• 🏆 Texturing Contest #33 is OPEN! Contestants must re-texture a SD unit model found in-game (Warcraft 3 Classic), recreating the unit into a peaceful NPC version. 🔗Click here to enter!
  • It's time for the first HD Modeling Contest of 2024. Join the theme discussion for Hive's HD Modeling Contest #6! Click here to post your idea!

Rise of the Blood Elves v3.0

This bundle is marked as high quality. It exceeds standards and is highly desirable.

6HjXJoB.png


GLMcygJ.png

1) Make sure you have at least the 1.27 patch installed. The campaign WILL NOT WORK properly without it.
Specifically, Chapter Three will not load at all.
2) Download the Rise of the Blood Elves Intro cinematic and extract into your Warcraft III/Movies folder.
LINK TO THE CINEMATIC FILE
3) Download the campaign and place into your Warcraft III/Campaigns folder, or My Documents/Warcraft 3/Campaigns
if you have the 1.28 patch.
4) Play the campaign!


gpRvdoy.png

In a daring campaign against the Scourge in Northrend, Illidan faced off against the death
knight Arthas in an attempt to destroy the Frozen Throne. However, Arthas defeated Illidan and left him
wounded in the snow, allowing Illidan to witness the creation of the new Lich King.

Kael'thas Sunstrider and Lady Vashj, realising their defeat, brought Illidan with them as they fled back to
Outland. Seeing their master's ugly wounds, they decide to bring him back to the Hellfire Citadel so that
he may recover... but, unbeknownst to them, Outland was in a state of a minor civil war.

Soon after that, tensions rise in the blood elven society as the Grand Magistrix Alessandra Katryne
proposes a dangerous idea: reclamation of their homeland, Quel'Thalas.


F2hGgbP.png

- Campaign in the style of Blizzard's campaigns.
- 12 chapters, 6 interludes, 1 epilogue and 1 cinematic.
- A new revamped blood elf techtree, based on the human techtree, but with new units and abilities.
- A storyline with its roots in WoW: The Burning Crusade, along with some unique new stories.
- Lots of custom models, skins, icons, voice sets and music.


vGQfQIu.png

A short story that serves as a prelude to the story of Rise of the Blood Elves.
It depicts the motivations and history of Alessandra Katryne, one of the main characters.


rgl5kCD.png
HlQmo25.png
Kael'thas Sunstrider - Lord of the Blood Elves. All Kael'thas wishes is the best for his people,
and he is willing to make questionable some decisions to ensure this future.
qq993f9.png
Alessandra Katryne - Grand Magistrix of the Blood Elves. Alessandra's past is filled with
disappointment and sorrow, and she will fight to ensure the best for her people.
2eXA7RI.png
Lor'themar Theron - Regent-Lord of Quel'Thalas. Lor'themar is a rational and careful leader.
Lor'themar wants to ensure a promising future for his people, but is not willing to cross certain lines.
epenp4.jpg
Aewynne Maysong - Ranger-General of the Blood Elves. Aewynne is a good-willed and noble
leader, who cares about her home more than anything else.
rnmZOiB.png
Lady Liadrin - The Blood Knight Matriarch, Lady Liadrin is fiercely loyal to Kael'thas,
but values justice above all. Once the situation changes, Liadrin is not above fighting
with people she once called enemies.
xvRiT3C.png
Illidan Stormrage - Lord of Outland. After his defeat at Icecrown, Illidan became
reclusive, focusing on some unknown future.
BNCqgbJ.png
Dar'Khan Drathir - In the Scourge invasion of Quel'Thalas, Dar'Khan betrayed his people,
ensuring Quel'Thalas' destruction. Now, he rules over the undead of Quel'Thalas, viciously
hunting all remaining elves.
8Oq7llL.png
Sylvanas Windrunner - The Banshee Queen, ruler of the Forsaken, a powerful undead faction.
In life, Sylvanas was the ranger-general of Silvermoon and bravely defended her home against
the Undead Scourge in the Third War. She continues the same battle in undeath.
k5pd5c2.png
Lady Vashj - Leader of the naga loyal to Illidan. Lady Vashj is cunning and manipulative,
and fiercely loyal to Illidan, ready to give her life for him at any moment.

ur5lbQj.png
UXb1fl8.png
arYqUn0.png
krth8Vj.png
CQK5EVt.png
mQ10IyQ.png
5BkvVTH.png
MnfQqhd.png
SBmml47.png
yEuDUcd.png
IayQPfC.png
mwfiugj.png
axU4QPF.png
IdvnTP2.png
pYKxi26.png
Z16uHPi.png


Models CreditsSkins CreditsIcons CreditsMiscellaneous credits
ArrowVolley by Em!
Blood Elf buildings by SinisterX
Blood Elf doodads by Klayton
Blood Elf Ballista by Sellenisko
Kalecgos by Cakedog345 and Marshmalo
Draenei buildings and some units by SinisterX
DraeneiGemcrafter by Sellenisko
DraeneiHuntress by Sellenisko
DraeneiPaladin by AnemicRoyalty
Elekk Knight by Hawkwing and Cavman
BluefireBolt by UgoUgo
OrbOfVenom by UgoUgo
OrbOfFire by UgoUgo
Arcane_Barrage by florent86
Blood Elf Arcane Guardian by AndrewOverload519
GrandMage by Skipper
SC2ForceField by epsilon
MeteorStrike by UgoUgo
Ghost Strike by Boogles
Arcane Explosion By Champara Bros
Arcane Missile By Weep
BloodelfMage by Frankster
BloodelfPhoenixCrusader by Frankster
Hero Bloodelf Sword Master By Frankster
BloodelvenWarrior by Frankster
IcyGhost by PrMosquito
FelOrcLancer by Frankster
FelOrcWarlord by Frankster
Fire Nova by shamanyouranus
Orb of Dragons By Frankster
Orb of Fire By Frankster
SunfireMissile by pWn3d
Wretched by Cavman
Wraith Lord By donut3.5
Orb of Darkness by Frankster
Queensland Shield by I3lackDeath
WoW Kil'jaeden By takakenji
Bloodelf Wizard By Frankster
Shadow Golem by WILL THE ALMIGHTY
Forsaken Buildings by Ujimasa Hoso
Wretched Worker by Ujimasa Hoso
Wretched Swordsman by Ujimasa Hoso
Wretched Sorceress by Ujimasa Hoso
Lady Liadrin By kangyun
Lor'themar By kangyun
Vereesa Windrunner By kangyun
Holy Rune Golem By Alpain
Holy Blast By JesusHipster
Naaru By Hawkwing
Naga Royal Guard By Tarrasque
Prophet Velen by Stefan.K
Some models by Blizzard Entertainment
BloodElfArcher_by67chrome.blp By 67chrome
BansheeRanger by Hueter
BloodElfSorceress_by67chrome.blp By 67chrome
HeroTaurenChieftain.blp By zadelim
Sin'dorei UI by I3lackDeath
Silvermoon Tiles by Laercio
ReturnedArcher by 67chrome
ReturnedCaptain by 67chrome
ReturnedMage by 67chrome
Rilrae Thraele by shiiK
DarkChampion by 67chrome
DarkElfArcher by Juice_F
DarkSylvanas by 67chrome
DarkwingBat by 67chrome
corruptedkael By Daenar7
BloodElfSentry By 67chrome
BTNAdept by PeeKay
BTNBatby67chrome by 67chrome
BTNCRDRAGONBLOODBADBLOOD by CRAZYRUSSIAN
BTNCRFlamez by CRAZYRUSSIAN
BTNCrRICHARD by CRAZYRUSSIAN
BTNDarkChampion by 67chrome
BTNDarkSylvanas by 67chrome
BTNDeathguard by 67chrome
BTNLevelQQDSJaina by 67chrome
BTNPoisonNails by Elainiel
BTNRilraeThraele by shiiK
BTNSylvanas by 67chrome
BTNWeaver by PeeKay
BTNSearingArrow by Darkfang
BTNArcaneSword by Mc !
BTNBloodElfArcherby67chrome By 67chrome
BTNBloodElfEnchantressby67chrome By 67chrome
BTNBloodElfSorceressby67chrome By 67chrome
BTNBloodelfPhoenixCrusader by Frankster
BTNBloodelfHeroSwordChampion By General Frank
BTNBloodelvenWarrior by Frankster
BTNDarkSylvanasby67chrome By 67chrome
BTNFelOrcWarlord By General Frank
BTNHeroBloodelvenPaladin by Frankster
BTNIcyGhostA by PrMosquito
BTNLevelQQDSJaina By 67chrome
BTNPhoenix By bananaHUNT
BTNRPGShadowElf By Tenebrae
BTNScorch By Bogrim
BTNWraith2 By donut3.5
BTNZLTaurenDeathKnightblp By zadelim
BTNCRsoulcrown By CRAZYRUSSIAN
BTNDraeneiHuntressby67chrome By 67chrome
BTNDraeneiMaleShaman By FrIkY
BTNMultipleshot By Mr.Goblin
BTNPhoenixDartv2 By 4eNNightmare
BTNSphereOfDarkness By PeeKay
BTNRubyAmulet By PeeKay
BTNZodiacWarrior By dickxunder
BTNBloodelfGuard By Frankster
BTNPhoenixEgg By Elfsilver Lord
BTNSapphire By PeeKay
BTNJewelofDarkness By PeeKay
BTNArcanicNexus By The_Silent
BTNBloodelfPhoenixGuard By Frankster
BTNBloodElfSentry By 67chrome
BTNHeavenlyBlessing By Atmosferic
BTNPCelestialWings By Paladon
BTNPhoenixCall By Mr.Goblin
BTNRondache2 By PeeKay
BTNRondache3 By PeeKay
BTNSpikeBow By Army-of-Pandas
BTNRainofFire By Mr.Goblin
BTNPyroblast By aki15
BTNOrbThingy By Sin'dorei300
Some icons by Blizzard Entertainment
Two Steps from Hell - Decimator
audiomachine - Berserker
World of Warcraft music - Xaxas
World of Warcraft music - Eversong Woods
World of Warcraft music - Sunwell Plateau
World of Warcraft music - Icecrown Citadel, Crimson Halls
World of Warcraft music - Undercity
World of Warcraft music - Invincible
World of Warcraft music - Hellfire Peninsula
World of Warctaft music - Broken Shore
Voices from World of Warcraft
GLaDOS voice from Portal, Valve Corporation
Spooky Ambience by Cr1msonKing
Mass Effect - In Pursuit of Saren
Some riddles in Chapter Seven are from The Hobbit

Changelog

- Released.

- Fixed a bug in chapter nine that let the
first quest finish immediately.

- Interludes The Forsaken and Tempest Keep should now play
with no problem.

- Ghost in Chapter Seven has a new model.
- Sylvanas will no longer run away in the ending cinematic in Chapter Six.
- The Draenei AI in Chapter Eleven should now work fine.
- The hint in Chapter Two appears when you secure the base.

- Ragebeast Clan alliance fixed.
- The wretched are now using models from Ujimasa Hoso.
- The Draenei AI should now work for real.

- Cliff ramps are now more smooth in every map.
- Some terrain fixed.
- Forsaken are now using buildings from Ujimasa Hoso, and techtree from
Curse of the Forsaken 2.0.
- Forsaken AI in Chapter Six now builds much faster.
- Draenei AI in Chapter Eleven should really work now.
- Mention of Vereesa removed in Chapter Four.
- Scout/Guard/Cannon/Arcane Tower model is now fixed.
- Gold in Chapter Three is now limited.
- Difficulty description changed to Normal/Hard.
- Marksmanship now increases attack by 15/30/35%.
- Wretched Swordsman has increased attack.
- Wretched in Chapter Five have level 2 upgrades now, not level 3.
- Kael is now invulnerable in Chapter Eleven until he
finishes saying his lines.
- Enemy buildings can now be destroyed in Chapter Eight. There is
also an alternate ending if you manage to destroy them all.
- Triggers whose goal is destroying all enemy buildings have been
updated to work better. (Except in Chapter Ten.)
- New easter egg added in Chapter Five.
- Riddle of the Future easter egg added across multiple maps.

- Ragebeast Clan bug fixed in Chapter Two.
- Riddle of the Future removed.
- Dar'khan's units at the end now attack in faster intervals in Chapter Seven.
- You now start allied with other blood elves in Chapter Three.
- You now get the side quest in Chapter Three later.
- Side quest in Chapter Three is explained a little bit different.
- All heroes' spell are now hotkeyed to QWER.
- Kalecgos' title changed to Steward of Magic.
- Lor'themar's title changed to Battlemage.
- Forsaken buildings' tooltips fixed.
- Forsaken Workers can no longer become Shades and unsummon buildings.
- All chapters are now skippable with a cheat.
- There are now two specific hard waves in Chapter Eight, triggered after
15 minutes and 28 minutes.
- The Draenei AI in Chapter Eleven has finally been fixed.
- Demon Portals in Chapter Eleven now work through triggers.

Main Changes
- World of Warcaft: The Burning Crusade CGI Cinematic now plays as the intro to the campaign.
- New map: Chapter Ten - The Siege of Black Temple.
- Campaign cover picture updated.
- Heavily rewritten dialogues in: Chapter One, Three, Four, Five, Six, Nine and Eleven (Ten), and in almost all of the interludes. Other chapters have received some minor alterations to dialogues.
- Rewritten intro descriptions to almost all maps.
- Lowered collision size of almost all units for easier pathing.
- Updated a lot of tooltips.
- Cinematics updated.
- Difficulty altered in most maps, harder maps should now be a bit easier.
- Aewynne is no longer controllable in Chapter Eleven (Ten).

Techtree Changes
- Arcane Affinity now reduces magic damage by 25% (was 20%).
- Magic Sentry now instead gives Towers the ability to increase nearby friendly units' mana regeneration.

Hawkstrider Knight
- Requires Sanctuary instead of Spire to be trained.
- Cleave now strikes 25% of damage to nearby enemy units (was 12%).

Sorceress
- Can now once again use Polymorph.
- Can no longer use Illusion.

Arcane Golem
- Resistant Skin is now called Prismatic Barrier and also gives Arcane Golems passive health regeneration.

Blood Knight
- Holy Light heals for 250 hit points (from 125).
- Seal of Protection now lasts 30 seconds (from 25).
- Wings of Retribution increases movement speed and attack rate by 40%. Has a new special effect when cast.

Ballista
- Damage buffed.

Phoenix
- No longer has Spell Immunity. Instead, has a new ability, Spell Resistance, which reduces magic damage taken by 50%.
- Now costs 7 food (from 6).

Kael'thas
- Can no longer use Summon Lava Spawn. Instead, can use Summon Al'ar, which summons Al'ar, a powerful phoenix, to fight alongside Kael'thas.

Alessandra
- Has a new voice. (Valeera from Heroes of the Storm)
- Soulburn has been significantly buffed and now drastically increases Alessandra's attack speed.
- Dark Soul's Voidlord is no longer immobile.

Lor'themar
- Has a new model and a new icon.
- Flames of Retribution no longer does friendly fire. Now costs 75 mana (from 85).
- Blood Cry now affects a larger area. Now costs 50 mana (from 90).
- Can no longer use Dashing Winds. Instead, has a new ability, Living Bomb, which adds extra damage on each attack and causes units that die while under the effect to explode, dealing damage to nearby enemy units.

Liadrin
- Has a new model, a new icon and a new voice.
- Desiccation Aura is no longer visually displayed.

Aewynne
- Paralysing Arrow's range is now 800 (was 600).
- Evergreen now costs 50 mana (from 75).
- Marksmanship has been significantly buffed and now drastically increases Aewynne's attack damage.
- Volley of Arrows no longer does friendly fire.

Sylvanas
- Has a new voice.

Kalecgos
- Has a new voice.
- Abilities are now stronger.

- Lowered all units' collision size, which should make it easier to move units around the map and reduce units getting stuck.
- Fixed a bug in Chapter Twelve which could cause the boss fight to begin at the beginning of the map.

- Fixed a bug in Chapter Nine where you could end the map early by just flying around the map with Al'ar.
- Removed the ability Web from Kil'jaeden in Chapter Twelve which could prevent Kalecgos from executing his triggers.

- Increased Kargath's respawn timer in Chapter Ten.
- Added a new gold mine in Chapter Ten.

- Chapter Ten should be a little easier now.
- Lor'themar's Blood Cry has been buffed. It now lasts for 10 seconds and affects a larger area.
- Prophet Velen has a new model.
- Aurora and Vesper are now the collect colour in the Epilogue.

- Hawkstrider Knight now costs less resources, 3 food instead of 4, and does a little bit more damage.
- Phoenix now attacks a little slower, and can no longer increase its attack from the Blacksmith upgrades.

Please post any bugs, suggestions and tips!


Translations
Russian - v3.0.5, hosted on xgm.guru, by kirlandiya


Links
Curse of the Forsaken - My other campaign, following the story of Sylvanas and Forsaken
during the war with the Lich King.
Contents

Rise of the Blood Elves v3.0 (Campaign)

Reviews
11:15, 15th Jan 2014 Hell_Master: Map approved with a rating of 4/5. See my review here for more information: Review I have finished this map right now and still deserves 4/5 unless you fix the bugs I mentioned on the review even if its not...
Level 1
Joined
Oct 23, 2020
Messages
2
In chapter 5(Amplification), after clearing the south-eastern Wretched base I cut through the trees that were hiding the secret banshee but when I reached it, there was no 'Secret Found' message, or anything for that matter. It didn't speak or drop the Crown of Kings like it should have..
Is there something wrong with the trigger for this version of the campaign or is there some issue with my version of the game(v1.30.4.11274) ?
Someone please help...
 
Level 4
Joined
Sep 15, 2020
Messages
31
In chapter 5(Amplification), after clearing the south-eastern Wretched base I cut through the trees that were hiding the secret banshee but when I reached it, there was no 'Secret Found' message, or anything for that matter. It didn't speak or drop the Crown of Kings like it should have..
Is there something wrong with the trigger for this version of the campaign or is there some issue with my version of the game(v1.30.4.11274) ?
Someone please help...
Did you make sure to select the Banshee after clearing the trees? Typically, she doesn't begin her dialogue until you click on her.
 
Level 1
Joined
Oct 23, 2020
Messages
2
Did you make sure to select the Banshee after clearing the trees? Typically, she doesn't begin her dialogue until you click on her.
Holy sh*t that worked! Was that all I had to do?!:ogre_rage:
Thanks anyways for pointing that out. I jumped to that conclusion too fast...my bad. Sorry for wasting your time.
 
Level 2
Joined
Feb 9, 2020
Messages
3
It was a great experience for me, every mission was different from each other fun and not tedious to complete the race and tech tree felt kinda unique and it was strong but not way to Op(Blood knights + spell breakers=unstoppable) every unit is useful in their way and no unit was trash thats very good, bosses were way to easy compared to rts missions due to alessandra's Q spam and all the cc that your units and heroes have(i have not played in hard yet). About alessandra it feels weird to have a passive that gives intelligence since Q has low mana cost and is better than just normal attacks, that makes her w not very useful from my experience.

The storyline was pretty enjoyable and thats all that i have to say thanks for this great campaign and wish you good luck
 
So since I still have my 1.27 version I thought I'd play through all the old custom campaigns I used to enjoy and I gotta say: This one is probably one of the best I've ever played, genuinely. I know it took 3 versions to get here but nevertheless everything from the level design, to dialogue to techtrees to story is just perfect and I thoroughly enjoyed it so much I hated having to leave it and go to bed before picking it back up the next day.

Truly one the best and even better, it brings the story of Burning Crusade to the Warcraft 3 audience.

There's also such a good balance of difficulty to be found, the Black Citadel was probably the hardest mission but I still managed it and felt a good sense of accomplishment for it.

Honestly, I just hope you find the time to make maybe a third campaign and hopefully Reforged will allow us to play it in time.
 
Level 26
Joined
Nov 5, 2010
Messages
1,382
So since I still have my 1.27 version I thought I'd play through all the old custom campaigns I used to enjoy and I gotta say: This one is probably one of the best I've ever played, genuinely. I know it took 3 versions to get here but nevertheless everything from the level design, to dialogue to techtrees to story is just perfect and I thoroughly enjoyed it so much I hated having to leave it and go to bed before picking it back up the next day.

Truly one the best and even better, it brings the story of Burning Crusade to the Warcraft 3 audience.

There's also such a good balance of difficulty to be found, the Black Citadel was probably the hardest mission but I still managed it and felt a good sense of accomplishment for it.

Honestly, I just hope you find the time to make maybe a third campaign and hopefully Reforged will allow us to play it in time.

Thanks for the kind words! I am glad you enjoy the campaign, but I honestly can't help but be horrified nowadays by some of the choices I made! Aewynne just faints in that one cinematic instead of admitting she was wrong and lowering her weapon? Uh... also, the chapter where the blood elves fight each other could have been done waaaaay better. And the underground Silvermoon level was weird as shit. I wish I could blame these choices on wonky WoW lore, but this was all me!
However, I do feel these sort of things were kind of campy and fun so I do not regret them, but man, some of these things could have been executed way better! Eh, I was pleased with the choices at the time - that's all that matters!

Anyway, while I still visit Hive fairly regularly, I haven't posted anything in a long time because I think I've pretty much left Warcraft 3 behind. I've posted a few times since the release of Curse of the Forsaken v3.0 that I've wanted to update this campaign, and I've had a few other ideas for a third campaign, but I am honestly not really interested anymore in working on Warcraft 3 projects. I haven't managed to find the right idea for a third campaign and at this point, I'm more interested in other stuff than rehashing my Warcraft 3 campaigns. I might someday finish up the new version I had planned out for RotBE, but... right now I don't see myself working on Warcraft 3 anymore.

Creating follow-ups to the blood elf and Forsaken stories of The Frozen Throne was a passion of a younger me and I am very satisfied with what I've achieved, but it can't go on forever. Like I said, I had ideas for an update, but these two campaigns are, for the most part, finished. RotBE could use an update, but it doesn't need it. I believe I have achieved with it what I wanted to achieve. CotF v3.0 is in my view absolutely finished, and RotBE, maaaaaaaybe some day I'll come back to it.

In any case, I am glad people are still playing these campaigns and enjoying them!
 

I think the previous versions were much campier for sure. Where it is just now I think is good, everybody always thinks they can make their maps/projects better; I look back at all the stuff I work on and think its never finished.

The underground Silvermoon level I thought was one of the best aspects actually from the terrain and aesthetics and riddles, I thought it was a cool change of pace and design. So other than maybe just improving the Blood Elves fighting each other cinematic I think. I do slightly miss the recurring Tauren Death Knight tho of version 1, he was pretty cool. Also the scaling of the difficulty in Ver 3 is so much better than ver 2 I remember some missions of ver 2 just being hair rippingly annoying in terms of difficulty where as this was refreshingly fun and the difficulty was appropriate throughout cos I doubt my skills have improved as a player.

I'm glad you still drop into the Workshop from time to time. I think we're all a lot older now at least I am from when I first joined the Hive and I definitely find it hard to find time for Warcraft 3 with real life going on. Tbh I think you've earned your Warcraft 3 retirement with what you've given to the community, I wish my non-reforged client was 1.3 so I could play CotF but I don't mind I played the first 2 versions of it and it was cool.
 
Level 1
Joined
May 13, 2021
Messages
3
hello everyone, I really liked this game and already finished it but I want to play it now again, can anyone help me and can I play it on reforged version or is there anything similar for reforged.
 
Level 6
Joined
Jul 17, 2015
Messages
67
Reforged hasn't so much as had a news post since August of last year, and word spread that the team that was working on Reforged got disbanded late 2020.

Until we see proof to the contrary, Acti-Blizz has abandoned Reforged, and will not be delivering any more updates or feature updates for it beyond bare-bones balance changes and general multiplayer upkeep.
 
Level 4
Joined
Oct 14, 2020
Messages
18
Hello, I have started playing this campaign and I found a bug in Chapter Two (The Weak Perish), So if you capture 'The burning fire' Clan, you can buy a 'tiny Great Hall' with Lady vashj and when you use it it becomes an undead main building (Necropolis).. Very fascinating.. You can build a bunch of skeletal marksmans, Crypt fiends & ghouls from the Crypt, TOTD - Apothecary's, banshees & necromancers. Slaughter House - Abombs, obsidian stats, Gargoyles (with pig faces) and very last which will make you laugh, you can actually train Arcane Golems in the boneyards. Using 1.30.4 version
 
Level 28
Joined
May 14, 2021
Messages
1,095
Hello, I have started playing this campaign and I found a bug in Chapter Two (The Weak Perish), So if you capture 'The burning fire' Clan, you can buy a 'tiny Great Hall' with Lady vashj and when you use it it becomes an undead main building (Necropolis).. Very fascinating.. You can build a bunch of skeletal marksmans, Crypt fiends & ghouls from the Crypt, TOTD - Apothecary's, banshees & necromancers. Slaughter House - Abombs, obsidian stats, Gargoyles (with pig faces) and very last which will make you laugh, you can actually train Arcane Golems in the boneyards. Using 1.30.4 version
This is quite freak. It reminds me the "Fall of Silvermoon" bug, where you can actually possess a worker and build units/heroes of all races.
 
Level 6
Joined
Jul 17, 2015
Messages
67
and very last which will make you laugh, you can actually train Arcane Golems in the boneyards
This part isn't as wild and silly as it may seem at first - remember, in the first few levels in Quel'thalas in the campaign, the Scourge are in fact using Arcane Golems against you. I suppose this simply confirms which building they produce them out of if you never got a glimpse of them being popped out of the building.
 
Level 7
Joined
Jul 9, 2006
Messages
227
I just finished this campaign (and CotF before), and I just want to say thank you for your great works.

Together with Curse of the Forsaken you extended the stories of Warcraft 3 and the Frozen Throne into the World of Warcraft expansions that followed. Warcraft 3 is very dear to me, and being able to experience the continuation of its story and peoples means a lot to me, and I'm very glad that you've given me this experience to savor.

Thank you so much and I wish you the best in your life outside of Warcraft 3!
 
Level 4
Joined
Sep 15, 2020
Messages
31
This is quite freak. It reminds me the "Fall of Silvermoon" bug, where you can actually possess a worker and build units/heroes of all races.
Any Undead mission that gives me Banshees (Or Sylvanas with Charm) I always look for this kinda exploit. In any RTS game I love capturing the enemy's units and using their own Uber Units against them, from Starcraft: Brood War with the Dark Templar (Great coz Zerg, Protoss and Terran use their own Pop Count per race), or Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 where Engineers can capture enemy Construction Yards. Unleashing each faction's doomsday weapon at once is just so satisfying XD
 
Level 1
Joined
Aug 7, 2021
Messages
1
Hey man I love your campaigns can't get enough of playing these nostalgic games, so much fun coming back to these
great little custom games. I've played a few right through but cannot seem to get the loading screen on level 3. I've got the latest download
for the map as well added the movie clip to the correct file - maybe its my Windows OS, i've tried deleting, redownloading and replaying the level but still get caught up.

Anybody able to help?
 
Level 11
Joined
Aug 1, 2019
Messages
268
Hey man I love your campaigns can't get enough of playing these nostalgic games, so much fun coming back to these
great little custom games. I've played a few right through but cannot seem to get the loading screen on level 3. I've got the latest download
for the map as well added the movie clip to the correct file - maybe its my Windows OS, i've tried deleting, redownloading and replaying the level but still get caught up.

Anybody able to help?
you need version 1.28 or higher to fix this problem
 
Level 28
Joined
May 14, 2021
Messages
1,095
Hey man I love your campaigns can't get enough of playing these nostalgic games, so much fun coming back to these
great little custom games. I've played a few right through but cannot seem to get the loading screen on level 3. I've got the latest download
for the map as well added the movie clip to the correct file - maybe its my Windows OS, i've tried deleting, redownloading and replaying the level but still get caught up.

Anybody able to help?
It looks like the map description has been outdated (requires 1.28), but in order to play the campaign, you are going to need 1.29. You can download 1.29 from this thread or this one.

After downloading and putting your CD-Keys (for both games), you'll have to download this campaign and movie, place the w3n to "Documents\Warcraft III\Campaigns". For movies, just place the required file to "C:\Program Files (x86)\Warcraft III\Movies" folder.

Remember to not hit Battle.net once you own the Classic WC3, otherwise you'll get Reforged instead (though you can still use Quenching Mod if you accidentally hit Reforged).
 
Level 2
Joined
Jul 27, 2017
Messages
20
Is there any way to fix blood knight model in the editor myself? It's strange that it only happens here but not in CotF. This one is bothering me so much I just can't wait for the next update
 
Level 28
Joined
May 14, 2021
Messages
1,095
Is there any way to fix blood knight model in the editor myself? It's strange that it only happens here but not in CotF. This one is bothering me so much I just can't wait for the next update
I don't know about how to fix this problem but there is a chance the imported files will get corrupted if you say Blood Knight model isn't appear.
 
Level 2
Joined
Jul 27, 2017
Messages
20
I don't know about how to fix this problem but there is a chance the imported files will get corrupted if you say Blood Knight model isn't appear.
The model isn't missing. This bug has been known since the last update, it has something to do with 1.31. The unit has night elf skin for some reason, but the custom sword and shield still appear. The strange thing is the exact same unit in cotf isn't bugged
 
Level 3
Joined
Mar 17, 2018
Messages
13
Greeting, Tomoraider!

I completed Rise of the Blood Elves on 1.27 Version, there's no dynamic difficulty either Normal or Hard. I must say this is unofficial WCIII after Frozen Throne and many downside not the gameplay only the lore doesn't make sense such as Kael'thas betrayal for power-hungry magic to his people and Illidan get justice out-of-nowhere by the Burning Legion considered taken from The Burning Crusade which doesn't consider for MMOs storytelling, even Lor'themar as leader of the Blood Elves and joined the Horde together with the Forsaken on the Eastern Kingdom thanks to Arthas alot for pillage. Huh... why!? I considered WOW every expansion lore non-canon, especially for Sylvanas grey territory, Night Elves getting dwindled and Draenei retcon as a eredar plus Naaru over-9000 s!it.

At least, some interesting parts like Alessandra Katryne is my only good parts of the story not even surpassing Aewynne and Liadrin so far. I have no idea some people Aewynne is Female-Halduron Brightwing which is very muddled for me, considered in WCII there's male Ranger trainable for human side as a range unit to appraise to admirable I demand the feedback where Rise of the Blood Elves 4.0 by late-2020s where Sylvanas's Dark Ranger to call of mind for female Ranger during as Ranger-General of Silvermoon in Third War suddenly Arthas sack this s!it, Halduron revived the male Ranger during Second War as successor of Sylvanas and renaming Farstrider-General of Silvermoon, led by Halduron Brightwing, meanwhile Aewynne Deadsong is the part of Sylvanas's Forsaken as Dark Ranger and lastly don't ever mentioned Lor'themar Theron as a Farstriders don't you think Halduron compete male-range unit facepalms preferred to him as warrior. Constructive Criticism is my word for you.

About the gameplay, only the Blood Elves unit are absolutely original made than the Frozen Throne indolence give me OCD except Arcane Golem and Blood Knight for lore reason and could you changed Night Elves Announcer rather than Human Announcer like under attack, etc for feedback. The way I played each chapter are something the mind during 6th Grade as a noob typing 'Whosyourdaddy' to something funny like Sylvanas kill the ghost leaving the one unique items and Kil'jaeden one-shot for day (LMAO!), thankfully I become a good-RTS player and WCIII live forever. Unlike replayability and blind playthrough, some chapter are hassle and unforgiving like Chapter 10: Imbalanced Fel-Orc Chaos and Naga Royal Guard and Couatl made me swear, then the BUG!? where Evergreen doesn't work cannot get Mother Shahraz no choice to cheat 'Whosyourdaddy' then turn off only Akama and Aewynne leaving pointless units for two bosses died and Chapter 12: For selfish reason, I rushed the orange base to completed the side quest suddenly the Blood Elves vs Blood Elves made me sacrifice the starter unit, plus the demon portal opened make the restart, I just look Jayborino, yeah I spammed Phoenixes only.

This rated for A+ for gameplay for Blood Elves and Alessandra and D for lore taken the Burning Crusade for Two Faction respectively. Good campaign 4.5/5.0!
Edit: Oh gosh, apologies for long review and forget rhe rating the campaign, my bad.
 
Last edited:
Level 2
Joined
Jun 28, 2015
Messages
5
Try it and let the community (us) know the results :)
That was the plan - i was going to try it on sunday and would have posted if it worked..

EDIT: works good with quenching. Sometimes the Cinematics are a bit laggy but otherwise all smooth.

Just to let you know, all custom campaigns that are available on Hive Workshop can be playable on Reforged with Quenching Mod. However, some campaigns that are protected are prone for bugs.
Thank you very much for the info good sir :)
 
Last edited:
Level 16
Joined
May 25, 2004
Messages
1,170
Hey, how's everyone doing? I've been rewatching Jayborino's playthrough of Curse of the Forsaken v3.0 and I thought I should come back here for a moment and let everyone know I'm still alive. It's been, what, almost a year since I last posted here? Been personally quite a tough year for me, but I'm on a bit of a break from everything right now so things are looking up. Jayborino should replay this on hard difficulty so I can suprise even myself by how hard I made this campaign, because I actually don't remember how it even plays on hard. Didn't I make it even harder when I did the v.3.0.1 update? This campaign came out three and a half years ago? The fuck. The pandemic has broken my perception of time.

Anyway, I have no idea what's going on with Warcraft 3 nowadays. I'm gonna say nothing, but maybe I'm wrong. I wanted to buy Reforged once it went on sale so I can play the official campaigns, but it never does so I guess both Blizzard and I are pretending it never happened.

It'd be fun to do that Rise of the Blood Elves update I've been talking about... for years now? Oof. I'd like to say someday I'll do it, but honestly, I've actually been writing my own fantasy book quite seriously for the last 3 or so years, especially this year, and that's where all my creative energy goes these days. Writing a book is hard. It's torture. Sometimes you force yourself to push through a chapter and you think you wrote the greatest pile of shit in existence and wonder what illness set you upon this path, then you reread it a week later and discover you're a god. You find one profound sentence and wonder why no one ever told you you're a genius. Then the next day you wonder again whether anything at all you wrote makes any sense and if you should just quit while you're still sane. And so it goes on and on. But I'll do it. I'll finish it! Then hopefully someday I can come back here and shamelessly shill for myself.

I haven't really been playing a lot of WoW lately either so I haven't really been super following up with what's going on. The story of Shadowlands has been horrifyingly amusing to follow, at least. I'm dreading how Sylvanas is gonna end up (they're gonna Kerrigan it, I know it), but I'm here for the memes. At least we'll always have the memes.

Anyway, thanks for reading my madman's yearly update. Not sure why I ranted about writing. It's great to see lots of people are still playing these campaigns, though. Thanks for all the kind comments, even though half of them are people asking why the second chapter won't load.
Rise of the Blood Elves has always been one of my Favorite Custom Campaigns, and I still to this day have no idea why it was never made "Director's Cut" Rated.
 
Level 1
Joined
Feb 18, 2021
Messages
6
1639527386502.png

Hello can you help i cant find the rise of the blood elves version 1 and 2 in the custom campaign my version for the warcraft 3 is 1.28.5 please reply as soon as you can thank you and have a good day
1639527494704.png
 
Level 28
Joined
May 14, 2021
Messages
1,095
thank you for your response but can you tell me what should i do should i delete some campaigns i really dont know sorry😢😢😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
If you have older versions, you should delete it. This also applies to CotF, Malfurion, and OutsiderXE's campaigns.
Since you are using 1.28.5, it is best to download the latest one (3.0).
 
Level 1
Joined
Feb 18, 2021
Messages
6
But how... the other campaign is okay to play like curse of the forsaken v.2.0 and Shadows of hatred 1.v4 while the other campaign like rise of the blood elves v.1 and v.2 is not working? anyway thank you for your response have good day
 
Level 9
Joined
Dec 1, 2021
Messages
62
So uhm, I just started playing this campaign, and I noticed that for some reason, there's no experience cap on my heroes in chapter 1. They just kept gaining exp until I've killed everything on the map, and if there would have been enough units, they could have even reached level 6. I really doubt that this was intended to happen, especially since I have a memory of being capped at level 3 in chapter one, and at level 4 in chapter 2.

I was playing in version 1.31.1 and just noticed that the recommended is below that (1.24a - 1.28c). I'm still reporting this though, especially if Tomoraider ever returns to update it for that version. (Which is admittedly a pretty buggy one. This is also the version where Tyrande looses her inventory in chapter 2 of Eternity's End.)

WC3ScrnShot_010522_234201_01.png
WC3ScrnShot_010522_234205_02.png
 
Level 28
Joined
May 14, 2021
Messages
1,095
So uhm, I just started playing this campaign, and I noticed that for some reason, there's no experience cap on my heroes in chapter 1. They just kept gaining exp until I've killed everything on the map, and if there would have been enough units, they could have even reached level 6. I really doubt that this was intended to happen, especially since I have a memory of being capped at level 3 in chapter one, and at level 4 in chapter 2.

I was playing in version 1.31.1 and just noticed that the recommended is below that (1.24a - 1.28c). I'm still reporting this though, especially if Tomoraider ever returns to update it for that version. (Which is admittedly a pretty buggy one. This is also the version where Tyrande looses her inventory in chapter 2 of Eternity's End.)
I'm pointing out that 1.31.1 is NOT safe for campaigns. There are many bugs:
-The quest for possessing enemy units is broken. If you do this, their cohorts won't be yours. This occurred during the Legacy of the Damned (Bandit and Ogre Optional Quest) and Curse of Forsaken (Murloc Optional Quest in the mission where you destroyed the Scarlet Crusade base and later, Varimathras).
-In Founding of Durotar (before Act 3), the whole level progression will be reset if you return back to the main map after wrapping up the sub-map journeys.
As a result, after completing the sub-maps, you'll be presented to the intro cinematic again of each chapters.

Also, I heard that the experience cap for the campaign only occurs during the Founding of Durotar campaign. You can only reach level 15 during the whole campaign, even though all of those heroes can reach level 25 by default.

You can find several bugs in the latest version of WC3 here.
 
Level 3
Joined
Oct 25, 2018
Messages
12
Playing this on 1.28.5 right now (campaign version: v3.0) and encountered a bug in the first mission. After Kael reached lvl 3 i specced into Al'ar level 2 and it should have the "Phoenix Fire"-Ability but it doesn't.

phoenixFire1.png
phoenixFire2.png


(I'll edit in further bugs that I find in this mission. Maybe make a new post for each chapter. Or edit everything into this.

EDIT 1: (Mission 1, Al'ar): Ok after trying multiple different versions of wc3 (1.26, 1.27...) and that "Phoenix Fire" not showing I think it's a bug. Ive also researched on youtube and this footages from 2017 also have the Ability "Phoenix Fire" missing:

EDIT 2: oh wow i just spent 2 hours looking for a bug that doesnt exist. the "phoenix fire" ability appears to be passive. is it the little sparks that fly off the phoenix unit? :cry:
 
Last edited:
Level 9
Joined
Dec 1, 2021
Messages
62
So, I've recently been doing a playthrough of every campaign on hard, but with the twist of not being able to go above no upkeep, or 20/25 supply, if it was one of those missions where you can't build stuff. Now, I did play Curse of the Forsaken before this, and I honestly feel like RotBE is a little bit lower in quality. Don't get me wrong, it's still an excellent 9/10 campaign, but there are a few minor issues that are spread throughout it, and while none of them really ruin the campaign, they still kind of add up. Though an update or two could easily fix most of them (let's hope Tomoraider comes back to do it). I do have to make a disclaimer that I played this thing on patch 1.30, and I'm aware that the campaign wasn't intended for that version of the game, but I doubt there were many patch related issues, and even if there were, they were most likely inconsequential.

The story and music was pretty enjoyable.
  • I know that a lot of people had complaints about the story not following the WoW canon perfectly, leading to people getting misinformed or just annoyed. I personally don't mind it, especially because in the campaign page (in the features section), it says "A storyline with its roots in WoW: The Burning Crusade, along with some unique new stories.", so if you were caught by surprise, then I recommend you read more before you download.
  • Kael's character arc was a little weird to say the least. He was definitely acting a little out of character once Kil'jaeden showed up, just straight up joining him with no reluctance or self doubt whatsoever. But that's more on Blizzard, not the creator of the campaign.
  • Other than that, I enjoyed what was happening throughout the campaign, especially with how all the conflicts were changing and building up.
  • The blood elven music was pretty nice and fitting, showing both their graceful magical nature, but also their unhinged personality, something that the original human theme just simply didn't portray.

The gameplay is a really strong element here, even if it fell behind CotF in that regard, due to a couple of issues:
  • The blood elven techtree is neat, but Tomoraider made some weird choices with it for sure. Having no less than 5 frontline units on an elven race feels strange, though I still prefer that over having only spell breakers and swordsmen (which happened because originally, the Blood Elves had support from humans and then the naga, and they even had dedicated lieutenants in one mission). Cannon towers are also pretty strange, because Blood Elves don't exactly use explosive materials.
  • I feel like the cleave of the hawkstrider knights is bugged. I've tried to make them fight grouped enemies, but noticed that only the main target takes damage. Would like to have other people proof testing this though.
  • Both the forsaken and the demons should get updated to how they are in Curse of the Forsaken. I understand why the Royal Laboratory isn't added, but the gargoyles should be replaced by vampire bats, dark rangers should get bonus range from the arrow upgrades, workers should build like humans, and so on. Draenei vindicators should also be changed to match the CotF ones.
  • Despite how many maps this campaign has, I still found most of them at least somewhat memorable, as they all had an idea unique to them, which is how campaign maps should be designed. And just like CotF, this also felt very close to how Blizzard tends to design maps. The AI somehow felt a lot different than the one we have in CotF, as they try to kite pretty frequently (haven't really seen that in other campaigns), but they aren't nearly as oppressive in the early game, but that's probably due to lack of hard difficulty.
  • One thing that I gotta give this campaign credit for is how it managed to do ramping difficulty successfully (which Curse of the Forsaken kind of fails at, though that was worse before its update). The first few missions start off easy and it gets more and more intense as you go on. Surprisingly, not a lot of campaigns succeed at pulling this off, which makes me appreciate it even more.

The hero design felt a lot like how it was in Curse of the Forsaken. With a lot of great new ideas but nothing too crazy.
  • Kael is of course a hero from the default campaigns, and you've approached him exactly like the default heroes used in CotF, reworking his weird or inconsistent abilities. Putting the phoenix as a basic ability is a cool idea, and his new ult is one satisfying ability (even if it basically serves the same purpose as Flame Strike).
  • Aewynne is a pretty normal ranged damage dealer that also has a little utility, but with a neat custom kit to make her feel distinct from Priestess of the Moon. She didn't really feel that powerful, but I'd be lying if I said that she was completely useless. Evergreen is a pretty neat ability, and is shockingly useful even outside of chapters 3 and 10 (and I imagine it would be pretty unfun to deal with in PvP Warcraft xd)
  • Alessandra is honestly a mess, and I kind of like it. Her Q and W have extreme anti-synergy (you basically to to choose between chaining an enemy or dealing huge DPS, you can't have both), though the theme of both hindering her mobility is pretty fitting and forces the player to be careful. Her E is a little disappointing, especially because her mana costs are low, so she doesn't even need it. I'd like to her third ability reworked into something more interesting.
  • Liadrin is a pretty neat paladin type character, still having 4 abilities that help with survivability (which is an absolute blessing in a campaign, no pun intended). Her E should probably not have the word "aura" in its name when it only buffs her, and maybe her aoe sustain should get a little nerfed, but other than that, she's great.
  • I've already talked about Lor'themar in my CotF review. He's a neat hero, but I don't like his E, though I understand the reasoning behind it replacing the wind ability.
  • Sylvanas is alright. Her new ult is much more reasonable for the chapter that she's in (though I would have liked to charm those frost ghosts :sad:), but her icons should definitely be updated to match the new ones in CotF. Having Banshee Queen would also make sense, but the two missions with her are already easy, so it's not really necessary.
  • Kalecgos doesn't really have the most exciting kit, but I'm ok with it since the player doesn't really get to use him much. Though I think it's a pretty neat touch that all of his spells are blue/blue with a purple flavor, since he's from the Blue Dragonflight. I don't get why Anveena is like that though. I guess she doesn't really know how to use her powers...? (Sorry, the campaign didn't really establish why she has no auto attacks and only one spell, which is a heal with no mana cost. Other than her being a simple girl before)
  • Lady Vashj, Maiev and Akama are exactly the same as they were originally, which I don't mind since they're original heroes with very little screentime, so giving them interesting new kits is quite unnecessary. Though Maiev's Blink cooldown no longer being on 1 second is an annoying surprise.

As for a few minor good and bad details:
  • The terraining is rock solid, as always. Tempest Keep and Silvermoon are not even close to Karahzan from The Last Guardian, but they're pretty well made, and I'm ok with having multiple missions/cinematics in those areas. The way they change based on events happening in the story is lovely as well.
  • The new WoW voice sets are obviously great. As a long time Warcraft player, it gets pretty annoying having to listen to the same voicelines over and over and over again, so this is a nice breath of fresh air.
  • One random issue that I had was that the blood knights had the face of the night elf sentry/runner, and they also had the original glaive thingy placed on top of the sword, which looked pretty funny. I have no idea why this bug happened, especially because the model looked just fine in Curse of the Forsaken, on the same Warcraft 3 version at that.
  • Aewynne's Evergreen doesn't work if I input a movement command during the animation. The buff is still visually there, but nobody actually becomes invisible. This is especially bad because the ability has a long cooldown, it forced a lot of reloads in situations where I tried using it as an escape tool.

So now with all of these out of the way, it's time to cover the chapters. And there's quite a lot of em (though it's kinda baffling that 13 isn't the highest that we have here with campaigns, not that I'm complaining):

CHAPTER 1 - This is basically the Landfall, the Rise of the Naga or The Defense of Strahnbrad of this campaign. It's a short and easy micro mission where you rescue some units and find out that something messed up is happening in the location that you're in, setting up the story. The idea of escorting Illidan's wagon is good, but to me, it just feels like a random thing that you could remove, and nothing would change. I would try to either increase the threat that the wagon is facing (decaying health that can be healed by runes, flank attacks, stc), or I would allow it to actually help the player somehow, with auras or something, but at the cost of reduced survivability. Another thing is that the early encounter with the orc hero is much harder than any other encounters on the map, so I would nerf that group, while buffing most other groups by a little. Other than that, this is a neat starter.

CHAPTER 2 - Ok, I'm not sure if this level was intentionally designed to be this easy, but I'm pretty sure I could just start this up, clear the orcs in my base, and then leave the PC for hours, and then still be just fine by the time I return. I understand why this mission is supposed to be easy, but Tomoraider simply overdid it, especially for a campaign that people play after finishing Legacy of the Damned. One change that I would put in, is that I would make the rebel naga base (the one near the sewer entrance) actually attack Vashj, rather than just being a bunch of irrelevant preplaced buildings and units. The attacks wouldn't be that strong, but maybe it shouldn't be literally nothing, even despite the whole two base thing. The clan annexing mini game is awesome though, but I did kind of regret choosing the two smaller ones, as I've realized that I lost a Cloak of Flames to make an already easy mission even easier (learn from my mistake and ally with the yellow clan, you'll get melee heroes for the cloak soon). Oh, and the naga probably shouldn't have access to tier 3 upgrades, while the blood elves only have tier 1. The chapter didn't establish that there was a major difference in their equipment, so it doesn't really make sense that the naga are just randomly better equipped.

CHAPTER 3 - Ah, Through Fire, the mission where you completely abandon Illidan and the naga, while starting the conquest of Quel'Thalas. I have some fond memories of this mission, as I lured the creeps to kill the enemy elves for me, while sneaking around, and baiting Liadrin into being stuck in a position where she can't bother me. Though something should probably be done about the last one, maybe giving her more TP scrolls, or letting her start start running at you if you attack Kael's forces in another area (which would really increase the tension, though in an annoying way). "Trapping" Liadrin also makes the sidequest laughably easy, as you can probably kill everyone after the first mana dome, without reaching the threshold of the quest. Speaking of the quest, the reward should also be written out, cus I have no idea what I've gained for completing it, and the description doesn't help. Oh, and in the last section (the one where you defend Alessandra), the enemies kind of just stopped attacking me after the first wave, so I just stood there for a few minutes, waiting for the mission to end.

CHAPTER 4 - This level is... fine. It's not really one where I look back at all the fun moments I've had in it, but it's also not one that makes me go "Oh good lord, not that chapter!". The difficulty in this one comes from the section where you have to go south to save Lor'themar, while Dar'khan is pressuring you from the north, which makes the mission fairly tough (and annoying) before you set up a solid amount of towers or base guard units. But the pressure on Lor'themar's base is so low (I'm not even 100% sure if he can actually die here), that the player can kind of just chill until he's confident that the base won't be in danger. The golem part collecting quest that you get after saving Lor'themar is fine, and my favorite was the one that I had to sneak behind Dar'khan's base for (maybe some of you could destroy it, though surely not with a 50 supply army). Overall, this is a solid mission, and I don't exactly blame it for not being as great as some of the other ones, as you're bound to have forgettable missions when you put in 12 to your campaign (which applies to Curse of the Forsaken as well, due to its second chapter).

CHAPTER 5 - This is one rollercoaster of a mission. First the player has to stall and defend 3 different sides from constant attacks for 25 minutes, and when the defense is complete, you get to obliterate everything with your 3 high damage heroes and your new golems, and I find that amazing. Though I do feel like the defense part should be a bit more balanced out, with weaker early attacks and stronger late ones, as the mission starts off as extremely oppressive, only to them become a walk in the park on the last 5. It would also make the Arcane Golems much more of a relief, as you'd actually need them a lot more to survive. It's interesting that this mission had 2 easter eggs, because they're mostly absent from this campaign. Though I should be thankful for that, as without the banshee one, I wouldn't know who GlaDOS is, and I kinda like that character now, even though I've never played Portal. Though the quote is kind of fitting, especially the "because you'll be dead", which is true for Kael and Alessandra. But now, after this and the Tracer easter egg in CotF, I'm kind of curious about how many games Tomoraider has played, and if he could do a League of Legends easter egg in a future update :smile:


CHAPTER 6 - So, there's something I genuinely don't understand here. Why do I need to clear the island myself when Sylvanas has a giant fleet and a sizeable army? This is something I genuinely couldn't think of an explanation for, even though I'm pretty good at making up explanations for plotholes on my favorite movies/series/games. Anyhow, despite the weird early section that you have to speedrun with your heroes, I kind of dig this mission. It's pretty easy, but I think that's basically the point, since you're using the blood elves at their full might with all of their people, while being accompanied by Sylvanas and the forsaken, against just a portion of the scourge that Dar'khan got to keep. And having 5 high level heroes in a map that isn't a dungeon filled with bosses (like the 6 hero final map in CotF) goes an absolute long way, and let's not mention the fact that Sylvanas here is one of the most competent Ai allies I've seen in a while. (Almost too competent, as she even steals items and tomes. Please disable that. Thank you) The only thing that feels a little iffy to me are the ships, as they aren't that useful other than for helping with the first section... which is just a few pre placed units with inactive buildings that your heroes can easily clear. If this is supposed to be the water mission like CH7 in CotF, then I think Tomoraider should expand on what's accessible by water, as right now, the ships are only good for transporting you into the forsaken base, or defending the shipyards themselves.

CHAPTER 7 - I do love a micro mission with a neat new theme that isn't explored in any other campaign. The idea of making a map based on horror and mystery is pretty cool, and there are a lot of things on this map that reinforce this theme (the darkness, the music, the creepy voice with the charging attacks, the riddle ghosts, and so on). It felt kind of weird that the riddle ghosts weren't really explained, but I guess you can't find an answer for everything in life (I'm just happy they weren't so powerful that a wrong answer would force a reload). One thing I would have added here are a few flank attacks with a twist that some of them are fake units that can't actually kill you, despite looking exactly like the normal units. This would make the idea a lot less oppressive, while still putting the player on the edge of his seat as he always has to figure out which enemy is real or not. Overall, I think this is a great mission, and I really liked how you changed the Dar'khan boss fight, allowing the player to personally take out that guy who has been annoying him for the last 3 chapters, rather than his death happening in a cutscene as all of your heroes and units seemingly lie dead on the floor. Giving the torch back to the player from Sylvanas after the escape section is nice, though putting a second one further up ahead is a bit of an overkill. Oh, and please change all the light based abilities to produce light, like they do in the Azjol-Nerub mission in CotF, which was really cool, and it sucks that it's missing here.

CHAPTER 8 - It's kinda funny how rare these "defend the gigantic city" missions are, while the "destroy the gigantic city" missions are fairly common. This one is pretty ok, giving you a run for your money in the early game, but once you stabilized stuff, the rest of the mission should go fairly smoothly. The Periapt of Vitality is pretty cleverly hidden, but the fact that this is the only item you can get here is a little disappointing, even if clearing camps gets a little rough in defense missions. I know that this chapter can get pretty annoying when you're playing it for the first time and have no idea how the forsaken race works, but I personally don't mind it, as the player can just read everything and then restart with more knowledge (though Tomoraider should probably replace a priest with an apothecary in CH7, so people get more familiar with them). Oh, and please increase the amount of lumber that the forsaken have. The naga have it pretty bad in CH2 as well, but at least that wasn't a defense mission where you have to sit in a base with very limited lumber supply.

CHAPTER 9 - A pretty simple mission, mainly there for story purposes. I really don't have much to say about this one, other than that maybe the number of enemy groups should be increased by a tad bit, as this chapter probably has less encounters with enemy groups than The Defense of Strahnbrad, the first mission of this game (this is just an assumption, feel free to fact check it if you want to, without counting the enemy blood elves ofc). I did find it neat how basically your entire squad, with the exception of a ranger and a blood knight, ends up joining Kael. He has a higher rank than Liadrin, so it only makes sense that most of the player's units will side with him, even despite the demon alliance.

CHAPTER 10 - This is the one mission that was added with the 3.0 update, and it's definitely an annoying, but also a pretty good and necessary one. Previously, the player couldn't get Kael, one of the main characters up to level 10, while we also had all 4 of the other main characters immediately agreeing (which was a lil strange, not gonna lie), and we also didn't really have the whole plot with Illidan resolved. And then this thing comes out, solving all 3 of these issues. Other than these things, I found it to be a really neat siege mission, at least for the most part. Making the player work towards gaining extra support is a continuous theme in this campaign (seriously, it happens in chapters 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11 and 12), but this one executes it pretty interestingly, giving the player a rough early game, but a huge powerhouse of an army once all 3 of the are settled. (Plus you'll get to see demons working together with night elves. There's just something funny about two of the biggest enemies in Warcraft history cooperating to kill someone who is biologically between the two groups.) Though I do wish that the enemy blood elf and naga bases inside the citadel would actually activate and start attacking at some point, cus things get a little too easy once all your allies are out, and only Kar'gath's base is really fighting you. Oh, and I noticed some weird and inconsistent numbers, like how the building survivability upgrade was extra cheap but the scout towers were also extra squishy, and I didn't really understand why that was happening. The boss fight was really good, though the emotions with Maiev, Illidan and Akama didn't hit as a strong because they had very little screentime here (which is not Tomoraider's fault, this is Rise of the Blood Elves and not Shadows of Hatred after all).

CHAPTER 11 - This chapter had mostly lore related changes, as Aewynne was now with Kael, and Vashj was no longer alive to support Illidan's forces (...that are still well and alive, apparently? Though I do understand that they're here for gameplay reasons). Aurora and Vesper being added here (and in the next chapter) is quite sweet, even if they're just buffed up Arcane Golems. The level was pretty solid, with gameplay that felt well balanced, and not one sided towards the player like when he had access to 4 heroes. Though Kar'gath's Ai felt a little janky, as they would always attack with a a huge (and I mean huge) army, taking out a some units and a building or two, only to immediately leave despite loosing almost nothing, and then attacking my base with air units on the way back. I should probably be happy about this, since it gave me more time, but it didn't do it in a way that felt fair. The main yellow blood elf base is absolutely monstrous though, and I'm almost completely sure that Tomoraider forgot to nerf it when he added in Aewynne. It could just be the 50 supply limit, but it genuinely felt like a harder Legends of Arkain enemy base.

CHAPTER 12 - As a final mission, I'd say this works pretty well, as there's loads of tension all around. The Kalecgos and Anveena part was a little bit too easy, as having a spammable 50 HP with no mana cost might be really strong in a micro section where you use only heroes, so I'd definitely look into changing Anveena into something more fun instead of a unit disguised as a hero, going "yeah, you're not dying" (Tomoraider could also just put a timer on the first section, but that's not really a fun way to change it). The second part (where you're trying to stop Kael before the time runs out) is pretty interesting. At first, I thought it was going to be extremely close, and I kind of rushed the sidequest, only for Alessandra to show up and become an unsung hero yet again (seriously, she kinda carries the blood elves in this campaign). That's a genuinely cool twist that caught me completely by surprise. Though I'd probably lower the extra time by like 5 minutes, it was kind of overkill for the size of the map and the number of the enemies. The portal hunt is neat, and Aewynne's W is an absolute MVP when it comes to helping me complete it. (What do you mean Magic Sentry should give true sight along with the mana regen aura? How about no?) The demons guardians after the purple base were pretty easy to kill, but they weren't the main boss, so it's fine. Kael was definitely done dirty at the end, but it would be pretty dumb to make him an actually tough boss fight, only to have Kil'jaeden show up seconds after you kill Kael, so his death feeling so unimpactful can only be fixed by doing a major redesign on the map and the boss fights themselves. The Kil'jaeden fight didn't feel as great as the Lich King one from CotF, but it still beats all of the boss fights that you have in the default campaigns, so it's a success in my book. My only complaint is that him constantly healing to full felt a little cheap, and I would rather give him something like 200K HP, and once the orbs go off, he gets chunked down to 5K. Kalecgos' and Anveena's emotional moments weren't as great as what we've had in the final fight of CotF, simply because the former happened with characters we've just met, while Arthas, Sylvanas, Terenas and Jaina are well known long time characters (but just like with the Illidan fight in CH10, this isn't really Tomoraider's fault).

CHAPTER 13 - For those of you who are confused, this is the map where you walk around with Lor'themar on Silvermoon and talk to a bunch of people. This makes me nostalgic about the old Curse of the Forsaken, which had a pretty similar map, but was ultimately split into the prologue and the epilogue (which I think was ultimately a good choice). This map hasn't been removed with the 3.0 update though, and I don't mind it. This new Silvermoon looks quite lovely, and we're exploring the characters and all their dynamics that we haven't really seen before, while also setting up Curse of the Forsaken. We get to see how Lor'themar is struggling with his new position, and we also see Rommath, the one who replaced Alessandra (and I kinda like his character, despite how little sceentime/development he got)


So, that's that for my Rise of the Blood Elves review. Overall, I think this campaign is wonderful. As I said before, I think it still falls below Curse of the Forsaken (which is reflected through statistics like the download number pretty well), and it has a lot of weird stuff that should probably get fixed with updates, which makes it a 9/10. I'm aware that Tomoraider will most likely not come back to update this for a while, but if he ever does, then I'm sure as hell looking forward to it. If someone was to complete all of the vanilla campaigns, this would probably be the thing I'd tell him to play first, as it offers a decent amount of challenge and fun, while continuing the story exactly from where Legacy of the Damned ended. But you can enjoy this even if it isn't your first custom campaign (it sure as hell wasn't for me, I started out with Rise of the Lich King).
Thanks to everyone who was willing to read through my rambles, and thanks to Tomoraider and everyone who puts out great work that we can enjoy and be nostalgic about. Wish you all a good day and night!
 
Last edited:
Top