Warcraft 3 and you... Helping me get better at it

Centipeed

I want to become good at an RTS. Not tournament-winner good, obviously, because I don't really have the time to dedicate for that, but I still want to play competitively for fun.

The RTSs I associate most with are the Warcraft games. I loved Warcraft 2, and I'm enjoying Warcraft 3, and seeing as the latter still maintains a relatively decent following on Battle.net, I chose it as the game I'd look into.

Are there any Warcraft 3 players on this forum that can teach me to be better? Like, best race to start with, build orders that work well, strategies for specific unit builds for those races, what to do with those units once they are built, that sort of thing? Someone playing a game with me every once in a while would definitely be helpful, so I can get practice against someone who isn't out to win as fast as possible.

TheGerbil

I used to play Warcraft 3 like crazy back in the day, was pretty good at it too, 19th in a 3v3 Bnet tourney (6-1, would've placed higher had we finished our last game faster) but I haven't played in a while and I do want to get back into it. I could probably use a relearning it and I'm willing to play with you.

Drag

There isn't really a "best race to start with;" they're all pretty difficult in their own ways and match-ups. Just play around with them until you find one that you think you won't get sick of in a week. Until you decide on a race that you want to play, it'll be hard to give you a good guide to builds and tactics because they can vary quite a bit for each match-up.

edit: I'm subtractanother on useast if you're ever on

SniperPnoi

Most people on wc3 that I talk to agree that if any race is easiest, its human. Each other race has an apparent disadvantageous matchup except human, who, imo, win 7-3 against orc, 6-4 against ne, and anywhere from 7-3 or 3-7 against undead depending on strategies. The main reason behind this is that humans have towers which are incredibly cheap and dont require any outside tech buildings (since you'll be getting a lumber mill in 99% of games anyway). this makes it so that an assault on your base is so disadvantageous that an enemy wouldnt think of it until at least tier 2, when you can mix up casters into your army, which is one of the staples of human. I mean, thats just my opinion. I'm no where near pro, but I think im above average, since I went 6-2 in a 1v1 tournament on bnet, and had two 2v2 teams above 400 ranking. It also heavily depends on if you want to play solo or 2v2, because two amazing solo players on a team will lose to a good 2v2 team because of communication and decision making, rather than beastly micro. I'll be glad to help you get better with micro training, timing, etc. Nub.Good is my account on azeroth

Centipeed

I'm thinking about going solo rather than 2v2. Having to focus on all that stuff at once kind of makes my head spin. Which is probably a bad thing since WC3 is micro-heavy, but hey.

Human is actually the race I like to play most, but that's because (Embarrassing) I don't really know much about the other races. I'm still working through the single player campaign right now, so I'm not up on the units/mechanics. It's not as easy as WC2 was, where every unit had an exact counterpart in the opposite army.

And yeah, I just saw a human player in a replay. He built 30 towers over his 3 bases. Seemed pretty crazy.

And yeah, I'd like to play with any of you, as long as you're not impatient. I might suck terribly for a while. I play on the European Bnet server though. I'm assuming I can just switch across to another server temporarily and look for you guys? Can I use the same account across all servers?

SniperPnoi

You can kind of use the same account I guess? You have to re-create it on the USEast server, provided that no one has taken it already, and it wont have any of your previous stats. IMO, if you're looking to play solo, you'll want to mix it up with some 2v2, even if the knowledge doesnt 100% carry-over, because playing solo over and over can get pretty boring, unless you mix up your strategies every single game, which is unadvised, because people use the same strategies usually because they work. I think the first point of focus for any wc3 player is gonna be hero management, since that's a unique thing in wc3. Not getting killed, picking the right skills, and using items are all vital to good wc3 ability. If you really want to learn, go on bnet and play some random 1v1s, because you'll get exposed to every race alot quicker than the campaign. Also, read up on the armor/damage types, and what types counter what. It's like a giant rock paper scissors type of thing, so it's good to know which types of units can counter your opponents. Feel free to whisper me if you decide to play on the USEast realm, but your ping will probably be at least 200

Prot3us

The answer is simple play whatever race you want/suits your play style. AND.
http://www.wcreplays.com/ <----Your bible. Watch every replay you can, download the audios as well. Dont expect to be amazing very quickly as there are a lot of nuances to this game. I learn more and more every game. Watch all your replays even the ones you win; saving a few seconds on a build order or understanding general creeping patterns other players use will prove very valuable to your game.

I play both human and undead and I can safely say that it is possible to get decent if not amazing with 2 or more races. I suggest you play random for a while to see what you like.

Ego

I'm pretty far out of practice but I'd be happy to play a few games with you since, well, I don't really like to be out of practice when it comes to RTS games. Gotta keep those clicking skills sharp for SC2 .

Next to the battle.net button is a little magnifying glass button you can click to choose which b.net server you wish to connect to. Each have separate user databases so yes you need to create an account if you switch them. I'm as happy to play on northrend as any, I'm sure my accounts are quite expired. Let me know which name to look for you on and on which server.

I always say to play whatever race you like best. Even the 'weak' race of the moment will tend to have viable strategies in blizzard games. So play the guys you enjoy.

Senshi

I was actually quite good at War3 back in the days of RoC when I played Night Elf. Then FT dropped and I started sucking royally at NE for some reason (may have been the massive Huntress nerf, but I never really relied on Hunts so much anyway), and I switched to Human because I found some fun things you could do. It stuck, and I was pretty good for a while, and then I simply gave up trying to play on my sub-par computer.

I've forgotten everything since then, I can't play Ladder to save my life (although DotA can be my bitch at times). I'll be getting a new computer this summer, and if you guys are still playing, I'd gladly join you.

troublebrewing

I could possibly be looking for a game from time to time, I'm pretty nub too.. Can't really seem to get many DoW games going on and I have WC3 installed, play some DotA once in awhile also

TVs_Frank

I haven't played it in a hell of a long time but the most important skill you will need is scouting. A quick peek at someone's base or army should tell you what you need to know to start making a counter to it.

I used to rebind the key shortcuts to the left most block of letters on the keyboard exactly how they're layed out on the UI too if you know what I mean. It made them a lot easier for me to remember. There's a program called Keycraft that made custom binds easier to make.

Drag

If people are interested enough to play regularly, we should set a regular channel (pa) and server to play on.

Are most people here on USWest or USEast?

SniperPnoi

i dunno, i play east, and im more than willing to help people get better if they want at ladder or dota. i used to play in a dota league, but stopped that since i got more involved with ladder and got a 2v2 AT partner steadily. Nub.Good is my account on azeroth, anyone feel free to hit me with a whisper and i can do some training or some ATs or whatev

Centipeed

I'm on Northrend (Europe), so if you do set up a channel it'd probably have to be USEast for me to get a playable ping. But I've never tried a US server, so both East and West might be terrible.

Someone set one up and I'll join at some point.

gneGne

I would love to play some games with you, but Im still adapting to playing games on my laptop. I've been pretty addicted to wc3 solo for quite some time.

I don't think human is the easiest race (I play human myself btw), and no race is the easiest really. Just pick a race which fits your playing style. Some races fit a more offensive or a more defensive style. Although this differs from match-up to match-up. Just look at which units/heroes you like/are fun and build from there.

Can't really give in-depth help, because it's pretty pointless if I don't know how far you are, and much harder to explain.

My account is SeanP.

prawnstar69

I'm up for a few games, I don't have TFT though.

Is TFT backwards compatible with vanilla WC3?

Zilart

This is the very best RTS I have ever played. Back in high school me and my pals would play this so much. Is there anywhere to buy these online?

Xaquin

Zilart wrote: »

This is the very best RTS I have ever played. Back in high school me and my pals would play this so much. Is there anywhere to buy these online?

you can buy the Warchest in any given walmart or target (least you can where I live) (Maryland)

edit:

also, http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Warcraft+3

troublebrewing

yessir $50 I believe

Centipeed

Zilart wrote: »

This is the very best RTS I have ever played. Back in high school me and my pals would play this so much. Is there anywhere to buy these online?

Blizzard have just opened up their online store with digital downloads:

Warcraft III: http://www.blizzard.com/store/details.xml?id=110000090
The Frozen Throne: http://www.blizzard.com/store/details.xml?id=110000049

That is, if you want it now, and not once you get it delivered or drive somewhere to pick it up. The battle chest is the same price and comes with strategy guides and whatnot, so that might be a better option if you like that stuff.