Warcraft 3 - Getting Started - Community Megathread

StoPCampinGn00b · Oct 16, 2016

So, I found this really neat thread on the WC3 reddit. It's basically a compilation of all the extra-useful things you can find as a WC3 amateur. It's very melee / ladder focused because that reddit community is about centered around that scene, so probably you won't find anything new about modding or custom games there if you're a regular on Hive. Just the basics of mentionings of Hive, custom games, bots, were covered regarding the custom / modding scene.

This is shared content from this thread! Credit to ena1337 and ReZZeL with feedback and input from NEO, YAWS, and Syntoren.

WarCraft 3 | Getting Started | Community | Mega-Thread
Basic knowledge about WarCraft 3 - how to get started & special information.

This mega-thread is structured in three main sections: firstly, the technical section which especially deals with getting your WarCraft 3 Client ready to go for today’s gaming platforms, secondly, the gameplay-related section including many tutorials and at last the community-related sections, containing several hot links to news-pages, live-streams and social media.

1. Technical Section
How to get started with WarCraft 3 nowadays?

Currently, WarCraft 3 is being played on several platforms, such as w3arena.net, DZ NetEase and the official Blizzard Battle.Net servers.

1a. Warcraft Versions
In order to ensure accessability on all platforms, you have to consider the issue of the usage of different versions.

1b. W3Arena
W3Arena is a private WarCraft 3 online community which provides a competitive play platform for the version 1.26. W3arena is mostly used by European players due to its server locations. Though, w3arena expanded its infrastructure to North America recently. In order to get started on W3Arena, check out the following tutorial:

W3A Setup Tutorial

1c. NetEase
Central hub of WC3 for the Chinese and Korean community. Uses a unique and updated platform for playing competetive WC3, as well as a live spectating mode.

Account Creation + Download

English Language Setup for Client and In-game

ena1337 Tutorial

Ping Accelerator Setup

Ping accelerators are essentially needed for most players who are interested into playing on NetEase. They drastically reduce the delay and ping while playing the game on NetEase. Without ping accelerators, most players will not be able to establish a game on a competitive level, apart from Asian players.

1d. Official Battle.Net Servers and Custom Games Hosting
The official servers on the highest versions. Unfortunatelly, a 250ms in-built delay and hackers harm the in-game experience. Still, several hostbot-service-providers offer lucrative opportunities to easily host custom and in-house games.

Free Hostbot Services

1e. Custom Hotkeys and Custom Item Hotkeys
In order to accelerate your performance and efficiency in-game, it is highly recommended to use custom Hotkeys by adjusting the CustomKeys.txt-File in your WarCraft 3 folder yourself. Since this process would take much time, several streamers offer their CustomKeys.txt-Files for free usage. For Item Hotkeys, it is recommended to use a third party software called WarKey++ which offers the function to manually change the Item Hotkeys (default: NUM 1 2 3 4 5 6) to your desired keys (such as TY GH BN or TZ GH BN).

GRID Customkeys.txt

WarKey++ for Custom Item Hotkeys

Other Programs

1f. Websites - Replays, Mods, News, Forums - Download + Upload
There are only a few central website hubs which offer centralized news, community forums, and replay/mod uploading & downloading functions.

1g. Replay Analysis Tools

2. Gameplay
How to play the game nowadays?

Warcraft 3 is a real-time strategy game (RTS) that incorporates heroes. There are four playable races from which to choose from: Human, Nightelf, Orc, and Undead. Each race has their own unique heroes, units, and gameplay that set them apart from each other.

2.a Guide to Warcraft Races (choosing a race)
Choosing a race can be a challenging matter when starting the game. Many opinions will fly around stating which race is the “strongest”, or best for beginners, but at the end of the day you ultimately decide which race interests you the most by playing the game. Provided below are resources to help you get started on that journey.

Human

Nightelf

Orc

Undead

2.b Fundamentals
While understanding the races is important, understanding the global mechanics of the game and it’s unique aspects will truely help you comprehend the game.

The Basics

General Gameplay

Fundamentals Playlist

3. Community
How do I get involved in todays Warcraft 3 community? Here’s how!

Reddit, is the hub of Warcraft activity, but there are also other outlets to enjoy Warcraft 3 content and get involved!

3.a Chat/Voice
Get directly involved with the community through the use of Discord, or join the official reddit clan!

Discord Channels

BNET and W3A Clans

Clan RC3 @ US East
Clan RC3 @ W3Arena

3.b News-Pages, Tickers, Tournament Coverage
News Pages

Ticker

Tournament Coverage

3.c Live-Streams and Videos
Watch some of your favorite players from back in the day, or discover them for the first time!

Caster Streams

Back2Warcraft - Coverage of most important WarCraft 3 Pro Tournaments

Pro-Gamers / Former Pro-Gamers Streams

Entertainment, Casuals and Amateurs Streams

Video Content (Youtube)

How to Stream WarCraft 3

Tutorial - How to set up your own live stream by Fs.Jehu

3.d Social Media (Twitter)
Casters

Pro-Gamers / Ex

Entertainment, Casuals, Amateurs, and Orgs

This mega-thread was put together by ena1337 and ReZZeL with feedback and input from NEO, YAWS, and Syntoren.

Warcraft 3 - Getting Started - Community Megathread

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