Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness Complete Guide (16 Sections) | AntMag

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Welcome to Azeroth, Commander! Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, released in 1995, is a classic real-time strategy gem where you'll command either the Human Alliance or the Orcish Horde. You'll gather resources, build bases, train armies, and wage war across a sprawling campaign. Master the unique units and crucial upgrades for each faction as you fight for dominance.

This guide is your key to conquering Tides of Darkness. We'll walk you through every step, from installation and setup to dismantling enemy fortresses. Learn advanced techniques, master hotkeys, and discover how to achieve victory on PC, PlayStation, and Classic Macintosh. Get ready to lead your forces to glory!

Part 1

Alright, so you're diving into Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, huh? Awesome choice! This guide is gonna walk you through the first chunk of the game, focusing on the expansion, Beyond the Dark Portal. Think of me as your buddy sitting next to you, pointing out the cool stuff and making sure you don't get yourself into too much trouble.

First off, let's get the lay of the land. This expansion picks up right after the original Warcraft II, with the humans having won. The Orcs got booted back to their home world, Draenor, and things are a bit chaotic over there. But, as always, the Orcs aren't staying down for long. The Elder Shaman Ner'Zhul is trying to get things back in order and, you guessed it, reopen that Dark Portal. Meanwhile, back in Azeroth, the humans have rebuilt Stormwind into 'New Stormwind' and set up a base called the Fortress of Nethergarde. Things get spicy when the Arch-wizard Khadgar notices weird energy from the rift – sounds like trouble brewing!

Now, about what's new. The expansion throws in 12 missions for each side, and trust me, they crank up the difficulty from the original game. The biggest game-changer? Hero units. These guys are tough cookies and, unlike in Warcraft 3, if they fall, you usually lose the whole mission. No respawning them at an Altar of Heroes here! Some of these heroes even start with awesome abilities already unlocked. For instance, Turalyon, a human paladin, comes with Vision, Healing, and Exorcism right out of the gate. You'll be facing off against some of these heroes in the Human campaign, while the Orcs meet them as a group later on.

You'll also spend some time on Draenor, the Orcs' home world. It looks a bit different – think dark brown for buildable land, light brown or green for the stuff you can't build on. Those mushroomy things? They're basically trees, and the vines are just there for show. A super important tip here: the missions are more focused now. In the original, you could often just wipe out everyone. Here, you need to be smart. If the mission doesn't explicitly say 'kill them all,' just focus on completing the objective and getting out. For example, on Human mission 6, 'Fall of Auchidoun,' you only need to deal with Red and Orange enemies, not all four colors, to progress.

And for those who love racking up points, the 'peasant slaughter' trick still works, but be warned: the gold mines have way more gold now (50k+!). So, while you can still get a massive score by taking out defenseless peasants, it'll take longer and require more resources.

New Units (Heroes):

Alleria: An Elf Ranger with serious attack power and range. She gets basic archer upgrades but already has Ranger training. Pair her with a paladin, and she's a beast against dragons. Stats: Armour: 5, Damage: 9-28, Range: 7, Sight: 9, Speed: 10, Health: 120.
Khadgar: A Human Mage who starts with most of the spells already. Stats: Armour: 3, Damage: 8-16, Range: 6, Sight: 9, Speed: 8, Health: 120.
Turalyon: A Human Paladin, tougher than a regular knight and starts with all Paladin spells, including Healing, which is super handy early on. Stats: Armour: 10, Damage: (incomplete in source).

Part 2

Hero Stats:

Footman — Range: 1, Sight: 6, Speed: 13, Health: 180
Danath — Armour: 8, Damage: 4-23, Range: 1, Sight: 6, Speed: 10, Health: 220
Kurdrann and Sky'ree — Armour: 6, Damage: 13-25, Range: 5, Sight: 9, Speed: 14, Health: 250
Grom Hellscream — Armour: 8, Damage: 3-22, Range: 1, Sight: 5, Speed: 10, Health: 240
Korgan Bladefist — Armour: 8, Damage: 3-22, Range: 1, Sight: 5, Speed: 10, Health: 240
Teron Gorefiend — Armour: 2, Damage: 8-16, Range: 4, Sight: 9, Speed: 8, Health: 180
Dentarg — Armour: 8, Damage: 3-24, Range: 1, Sight: 6, Speed: 13, Health: 300
Deathwing — Armour: 10, Damage: 12-35, Range: 5, Sight: 9, Speed: 14, Health: 800

Walkthrough

1
3.1.1 ALLERIA'S JOURNEY
Objective: Bring Alleria, Danath, and Turalyon to the Circle of Power at New Stormwind.
Walkthrough: Start in the bottom right with Alleria and limited troops; no town is available initially. The level is divided into four sections by a river and rocks, with the Circle of Power in the top left, Turalyon in the top right, Danath in the bottom left, and Alleria in the bottom right. North of your starting position, defeat orcs and a catapult. Claim the peasants and shipyard; move peasants to a safe corner. Lure ships into catapult range. Clear the remaining orcs in this section. Continue west to find peasants and a lumber mill, then proceed to the far left to find and recruit Danath. Return to free the peasants, assign them to wood collection, and go back to the Shipyard. Build a transport and sail to the top right section. Destroy skeletons and recruit Turalyon. Since there's no land route between the top and bottom halves, return to the transport and sail around. Engage any Death Knight encountered, using Turalyon's Exorcism if necessary. Enter the town and move the three heroes into the Circle to win.
2
3.1.2 BATTLE FOR NETHERGARDE
Objective: Destroy all enemy forces. Danath must survive.
Walkthrough: Begin in the bottom left, with red forces to the north, yellow in the bottom right, and black occupying the center (Nethergarde). Build your town hall near the trees and establish a base. Place towers at the river crossing to defend against red team incursions. Once a Keep is built, position towers near the rock entrance. The yellow team might initiate "peasant slaughter"; reinforce towers if necessary. Destroy the cannon towers across the river crossing. Through the rock opening, defeat red's towers and troops, potentially using mages with blizzard. Beware of fleeing peons heading left, where black may have a mini-town. Send a flyer across the river bridge to locate the Death Knight. Use a paladin with Exorcism to defeat him, then retreat the paladin if damaged. Proceed to the small black base in the top middle, destroy it, and any escaped red units. Use this area as a staging point. Head down to destroy black's main base, utilizing blizzard for defense against retaliation. Finally, attack the yellow team from the left, as they rarely upgrade their forces.

Tips

Orc heroes generally have more health than their human counterparts but are harder to keep alive due to the lack of healing.
Teron Gorefiend can be a liability in later stages due to enemy Exorcism-throwing paladins.
Deathwing is powerful with Haste and Bloodlust, especially useful for clearing towns in the final Orc level where he can be sacrificed.
In "Battle for Nethergarde," the orcs do not have dragons, which is noted as a rarity.
The "peasant slaughter" tactic by the yellow team in "Battle for Nethergarde" involves using two mines but rarely utilizing the second.

Part 3

Walkthrough

1
Once More Unto the Breach:
- Objectives: Destroy all fortresses and strongholds. Get Turalyon to the Circle of Power behind the new Dark Portal.
2
Note: Focus on fortresses and strongholds, not necessarily all enemies.
3
Starting Area: Your initial start area is weak, with some farms and blacksmith outside walls and a small mine.
4
Early Defense: Turn middle two and right towers into archer towers. Add more archer towers in the middle to counter purple's dragons. Keep Turalyon out of direct combat as he is the only healer initially.
5
Second Base: Establish a second base at the middle right (new mine) as soon as possible. Build numerous archer towers at the rock entrance to defend against orange and occasional purple dragons.
6
Dealing with Orange: Orange has many troops and gold. You can either engage them directly or wait them out with a 'peasant slaughter' strategy, which may take hours and involve many dragons.
7
Naval Assault on Red: Build a shipyard. Ensure archer towers/destroyers are ready if purple is still sending dragons. Use transports to land on the lower half of the 'O' shape (red's island). Take the left side first, destroying everything. This also provides a good position for catapulting ships in the central water. Build archer towers here to deter purple's dragons, then take the right side and destroy red completely.
8
Assault on Purple: Transport troops to the right side of purple's land. Be prepared for battleships that may stay out of catapult range; pull back and use catapults if necessary. Bring archers to counter purple's dragons. Systematically catapult purple's towers. Once the fortress falls, destroy remaining towers.
9
Optional: Use blizzard on the back two towers surrounding the portal by dropping a mage on the rocks behind it, potentially getting the death knight inside.
10
Final Objective: Ferry Turalyon and catapults to the central rock. Destroy the cannon towers in front of the portal and escort him to the circle. If Turalyon is at full health, you might reach the portal without destroying towers, but it's risky.
11
Transition: The next mission is on the Orc homeworld of Draenor.
12
Beyond the Dark Portal:
- Objectives: Build a castle. Kill all enemies.
13
Initial Assault: Enemies will rush from the right at the start; this is to whittle down your troops. Destroy them and head right and down towards the area indicated by your flyer. Destroy the cannon tower halfway down.
14
First Base: Destroy the target (white) and build your base there.
15
Enemy Patterns: Black (top right) primarily sends dragons. Red (middle left) sends most ground troops. Identify their main routes and build defensive towers (e.g., AA = Archer Tower, CC = Cannon Tower pattern: AACC AACC...). Place archer towers to counter the large number of dragons from black.
16
Second Mine: To the left of your base, a second mine is guarded by skeletons and a daemon. Black usually has peasants working on this mine. Destroy the defenders and peasants, then build towers. Avoid destroying black's town hall immediately to potentially achieve an early 'peasant slaughter.' Leave a squad to defend this area as red will also send troops there.
17
Endurance Strategy: Outlast your enemies. Use peasants to repair towers and maintain gold in your initial mine (or use the one taken from black). Both black and red will eventually resort to 'peasant slaughter.' Every gold piece black spends on peasants is one not spent on dragons.
18
Map Exploration: Use your griffin to tour the map and eliminate skeleton groups and cannon towers, being careful of dragons.
19
Late Game Event: Sometimes, after a significant portion of enemies are eliminated, remaining skeletons may head towards your base.

Tips

In 'Once More Unto the Breach,' keep Turalyon safe as he is your primary healer.
Build a strong defensive line of archer towers against dragon attacks.
In 'Beyond the Dark Portal,' prioritize establishing a second base and securing additional mines.
The 'peasant slaughter' strategy can be time-consuming but effective for conserving your main army.
Utilize your griffin for reconnaissance and to clear out minor threats.

Completion of 'Once More Unto the Breach' allows progression to the Orc homeworld of Draenor.
Completion of 'Beyond the Dark Portal' advances the campaign.

Part 4

Walkthrough

1
Upon the Shadowed Sea
- Build three shipyards and destroy all orcish shipyards.
2
Start in the top left. Green is below, Orange is to the right on the main island. Yellow and Purple are on islands in the sea. No dragons in this mission.
3
Head down, destroy Green, and establish your base. Quickly attack Orange if possible, but prioritize base building.
4
Defend your base entrances with towers, as Green (if still alive) and Orange will attack. Yellow is the main threat, often with Ogre-Magi.
5
Once your base is established, destroy Orange if not already done. Build a shipyard in the inlet by Orange's entrance and defend it with catapults.
6
Yellow will shift focus to naval attacks. Secure gold from mines in Orange's base or the top middle.
7
Build a fleet of eight battleships with a spotter and available upgrades. Build a refinery and foundry near your starting location.
8
Use your fleet to eliminate enemy naval forces, focusing only on destroying shipyards.
9
Build a couple more shipyards to win the level.
10
Fall of Auchindoun
- Return Turaylon and Danath to the Circle of Power after destroying Orange.
11
Start in the top right. Enemies: Light Blue (top left), Red (middle right), Orange (middle left), Black (bottom middle). Black has dragons. Orange and Black share a gold mine.
12
Load troops into transports and head south. Destroy Red, who controls your initial base area. Build your base and destroy transports after landing.
13
Position other ships up the channel to intercept Orange's transports landing near the oil patch.
14
Build numerous towers (8+) around your base entrance, with cannon towers on the south wall. Be aware of dragons attacking from the south and occasionally west.
15
Keep Turaylon on healing duty.
16
Secure gold from two mines on your island; one halfway down, one at the bottom (requires harvesting nearby trees for a Town Hall). Build archer towers near the bottom mine due to dragon attacks.
17
Once the Orange/Black mine is depleted (check with flyers or Vision spell) and you have Paladins and Mages, build a shipyard and armada.
18
Build a fleet of eight battleships, two spotters, and five destroyers. Include destroyers for dragon defense and a spotter for submarines.
19
Focus on destroying Orange. Avoid Black's coast to prevent Death Knight whirlwind attacks.
20
Destroy Orange's coastal defenses and armada.
21
Transport your squad (four Paladins, five Archers, three Catapults, two Mages, optional Peasant) to Orange's territory.
22
Destroy all of Orange's forces. Avoid encroaching on Black.
23
Once Orange is eliminated, retrieve Turaylon and Danath with a transport and return them to the Circle of Power to end the level. If heroes are not found, hunt for any remaining Orange peasants, possibly in Black's territory.

Tips

Upon the Shadowed Sea: Prioritize base defense early on. Yellow is the primary threat. Focus on naval superiority and destroying shipyards, not entire towns.
Fall of Auchindoun: Use transports to land troops and secure your base quickly. Defend your base entrances rigorously. Be prepared for dragon attacks. Destroy Orange's forces before engaging Black. Ensure your heroes are safe and ready for extraction.

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Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

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