Introduction
In recent patches, the Undead faction has been struggling against Humans, maintaining a win rate of approximately 47% since patch 1.35.0. However, the latest update, patch 1.36.1, has seen this win rate plummet to a concerning 45.1% at the grandmaster level, including statistics from notable players such as Happy.
The source of this data is W3Champions - Patch 1.36.1
(w3champions .com/OverallStatistics/winrates-per-race-and-map)
The decline is primarily due to a 33% reduction in the mana regeneration provided by statues’ Spirit Touch ability introduced in patch 1.35.0. This change has disproportionately affected the late-game impact of the Undead’s mana-reliant heroes and spellcasters.
Additionally, it has reinforced the binary Frenzy Ghoul timing rush. This strategy aims to overwhelm the opponent before they have the chance to assemble their late-game forces. If not executed successfully, the Undead forces become significantly outscaled in the late game.
Historical Context:
The Undead faction has historically faced difficulties in late-game scenarios across all matchups. This is particularly evident as the faction reaches its peak power spike when its heroes attain level 5. Beyond this point, the Undead is significantly outclassed once enemy heroes progress to level 6, frequently leading to an automatic defeat. Furthermore, having only one type of sieging unit has resulted in a one-dimensional game plan, mainly the Death Knight Fiends Destroyers composition being the only viable option, and suffering from a lack of flexibility in having a sieging win condition which other races enjoys.
This has historically been particularly noticeable in FFA wherein the Undead faction is consistently outclassed.
Source:
warcraft3 .info/downloads/The_Art_of_FFA_-_A_Comprehensive_Guide_to_FFA_in_WC3.pdf
warcraft3 .info/articles/244/the-art-of-ffa-a-comprehensive-guide
The author’s qualifications:
Rank 1 FFA on Azeroth and Northrend. 2x playFFA Champion, 2x FML Ladder
Winner, WC3M FFA Champion, 3x FFA Masters League Finalist, and ISFF Cup Finalist
To elaborate:
Undead’s core issue stems from the relatively weak ultimate abilities of the Undead’s primary heroes, the Death Knight and Lich. Coupled with opposing factions boasting higher quality and superior late-game armies. The Undead’s units are less versatile in comparison, in particular its lack of an aerial sieging unit and only having one sole unit for siege. Moreover the Frost Wyrm intended to be undead’s late game unit has historically failed to make a noticeable impact due its current niche role being overshadowed by Destroyers and Banshees, and its upgrade “Freezing Breath” often ridiculed for its lack of practical siege utility. Frost Wrym’s issues have been further exacerbated in the face of modern Warcraft’s power-crept ranged and air units, as it is decisively outmatched against air units in an unequal supply value.
And finally, undead received major nerfs to unholy aura speed movement which is one of the primary ways for undead’s survivability in the late game.
Unholy Aura along with statues Spirit Touch sustenance have been the main way allowing Undead to barely keep up with the opposing factiond that outscale it with superior hero ultimates and late game army. The Speed nerf has disproportionally affected the Undead race and unlike Orc, neither has Scroll of Speed nor its higher quality units and iconic tri-heroes to compensate for the nerf.
The recent nerfs to the Statues’ Spirit Touch have been a tipping point.
Current Challenges:
Since patch 1.35.0, the recent nerfs to the statues Spirit Touch consisting of 33% in mana regeneration have exacerbated these inherent design flaws within the race, further crippling the Undead’s late-game potential, resulting in a binary game plane, the timed Frenzy Ghoul rush being the main strategic option. The strategy essentially involves overpowering the opponent with an early power spike before they can develop their late-game forces. If the strategy fails, the Undead forces are significantly outmatched in the late game as the opponent achieves a much stronger power spike.
The reduction in mana regeneration, which was intended for Lich and Death knight, has had far-reaching consequences for the Undead, affecting not only mana-dependent heroes like the Cryptlord and Dreadlord but also the faction’s spellcasters. Necromancers and Banshees, in particular, have suffered due to their inability to compete in the late game, for instance, with the Human’s Brilliance Aura in the late game, a significant factor for Undead’s struggle versus human matchup.
The Banshees and Necromancers have been especially impacted by these nerfs, The Banshees being designed around casting defensive spells that require constant sustenance from Statues’ Spirit Touch, often finding themselveles running out of mana, this has become particularly concerning after Anti-magic shell has become dispellable, essentially providing the enemy spellcaster to negate a significant AOE of anti magic shield and negating a large portion of Banshees’ mana. As for the Necromancers, their significant reliance on mana for the Raise Dead ability often renders them ineffective in battle where they can no longer recover mana efficiently from the statues’ Spirit Touch. It is also noteworthy that spellcasters such as Priest serves as a significant counter to the Necromancer unit, as a single dispel can negate entire waves of skeletons, each pair of skeletons costing 75 mana, resulting in an average negation of about 450 mana, all the while the enemy dispel itself only costing 75 mana and benefiting from Level 3 Brilliance Aura.
Such devastating impact has affected Undead’s performance versus all other factions in FFA, which has reduced the viability of the spellcasters and reinforced the binary use of mass Gargoyles, which is the only viable composition.
In 1v1, this has led to the infamous Frenzy Ghoul timing rush, which is a lacklustre game plane. As for the human match up, due to it being late game oriented contrary to the other matchups, the Spirit Touch nerf has further contributed to the imbalance in the late game force dynamics, often leading to triple staff becoming an oppressive late game tool, resulting in the human faction’s dominance.
To summarise:
Core Issues Facing the Undead Faction**
- Weak Ultimate Abilities: The Death Knight and Lich suffer from weak ultimate abilities, causing the Undead faction to be outclassed beyond level 5.
- Lack of Versatility: Undead units lack versatility in composition and sieging options as well as being susceptible to ‘laming’ strategies.
- Absence of Aerial Sieging Unit: Unlike other factions, all of which enjoy three siege units, the Undead has only one siege unit, lacking an aerial sieging option.
- Necromancer’s Irrelevance: The Necromancer’s non-existent utility has been further diminished due to the nerfs to the Statues’ Spirit Touch ability. Their Raise Dead spell, which is pivotal for their role in combat and requires constant sustenance from the Statues’ Spirit Touch ability, has become even less effective as they struggle to maintain sufficient mana levels, especially in prolonged engagements where sustained mana regeneration is crucial.
- Frost Wyrm Irrelevance: The Frost Wyrm remains with no unique role beyond what Destroyers and Banshees already perform. The iconic Freezing Breath upgrade lacks the sieging impact expected from a late-game “Breath” ability. It should ideally be on par with Chimaera’s “Corrosive Breath,” if not surpassing it, especially considering its higher supply cost. However, it is often ridiculed and seen as a lesser version of Dragonhawks’ Cloud ability. Frost Wrym’s issues have been further exacerbated in the face of modern Warcraft’s power-crept ranged and air units
- Unholy Aura Movement Speed Nerf: The Unholy Aura’s movement speed and regeneration, combined with the Statues’ Spirit Touch sustenance, have been pivotal for the Undead faction to keep up with opposing factions that boast superior hero ultimates and late-game armies. The Undead’s strategy has revolved around kiting enemy forces (aside from Orc) and gradually wearing them down with Spirit Touch-sustained Coil and Nova, and occasionally Disease Cloud. This strategy aims to offset their weaker late-game army and lack of siege capabilities. Despite these efforts, the Undead has still been unanimously regarded as the weakest late-game race in FFA, attributed to the relatively underwhelming ultimates of the Death Knight and Lich, limited siege options, and generally lower quality of late-game units.
- Statues’ Spirit Touch Nerfs: The recent nerfs to the Statues’ Spirit Touch ability have been a critical turning point, disproportionately impairing the performance of the Undead’s spellcasters and mana-dependent heroes such as the Crypt Lord and Dread Lord. The Banshees’ defensive spell, Anti-Magic Shield, now being dispellable, means that a substantial amount of mana used to fortify the Undead army can be easily negated by enemy dispels. Consequently, the Banshees struggling to maintain optimal mana levels which is exacerbated by the weakened Spirit Touch ability. Furthermore, Necromancers frequently run out of mana due to the demanding nature of their Raise Dead ability, and the Spirit Touch nerf has further hampered their effectiveness. Notably, the Crypt Lord, designed in TFT with the expectation of being sustained by the Statues’ Spirit Touch, has been significantly affected by these changes.
Proposed Adjustments:
Objective: inviting the undead race to evolve beyond the predictable Destroyers Frenzy timing early aggression and embrace a more nuanced late game approach.
- Spirit Touch: Reverting the mana regeneration nerf provided by Statues as a Tier 3 upgrade for the Statues’ Spirit Touch ability, at the Slaughterhouse or Graveyard, would once again provide additional mana from the Spirit Touch ability. Introducing a significant research cooldown could position this as a strategic late-game upgrade. The duration may be adjusted accordingly. This change would be greatly appreciated by the FFA Undead community.
- Alternatively, increasing the mana regeneration rate for Undead spellcasters, as well as for mana-reliant heroes such as the Crypt Lord and Dread Lord, could offset the unintended consequences of the Statues’ Spirit Touch nerf.
- Endowing Necromancers with a toggle that allows the player to choose the type of skeleton raised by the Raise Dead ability, switching between Skeletal Mage and Skeletal Warrior, could enhance their utility. Providing the ability to dispel could be another option. Additionally, granting the Skeletal Mage a unique ability in line with its “Mage” status could further diversify their capabilities.
And finally:
- Frost Wrym: The Frost Wyrm would benefit from two key buffs: one enhancing its currently ridiculed out-of-combat utility with Freezing Breath, to make it on par with “Corrosive Breath”, and another improving its in-combat effectiveness to give it some breathing room against the powercrept air units and ranged units. These changes would provide Frost Wrym the value expected of its seven supply cost.
— “Freezing Breath” Upgrade: Enhancing the Frost Wyrm’s ‘Freezing Breath’ upgrade with siege capabilities, similar to the Chimaera’s ‘Corrosive Breath,’ allowing it to deal bonus damage to structures. A toggle feature could enable the Frost Wyrm to switch between Magic and Siege attacks, or perhaps fusing the two. The current ‘freezing’ effect while lacking practical utility, could be retained to distinguish it from ‘corrosive breath’. The range could be similar to Chimaera’s ‘Corrosive Breath’ or Dragonhawk’s ‘Cloud’ ability or slightly less to compensate for its versatility in switching its attack modes. This would render “Freezing Breath” a serious upgrade, from its once ridiculed status, aligning its utility with its 7 supply cost, compared to the Chimaera’s 5, and worthy of its iconic late game “Breath” nomenclature. Most importantly, it would provide Undead some much needed sieging options.
— Frost Wrym In-Combat Utility: Increasing its notably low attack range and introducing a splash effect for its Frost Slow against air units would provide a distinct air zoning utility, differentiating it from the Destroyers’ splash air attack. It’s also worth noting that the Frost Wyrm’s current lack of splash against air units may be an oversight and an unintended bug.
These adjustments would not only make the Frost Wyrm align with its 7 supply cost, and a viable alternative to Destroyers and Banshees with a unique role, but also provide the Undead some much late-game macro strategic options, potentially leading to more dynamic late-game scenarios.
Miscellaneous:
Allowing the Shade to acquire the backpack upgrade would give it a supplementary macro role beyond its current niche role. This would be similar to how a Sorceress can cast invisibility on human units and use the backpack feature.
Nerfs:
- Increasing Frenzy Ghoul research time to a total of 135s, effectively tripling its research time.
- Increasing Morph into Destroyer research time to a total of 120s, effectively doubling the research time.
Note: This may be deemed extreme, especially for an essential upgrade unlocking the ability to dispel. You may adjust these proportions accordingly.
Conclusion:
These proposed changes are designed to provide some relief to the Undead faction’s late-game challenges. While they may not completely resolve the inherent limitations of the Undead heroes’ ultimate abilities and late game units, they are a step towards enhancing the faction’s late-game performance and maintaining competitive balance.
Such changes would help promote some late game viability, inviting the undead race to evolve beyond the predictable Destroyers Frenzy timing early aggression and embrace a more nuanced late-game approach, consequently enhancing the Warcraft 3 experience.