Part 1

Dive into Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness with our in-depth Part 1 guide. Learn about new units, the plot, and essential gameplay changes to dominate the battlefield.

Alright, so you're diving into Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, huh? Awesome choice! This guide is gonna walk you through the first chunk of the game, focusing on the expansion, Beyond the Dark Portal. Think of me as your buddy sitting next to you, pointing out the cool stuff and making sure you don't get yourself into too much trouble.

First off, let's get the lay of the land. This expansion picks up right after the original Warcraft II, with the humans having won. The Orcs got booted back to their home world, Draenor, and things are a bit chaotic over there. But, as always, the Orcs aren't staying down for long. The Elder Shaman Ner'Zhul is trying to get things back in order and, you guessed it, reopen that Dark Portal. Meanwhile, back in Azeroth, the humans have rebuilt Stormwind into 'New Stormwind' and set up a base called the Fortress of Nethergarde. Things get spicy when the Arch-wizard Khadgar notices weird energy from the rift – sounds like trouble brewing!

Now, about what's new. The expansion throws in 12 missions for each side, and trust me, they crank up the difficulty from the original game. The biggest game-changer? Hero units. These guys are tough cookies and, unlike in Warcraft 3, if they fall, you usually lose the whole mission. No respawning them at an Altar of Heroes here! Some of these heroes even start with awesome abilities already unlocked. For instance, Turalyon, a human paladin, comes with Vision, Healing, and Exorcism right out of the gate. You'll be facing off against some of these heroes in the Human campaign, while the Orcs meet them as a group later on.

You'll also spend some time on Draenor, the Orcs' home world. It looks a bit different – think dark brown for buildable land, light brown or green for the stuff you can't build on. Those mushroomy things? They're basically trees, and the vines are just there for show. A super important tip here: the missions are more focused now. In the original, you could often just wipe out everyone. Here, you need to be smart. If the mission doesn't explicitly say 'kill them all,' just focus on completing the objective and getting out. For example, on Human mission 6, 'Fall of Auchidoun,' you only need to deal with Red and Orange enemies, not all four colors, to progress.

And for those who love racking up points, the 'peasant slaughter' trick still works, but be warned: the gold mines have way more gold now (50k+!). So, while you can still get a massive score by taking out defenseless peasants, it'll take longer and require more resources.

New Units (Heroes):

• Alleria: An Elf Ranger with serious attack power and range. She gets basic archer upgrades but already has Ranger training. Pair her with a paladin, and she's a beast against dragons. Stats: Armour: 5, Damage: 9-28, Range: 7, Sight: 9, Speed: 10, Health: 120.
• Khadgar: A Human Mage who starts with most of the spells already. Stats: Armour: 3, Damage: 8-16, Range: 6, Sight: 9, Speed: 8, Health: 120.
• Turalyon: A Human Paladin, tougher than a regular knight and starts with all Paladin spells, including Healing, which is super handy early on. Stats: Armour: 10, Damage: (incomplete in source).