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Skeleton Warriors (pack I)

About the pack:

This pack is dedicated to melee Skeletons wielding one-handed weapons. The models are stilistically identical on purpose and represent a group of Skeleton Warriors that mostly belong to the same tier. Other types of Skeletons will also be sorted into groups in their their own packs.

Technical info:
  • Contains many custom animations like Stand Defend, Spell, Attack Slam, etc.
  • Completely reworked portraits to be distinctive enough.
  • Improved old animations and removed glitching.
  • Contains only in-game textures.
UPDATES:
Added a Skeleton Maceman (featuring a distinctive portrait and special animations).
Added a Skeleton Duelist (featuring a distinctive portrait and special animations).
Renamed some of the models and added new animations:
  • Skeleton Axeman -> Skeleton Barbarian: added Spell, Spell Defend, Spell Slam and Stand Channel animations.
  • Skeleton Centurion: added Spell, Spell Defend and Spell Throw animations.
  • Skeleton Duelist: added an Attack Slam animation (spinning with blades).
  • Skeleton Maceman A -> Skeleton Crusher; Skeleton Maceman B -> Skeleton Mauler; Skeletons Swordsmen A B C -> Skeletons Soldiers A B C.
  • Skeleton Crusher, Mauler, Soldier: added Spell and Spell Defend animations.
  • Skeleton Warrior Shieldless A -> Skeleton Squire.
  • Removed Skeleton Swordsman D (link) from the list: the model does not have sufficient uniqueness.
Commentary: here I wanted to further reveal the characters of the models, highlight their roles and increase their potential for use.

Improved some mesh and old animations:
  • The pelvis part of armor during the Death sequence remained the same as in the classic models: redone.
  • Skeleton Crusher and Skeleton Mauler didn't have wooden handles on their weapons during the Birth and Death sequences: redone.
Commentary: despite the fact that those details were insignificant and very invisible, I decided to change this for greater accuracy and satisfaction. As the saying goes, the devil is in the details!

Other improvements and optimization:
  • Adjusted the height of the HP bars more precisely.
  • Portraits: removed some mesh which is not visible to the camera and removed all unused keyframes.
  • Models: linearized animations and removed more unused keyframes.
Commentary: as a result, the size of the models was decreased by 30-50%. Please note: if you want to further optimize the models, for example, using MDLX Optimizer, you will save a pair of kilobytes but might break the visibility of the geosets in some sequences.

New Skeletons:
  • Added a reworked version of classic Skeleton Warrior: improved mesh, added Stand, Walk, Attack Defend animations and fixed some minor issues.
  • Added a Skeleton Berserker with many special animations and a distinctive portrait!
Commentary: I decided to rework classic Skeleton Warrior to complete the picture: the old one did not hold the sword correctly, the spikes of the armor were placed rather chaotically and hung in the air and, in addition, in his portrait they were absent.

For more details read the post!
Renamed some of the models and added extra armor:
  • Skeleton Soldier (A, B, C) -> Skeleton Footman (A, B, C).
  • Skeleton Footman (A, B, C): added chest armor plates.
Commentary: here I wanted to put more emphasis on the mentioned above re-armored Skeletons and their role in the Undead army so their Defend animations now go well with their names. Also, in support of several "more armor" comments and since these skeletons have lighter weapons, I decided to make them more "tanky". The other Skeletons with heavier weapons (such as axes, maces and flails) are left with less armor and smaller shields, thus making the difference in role models for these warriors more noticeable.

Improved portraits:
  • Skeleton Squire: changed the camera angle.
  • Skeleton Warrior: added gear and changed the camera angle.
  • Skeleton Berserker: the portrait is reworked according to Deolrin's suggestion from this post.
Commentary: more uniqueness for portraits never hurts.

Fixed some recently discovered issues:
  • Added missing footprints in all Defend Walk sequences.
  • The "Weapon L Ref" attachment point is now correctly linked in the Skeleton Berserker model.
Commentary: I find it necessary to go back to my works and see where I screwed up, from time to time.

New Skeleton:
  • Added a Skeleton Juggernaut with many special animations and a distinctive portrait!
Commentary: Finally I got my hands on a well-armored Skeleton with heavy blunt weapons. Take it!

If you want to see what was behind the model, read this post!

Author's notes:
  • I also welcome you to visit my work in progress section for more creative content.
  • Some of these models were created for one of my favorite maps - Tree Tag.
  • Prolific and talented @Aldeia also prepared a big range of icons for you!
Feel free to use/edit the model but give credits!

Keywords:
Assassin, Axeman, Barbarian, Berserker, Duelist, Dagger, Footman, Juggernaut, Maceman, Necro, Necromancy, Skeletal, Skeleton, Swordsman, Undead, Warrior
Contents

SkeletonAssassin.mdx (Model)

SkeletonAssassinDaggerMissile.mdx (Model)

SkeletonBarbarian.mdx (Model)

SkeletonCenturion.mdx (Model)

SkeletonCrusher.mdx (Model)

SkeletonFootmanA.mdx (Model)

SkeletonFootmanA_Portrait.mdx (Model)

SkeletonFootmanB.mdx (Model)

SkeletonFootmanB_Portrait.mdx (Model)

SkeletonFootmanC.mdx (Model)

SkeletonFootmanC_Portrait.mdx (Model)

SkeletonJuggernaut.mdx (Model)

SkeletonJuggernaut_Portrait.mdx (Model)

SkeletonMauler.mdx (Model)

SkeletonSquire_Portrait.mdx (Model)

SkeletonWarrior.mdx (Model)

SkeletonWarrior_Portrait.mdx (Model)

SkeletonBarbarian_Portrait.mdx (Model)

SkeletonBerserker.mdx (Model)

SkeletonBerserker_Portrait.mdx (Model)

SkeletonCenturion_Portrait.mdx (Model)

SkeletonCrusher_Portrait.mdx (Model)

SkeletonDuelist.mdx (Model)

SkeletonDuelist_Portrait.mdx (Model)

SkeletonMauler_Portrait.mdx (Model)

SkeletonSquire.mdx (Model)

Reviews
ILH
ILH
Amazing skeleton variants with added animations and custom portrait. Very useful for general uses. Changes made. Works in-game. Approved! SoldierB and SoldierC is way too similar, though.
Amazing! skeleton models I'm glad you made these man
You're welcome 🙂
Can you make one for the Eredar Pack too?
I doubt. I will be very busy with projects in the near future and this is even on top of my personal ideas 🥲
Oh damn, I could just get on my knees and ask for your hand in marriage. Amazing work!
Oh, my! As an admirer of the Undead armies, I believe you know a lot about skeletons 💀
 
Last edited:
Level 48
Joined
Apr 18, 2008
Messages
8,416
I am absolutely infatuated with this cool pack. Little additions and changes to the vanilla roster are absolutely my jam, and those fulfil that niche in a great way. If I may make one suggestion, more variety in the shields - in particular removing the skull icon from some of them - would improve the pack significantly.
 
I am absolutely infatuated with this cool pack. Little additions and changes to the vanilla roster are absolutely my jam, and those fulfil that niche in a great way. If I may make one suggestion, more variety in the shields - in particular removing the skull icon from some of them - would improve the pack significantly.
Thanks man! I'd like to, but I couldn't touch the icon 😋 I still have a lot of ideas in my head, which I will return to in this pack or the next one, if I get lucky with more free time 😌
 

Kyrbi0

Arena Moderator
Level 44
Joined
Jul 29, 2008
Messages
9,487
This is just fantastic. I'm such a fan of variant Skellies that help flesh out (haha, skeleton humor) the ranks of the Undead with distinctive arms & armaments, and you've really done a good job of doing that. Particularly love the Centurion one. Just a great set all around.

Let's broaden the Skeleton universe together ☠️
You and @-Grendel baby : )
 
@HerrDave @Deolrin @Shar Dundred @stein123 @Kyrbi0 @Galadgod @Ilya Alaric and others, thanks for the positive feedback guys ❤️ it's very pleasant to read and it motivates me! :grin:
Thank you so much for adding more skeleton variety

If by chance you plan to continue with this, and going to do skeleton archers next, would you be able to make some crossbow variations as well? Unless that is too much to ask for, of course
Yea, I was thinking about making a crossbow variation when it comes to ranged Skeletons. I guess I will post another bundle with ranged Skeletons and their variations to differentiate the packs :thumbs_up:

UPDATED: added a new Skeleton Maceman.
SkeletonMacemanB_spin.gif

You spin me right round, baby, right round ☠️
MacemanAttack.png


I took the chain from a Meatwagon to support the Undead spirit of the model, added a fancy animation to highlight the character and made a distinctive portrait with the gear.

I decided to test myself by creating and animating this Skeleton. I tried to do it in the Blizzard style, as natural as possible, to get a decent result. That was a painful challenge, but what doesn't kill us makes us stronger 🥲
 
Last edited:

Kyrbi0

Arena Moderator
Level 44
Joined
Jul 29, 2008
Messages
9,487
@HerrDave @Deolrin @Shar Dundred @stein123 @Kyrbi0 @Galadgod @Ilya Alaric and others, thanks for the positive feedback guys ❤️ it's very pleasant to read and it motivates me! :grin:

Yea, I was thinking about making a crossbow variation when it comes to ranged Skeletons. I guess I will post another bundle with ranged Skeletons and their variations to differentiate the packs :thumbs_up:

UPDATED: added a new Skeleton Maceman.
View attachment 390515
You spin me right round, baby, right round ☠️
View attachment 390517

I took the chain from a Meatwagon to support the Undead spirit of the model, added a fancy animation to highlight the character and made a distinctive portrait with the gear.

I decided to test myself by creating and animating this Skeleton. I tried to do it in the Blizzard style, as natural as possible, to get a decent result. That was a painful challenge, but what doesn't kill us makes us stronger 🥲
My goodness I love it

I have a soft spot for maces flails anyway but that is a sick idea & you've executed it pretty well, as far as I can tell. (Just, yeah, edit that to "flail" for more accuracy).
 
My goodness I love it

I have a soft spot for maces flails anyway but that is a sick idea & you've executed it pretty well, as far as I can tell. (Just, yeah, edit that to "flail" for more accuracy).
How it should be called then? I was googling for that type of medieval infantry but even in Stronghold Crusader series they are called maceman 🤔
I like how the Skeleton Maceman is missing a horn on its helm, as if it had blown it off swinging its flail.
Yeah, you got it right 😀
 
Mace, flail or morning star all work :)
Wish English was my native language 🤓 Yeah, I was just looking for this type of soldier in one word. There's no flailmen infantry, they are called macemen instead and I got confused 😆 I guess that flails were a rarity for the infantry and that's why we have macemen 🧐
 
Level 10
Joined
Apr 22, 2015
Messages
183
@HerrDave @Deolrin @Shar Dundred @stein123 @Kyrbi0 @Galadgod @Ilya Alaric and others, thanks for the positive feedback guys ❤️ it's very pleasant to read and it motivates me! :grin:

Yea, I was thinking about making a crossbow variation when it comes to ranged Skeletons. I guess I will post another bundle with ranged Skeletons and their variations to differentiate the packs :thumbs_up:

UPDATED: added a new Skeleton Maceman.
View attachment 390515
You spin me right round, baby, right round ☠️
View attachment 390517

I took the chain from a Meatwagon to support the Undead spirit of the model, added a fancy animation to highlight the character and made a distinctive portrait with the gear.

I decided to test myself by creating and animating this Skeleton. I tried to do it in the Blizzard style, as natural as possible, to get a decent result. That was a painful challenge, but what doesn't kill us makes us stronger 🥲

Hot damn man, you spoil us. Keep up the amazing work!
 
Nice pack. Love more variations to the skeletons.

These will work great with new textures such as ReturnedCaptain.blp or with FLICKERING LIGHT - Horror Texture Pack.

I do miss some more variations in this pack, though. Please do update this pack with more <3
That texture pack is crazy, the Mountain Giant stole my heart ❤️
Thank you for your positive opinion, I am very pleased! Of course I will add more 👍

Hot damn man, you spoil us. Keep up the amazing work
Glad you like it!

UPDATED: added a new Skeleton Duelist.
SkeletonDuelist_Attack3.gif

A skillful duelist in the flesh (skeleton humor) ☠️
SkeletonDuelist2.png

SkeletonDuelist1.png

Here's a new Skeleton wielding two swords, a fresh portrait and a bunch of new smooth animations.

My goal was to create a quality foundation for future duelist warriors, so I worked hard on this one 🥲 Enjoy!
P.S. this is a basic model, I will make more variations soon 👌
 
Level 9
Joined
Oct 5, 2021
Messages
122
UPDATED: added a new Skeleton Duelist.
View attachment 390802
A skillful duelist in the flesh (skeleton humor) ☠️
View attachment 390803
View attachment 390805
Here's a new Skeleton wielding two swords, a fresh portrait and a bunch of new smooth animations.

My goal was to create a quality foundation for future duelist warriors, so I worked hard on this one 🥲 Enjoy!
P.S. this is a basic model, I will make more variations soon 👌
Whoa!! I've never seen such a skeleton model like this in HIVE
 
Level 17
Joined
Dec 24, 2018
Messages
570
awesome skelis friend, may some tips for more skeletons skeleton paladin with paladin animations hammer to (or just with hammer skeleton),, blademaster sword+ flag, revenat skeleton shield and mace, aqua skeleton lasture+ naga weapon, burning skeleton something like burning archer skeleton, giant skeleton can take tree like mountain giant,
 
awesome skelis friend, may some tips for more skeletons skeleton paladin with paladin animations hammer to (or just with hammer skeleton),, blademaster sword+ flag, revenat skeleton shield and mace, aqua skeleton lasture+ naga weapon, burning skeleton something like burning archer skeleton, giant skeleton can take tree like mountain giant,
Well, I have tonns of ideas that include different pieces of armor or various weapons but this pack was planned to have a certain set of Skeletons. I will explain it in detail in this post 👍
Great addition! Love the extra animations. A attack spin animation wouldn't hurt either ;)

Perhaps also consider adding more variations of the skeleton archer and mage? :)
Thank you! 😌 Yea, I was thinking about adding this animation but decided to leave this specific type of animation for higher tiers of Skeletons or their other variations like Skeletons Blademasters and so on, however I may put it here as well 🤔
Ohh yes, the new guy looks incredible!
Oh man I love this Duelist. Good name too. Gosh this is great.
My heart always warms after your words, gentlemen! 😌

To be clear, I had to explain what this pack is about, because it has a number. First of all, I wanted to 'pump up' the existing melee Skeletons by fixing issues and providing the mentioned Skeletons with new animations and gear. The gear was supposed to have its iconic design. Secondly, I wanted to expand the variety of such Skeletons. And, finally, this pack is a training ground for future sets of Skeletons.

This pack serves as a kind of "folder" of Skeletons, it has its own category, so in the near future it will be possible for me to sort out new Skeletons by groups. For example, the next pack might be about Skeletons wielding two-handed weapons, related animations and other style of armor (like Revenants have, for instance) OR it will be dedicated to ranged Skeletons, including archers, mages, and classic tier 1 armor. Otherwise it would have been a mess when, instead, I needed to focus and learn.

I decided to rely on deliberate steps and I prefer not to rush from side to side, following a million ideas in my head 😉 I also need time, patience and practice to create high quality and rather unique things. Small wins lead to big victories ✌️ Thank you for understanding!

UPDATED: improved description of the pack in order to explain its idea and purpose!
This pack is dedicated to melee Skeletons wielding one-handed weapons. The models are stilistically identical on purpose and represent a group of Skeleton Warriors that mostly belong to the same tier. Other types of Skeletons will also be sorted into groups in their their own packs.
The pack is not finished yet and can be replenished with new models any time.
 
Last edited:
Level 48
Joined
Apr 18, 2008
Messages
8,416
To be clear, I had to explain what this pack is about, because it has a number. First of all, I wanted to 'pump up' the existing melee Skeletons by fixing issues and providing the mentioned Skeletons with new animations and gear. The gear was supposed to have its iconic design. Secondly, I wanted to expand the variety of such Skeletons. And, finally, this pack is a training ground for future sets of Skeletons.

This pack serves as a kind of "folder" of Skeletons, it has its own category, so in the near future it will be possible for me to sort out new Skeletons by groups. For example, the next pack might be about Skeletons wielding two-handed weapons, related animations and other style of armor (like Revenants have, for instance) OR it will be dedicated to ranged Skeletons, including archers, mages, and classic tier 1 armor. Otherwise it would have been a mess when, instead, I needed to focus and learn.

I decided to rely on deliberate steps and I prefer not to rush from side to side, following a million ideas in my head 😉 I also need time, patience and practice to create high quality and rather unique things. Small wins lead to big victories ✌️ Thank you for understanding!
Your plan sounds absolutely solid and I'm looking forward to the fruits of your labour. :thumbs_up:
 
UPDATE:

Renamed some of the models and added new animations:

  • Skeleton Axeman -> Skeleton Barbarian: added Spell, Spell Defend, Spell Slam and Stand Channel animations.
  • Skeleton Centurion: added Spell, Spell Defend and Spell Throw animations.
  • Skeleton Duelist: added an Attack Slam animation (spinning with blades).
  • Skeleton Maceman A -> Skeleton Crusher; Skeleton Maceman B -> Skeleton Mauler; Skeletons Swordsmen A B C -> Skeletons Soldiers A B C.
  • Skeleton Crusher, Mauler, Soldier: added Spell and Spell Defend animations.
  • Skeleton Warrior Shieldless A -> Skeleton Squire.
  • Removed Skeleton Swordsman D from the list: the model does not have sufficient uniqueness.
Commentary: here I wanted to further reveal the characters of the models, highlight their roles and increase their potential for use.

Improved some mesh and old animations:
  • The pelvis part of armor during the Death sequence remained the same as in the classic models: redone.
  • Skeleton Crusher and Skeleton Mauler didn't have wooden handles on their weapons during the Birth and Death sequences: redone.
Commentary: despite the fact that those details were insignificant and very invisible, I decided to change this for greater accuracy and satisfaction. As the saying goes, the devil is in the details!

Other improvements and optimization:
  • Adjusted the height of the HP bars more precisely.
  • Portraits: removed some mesh which is not visible to the camera and removed all unused keyframes.
  • Models: linearized animations and removed more unused keyframes.
Commentary: as a result, the size of the models was decreased by 30-50%. Please note: if you want to further optimize the models, for example, using MDLX Optimizer, you will save a pair of kilobytes but might break the visibility of the geosets in some sequences.

New Skeletons:
  • Added a reworked version of classic Skeleton Warrior: improved mesh, added Stand, Walk, Attack Defend animations and fixed some minor issues.
  • Added Skeleton Berserker with many special animations and a distinctive portrait.
Commentary: I decided to rework classic Skeleton Warrior to complete the picture: the old one did not hold the sword correctly, the spikes of the armor were placed rather chaotically and hung in the air and, in addition, in his portrait they were absent.

Materials:

Skeleton Berserker
"A ferocious warrior who can withstand a lot of damage and massacre his enemies with a pair of swift bloodthirsty axes."
SkeletonBerserker_Portrait.gif
SkeletonBerserkerWalkFastRotation.gif
SkeletonBerserkerSpellSlam.gif
SkeletonBerserkerAttackSlam.gif

His single red eye is viciously glowing with anger and his strong bones crave for battles. But beware: as you might have noticed, he's a little crazy!

Besides giving him a big range of animations (see more inside) I decided to dive deeper into stylization: thus you may witness the bloody blades, damaged shield, agressive battle stance and rather quick attacks with wide movements. His broken horn and empty eye socket, as if he was hit hard on the head during his lifetime, go well with the idea of his name and origin. His red glowing eye and portrait grimaces can be perceived as a form of anger and rage that take root from his past. The team-colored parts are also well seen from the game camera view.
To sum up, I tried to create a unique and complete model that expresses itself well through gear and animations, while successfully fitting into the Warcraft universe. And, naturally, I tried to animate everything smoothly and at the level of classic models.
All weapons have their attachment points and collision spheres are also adjusted. That's it!

Some other cases:
SkeletonBerserkerStand4.gif
SkeletonCenturionSpellThrow.gif
SkeletonSoldierASpellDefend.gif
SkeletonBarbarianSpellSlam.gif
SkeletonDuelistAttackSlam.gif

SkeletonsWarriors.png
SkeletonCrusherDeath.gif
SkeletonMaulerDeath.gif
 
Level 48
Joined
Apr 18, 2008
Messages
8,416
Keep it up, Villagerino! Those are some great updates. The dual sword "spin to win" and the Berserker are my favourite from those additions (and the entire pack). :thumbs_up:

You could maybe alter the Skeleton Berserker's "Talk" animations to reflect that same wrathful character you gave it in the ordinary Portrait animations. The current "Talk" animations are too sinister and "sneaky" for this character, in my opinion!
 
Keep it up, Villagerino! Those are some great updates. The dual sword "spin to win" and the Berserker are my favourite from those additions (and the entire pack). :thumbs_up:

You could maybe alter the Skeleton Berserker's "Talk" animations to reflect that same wrathful character you gave it in the ordinary Portrait animations. The current "Talk" animations are too sinister and "sneaky" for this character, in my opinion!
Thank you! I was also thinking about it but for now I need to get away from skeletons for a while 🤪
Amazing work, love the update, have you considered combining the main model and the portrait, kinda like Ujimasa's optimized models?
Thanks! I feel like it is more convinient for me to deal with 2 separate files but I think I will try to merge the things in the future 👍
 
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