This map features small edits to a map I like to play vs bots. Please bare in mind this map is only 80% finished.

I don't know if the quality of the custom tavern heroes, the edits to the existing races based on a mixture of patch notes past 1.26 and personal vision on how the core races can be improved despite the limitations of this editor make this map deserving of being called "Altered Melee" on this site, so I left it classified as Melee. If any admin think this should be called "Altered Melee" I will gladly change the classification myself, however because half of the stuff here was play tested by Blizz, I don't feel it fair to call this an "Altered Melee" map.

I used this version because I feel it covers most legacy maps on hive. There are no triggered spells here so people who use 1.29 for enhanced screen support can transition without (hopefully) many troubles.. As of 05/04/2020 this map was tested with 1.31 and no bugs/crashes have been experienced. Thank you for that deepstrasz.

This map features the 4 standard races, but a few units from Human and Undead race have been reskined to fit their post Warcraft 3 lore (human alliance not featuring any elves in their ranks and undead not featuring any demons in their ranks).

I've also tampered with the heroes in the Tavern. I've axed the Pit Lord due to personal reasons and have added various Heroes which I think can help diversify a bit the meta. The map also features a shop that sells level 1 permanent items and 2 Mercenary camps that offer mostly different units each,however both offer 1 common unit, Legion Sky Barges (demonic zepelins).

Comet by: WILL THE ALMIGHTY, Apr 19, 2008 in repository: Models
Dwarven Battlepriest by: Tranquil, Apr 28, 2010 in repository: Models
Ragnar Flamebeard by: Sellenisko, Sep 13, 2013 in repository: Models
Human Bishop by: Tranquil, Jul 11, 2014 in repository: Models
BTNRobeOfDeath by: Yak, Aug 17, 2005 in repository: Icons
BTNDwarvenHeroPaladin by: General Frank, Oct 19, 2009 in repository: Icons
BTNHeroGriffonWarrior by: PeeKay, Jul 3, 2012 in repository: Icons
BTNRagnarFlamebeard by: Sin'dorei300, Mar 24, 2014 in repository: Icons
BTNChaplain by: Blizzard Entertainment, Oct 17, 2015 in repository: Icons
Crystal Artillery by: Edge45, Jun 16, 2016 in repository: Models
Reaper by: Redsteel1, Jan 23, 2018 in repository: Models
Arthas Menethil (King of Lordaeron) by: Ujimasa Hojo, Mar 29, 2018 in repository: Models
Wildhammer Gryphon Rider by: Murlocologist, Sep 21, 2019 in repository: Models
Dwarven Battlepriest by: Tranquil, Feb 15, 2020 in repository: Models
Encourage by PrMosquito
New Stun by Daelin
SpiritLinkTarget by: JetFangInferno
Spiral Aura / CommandAura by: JetFangInferno
Arcane Explosion by Champara Bros
Dark Soldier by Freddyk
BTNDarkSoldier2 by Sin'dorei300

The map was created using version 1.26 of WC3 TFT, which I believe is still the most used by people who play custom maps (I just returned recently to WC3 modding after the Reforged mess).

This map mostly emulates the 1.31 Patch Changes for melee games, with a few key differences:

Human:

-Knights have a researchable skill called Victory Rush, which gives Knights a 20% chance to deal 20% extra damage on non heroic organic units. He also has 50 less hit points than in WC3 Reforged.

- Fire Orb now adds 6 extra damage, enables the hero to attack air units and reflects 30% of melee damage taken by the wielder back to the aggressors.

- All Blood Elf themed units have been re-skinned to Stormwind Alliance counterparts. Phoenixes remain summon-able units for this faction due to successful Alliance raids on Tempest Keep during the Burning Crusade era.

Orc:

- Wind Walk cooldown from Blademaster has been increased by 20, based on it's 1.26 version, however the cooldown starts when you activate the spell.

Undead

- Dreadlords replaced with San'layn Deathbringers. Inferno has been renamed to Armagedon, and summons an Scourge specific equivalent of Infernals / Flesh Golems who emit a noxious aura.

- Canibalize for both Ghouls and Abominations no longer requires research, however the amount healed and duration of the skill have been altered to be weaker. This can be overcome by researching better digestive systems in the crypt for these units.

- On this map the Ritual Dagger provides an amount of health and mana restoration equal to 50% of the killed units current hit point value.

Night Elf

- Vorpal Blades will still increase projectile speed of the Glaive Throwers, however the damage of Glaive Throwers remains the same, because it's still guaranteed to hit its primary target.

- Mountain Giants Taunt CD reduced to 14, but they don't get a 2nd cast, 3 seconds later.

- Shadow Strike now slows attack speed by 25% as well across all 3 levels.

Neutral

Pit Lords have been removed due to the new theme of the map: using accurate representation of the WoW Legion eras of the Horde, Alliance and Scourge factions.Lore wise Anhilans/Pit Lords could not give 2 craps about the Alliance/Horde and the well being of Azeroth as a whole.

The Bandit Lord and Bandit Warlock have been added to the game to cover the disconnected nieches of the Pit Lord (tanking while dealing lots of AoE damage). The Bandit Lord is a tanky hero that has inherited Howl of Terror and Cleave from the Pit Lord, while the Warlock inherited Rain of Fire and Curse of Doom (called Doom for short).

Bandit Lord can also summon fellow Brigands (ranged units) to help harrass armies and has the Command Aura as an Ultimate, while the Warlock can trap opponents in a Demonic Prison and summon a Flame Cloak that latches to a unit of his choice to cause havoc in the ranks of the enemy armies.

Silver Covenant Ranger has Hail of Arrows, Mirror Image and Flash Step as hero abilities and Dauntless as her ultimate, which increases damage against heroes by 15%. Permanently. No mana cost. Just have to reach level 6 with just defensive skills. No nukes. Jokes aside, I feel this hero is competent as a harraser/rusher due to her mobility and the fact that she can dodge nukes with mirror image.

I would have liked to remove Dark Rangers as well from the map, however I've yet to determine how to create competent replacements to cover the void that is about to be made by the removal of Dark Ranger.

Tavern Heroes:

Bandit Warlock:
Demonic Prison replaced with Fel Furry,a passive skill that gives the Warlock's basic attacks a small chance to deal aoe damage.

Silver Covenant Ranger:
Mirror Image replaced with Rally, a skill which increases the health and mana regen of nearby units for 40 seconds (60 seconds cooldown, no mana cost for now).
Dauntless, now increases the damage dealt by this hero to other heroes by 25% (was previously 15%).

New addition Dragonsworn Battle Mage.

Dragonsworns are non dragon members of a dragon flight from the old table top Warcraft rpg. Although they have been retconed out of the current universe, I felt they'd make an awesome addition to my map.

My take on a Dragonsworn Battle Mage is that of a cunning hero who is adept at melee combat and supporting nearby allies. He can cast Arcane Explosion, Temporal Boom which reduces the armor and mana regen of nearby enemies, True Strike Aura which increases melee damage of nearby units and the owner of the aura and finally Chrono Phantasm, a spell that clears all magical effects and summons 2 alternate timeline versions of the caster. These summon units take damage as normal but they dish out onl 50%

Human:
Sorceress Hero (the reskined Blood Mage) can now attack ethereal units.
Knight's description has been updated to show it learns Victory Rush and not Sundering Blades.

Undead:
Ritual Dagger now provides 6 charges (previously 4) and has an updated description which highlights that this item provides an amount of health and mana restoration equal to 50% of the killed units current hit point value.
The Armageddon spell no longer mentions Infernals.

Items:
Warsong Drums replaced with Samuro's Meditation Totem, which increases damage of melee units by 10%.

Stormwind's Horn (the one that provides Devotion Aura), has been buffed to provide 2.5 armor bonus and has been reclassified as a level 5 item.

Scourge Bone Chimes (the one that provides Vampiric Aura) now provides 25% life steal and is reclasified as a level 5 item.

- Minor Taver adjustments.

Bandit Lord was removed from Tavern to make way for the Pit Lord's triumphant return. Also, Silver Covenant Ranger has been renamed to Mercenary Ranger - due to me realising that Dalaran's Silver Covenant would never lend their support to forces outside of Dalaran's and Stormwind's sphere and influence.

- Pit Lord

Pit Lord has regain Doom as his ultimate and a new skill called Hound Master which is a tribute to the old Warcraft RPG. This skill allows you to summon 2 Pit Stalkers (a breed of demon hound) which count as undead and have the True Sight skill.

I am very pleased with the addition of Hound Master to the Pit Lord's kit as it opens up more rush options for Undead. This skill also has the benefit of creating bodies in front of Pit Lord to delay units from boxing him in.

Despite not fitting the theme of the map (wc3 post TFT events and pre WoW classic events) I have discovered that there are 2 valuable niches for Pit Lord (as 2nd choice for orc with Shadow Hunter 1st and as 3rd choice for UD, despite Crypt Lord existing to fit the same slot....I guess Howl of Terror or Cleave > any of the abilities available to Crypt Lord at level 1).

- Bandit Warlock

Bandit Warlock's kit has been upgraded with 3 new skills. First of is Soul Burn, which is no longer inside the Firelord's kit. Secondly we have Unholy Vigor, which is a support skill which provides bonuses to armour and life regen (obviously, this is vulnerable to dispel, but it should allow for more diversified strats.

Finally his new ultimate is called Burst of Demonfire - this is a quick burst attack to wipe out enemies. I am still experimenting with what the cooldown should be for panic burst damage/brutal aoe execute type skills within this game so please be patient with me as we work toghether to test this out.

- Fire Lord

Fire Lord now has the Flame Cloak skill in place of Soul Burn, consolidating his kit as a rush hero. Flame Cloak engulfs a unit in flames, which in turns causes that unit to deal damage to nearby units. This can be a devastating blow to the economy of a Human or Orc player, as the Flame Cloak will remain active on miners as they go in and out of the gold mine.

- Alchemist

No longer has the Healing Spray skill.

Research on Youtube, Reddit and various wc3 articles show that players hate melee heroes with channelled skills such as Rain of Fire and Healing Spray, so I made an effort made sure Alchemist and Pit Lord respect the design model of not having channelled skills due to this being bad form in the sense that you are made vulnerable to surround and interrupts while having your skill shot dodged by spectacular micro.

Alchemist now has a skill called Invisibility Dust which grants invisibility for a short duration to a target of your choosing. I believe this skill fits the play style of Jack of All Trades which the Alchemist was supposed to embody, while also ensuring he has something he has always lacked - an escape tool versus surrounds.

Alchemist players are now tasked with 3 grim choices - saving the Invisibility for themselves so they can escape defeat from a reckless, but powefull opponent who does not use Revealing Dust, save Invisibility for the allied Blademaster/Death Knight/key unit of their build or ignoring that skill all together and keep playing him as a debuff tank.

- Hydraxian Water Lord

The final slot of the Tavern has been filled by an all mighty Water Elemental from a faction of great renown from WoW Classical era - the Hydraxians !

This agility based hero is also a mighty healer, sporting the Healing Spray skill, which now heals for 45/53/60 in 4/5/6 waves for 75 mana and a 6 second cooldown. This amazing hero also Hydro Blast, a passive which gives his highness a 25% to deal 40/50/60 splash damage, making our Hydraxian Lord a competent auto attacker. Finally his kit is rounded up by Frost Bolt, a spell so chilling it causes direct damage, damage over time from frost bite and a nasty 70% slow as well as the Avatar Ultimate, which makes the flurry of heals and blows uninteruptable while making his highness harder to kill.

Your feeback is much anticipated in balancing out this new terror from the oceans.

- Map Adjustments

Starting points rearranged. There are now no more safe expansions available to grab. All potential expansions are near the river in the middle.

All shops are now on the bottom part of the map, forming a shopping late for armies to crash in.

The Mercenary camps have been moved to the top of the map near the water falls. Because the top lane is shorter it makes for more prolonged and bloodier exchanges between the teams.(friendly reminder, the camps here also sell Sky Barges - Outland's equivalent of Goblin Zepelins.)