Patch notes

The first release of Twisting Nether: the four Warcraft III races, rebuilt for StarCraft II. In-game values below are at Faster speed. Every unit's numbers are in the Database, and the reasoning behind them on the Balance page.

Races

• Human, Orc, Night Elf and Undead, each with its Warcraft III units and structures, rebuilt for StarCraft II's economy, speed and controls.
• Pick your race in the lobby with the Warcraft 3 Race option, or play Random.
• No heroes and no items. Each race's altar casts spells instead.

Economy

• Minerals and Vespene gas. Every race builds its own Gas Extractor on the geysers.
• 12 workers and 15 supply at the start, 200 supply maximum, no upkeep.
• Every structure matches a StarCraft II counterpart by role: cost, hit points, armor 1 and build time. Farms, Burrows, Ziggurats and Moon Wells all cost 12.5 minerals per supply.
• Workers carry SC2 mineral chunks and gas canisters, and can repair while carrying.

New abilities and research

• Human: Cargo Straps (Flying Machines carry infantry), Mine Shaft (a tunnel onto any high ground), Magic Sentry for every tower type (a per-tower upgrade unlocked at the Keep).
• Orc: Mount Mastery (Raiders leap cliffs), the Goblin Laboratory (Sapper, Zeppelin, Shredder).
• Night Elf: Strong Roots (Ancients walk over cliffs), Improved Intelligence (Mountain Giants and Ancient Protectors throw units), Strong Branches (Ancients carry ten Archers), Improved Stability (the Archers fire from the branches), Ancient Sentinel (a rooted Protector with true sight).
• Undead: Hardened Claws (burrowed Crypt Fiends and Ghouls tunnel), Ghoul burrow, Sacrificial Nexus (the Halls of the Dead teleport an army).

Active abilities

Like the Stimpack, these last 11 seconds and have a 30 second cooldown. - Footman, Defend: half damage from ranged attacks. - Grunt, Brute Strength: +50% melee damage. - Archer and Hippogryph Rider, Improved Bows: +2 range. - Ghoul, Ghoul Frenzy: +50% attack speed and +30% movement speed.

Altars

Each altar casts seven spells in three tiers, paid in its race's own currency: Orc energy that recharges, Human minerals and gas, Night Elf energy fed by Moon Wells, Undead energy from sacrificed Acolytes. The full list is on the Features page.

Balance: StarCraft II counterparts

Every unit has a StarCraft II counterpart that sets its cost, supply and strength, and each race's version of a role plays differently. - Tier 1: the Grunt is a Zealot (2 supply, armor 1), the Footman half a Zealot, the Archer a Marine, the Ghoul two Zerglings. - Siege: between a Siege Tank's tank and siege modes. The Mortar Team is fastest with the longest range, the Glaive Thrower and Meat Wagon sit in the middle, and the Demolisher is the toughest and hardest-hitting. - Heavy melee: the Tauren is the Ultralisk. The Knight is the fastest, the Mountain Giant the toughest wall, and the Abomination a cleaving brawler. - Air: the Flying Machine and Hippogryph answer the Phoenix, the Gargoyle the Viking, and the Dragonhawk Rider the Mutalisk. - Capital ships: the Chimaera hits the ground hard, and the Frost Wyrm hits air and ground. - Armor: units have their counterpart's base armor.

Feel

• Units turn, accelerate and sidestep like StarCraft II units; armies clump like SC2 armies.
• Attacks land quickly after the swing, so kiting and stutter-stepping work.
• No random damage.
• A day and night cycle with moonlit nights.

Interface

• Targeting circles for spells, range indicators for towers and wards.
• "Not enough minerals / gas" voice lines for each race.