Spoony Plays Warcraft II: Battle.net Edition, Human Campaign Part 4

The tide begins to turn!



Units Introduced

Demolition Squads - Expendable units whose purpose is to run up next to enemies and then detonate themselves, dealing heavy damage to anything nearby. Their damage output is sufficient that they can wipe out farms in a single blast, as well as kill any ground unit in the game; this makes them great for destroying enemy farms, knocking down defenses to prepare for an all-out siege, and quickly destroying clusters of workers or attacking forces. Just keep in mind that they cannot be made Invisible; casting that on them will cause them to harmlessly explode on the spot. Requires a Gnomish Inventor.

Submarines - Submarines are a bit of an oddity - they're relatively cheap to build, hit a bit harder than a Destroyer, but move slowly and have very low HP, especially for a sea unit. However, they do have one unique advantage in that they are effectively invisible unless your enemy has Submarines/Giant Turtles of their own, or a nearby flying unit; this makes them decent surprise attackers if your target isn't prepared for them. Given that Flying Machines/Zeppelins usually appear early on in a campaign, though, their usefulness is limited, and you should stop building them once flyers start appearing in any significant numbers. They can also only attack sea units/buildings, which further hamstrings their long-term use. And of course, they are all but useless against computer opponents, who can always see invisible units. Requires a Gnomish Inventor.

Mages - As in most RPGs, Mages are weak ground units that crumble before any concentrated attack, but they wield exceptionally powerful spells that can quickly turn the tide of a battle. Fireball is a fairly generic attack spell, useful for dealing damage to small groups of enemies or buildings but no better than what a Gryphon gets as their basic attack. Slow halves the attack and movement speeds of a single unit, which is good for disrupting enemy sieges. Polymorph permanently turns one organic enemy unit into a harmless Critter; great for covertly getting rid of Dragons, Death Knights or other Mages. Invisibility is the Mage's most valuable advantage; it makes one unit completely undetectable to the enemy until they attack or cast a spell, making it great for sneaking transport ships through enemy defenses, moving Gryphons deep into enemy territory for surprise attacks, or slipping a mage past enemy defenses for a shot at their workers; just keep in mind that computer opponents can always see invisible units, so it's all but useless against them. Flame Shield creates a barrier of flame around a unit that will damage other units nearby and honestly isn't too great save as an occasional harassment tactic. Finally, Blizzard is your great damage-dealing spell, causing a constant hail of ice that will steadily damage anything in its targeted area until the wizard runs out of Mana or dies; used in combination with Invisibility, it's second to none for devastating enemy workers and buildings. Requires a Mage Tower.