Basics
Playing with orcs seems like a basic strategy in itself, as many people who begin simply focus on using classic grunts and tauren for melee, and windriders for anti-air. While windriders are a very versatile unit which really make the orc worth playing, the usefulness of raiders is time and time again overlooked.
Raiders are a unit which were created for fast, effective strikes and immobilising air units with their net ability. Combating an army straight out with raiders and heroes will get you killed though, so we must find a way to balance out the damage done against them, this is where spirit walkers come into play. Spirit walkers start out on tier 1 with a spell called 'spirit link'. This spell will connect four units together; these four units will share the damage that is given to all of them, so if you have four raiders joined together and one of these raiders gets attacked for 12 damage, the damage will equate to 3 on each of the four spirit-linked units. This spirit link strategy is useful with any unit.
Sample army
A sample army would be:
- Hero: blademaster
- Grunt × 3
- Upgrade to tier 2
- Grunt × 1 while upgrading
- Hero: Voodoo
- This hero becomes your healer.
- Raiders × 2
- These become your anti-air with the nets.
- Spirit walkers × 2
- Spirit linking whenever you are attacking anything.
- Raiders × 2
- Spirit walkers × 2
- At this point, spirit link your grunts and attack something stupid to free up food.
- Raiders × 2
- Spirit walkers × 2
- Upgrade to tier 3
Tips
- Do not upgrade from raiders to tauren when you hit tier 3; the raiders' net is a very vital piece of this army.
- Use spare resources to upgrade attacking and defending strength.
- Get pillage.
Against Human
Against Orc
In an Orc mirror you have to remember that brute on brute force is always a bad idea, the player with the better micro will win.Now this stratedgy is pretty basic and does not require an extensive vocabulary/knowledge of teh game.
Very well then now we're ready to start...
First send all five peons to the gold mine.
Build peons in your great hall, send the first to build your burrow
The second peon to your altar
The third peon to your warmill
the fourth peon to your rax(barracks)
When your first burrow is complete make sure you send the peon to collect wood
send all to wood along with additional peons that you should be building in your hall.
When you altar is complete select Tauren Chieften and get War Stomp.
Your barracks should have been completed a while ago, build trollheadhunters(mass)
when your first troll is being built make sure you keep building burrows to about 40 food
get a voodoo lounge up for clarities and salves
Make you power creep and get to lvl 3 as fast as you can (get endurance aura for your second skil)
remember to keep on pumping trolls as you see they will come very in handy. Upgrade your halls along with the
attack and defenses of your trolls.
When you encounter the enemy you have to force your enemy to attack your chieftan and use stomp to stun
the enemies troops whom are trying to get at your trolls.
When you hit tier two get a spirit lodge up there and start researching witch doctor training.
When you hit tier 2 upgrade your trolls att and def again and immediately start tier three.
Make sure you research troll regeneration, it is a MUST.
If your noticing that your enemy is mass targeting your chieftan get a shadowhunter heal.(make sure to always bring pots for your tauren, as war stomp is crucial to this strat)
When it looks like your chieftan is about to die teleport to your hall or if your chief runs out of mana do
the same. When fortress is up TECH berserker upgrade for trolls along with the final attack upgrade for
trolls and witch doc master training.
Make sure to put healing wards behing the berserkers so their out of the enemies reach. Remember to focus
fire the enemy troops with all your trolls and cheiftan.
That being said feel free to whisper me on War3 frozen throne, for some clarifications.
This strat was brought to you by CrystalCastles
e-mail: rqvaliente@yahoo.com
Against Nightelf
The matchup Orc versus Nightelf is always highly expected as being imbalanced for, or if you think so, against Orc. The arguments for this are strategys like mass Druids of the Talon(Dots, Moon strategy), the low costs of all units(135 Gold for one Talon) and the low supply-cost of all units(i.e. 2 Food for 1 Talon). But let's take a look at the chances of Orc.
Lets look at the different strategys that the nightelfs or orcs may play
Firelord Towerrush
Build Order:
4 peons mine
- 5.Rax
- 6.burrow->wood->burrow
- 7.mine
- 8.wood
- 9.Altar
- 10./11.wood
the first grunt send to the tavern then harrassing with fl&Grunt
10/11 peon after firelord
after 10/11 peons tech
1/4 tech:burrow grunt 1/2 tech:shop 3/4 tech:warmill grunt 4/4 tech:sh; berserk upgrade; grunt
then a tr with 3 peons
Mass Ranged Mass Ranged means, the Nightelf(NE) player doesn't have any blockers(melee units) to support his army. The advantage of this strategy is that one single ranged unit isn't that strong, but when all units focus together on one orc unit (i.e. grunt), the unit will go down immediately. The disadvantage (and so that, what orc players have to use to win) is, that the Nightelf army isn't very strong until the army reaches a sertain supply value(usually 50). What you as an orc have to is to take pressure on the Nightelf base as much as possible. Try to figure out when the Nightelf reaches tier 2 and try to kick his buildings when they are being build. Then build some raiders and demolishers to be able to make more pressure on the nightelf base. The optimal hero choose vs this strategy is Farseer or Blademaster as a first hero and always Tauren Chieftain(TC) as second hero. Before you're going for the final fight try always to have an healscroll and if it's possible, a protection scroll.
Things to watch out for: -Don't forget to scout for Nightelf expansions. They are often build with this strategy. -The strategy is often supported by summoning heroes, such as beastmaster or firelord. Support your army with some shamen or spiritwalkers to dispell the summons.
Against Undead
Undead are quick to build up, but acolytes at gold mine are very vulnerable to BladeMaster(BM) rush to establish an early edge.
- Send all peons to goldmine.
- Take first peon to return gold, and build an altar.
- Take second peon to return gold, and build a burrow.
- As soon as you have enough gold for a Lumber Mill build it.
- As soon as you have gold for a Shop, build it. The shop should start building shortly before your altar is done.
- Start BM, and build a barracks and burrow.
- Save up Gold, and as soon as BM is built the shop should be complete as well. Immediately buy a Clarity Potion(CP), and Healing Salve(HS), and select WindWalk(WW) for your BM.
Now you are ready to rush. Send off the BM to the enemy base. While you are heading to their base, upgrade your townhall, build spearman, and 1-2 towers. Use WW to get there faster and towards the goldmine to kill the acolytes mining it. If the UD player has built their base to protect the goldmine, target ziggurats or ghouls instead. If you take damage, use WW to get out of trouble and use a HS, and clarity potion if needed. Rinse and repeat until you are forced to run away. You should be able to get at minimum four full attacks in at close to full health:
- First attack, WW away and use HS.
- Second attack, WW away and HS.
- Third attack, WW away and use HS and CP
- Fourth attack, WW away.)
By the time you are done rushing, your hall will be tier2, and can use the units on hand to creep very quickly while getting a second hero and higher tier units. If the UD player tries to follow you to your base, your spearmen and towers are waiting.
Alternatively, if harassing is going very well you can bring in some peons to TowerRush with your spearmen. Just be careful where you put them, as the UD army will be coming for the BM and may come across your towers if not positioned strategically.