Mastering the “Mass Wyvern Double Expand” Strategy in Warcraft III
One of the most exciting strategies in Warcraft III, particularly for players using the Orc faction, is the “Mass Wyvern Double Expand.” This strategy revolves around building a strong economy while mass-producing wyverns—powerful flying units that can dominate the skies. While this strategy can be incredibly potent in the mid to late game, it requires careful planning and adaptation, especially in the early stages. In this guide, we’ll walk through the key components of the Mass Wyvern Double Expand strategy and how to use it to overwhelm your opponents.
Why Mass Wyvern is Weak in the Early Game
Wyverns are powerful units, but they come with one big drawback: they take time to produce. In the early game, this means you’re vulnerable while waiting for your first few wyverns to spawn. Your heroes and units don’t creep as efficiently without strong early-game support units, which can leave you exposed to enemy harassment or aggressive creeping.
Building Early-Game Strength
To compensate for the slow start, it’s crucial to adopt strategies that are strong in the early game and will help you survive until your wyverns are ready. One excellent tactic is towering, which involves building defensive towers around your base and expansions early on. This helps defend against early aggression while allowing you to focus on building up your economy and teching to wyverns.
Quickly constructing towers around your expansion gives you the protection you need while you build up your wyvern army. This tactic was popularized by top players and remains a solid way to ensure you don’t get overwhelmed in the early game.
Hero Choices: Far Seer and Tauren Chieftain
Your hero choices play a pivotal role in this strategy. The recommended first hero for this build is the Far Seer. The Far Seer’s abilities, particularly Chain Lightning and Summon Spirit Wolves, provide excellent creeping and harassment options. Chain Lightning is effective at softening up enemy units, while the wolves can help with scouting and pushing early pressure on your opponent.
The second hero you’ll want to use is the Tauren Chieftain. His powerful Shockwave and War Stomp abilities can decimate ground units, and his natural tankiness makes him a formidable frontline hero. Additionally, his ability to disable enemy anti-air units can be crucial in protecting your wyverns from threats.
You might be tempted to add a third hero, but this is optional and highly situational. If you do go for a third hero, make sure it complements your overall strategy and isn’t a drain on your resources.
Why Towering Works So Well
The combination of towering and mass wyvern production is a great synergy in this strategy. As mentioned earlier, wyverns are costly and take time to build, so having solid defense from your towers allows you to focus on expanding and building up your army without worrying too much about early aggression.
Tower expansions also give you an economic advantage, allowing you to maintain two or more bases. More bases mean more resources, which translates into more wyverns and eventually, perhaps even Taurens. This is where the “double expand” part of the strategy comes into play. By having two expansions up and running, you can rapidly outpace your opponent in terms of unit production and resources.
Dealing with Common Threats: Anti-Air and Sleep
A common counter to mass wyverns is anti-air units. However, this is where your Tauren Chieftain shines. His Shockwave can easily deal with ground-based anti-air units, while his tanky nature allows him to soak up damage as your wyverns swoop in to take down the enemy.
Another frequent annoyance is the Dreadlord’s sleep ability. Sleep can be frustrating, but there are ways to minimize its impact. When your hero is put to sleep, simply command them to cast their next ability, such as Chain Lightning, immediately. If the sleep is of a low level, your hero will likely wake up in time to cast the ability as soon as they are awake. If the sleep is of a higher level, you can issue the command and then have one of your own units attack your hero once to wake them up. This tactic ensures that sleep doesn’t hinder your heroes from taking action.
Key Tips for Success
- Maximize your economy: Always look for opportunities to expand. The double expansion is the heart of this strategy, allowing you to fuel your wyvern production.
- Protect your expansions: Early towering is crucial to defending your expansions, especially while your wyvern army is still growing.
- Memorize resource-rich areas: Knowing where to place your expansions and build towers is key to staying ahead in resources.
- Adapt to your enemy: If your opponent is heavy on anti-air, use your Tauren Chieftain’s abilities to disrupt their units while your wyverns focus on eliminating threats.
Conclusion: Master the Skies with Wyverns
The Mass Wyvern Double Expand strategy is one that takes patience and practice to master. Early-game vulnerabilities can be mitigated with towering and smart hero usage, while the double expansion allows you to build a formidable wyvern army. With a solid economy and careful attention to your hero abilities, you can dominate the skies and crush your enemies. Ready to try this strategy out? Jump into your next match and give it a shot!