. Bug fixes—there are quite a few even now, but luckily, I've received great help with this.
3. Silithus map – Voices of The Sands for cleanup (inspired by Dead in the Night).
4. Troops API.

With Warcraft Data Sync, I can finally breathe. I've implemented 98% of my desired features and can focus again on the actual project. This time, various AIs are actively helping me with concept development, as there are some bottlenecks and brainstorming is needed to activate the creative part of my brain.

Also, the current or next step is to finish the troops creation API in pure JASS. Right now, I’m using the Chaos ability to instantly change units, but it turned out to be pretty buggy—the heroes spawned by this system don’t disappear from the battlefield. I used a workaround by replacing the dying unit, and there are also major problems with flying units. If you replace a ground unit with a flying one, its Z-coordinate becomes zero. The workaround is that all units have an averaged Z-coordinate so that flying units stay in the air and ground units stay on the ground. BUT there are shapeshifters like the druid-owl form, and for them, the Z-coordinate always applies... it's a mess. That's why I started creating an API for troop creation in JASS. Later, it can be adapted to create custom troops, not just standard units, heroes, and buildings. This will be more streamlined and likely easier to use since the entry point for such an API on the map will be dummy units, which will be easy to place since they won’t have any Z-coordinate offset.

Additionally, in the back of my mind, I’m working on the leveling system... I had planned to create talents like in HOTS that level up during a game session, and you choose one out of three at certain levels, but there’s a growing demand for a continuous progression system for Legends and the player's profile. In theory, I know about the Preaload Exploit, which is a window for solving this problem... but I don't want to just create a copy of SC2 Coop, I want to do something unique... For now, I’m just thinking through and testing the exploit. There was even a thought to develop a client-server application around the exploit that would track progress and give a beautiful UI for displaying the leveling system, but this will probably scare off potential players (and there are some problems in developing the client; the server is fine, but again... it needs to be paid for, so it's a rough idea that will probably be scrapped, it would take too much personal time). However, a progression system does need to be developed, and I still have the desire to implement a talent-based build system, maybe for continuous progression directly in the game using a UI. You could quickly distribute talents for a selected Legend depending on the map, allies, enemies, or Mythic+ modifiers that pop up—not at the start of the game, but in the process... but it’s still an undeveloped idea, I haven’t really dived into it. For now, there are plenty of tasks as is...

A talent system seems very cool.
As for Malfurion, you could tap into the Emerald Dream themes with him, incapacitate enemy units/buff friendlies by making them sleep for a bit, unless you plan for Ysera to eventually be a playable character, you could also go with druid units each focusing on a druid form, druids that can turn into cats, druids that can turn into bears, snakes, worgen, or even scarabs! (that last one was stolen from a Hearthstone card called Druid of the Swarm)

AMarkov · Feb 17, 2025

Sally Whitemane

Race: Human

Subrace: Scarlet Crusade

History:
A devoted priestess of the Light, Sally Whitemane's hatred for undeath was forged in tragedy when she was forced to slay her own family after they transformed into mindless undead.

She rose to become the ruthless High Inquisitor of the Scarlet Crusade, overseeing the Scarlet Monastery. Though driven by a noble cause, her zeal turned to fanaticism, seeing all outsiders as tainted. Gifted with the power to resurrect fallen crusaders, she ruled the Monastery with fear and unwavering conviction, making her one of the most formidable leaders of the Scarlet Crusade.

Mechanics:

Scarlet March – A special mode in which units gradually lose health but gain increased movement speed and attack rate. The effect intensifies the longer the Scarlet Crusade remains active.

Features:

High Attack and Movement Speed

Accelerated Construction

Powerful Spellcasters

Requires High Micro-Management

Some Abilities and Effects Rely on Mechanics

Reduced Health for Units and Structures

As always, a complete disaster in terms of recording quality!

Many abilities couldn't be showcased due to the bugs that popped up. We'll fix them by release! What we got was more of a demo where Sally Whitemane’s core powers were put to the test. Overall, the sense of speed and intensity is off the charts! My hands even hurt (I'm a pretty weak gamer, so even this snail-paced style made me sweat). I need to check where the wagon disappeared at the start of the match—it just vanished!?

The release of the new hero and the Day 1 patch is just around the corner!

AMarkov · Mar 12, 2025

WarCraft Legends Wiki

markov-andrey.github.io

The WarCraft Legends Wiki has been upgraded to new technologies: Vue.js 3 replaces the previous custom JS engine. This change is part of the preparation for the potential global scaling of the wiki, with plans to incorporate technological trees, video tutorials, hero presentations, and maps. The update of the current data will coincide with the release of the new "Voices in the Sands" map.

There will be several improvements:

The maximum hero level will be increased.
Hero abilities will be reworked.
New hero enhancements will be added, along with a simple personal quest system.
The loot system will be revamped (long live loot boxes—but in a good way! This will involve choosing one out of three items, which will reduce randomness when defeating creeps).
Items will become more interesting and specialized.

AMarkov · Apr 7, 2025

I'm officially closing down my modding project, WarCraft Legends. It's been an amazing journey, and I'm truly grateful for all the feedback, support, and interest — this experience has been exciting, emotional, and incredibly rewarding.

If anyone is interested in continuing the project, you're more than welcome to take it further. The map code is fully open — feel free to use it as you wish. I’ll also be happy to provide support to anyone who wants to pick it up, and I’m open to helping out with any unclear parts or questions.

As for me, I might be moving on to indie game development in Unity — we’ll see where the road leads.

Thanks again for being part of this chapter. Wishing you all the best — and who knows, maybe our paths will cross again!