Hello Everyone,
I am an avid watcher of the Youtube channel, CrotaGaming, who does shoutcasts of thousands of pro games. I have played through the campaign of both RoC and TFT, so I would say that I have a general understanding of how every unit works. However, I do not have experience playing against other players so I have no bearing on what the meta is and how each of the armies work as a whole.
As I watched each pro-game, I have noticed that there were quite a handful of units that I have never seen played, or played about 3 out of 100 games. As such, I have made a list of each unit that almost never show up in these CrotaGaming casts. I apologize if I am being ignorant (I did watch more than 300 of these shoutcasts) or if I am just flat-out wrong in some of my assessments of these units.
Glaive Throwers: Glaive Throwers are out-classed by other Siege units (Lowest Health/Lowest Damage/Different Splashing). I see why these units are never seen. Esp since Bear Comps seem to do the same job with less risk. Regardless, I have never seen these units in pro-games.
Talon Druid: I understand why these units aren't seen too often, when all of the races have a way to dispel Cyclone and Faerie Fire. Bears + Dryads just seem better in comparison. I have seen a maximum of two games where Talon Druids were used, and it was against Undead or other Night Elf armies.
Hippogryph-Riders: I am also assuming these units are weak as their cost is not worth the amount of impact brought (also because Hippogryphs are meant for Anti-Air and Mounting would cut just their damage to 33% of its original). Although the potential is there for some Zeppelin-level Micro plays, Chims just seem to be simpler to use with little additional costs.
Priestess of the Moon: I do understand why I never see Priestess of the Moon. Even with the Searing Arrows, her dps pails in comparison to the Demon Hunter (who also has Mana Burn). Scout is a powerful scouting tool but that comes at the cost of not having an offensive spell. Trueshot Aura can be a powerful tool, but that is when the player runs archers/huntresses/dryads which I believe do not transition as well into the late game (as bears do, which aren't ranged). The Priestess can use Shadowmeld, but so can the Warden, which I believe is an overall better hero.
Troll Headhunters/Berserkers: I have never seen High-Level Orc players run these units, despite having higher statistics than Archers and being a strong support for the tanky Grunts. Add in the Berserk and their DPS would get a 50% boost while Troll Regeneration would provide a substantial boost to their survivability. I am surprised that not even one Orc player uses Troll Headhunters since they are cheap and provide decent amounts of damage (more than the archer when using Berserk).
Tauren: In my opinion, the strongest trainable Ground Unit in the entire game, and yet, I have never seen them. I have seen more Mountain Giants (which are much more expensive) than I have Tauren. Even in long games where tiers are maxed out, I cannot say that i have seen a single Tauren other than the Chieftain and Spirit Walkers. I have thought a squad Taurens with Pulverize could decimate opposing armies. Even though the Tauren is the most expensive Orc unit, the presence of Ancestral Spirit (with Spirit Walkers) would mitigate the consequences of losing a Tauren. The composition in itself would prove to be one of the most unkillable duos in the game (Spirit Link distributed amongst High-HP units).
Far Seer: I can see the Far Seer being a powerful harass/creeper with Feral Spirit. When upgraded, Shadow Wolves can prove to be a powerful scouting/harassing tool. However, I see the weakness of his other two spells. I do not see the appeal of getting Far Sight other than to reveal invisible units [just get dust of appearance]. Chain Lightning can provide decent damage but it has a large mana cost given its impact in fights (not much compared to other AoE abilities).
Banshees: I cannot recall the last time I have seen Banshees, despite me thinking that the Banshee can provide a lot of protection from burst damage with Anti-Magic-Shell. Its zero cooldown can allow a single Banshee to cast 5 shells (although I am unsure if Disenchant or Dispels will get rid of it). Curse can also be a powerful tool to cripple a hero that are basic-attack-reliant (like blademasters) and its auto-cast feature can be a nuisance to players dealing with it. I do not see the appeal of running Possession as the opportunities to use it are slim to none. Using it on Creeps would waste hero experience which can be more valuable than a single Level <5 unit. Still, I am surprised I have never seen Banshees against mass sorcerers/priests.
Crypt Lord: I have never seen anyone run Crypt Lord in your casts. In a sense of a MOBA, I had always thought Impale was one of coolest abilities in the game. However, I believe the greatest appeal of the Crypt Lord is spawning permanent summons with Carrion Beetles (despite needing a corpse to do so). I am surprised that I have never seen a Crypt Lord as a 2nd Hero where there will be no shortage of corpses. At max level, Carrion Beetles can add the equivalent of 5 footmen at an instant and with a low mana cost. Although Burst-Damage of having a Lich + DK is sacrificed, I still believe the mere pressure of having 5 extra Carrion Beetles can turn fights around.
Alchemist: The Alchemist has been one of the most interesting heroes I have ever seen. He seems to have the highest attack damage (avg of 41.5) at Lv1, beating out the Blademaster's. And his kit seems to be filled with powerful abilities, allowing for a versatile style of playing. Healing Spray can allow constant pressuring and harassment with little cost. Chemical Rage can increase the Alchemist's already high dps and allow him to act as a one-man army. Acid Bomb can weaken large groups of frontliners (like bears) and can deal decent damage (equivalent to Shockwave). And on top of it, he is a strength hero with powerful scaling to his health. Due to the versatile nature of the Alchemist's kit, I am surprised I have not seen him played at all. He seems to have more dimensions than all of the other heroes.
Well, this is the list of units that I feel are seldom seen in high-level WC3 gameplay. For some of these units, I fail to comprehend why people would not run these units for certain strategies. Perhaps there are many things that I have either overlooked, or flat-out don't understand. Information on this topic would be good to know and give me a larger perspective on how pro-players interpret the game.
I am an avid watcher of the Youtube channel, CrotaGaming, who does shoutcasts of thousands of pro games. I have played through the campaign of both RoC and TFT, so I would say that I have a general understanding of how every unit works. However, I do not have experience playing against other players so I have no bearing on what the meta is and how each of the armies work as a whole.
As I watched each pro-game, I have noticed that there were quite a handful of units that I have never seen played, or played about 3 out of 100 games. As such, I have made a list of each unit that almost never show up in these CrotaGaming casts. I apologize if I am being ignorant (I did watch more than 300 of these shoutcasts) or if I am just flat-out wrong in some of my assessments of these units.
Glaive Throwers: Glaive Throwers are out-classed by other Siege units (Lowest Health/Lowest Damage/Different Splashing). I see why these units are never seen. Esp since Bear Comps seem to do the same job with less risk. Regardless, I have never seen these units in pro-games.
Talon Druid: I understand why these units aren't seen too often, when all of the races have a way to dispel Cyclone and Faerie Fire. Bears + Dryads just seem better in comparison. I have seen a maximum of two games where Talon Druids were used, and it was against Undead or other Night Elf armies.
Hippogryph-Riders: I am also assuming these units are weak as their cost is not worth the amount of impact brought (also because Hippogryphs are meant for Anti-Air and Mounting would cut just their damage to 33% of its original). Although the potential is there for some Zeppelin-level Micro plays, Chims just seem to be simpler to use with little additional costs.
Priestess of the Moon: I do understand why I never see Priestess of the Moon. Even with the Searing Arrows, her dps pails in comparison to the Demon Hunter (who also has Mana Burn). Scout is a powerful scouting tool but that comes at the cost of not having an offensive spell. Trueshot Aura can be a powerful tool, but that is when the player runs archers/huntresses/dryads which I believe do not transition as well into the late game (as bears do, which aren't ranged). The Priestess can use Shadowmeld, but so can the Warden, which I believe is an overall better hero.
Troll Headhunters/Berserkers: I have never seen High-Level Orc players run these units, despite having higher statistics than Archers and being a strong support for the tanky Grunts. Add in the Berserk and their DPS would get a 50% boost while Troll Regeneration would provide a substantial boost to their survivability. I am surprised that not even one Orc player uses Troll Headhunters since they are cheap and provide decent amounts of damage (more than the archer when using Berserk).
Tauren: In my opinion, the strongest trainable Ground Unit in the entire game, and yet, I have never seen them. I have seen more Mountain Giants (which are much more expensive) than I have Tauren. Even in long games where tiers are maxed out, I cannot say that i have seen a single Tauren other than the Chieftain and Spirit Walkers. I have thought a squad Taurens with Pulverize could decimate opposing armies. Even though the Tauren is the most expensive Orc unit, the presence of Ancestral Spirit (with Spirit Walkers) would mitigate the consequences of losing a Tauren. The composition in itself would prove to be one of the most unkillable duos in the game (Spirit Link distributed amongst High-HP units).
Far Seer: I can see the Far Seer being a powerful harass/creeper with Feral Spirit. When upgraded, Shadow Wolves can prove to be a powerful scouting/harassing tool. However, I see the weakness of his other two spells. I do not see the appeal of getting Far Sight other than to reveal invisible units [just get dust of appearance]. Chain Lightning can provide decent damage but it has a large mana cost given its impact in fights (not much compared to other AoE abilities).
Banshees: I cannot recall the last time I have seen Banshees, despite me thinking that the Banshee can provide a lot of protection from burst damage with Anti-Magic-Shell. Its zero cooldown can allow a single Banshee to cast 5 shells (although I am unsure if Disenchant or Dispels will get rid of it). Curse can also be a powerful tool to cripple a hero that are basic-attack-reliant (like blademasters) and its auto-cast feature can be a nuisance to players dealing with it. I do not see the appeal of running Possession as the opportunities to use it are slim to none. Using it on Creeps would waste hero experience which can be more valuable than a single Level <5 unit. Still, I am surprised I have never seen Banshees against mass sorcerers/priests.
Crypt Lord: I have never seen anyone run Crypt Lord in your casts. In a sense of a MOBA, I had always thought Impale was one of coolest abilities in the game. However, I believe the greatest appeal of the Crypt Lord is spawning permanent summons with Carrion Beetles (despite needing a corpse to do so). I am surprised that I have never seen a Crypt Lord as a 2nd Hero where there will be no shortage of corpses. At max level, Carrion Beetles can add the equivalent of 5 footmen at an instant and with a low mana cost. Although Burst-Damage of having a Lich + DK is sacrificed, I still believe the mere pressure of having 5 extra Carrion Beetles can turn fights around.
Alchemist: The Alchemist has been one of the most interesting heroes I have ever seen. He seems to have the highest attack damage (avg of 41.5) at Lv1, beating out the Blademaster's. And his kit seems to be filled with powerful abilities, allowing for a versatile style of playing. Healing Spray can allow constant pressuring and harassment with little cost. Chemical Rage can increase the Alchemist's already high dps and allow him to act as a one-man army. Acid Bomb can weaken large groups of frontliners (like bears) and can deal decent damage (equivalent to Shockwave). And on top of it, he is a strength hero with powerful scaling to his health. Due to the versatile nature of the Alchemist's kit, I am surprised I have not seen him played at all. He seems to have more dimensions than all of the other heroes.
Well, this is the list of units that I feel are seldom seen in high-level WC3 gameplay. For some of these units, I fail to comprehend why people would not run these units for certain strategies. Perhaps there are many things that I have either overlooked, or flat-out don't understand. Information on this topic would be good to know and give me a larger perspective on how pro-players interpret the game.