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Pick Your TeammatesYour first decision in playing a team game is how you will pick your teammate or teammates. There are two ways to do this: pick up games and playing with a set teammate such as a friend. The biggest advantage of playing with friends or people you know is you can count on a certain standard of ability and support. When you play with whichever person joins the game you really have no idea what you will get. Some people find this exciting, however, other players are frustrated to find their teammate is not up to their level of skill. Battle.net’s Play Game, Team feature will set you up with a random teammate around your level. You might find this works out a lot better than playing Custom Games with random teammates since ideally it picks someone around the same skill as you. Generally, people have more fun playing with regular partners against strangers, because they are able to develop and master their teamwork over a span of games. But it’s really up to you how you want to find or pick your teammates. The Battle.net friends list can allow you to better keep track of your friends so you can find and team up with them. Teams TogetherTeammates are automatically placed near each other on the map. Shared Unit ControlYou can share unit control in the allies menu. Hold Control and drag select to use allies’ units once they have allowed sharing. You cannot build using their workers (except in custom games with Full Unit Sharing). One teammate can control the combat while another is working on building their town. Make sure you share units at the start of each game. Sharing units also gives valuable information about who your ally is controlling during a battle. This can allow you to help them out on units they are not watching or controlling. – If you share units with your ally, you can also see his selection circle to help aid you in deciding what units to control.- Group selection over mixed units (yours and ally) will only select your units.- Group selection while holding down the ALT key will group both player and ally units.- You may not spend your ally’s money with Shared Unit Control (no building of units or structures) Experienced teams should always share units at the start of the game. There are many times throughout a game where allies may have to use your units while your attention is elsewhere. Examples might be in helping aim towers, trying to prevent an enemy unit or hero from running away, preventing an allied unit from running into Creeps, using workers to scout, using workers to repair an allied building or mechanical unit, and so on. It is up to team members to use shared unit control responsibly. Do not share units with players that abuse shared control or convince them to not abuse it. Advanced Shared Unit ControlAllied Hero Portraits will also appear on your screen if you have Advanced Shared Unit Control activated. This happens in custom games with full unit control or when a player drops. SurveyTake note of your position in relation to your partners. Depending on how far you are apart you may have difficulty in supporting each other in the case of a double attack. When you are quite far apart defensive Towers and walling in becomes very important. Predict which of the teammates may be attacked first based on their location or race. Be ready to defend the players that may be attacked first. PlanningNext you plan your attack. Take note of your positions and the starting positions and plan out who is going to explore which starting positions to check for the enemy. Discuss what your overall plan is going to be: Hero rush, early attack with Heroes and Units, or Creep until attacked and build up the tech tree, then alter your strategy as the game goes on depending on what the enemy is doing.

Invisibility plays a bigger role in Warcraft III than it did in Warcraft II however unlike Warcraft II, there are ways to detect Invisibility. Invisibility is typically used to hide, scout or to launch sneak attacks. Invisibility is NOT the cloaking of StarCraft. In StarCraft, cloaking allows units to attack while they are invisible and creates a blur effect giving it away to players that notice it. In Warcraft III, Invisible units will reveal themselves if they do anything but move or stop. Invisible units are totally invisible unless someone has a way to detect invisibility. Typically many players ignore Invisibility detection altogether. But Invisible Shades can really determine the outcome of a game as they find defenseless expansions and track the enemy army. They should not be ignored. Invisibility Options Hero Items Invisibility Potions – You can buy invisibility potions at the Goblin Merchant.Shadowmeld – There is an item that allows Heroes to gain the Shadowmeld ability. Humans Sorceress – Invisibility. Humans are the kings of Invisibility because they can make any unit invisible using the Sorceress. Orcs Blademaster – Wind Walk. Blademasters can use Wind Walk to launch sneak attacks, to spy, or to get away. Undead Carrion Beetles/Crypt Fiends – BurrowShades – Shades are permanently invisible ground based Observers (of StarCraft’s Protoss) with no attack. Typically players place them in an enemy town to spy on them. Night Elves Shadow Meld. The Archer, Huntress, Warden, and Priestess of the Moon are invisible at night when they are not moving. Invisibility DetectionRemember: just because you can’t see them, it doesn’t mean you can’t hit them! If you know invisible or shadowmelded units are around, use an area attack spell like Blizzard, Starfall, Flame Strike, or Rain of Fire. You can also use attack ground with siege units like the Demolisher.

Some Heroes and units have Auras. These Auras will affect friendly units around the Hero. You can find out if an Aura is active on nearby units by selecting them and viewing the information screen which will show the spells affecting them. Not every Hero has an Aura. If you use the same Aura from two Heroes they do not stack, but since the Auras pulse on and off, the units affected will be covered by the Aura more often. Heroes with Auras benefit from their own Aura. Auras are Universal spells. Universal spells, unlike Magical spells, can work against anything. Magic-immune units like Dryads, are affected by Auras from friendly units only. Dryads will receive the Trueshot Aura from a friendly Priestess of the Moon and be unaffected by Thorns Aura from an enemy Keeper of the Grove. Auras will not be active if the unit is Hidden (Shadowmeld) or Invisible. SpellcastersEach race has 2 dedicated spellcasters. They all start with 200 Mana and gain a total of 400 Mana with Adept and Master Training. Spellcasters are typically weak and need protection. Humans: Priest, SorceressOrcs: Shaman, Witch Doctor, Spirit Walker (different stats)Night Elves: Druid of the Claw, Druid of the TalonUndead: Necromancer, Banshee It’s best to build two Spellcaster buildings (such as two Arcane Sanctums) so that you can both train new units and research upgrades at the same time. This also allows you to train two different types of spellcasters at once or to train several identical units more quickly. For example, with two buildings you can build a Sorceress and a Priest at the same time. The Night Elf Druids both have another animal form which changes them into different types of units. Anti-SpellcastersAnti-Spellcasters are, of course, designed to fight spellcasters. Humans: Spell Breaker Orcs: Spirit WalkerNight Elves: Dryad, Faerie DragonUndead: Destroyer The Dryad is sort of a hybrid unit since it is both a spellcaster and a combat unit. Dark Ranger: SilenceThe Dark Ranger’s Silence ability can be used to prevent spellcasters from casting spells. Spell ResearchSpellcasters must research Adept Training and Master Training before they receive all of their spells. These training upgrades give the spellcasters a total of 200 extra Mana and increase their Mana regeneration rate. These upgrades are worth getting because of the extra Mana and Mana regeneration. For example, Priests receives Healing without training, but the additional training will allow them to Heal more often. Researching Master-level spells (Bloodlust, Inner Fire, etc.) requires a 3rd-level Town Hall (castle, Fortress, etc.). Line damage spellsLine damage spells such as Shockwave and Carrion Swarm do not damage a targeted friendly unit. Ultimate SpellsEach Hero has one Ultimate Spell — his most powerful. To use this spell a Hero must be at level 6 or higher. Channeling ultimates cancels invulnerability. If an invulnerability spell is used while channeling, channeling will end. EtherealEthereal means: “characterized by lightness and insubstantiality; intangible.” Units that are Ethereal can only be damaged by units that have the attack type “magic” such as spellcasters. Ethereal units cannot attack but can cast spells. Ethereal units take 66% bonus damage from spells and magic damage type. Units healed while Ethereal gain an additional 66% benefit. For example, casting level 1 Holy Light on an Ethereal unit for 200 hit points actually ends up healing 333 hit points. Only “spell” healing is affected by this; item healing and aura healing are not. Spell ImmunitySome Creeps and units such as Golems, Dryads, Infernals, and more are Immune to magic. Spell Immune units cannot receive positive buffs such as Roar, Bloodlust, or Inner Fire nor receive negative de-buffs such as Curse or Slow. They will receive Auras since auras are non magical. They also cannot be damaged by units who have the “magic damage” attack type. Spell Immune units can be hit by certain abilities. Resistant SkinReduces the duration of negative spells and renders the unit immu

Several units and Heroes in Warcraft III possess the ability to cast spells. Some spells improve friendly units or weaken enemy troops. Other spells do direct damage to enemies or heal allies. All spells cost a certain amount of Mana to cast. Physical Abilities/Spells do not require mana. Many people use “spells” to cover both spells and abilities. Most high-cost spells must be manually cast. This means you must first select the spellcaster, click on the spell icon, and then left-click on a target. Spell CategoriesSpells come in three varieties: Physical, Magical, and Universal. Physical SpellsPhysical Spells cannot be dispelled, do affect magic immune units and normal units, and do not affect ethereal units. Examples- Poison of various types (NOT Shadow Strike)- Ensnare & Web – Critical Strike/Bash/other attack buffers – Disease – Similar spells which DO NOT require mana to cast (mana cost spells are ALWAYS magical or universal) Magical SpellsMagical spells can be dispelled, do not affect magic-immune units, and affect ethereal units and normal units. Magical spells do not affect buildings or mechanical units. Examples- Storm Bolt – Carrion Swarm – Bloodlust – Polymorph Universal SpellsUniversal spells can work against anything, and cannot be dispelled. They include ultimates and healing spells. Some Universal spells cannot work with Mechanical Units. Examples- Heals- Ultimates – Auras cast Timecast Time is the amount of time it takes from the start of casting until the spell is activated or finished casting. The longer the cast Time, the longer it takes to cast a spell. DurationDuration is the length of time the spell is active. CooldownCooldown is the amount of time before you can cast the same spell again. This is also known as a casting Delay. Cooldown is fixed and unaffected by increases to Mana capacity and Mana Regeneration. Some spells do not have a Mana cost but are instead limited by their cooldown. IntelligenceIntelligence for Heroes determines the total Mana. Adding to Intelligence increases the Mana pool. It also slightly increases mana regeneration rate / speed. Mana RegenerationMana Regeneration determines how fast Mana regenerates. Increase Mana Regeneration will return Mana faster, allowing for more spell casts within a given time period. Researching SpellsMost spells need to be researched. Heroes must level up and spend skill points to learn new spells. Spell ChannelingSome spells must be “maintained” to achieve their full effect. This applies mainly to mass-damage area effect spells. For example, if you were to cast an Earthquake spell on an enemy town, your Far Seer must stay casting the spell until the Earthquake is finished. If you give him a new order during the spell, the Far Seer will stop casting the Earthquake. Spells affected: Blizzard, Earthquake, Tranquility, Starfall, Death and Decay, Big Bad Voodoo, Mass Teleport, Tornado, Stampede, Cloud, Aerial Shackles, and Rain of Fire. You can interrupt this spell with spells such as: Humans: Sorceress – Polymorph (uncastable on heroes)Humans: Dragonhawk Rider – Aerial Shackles (uncastable on ground units)Humans: Mountain King – Storm BoltHumans: Mountain King – Bash (uncastable on air units)Orcs: Raider – EnsnareOrcs: Tauren Chieftain – War Stomp (uncastable on air units)Orcs: Witch Doctor – Stasis Trap (uncastable on air units)Orcs: Shadow Hunter – HexNight Elves: Druid of the Talon – Cyclone (uncastable on air units)Night Elves: Keeper of the Grove – Entangling Roots (uncastable on air units)Undead: Crypt Fiend – Web (uncastable on ground units)Undead: Dread Lord – SleepUndead: Dread Lord – Inferno (uncastable on air units)Undead: Crypt Lord – Impale (uncastable on air units)Neutral: Dark Ranger – SilenceNeutral: Dark Ranger – charm (uncastable on heroes)Neutral: Goblin Tinker – Cluster RocketsNeutral: Pit Lord – Doom (uncastable on heroes)Neutral: Fire Lord – Soul BurnNeutral: Fire Lord – VolcanoIn order to ease your micro-management, giving an order to the whole group doesn’t affect the Hero that is busy with his Spell Ch

Several units and Heroes in Warcraft III possess the ability to cast spells. Some spells improve friendly units or weaken enemy troops. Other spells do direct damage to enemies or heal allies. All spells cost a certain amount of Mana to cast. Physical Abilities/Spells do not require mana. Many people use “spells” to cover both spells and abilities. Most high-cost spells must be manually cast. This means you must first select the spellcaster, click on the spell icon, and then left-click on a target. Spell CategoriesSpells come in three varieties: Physical, Magical, and Universal. Physical SpellsPhysical Spells cannot be dispelled, do affect magic immune units and normal units, and do not affect ethereal units. Examples- Poison of various types (NOT Shadow Strike)- Ensnare & Web – Critical Strike/Bash/other attack buffers – Disease – Similar spells which DO NOT require mana to cast (mana cost spells are ALWAYS magical or universal) Magical SpellsMagical spells can be dispelled, do not affect magic-immune units, and affect ethereal units and normal units. Magical spells do not affect buildings or mechanical units. Examples- Storm Bolt – Carrion Swarm – Bloodlust – Polymorph Universal SpellsUniversal spells can work against anything, and cannot be dispelled. They include ultimates and healing spells. Some Universal spells cannot work with Mechanical Units. Examples- Heals- Ultimates – Auras cast Timecast Time is the amount of time it takes from the start of casting until the spell is activated or finished casting. The longer the cast Time, the longer it takes to cast a spell. DurationDuration is the length of time the spell is active. CooldownCooldown is the amount of time before you can cast the same spell again. This is also known as a casting Delay. Cooldown is fixed and unaffected by increases to Mana capacity and Mana Regeneration. Some spells do not have a Mana cost but are instead limited by their cooldown. IntelligenceIntelligence for Heroes determines the total Mana. Adding to Intelligence increases the Mana pool. It also slightly increases mana regeneration rate / speed. Mana RegenerationMana Regeneration determines how fast Mana regenerates. Increase Mana Regeneration will return Mana faster, allowing for more spell casts within a given time period. Researching SpellsMost spells need to be researched. Heroes must level up and spend skill points to learn new spells. Spell ChannelingSome spells must be “maintained” to achieve their full effect. This applies mainly to mass-damage area effect spells. For example, if you were to cast an Earthquake spell on an enemy town, your Far Seer must stay casting the spell until the Earthquake is finished. If you give him a new order during the spell, the Far Seer will stop casting the Earthquake. Spells affected: Blizzard, Earthquake, Tranquility, Starfall, Death and Decay, Big Bad Voodoo, Mass Teleport, Tornado, Stampede, Cloud, Aerial Shackles, and Rain of Fire. You can interrupt this spell with spells such as: Humans: Sorceress – Polymorph (uncastable on heroes)Humans: Dragonhawk Rider – Aerial Shackles (uncastable on ground units)Humans: Mountain King – Storm BoltHumans: Mountain King – Bash (uncastable on air units)Orcs: Raider – EnsnareOrcs: Tauren Chieftain – War Stomp (uncastable on air units)Orcs: Witch Doctor – Stasis Trap (uncastable on air units)Orcs: Shadow Hunter – HexNight Elves: Druid of the Talon – Cyclone (uncastable on air units)Night Elves: Keeper of the Grove – Entangling Roots (uncastable on air units)Undead: Crypt Fiend – Web (uncastable on ground units)Undead: Dread Lord – SleepUndead: Dread Lord – Inferno (uncastable on air units)Undead: Crypt Lord – Impale (uncastable on air units)Neutral: Dark Ranger – SilenceNeutral: Dark Ranger – charm (uncastable on heroes)Neutral: Goblin Tinker – Cluster RocketsNeutral: Pit Lord – Doom (uncastable on heroes)Neutral: Fire Lord – Soul BurnNeutral: Fire Lord – VolcanoIn order to ease your micro-management, giving an order to the whole group doesn’t affect the Hero that is busy with his Spell Ch

MissesSplash damage units that get a “Miss!” from Curse, Evasion, Drunken Brawling, or Drunken Haze deal 1/2 damage to targets. Mixed ForcesGenerally, it is best to have mixed forces capable of attacking both air and ground units. That way if enemy air units attack you can respond. It is also a good idea to bring siege units if you plan on assaulting a town so you can finish it off quicker. High GroundRanged units (Missile) will miss a lot (25% chance to miss) when trying to shoot up to higher ground. Whenever you see the red “Miss” notification, instruct your units to charge up the hill to the same level as the enemy. On some maps such as The Crucible or Lost Temple, enemy players might build towers at the top of their ramps. You should use Siege Weapons and something to “spot” for the Siege Weapons and clear out the towers before heading up the ramp. Don’t be placed in a situation where you’re fighting from lower ground. Push up to higher ground so you don’t miss. Alt KeyYou should use the Alt key during battles to show which enemy units are nearly dead. You can then focus your attention on them and finish them off. It’s better to be attacking a nearly dead unit rather than one that is at full health. Beating Ranged UnitsThe best solutions are usually Siege Weapons, Area of Effect spells, or at least melee units rushing the ranged units. Standing AroundTry not to stand around. You should either be attacking the enemy or killing Creeps. You can get scared and want to stand around and defend your base, but that’s what the enemy wants you to do. They want you standing around doing nothing while they are out there gaining experience, expansions, or items. TechersSomeone who “techs” attempts to quickly advance up the tech-tree to high-end units such as Knights or Sorceresses or Chimaera. This can be very damaging if you have lower tier units facing more powerful units. You need to scout the enemy and make sure they are not upgrading too fast. You can tell they are upgrading if their Town Hall is upgrading or they are building other buildings necessary for high end buildings. At this point you need to rush them to stop it. Techers are typically weak to early rushes. They often try to “harass” you with their Heroes to distract you from attacking their town until they are upgraded. They are not using their money for tier 1 (Grunts, Footmen, etc) troops. Delaying TacticsWhen people have a small army, have recently lost their army, are losing, or are quickly trying to upgrade to more powerful units, they may try to delay you from attacking. Typically they do this with hit-and-run tactics, either with a Hero or an entire army. What they will do is attack, then run, attack, then run, again and again. This can become very annoying, of course. Rather than falling for this you either need to attack their town or use Hero and Unit killing abilities to make them pay when they run. Don’t fall for their tricks. Players also try this hoping to disorient you so you’ll crack under the pressure.

While unit match ups and having more units than the enemy can allow you to win battles, casting spells and unit control also has a major impact on battles. It’s possible to have more units, more upgrades and still lose battles because the enemy has better unit control and is better at casting spells. Focus on using spells, properly leading units into combat, and picking good targets to attack. Group Control/Healing During BattleDuring a battle, group select your units that are engaged in combat. Look at the information window and watch the unit’s health. When you see a unit is about to die, double-click on that unit’s portrait. That will select him out of the group. Now, command him to run away. This can allow him to survive, and hopefully, get healing and return to fight another day. You can also use this method to heal units during battle. When you are using the Paladin, you can select Holy Light and left-click on the portrait of a damaged unit to have the Paladin cast Holy Light healing on that unit. This method is much easier than finding the unit in a battle among troops. You can also use this method with Human Priests or a Troll Shadow Priest to heal a unit in a group. This method can also be used with other spells and abilities such as the Druid of the Claw’s Rejuvenation. Don’t Be Afraid to Lose UnitsWhile it’s good to save any units you can for a later battle, do not become so protective of them that you are afraid to use them. Run Away!If you see yourself in a battle that you just can’t win, run away. This can give you time to reach reinforcements or at least annoy the enemy commander. If possible run back to towers or an ally’s army. Seek out and destroy enemy expansionsThe enemy may/will be seeking out additional resources. You should be scouting the Gold Mines on the map to make sure the enemy is not building at them. If you find an enemy expansion that is not defended, immediately attack. Sometimes the enemy defends their expansion very well and has no defenses for their main town. If this is the case, attack their main town instead. If You Win a Battle, Attack Their TownIf you significantly win a battle, immediately attack the enemy town or expansion. Often they do not have a back up force or defenses to protect themselves now that you have taken out their main force. When you win a battle, push your advantage further rather than sitting back and building up. Combat Takes Precedence Over EverythingBattles in Warcraft III require a lot of micro management. You often cannot just tell your units to attack and move on to other things. You must control your units throughout the entire fight. Do not move the screen back to your town and start working on building. Watch the battle! Make sure there won’t be any opposition before taking your eyes off of the battle. The only reason you should leave a battle is to quickly train more units or instruct recently completed units to the battle. In these cases, pick a good time to move from the battle and quickly return to the battle once you’ve finished giving new commands.

Not Expanding Fast EnoughIn smaller 1 vs. 1 and 2 vs. 2 games you often have to get an expansion very early. Clear out a Gold Mine so you will be ready. You do not want to have to start an expansion as your Gold Mine is running out. Not Giving Resources to allies before leaving the gameIf you have to leave a game and your allies continue playing, open up the allies menu and give all your resources to your ally. This may help them win the game. Allies will still be able to control your buildings and units after you leave the game. It’s just better for them to spend the resources on their troops rather than on yours. Not Taking Control over dropped players towns or towns of players who have left the gameOnce a player drops from the game or leaves the game, allies can take control over that person’s town. Take advantage of this. Using Move instead of Attack-MoveLearn more here. Building Massive Tower DefensesSiege Weapons and other abilities can easily kill tower defenses. You only need enough Towers for a defense — don’t build too many. Building Tower in the middle of nowhere for no reasonFor towers to be effective you need them in your town, or to prevent the enemy from walking around them. A common mistake is to place towers outside your base that the enemy can just walk past or around and reach your town. When you build towers place them IN your town, or at least prevent the enemy from walking around them using your army or by walling yourself off. Not running past TowersSimilar to the above, if you can walk past towers and reach an enemy town out of range of the towers, do so. Standing in TowersDon’t stand in the middle of towers. Bring Siege Weapons and kill them from range. You should only attack towers if you have superior numbers and are sure to win the battle. Constructing buildings next to the CreepsCreeps will attack new buildings. Cancel the building if the Creeps attack it. Kill the Creeps or build away from them. Not Upgrading UnitsResearch upgrades. Your units will benefit greatly from being upgraded. Armor and Weapon upgrades are especially important. Ignoring attack limitations such as units that can be used against air units or air units that cannot attack other air unitsLearn the units and their capabilities. Not Knowing the MapAs you play a map more you learn how to get around. You should try to learn every map that you might have to play. You can do so in custom games with or against the Computer if you have to. You can also look at Map Pictures No ReconLearn to scout. Ignoring UpkeepYou should avoid High Upkeep unless you are very rich. Getting Heroes or Workers Stuck Between BuildingsAlways make sure when you build a building that the worker or Hero has a way of getting out when they are done. If you’re not careful, you can end up walling in your worker or Hero with buildings or trees. If this happens, you either have to destroy a building, kill the worker, or purchase a Goblin Zeppelin to get them out. You can also kill the unit to free up food.

Placing more than 5 Human Peasants or Orc Peons on a Gold MineFive is the maximum number of units that can mine depending on what direction the town hall is placed. If you place more than 5, they will stack up and won’t be actually doing anything. Using these extra workers to mine ties up supply and can push a player to higher Upkeep levels for no reason. However, on some maps and positions the Town Hall may be placed too far from the Gold Mine which could require as many as 6 or 7 Peons to mine the Gold Mine. Make sure you have enough workers to mine a Gold Mine effectively. Focusing too hard on targeting specific unitsRead more. Attacking Superior ForcesYou should have an idea by looking at the enemy whether you’re going to win or not. While you can’t always know for sure, you should not attack OBVIOUSLY more powerful armies. The problem is knowing what is an obviously too powerful army. You will learn this by playing the game. Single-player and playing custom games against Computer players can teach you this before you’re ready for games against other players. Don’t forget, if the battle is not going your way, use a Scroll of Town Portal to escape, or run away. Attacking the enemy in a position to enemy’s advantageDon’t attack the enemy if they have towers to support them, or are using a Fountain of Life, or are on high ground while you are on low ground. Avoid fighting the enemy if you don’t have enough room to get all your forces attacking the enemy (such as fighting in narrow areas) Not using Neutral BuildingsNeutral Buildings are very powerful and should be used throughout the course of the game. As you learn more about their purpose, you can learn more about how to integrate them into your gameplay. Not using Teleport Scrolls or running to save an ally or your town when you can just Teleport thereUse Teleport Scrolls to save your or your allies’ Town. Not getting an Expansion Town before your Gold Mine runs outIt’s very important to use additional Gold Mines. Clear the Creeps away from a Gold Mine and be ready to expand. Forgetting to mine an ExpansionA common mistake is to build at a new Gold Mine, the building finishes but you forget to build workers to harvest Gold. Make sure you don’t let this happen. Keep checking on the progress of your expansion and build workers or send workers from your original town as soon as it is ready. Letting Allies Die for no good reasonYou have to save your allies. Abandoning your Partner too earlyJust because a Partner has left the game doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to win the game. Continue to play until there is no chance to win. If they haven’t even attacked your town yet, it’s too early to leave. Quitting the game too earlyJust because your town is gone doesn’t mean the game is over. In previous games a player was eliminated when all of their buildings were destroyed, but in Warcraft III, a team will live until ALL buildings from all of the team members are destroyed. This means all players should stay in the game until everyone is eliminated. Share unit control and fight until the end. You can continue to control your allies’ troops if you can get them to share unit control. Also you can still get a win if you and your ally are still able to beat the enemy. Don’t give up. You can help your ally by helping them better control their troops. If you manage to win, you both get a win even if all of your (but not your allies’) buildings and units were destroyed. Building too many BarracksYou only need one or two in most cases. You should only build more if you are using them all and have several expansions.

Not having a HeroWarcraft III is all about Heroes. Heroes have many abilities that are only available on Heroes and, typically, are responsible for winning or losing battles. Not Leveling up a HeroTypically Heroes should be level 3-5 before combating enemy players unless you are Hero rushing. This is done by aggressively seeking out all surrounding Creeps and killing them. This allows your Hero to become better and for you to gain additional spells, which can determine which group wins or loses a battle. You should never have a Level 1 Hero engaged in combat against an enemy player unless it’s a second or third Hero being built after your first Hero or someone pulled some super rush. Not Spending Hero Skill PointsA Hero’s Skill point should be spent as soon as you get it. Watch the portrait in the top left corner for the number that indicates that a Hero has a skill point. Don’t let them add up. Don’t leave them unspent for very long. While in rare situations you might wish to save up skill points, usually you want to spend them as soon as you get them. Level 1 Hero Soloing vs. Powerful CreepsHeroes are great at higher levels but they are very weak early on. They need the help of 3-5+ units for leveling up. Do not attempt to take on multiple high level Creeps with a level 1 Hero. Usually there are some easy “gimmie” Creeps such as 3 level 2 Creeps which your level 1 Hero can solo. But, do not try to take on say a group of 5 Creeps which are level 5. Attacking Creeps that are too powerfulSometimes a Creep camp will be much too powerful for your current army. You’ll discover that your Hero and army are slaughtered against powerful Creeps. Part of learning the game is knowing how powerful the Creeps are and if your army can take them. This comes through experience. There are some basic common sense things you can do to compare. count the number of your units vs. the number of the Creeps. Look at the level of the Creeps. If they are 5+ you may have trouble with them. Very high level Creeps such as 9 will be a lot of trouble so have a large army. Be sure to run if the battle doesn’t look to be going in your favor. You can come back later with more troops. As you learn maps, the race you play, and the Creeps, you will soon be able to know if you should attack a Creep camp or not. Fatal mistakes in the beginning can cost you the entire game. One of those mistakes is losing your whole army to the Creeps when the enemy is about to attack your town. The Creep Camp indicator on the minimap (Alt-C) will help you find out where the low level creeps camps are located (green) on every map. Losing your Hero to the CreepsThis is very shameful. If the Creeps are attacking your Hero, back off. Watch the battle and control the Hero. Heroes should not die to Creeps. =) Losing your Hero to the Creeps in the first 1-3 minutes of the gameSee above. Not controlling a Hero during BattleA Hero should always be controlled during battle. If it is attacked, immediately use the F1-F3 Key to jump to the Hero and control them. Back damaged Heroes away from combat. Not picking up Hero Items, or leaving them for the enemyYou should always pick up Hero Items unless you have no room. If you cannot take an item and don’t want someone else to use it, attack the item to destroy it.