Well… I’m ready… let’s talk about
Grommash (and everything related to
WarCraft Legends). There have been countless variations of how his army should look. Fearless, insane, brimming with demonic power (as in the campaign). My vision reflects the state of his clan between the Second and Third Wars, before Mannoroth’s corruption. The orcs’ veins still boil with the primal taint of their blood, their eyes are bloodshot, they are fearless in the face of what’s coming, and they live for battle. That’s the moment I tried to capture.
I also took the mechanic of raiding to its absolute limit. Unlike classic altered melee, I can “play” with balance for the sake of fun. Grommash has reduced resource gathering from workers, but this is offset by his Tier 3 ability
Pillage, which gathers resources from all enemies.
Attacking enemies allows Grommash’s units to gain mana, which they spend on their abilities — this applies to Grommash himself as well. This core mechanic lets him dive into combat from the very start and remain in that state until the end.
Grommash’s army focuses on melee combat, highlighted both by their damage and their upgrades, which grant bonus damage and attack speed.
Details:
- Grunt & Spear Thrower, Raider & Spear Raider are connected. If the rider dies, a neutral wolf temporarily remains, which can be re-mounted.
- Kodo – a powerful speed aura and an additional Rage ability, granting even more damage.
- Shredder – serve as siege units; the Shredder can stun buildings to smash enemy defenses.
- Boar – an early expansion unit; losing 1 food yields 3 (so 2 net gain) at a relatively low cost. Boars can also be sacrificed to heal (+Rage), the only healing ability in Grommash’s ranks, but the boar dies (later this effect can be enhanced by accumulated Rage).
Rage is upgraded from T1 to T3, and after T1 you can choose specialized Rage upgrades to fit your playstyle. They can all be unlocked in any order (likely this will become meta later, adjustments will be made).
Ogres are mostly for filling out Grommash’s T3 army. We have both melee warrior and mage: the warrior handles control and damage soaking; the mage is for combat + support (
Bloodlust and
K’illrogg’s Eye — possibly the summon will later gain attack, currently only provides detection).
I don’t claim to have
top-tier race design, but I try to find interesting solutions in basic racial traits and push them to the limit. This is not an excuse — custom JASS abilities are unavoidable. I mostly focus on the project architecturally, to stay organized with imports and expanding races, so I can easily make adjustments.
I switched from Kel’Thuzad (which I previously promised) to Grommash, inspired by the battlefield of WoW’s Warsong Gulch. The map itself is not mine — I only modified it; original author: Argoclips. The mechanic will be similar, and the core gameplay focuses on PvP. It’s a fairly easy-to-execute map, so I took it and added it to the project. I hope 2v2 PvP unfolds as I envision — it’s more than a SC2 co-op custom mode for FFA, where luck and the chosen overpowered character often decide the game. Here, paired characters offset each other’s weaknesses or enhance strengths, but I won’t be able to test this myself… =( I will later observe games from the outside to evaluate all flaws and blatant imbalances (true balance is impossible here).
What’s next? First, a lot of monotonous work filling in all descriptions and setting up Grommash’s tech tree. Then, I’ll probably switch back to Kel’Thuzad, as I have ideas for his implementation.
Watching TechTree #19 contestants inspired me; I might selectively borrow some solutions. Gul’dan, Phylarch the Evergreen, Sapphiron, Ragnaros — all unusual concepts that dig into co-op mode mechanics beyond basic Altered Melee.
Long-term ideas: I had concepts for three Dwarf clans:
- Ragnaros – featuring zealous followers of the Black Iron Clan.
- Magni Bronzebeard – including tech-focused gnomes and dwarves from Ironforge. Multiple workers can accelerate a single upgrade at the cost of additional resources (similar to Alliance construction). Central structure: Great Forge, mechanics TBD. Possibly unit artifacts like HoMM5 Academy.
- Kurdran Wildhammer – this clan will rely on air support, continuous bombardments, and reinforcements deployed from barracks.
I’ll follow my instincts and do what feels right. I’m also drawn to Arathi Highlands, using the same author’s map. Not perfect, but easy to work with. Night Elf characters need a second hero: possibly one of three — Shandris (basic commander, summons support units like Rainer SC2, e.g., chimera, ancient giant), Malfurion (dual-form units, elf-beast, mechanics TBD), or Brightwing & Lunara (pair focusing on Emerald Dream and ancient trees, inspired by Phylarch the Evergreen). Maiev is a raw concept: shard collection, secret magic focus. Illidan will stand alone, likely an innovative take outside the standard Night Elf concept, focusing on him with nagas, satyrs, blood elves, demons, and demon hunters.
A full playable build won’t be released on the site yet… I’ll post my build in the forum branch for review and feedback. Hero max level won’t be prioritized yet, high-priority updates planned later. Video and social media coverage won’t resume; it led to burnout and consumed time, though advice was valuable. I hope players make videos of the map, letting me quickly respond to issues and feedback.
I also have an exclusive AI system, made by Eurick, giving life to AI heroes (currently only Tyrande), which will later prevent the uncanny valley effect. For now, I’ll add standard-race AI for PvP and PvE options.
That’s it for now — I’m simply continuing what brings me joy.
Yes, the project is messy and sometimes primitive, but I put my soul into it and hope it becomes something worthwhile, large, and maybe even popular. Some ideas are cut for practicality, some solutions are crude, and some default abilities are temporarily used. I’m not Blizzard; I have no staff or profit motive. A little attention is nice; mostly this is a hobby… I enjoy the process.
I even considered creating a co-op universe and a standalone game, focusing on unique, vivid commanders and their mechanics. But that would be exponentially more complex, especially when it comes to creating the story and lore — the very challenge that has kept similar co-op projects from appearing in RTS worlds. Strictly multiplayer-focused design can’t deliver the same experience without a strong campaign, and co-op is impossible without striking characters. Balancing co-op is also inherently unachievable, since its main goal is fun.
Therefore, I return to working on
WarCraft Legends as a hobby. I’m captivated by the process; it’s just a matter of balancing development with my free time.
![[K40$]-Spectre](https://cdn.hiveworkshop.com/data/avatars/s/138/138114.jpg?1465505366){kind=avatar}
