As I come to the demon hunter my mana is at 120 I wait for 5 more mana and cast a w.e. I had picked up a mana pot earlier from the first set of creeps, I knew I needed to use it now to get another elemental on the seen. However I should have expected the demon hunter would have mana burn and waited for that before uing my potion. I didn’t wait and got mana burned for 100. While waiting for the cooldown on my summon w.e. spell. I engage with a mage and an elemental, the viscious demon hunter has already murdered my two peasants and is slapping around my constructing watch tower. After a few hits the demon hunter turns and mana burns my mage just at the moment I drink a pot of mana, gw me. I stand a bit knowing the cooldown between my elemental and his next mana burn will be just long enough for me to cast my next elemental. I do a second later I’m burned again putting my mage very very low in health. I decide to take off running up the back door path to the top right nat , the demon hunter pursues a bit then goes back to hitting on the watch tower, with my elementals attacking him the whole time. My watch tower is nearing destruction so with the trees in the way I attack with my mage again. For a second the demon hunter ignores me, but then he turns and chases I don’t react fast enough and before I’m out of the way he mana burns me for the 3rd time putting my mage at only 25 hit points! I really don’t wanna lose him at this point so I T.P. back to my main. The elementals have been splashing the demon hunter with water during the whole struggle but he still has 100 health left, he goes back to the watch tower before magically disappearing with only 18 hitpoints left. It was a very dramatic first encounter.

Having my fast expansion attempt discovered so easily did not make me to happy, having his Demon hunter dissapear nearly dead sure to rejuvenate at a moonwell while my mage had only 30 hitpoints left didn’t make me to happy either. I now was at a very difficult decision, I couldn’t rightly continue Expanding as I had planned, witch was to double expand to both top naturals guarded only by towers until both expansions were up and running, then dropping 3 barracks and working into a mage/mk footy/priest army. With the situation as it was I couldn’t go so long without an army, and with him knowledgeable about my intent, it would be even harder to pull off that way. However during the battle my keep finished and I started my mk.. Finally deciding, I send two peasants to my natural and start construction on a second guard tower as my first one has finished constructing. Soon my mk has popped out, and I quickly send him and my mage to vanquish the puny golem and two trolls near my main. During that fight my peasants at my nat finish the watch tower, I quickly upgrade it to a guard tower and order the peasants to start two barracks at the nat.

back in treeville Nightstalk3r has dropped two elders of lore in his main , along with 2 more moonwells, and has sent his demon hunter to the top right nat to finish off the two gnolls there. Soon the dual elders of war finish and Nightstalk3r upgrades the druid of the claw adept training, while training a bear in his other elder. The bear is quickly finished and joins his Demon hunter at the top right nat killing the creeps there. The demon hunter picks up a crystal ball at the top right nat and uses it on my main to find my keep and a newly building smith. After they are done at the top left nat Nightstalk3r produces another bear and 2 dryads, they then go on down to the bottom right nat to mop up the creeps there. Back at the humie town I’ve finished creeping the golems and two trolls. Upon completion of the barracks my two peasants at the top right nat start a Town hall behind the barracks and within the sphere of protection of the Guard towers. Also, I’ve decided to expand again to get out from under the disadvantage I’ve gotten myself into. Assuming wrongly that the Demon hunter had come from the top right position I thought my opponent was in the top right main and nat. So, I set off to the low left nat with my mage and mk and a newly produced footy.

After taking down the creeps there I set up two guard towers with the peasants I’ve sent down the back route from my main. This occurs at exactly the same time that Nightstalk3r clears the low right natural.

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After we both finish creeping the nats I head to the golem and two trolls near the low left main, Nightstalk3r decides to creep at the goblin laboratory. .

After killing the golem and trolls I move onto the Two lvl 3 orges and two trolls in the low right main area. After killing them my mage and mk are both lvl 2 my mage has a hood of shadow ( or whatever its called cus I know that’s not right). My mk has a potion of strength from the low left nat and a scroll of the beast from the ogres and trolls. Nightstalk3r finishes his fight with the trolls at the goblin lab, lvling his demon hunter to lvl 3 and getting a Potion of restoration that would prove incredibly handy for him. He has also been casting rejuvenation on his bears constantly keeping them and his Demon hunter at full health during the creeping. Nightstalk3r decides to purchase a Zeppilin at the gob lab in order to expand to the island directly left of his main. He sends the Zepp home and loads up a wisp and does just that. Around this time my Hall at the top right nat has finished and I start to get my peon count there up to 5, in the low left nat my guard towers have finished and I have started a town hall there as well. Nightstalk3r has added an elder of war for the training of ballistas as well as adding another dryad and bear to his army. After finishing the goblin lab he moves to just in front of the top fountain of mana. A ballista makes its way to join his army.. At the same time I move to the golem and two trolls directly below the low right nat, and kill them swiftly. I’ve recently started pumping footys and unfortunately they are rallied on my hero. This brings them just close enough to Nightstalk3r’s squad in the middle that a dryad nails a footy with slow poison. Nightstalk3r chases down the footy and his friend all the way to the low right nat. I size up the situation and determine I’m not ready to fight yet, so I use my mk’s new T.P. to leave the situation abruptly. After T.P.ing I know I’m fresh out of portal scrolls and to accommodate my expansions I need to be able to creep and be able to return to my expansions at any time of need. So I head out to the Goblin merchant directly under my main. Nightstalk3r charges into the fountain of mana area and does battle with the creeps there, at the same time as I fight at the merchant, however he finishes first and moves on towards my nat. My town hall in the low left has just come online, and I’m in the middle of fighting the 4 troll berserkers at the gob merchant when a Ballista rolls up and starts some shit.

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I had just started a third rax that was building when a ballista bolt flies into it, I assess the situation calmly, buy myself a scroll from the merchant, cancel my rax and T.P. in. Just as I T.P. in, the demon hunter charges, and starts attacking my other rax, my army portals perfectly, surrounding the Demon hunter quite effectively. Immediately I bolt it and quickly use my scroll of the beast, as I'm attacking the Demon hunter with my squad of 6 footmen, 2 water elementals, mk, and mage, Nightstalk3r swings into action bringing down the force of his 4 druid of the claws, 5 dryads, and two Ballistas. At the time Nightstalk3r’s units are 0/2, and my footmen are ½. I know that if I take down his hero right now then all I have to do is kill the ballistas and the rest of his army will be deterred by my guard towers, witch are cozily blocked off by my barracks. I now have 5 footys, a mk, 2 w.e.s, and my mage pounding on the surrounded demon hunter, who is fighting back hard. Once the Demon hunter gets to about 450 h.p. Nightstalk3r casts rejuvenate on him. He goes toe to toe with my entire army for about 3 more seconds until about 2 of my footies bite the dust. This lvls the Demon hunter up to lvl 4 increasing his h.p.s, to my dismay. He’s almost dead though, I’ve been attacking it for the last 10 seconds at least, finally at 300 hitpoints I bolt him, the hitpoints drop to 36!!! Of course that’s as far as they go cus Nightstalk3r has a potion of restoration and at 36 h.p. decides it’s a good time to use. Unfortunately for me after attacking 1 unit for 10 seconds with my entire army only to have that unit be returned to full health, put me in a very bad position. I retreat upwards in front of my rax luring his units into range of my towers. He pursues for a moment than pulls back to get out of range of the towers, as he retreats I seize my opportunity, and bring one ballista all the way down to 20 hitpoints before his army turns and I have to retreat mine once more I gain the safety of my towers, and with a quick click I nail the ballista with my mage, lvling my mage to 3. I quickly put my 3rd skill point into Brilliance aura Knowing how valuable storm bolt is going to be in this engagement. After killing a few of my footies he retreats out of the arc of my towers once more, but as he retreats I bolt his demon hunter and send my remaining footies into the fray to die, hoping to buy myself valuable seconds so I can get to the second ballista. As I skirt the battle with hero’s to get around to the final ballista my mage and mk quickly nail it, but Nightstalk3r moves a bear in between my mage and the mk, and soon the demon hunter is all over my mage with slow poison, hindering my attempts to remove him from harm he gets boxed in further and dies. The demon hunter pursues my mk until he runs into the safety of the towers. As the last of my footman dies 2 new ones pop out from my rax to join my mk, seeing that any further attack without ballistas will be futile Nightstalk3r withdraws, for the moment...

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Knowing that I have barely eluded destruction and am still in some deep shit, with him having a lvl 5 demon hunter, I know I have to severely outmass Nightstalk3r to win this game. I start another barracks at my nat, upgrade to castle, and send 3 peasants from the low left natural to the low right natural, unknowingly taking my opponents own expansion right under his nose. My archmage is quickly revived while Nightstalk3r refreshes his mana at the fountain around the corner. He produces another ballista and reinforces his army up to 5 bears and 6 dryads. With another ballista training Nightstalk3r is ready to lay siege once again. Knowing the strike is eminent, yet still wanting to creep, I know I need to get another portal scroll. So as soon as my mage is resurrected I send him to my nat to cast some water elementals while I send my mk to the Goblin merchant, the two heroes cross paths and seem a bit confused at why they are going in opposite directions. My mk reaches the goblin merchant just as an attacking Dryad nails one of my footys with a dart, I quickly buy a town portal scroll and drop into defend my nat once again….

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11 footys, my mage, and a w.e. are reatreating below my town hall, as my mk portals in above the pursuing Night elf army. A ballista has been sent up near the barracks to get to work on the towers that will ultimately prevent Nightstalk3r from razing the base if he wins through the battle. My mk punctually bolts the ballista as soon as he is completely materialized from the portal. The Elf army falls back while my pursuing footy, w.e., mage army engages them head on. The demon hunter leads the charge at lvl 5 he takes a lot of footy hits and laughs. My mk comes down on top of the army after killing the ballista and I wait for my storm bolt to cool down before I make my move. It is very hard to kill a lvl 5 demon hunter with lvl 2 evade lvl 2 immolation and mana burn with bears casting rejuvenate on him. So instead of pointlessly allowing my footys to waste hits on him. I bolted him and pulled my footy army into the center of the dryads and bears and let the battle rage. It turned out to be a good choice with the assistance of a few bolts and claps bears and dryads started falling like flys. Nightstalk3r knew he had to retreat and did until he rearranged the battle a little better. With all of his army but 3 dryads dead the demon hunter turned and took out 3 footys in 3 fell strokes bringing him to lvl 6. this was bad :( I knew I may be in trouble if I didn’t kill him now ~ I did my best to encircle him and get off as many hits as I could until at 250 h.p. he broke away again. Yet during the end fray I had ran ahead with my mk anticipating the demon hunters retreat, closing off his line of escape, I bolt him and for 3 long seconds run up on all sides with footies, surround and kill him. A straggling ballista also died in much the same way. I felt that I had weathered the storm and clinched victory I went on to finish up his main knowing he had hardly any army and no hero.

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I strolled into the top right nat with around 15 footys my mk and mage, and confidently waltzed into the top right to finish the game. Insteaad of being greeted by defenseless moonwells I got hit in the head with a rock, Twice, from the two rock golems there. After I got over the shock of it, getting hit in the head with a rock that is, I realized what an idiot I'd been for not doing any scouting at all during the whole game. My army makes short work of the creeps there and my mk and mage lvl to lvl 4. I then realized I was in jeopardy of losing my low right exp at any minute, because I was also ignorant of his island expansion, I thought he must be hurting for money, and was going to take down my exp there at any minute, little did I know that he hadn’t been doing any scouting either, and had no clue I expanded there. Around this time the Goblin Zeppelin that Nightstalk3r had purchased earlier got a bit to fresh with Nightstalk3r so he sent it in a straight line from his island expansion over the 4 trolls at low left gob merchant and then right over the top of the golems at the low left start spot, needless to say it came down in a flurry of fire, witch I found rather comical. . During the battle my expansion in the bot right came online, my 2nd attack upgrade completed, and my castle finished. I was now feeling pretty confident, having oodles of money pouring in from my 3 exps helped as well, so I dropped 3 watch towers at the low right nat, and moved out to the merc camp below the top right nat, to take down some big creepers. After giving the ogres there a working over of sorts, I picked up a goblin wardrums and a tome of experience, using the tome for my mage, he reached lvl 5. I put my 5th point into lvl 3 brilliance, and headed out towards the low right start spot. Thinking maybe Nightstalk3r still didn’t have his hero out I would send my mk in advance to the gob merchant near the start spot to buy a t.p. in case things got ugly, unfortunately they got ugly before the mk could reach the merchant.

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As my army turns the corner to enter the valley leading towards the low right main, some of the footys stopped to smell roses near the merc camp, and the mk who was going ahead of the army to get to the gob merchant shop stumbled into 5 dryads, 5 bears, an angry demon hunter, and a ballista. My mk ran headlong unaware into this and came dangerously close to being killed on the spot, if not for the couple of footies that started to stream into the area congo line style. Eventually all 14 footys would join the battle, the narrow area forced the bears and the demon hunter to the front of the fight, where the bears cast rejuvenate on themselves and the demon hunter. Meanwhile my mk bolted the ballista once and then set to work on the demon hunter. Around 10 footys, the mk, and the mage, all focused fire on him while the bears and dryads whittled down my footy numbers. All of a sudden a stray footy sword knicked the Demon hunters pretty new fingernail ( he had just had a manicure , what else do you think they do when they are being revived ? ) the demon hunter tilted his head back let out a roar and grew wings, dark black wings, of death!. My mk quickly bolted him and it looked like he was almost going to die. When a flurry of misses by my footies, due to the lvl 3 evade, the now lvl 7 demon hunter had, and the rejuvenate cast upon him by the bears, forced me to give up hope in killing the demon hunter. I went to retreat only to find my footys had been ground into nothing by the green splash damage, immolation, and slow poison of the night elves. I was left with a water elemental, my mk, and my mage all in the red. It was a complete route ! I knew though that he must have only one elder of war from the way he had pumped so many spell casters early on and if there was one thing I’d get form this battle it would be his ballista ! I nailed it with a storm bolt and it blew to pieces, just about the same time he focus fired on my mage and killed him dead! My mk ran as fast as his short little stubby feet could take him, back to the safety of my nat.

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Knowing I was once again behind, I quickly started my mage resurrecting and hastily constructed a guard tower on the outside of my barracks at my nat in order to further buy myself time I surrounded the tower in farms, thanks to my 3 expansions money had not been an issue for the second half of the game and I was happy to buy myself some insurance. During the battle I had researched animal war training, and got lvl 3 defense for my ground units. With my mk now in the deep red, I knew I needed to get to a gob merchant fast, with 2 footies in tow and 3 knights on the way, I went to the top right merchant shop and cleared it out, buying a scroll of protection and 3 strength potions, I then downed them like chocolate milk.

Meanwhile Nightstalk3r had had a ballista building during the battle and hardly a second after the last one died a new one rolled out to take its place, Nightstalk3r sent it out towards my nat while sending his army back to heal via moonwells. Right about then his Gold mine collapsed and he sent his lumbering tree of ages down to his natural to expand. Luck smiled on me once again because just as I left the goblin merchant on my way to kill the ogres in the top left Nightstalk3r had moved to just outside my base poised to attack once more, an attack I may not have made it through with my solo hero and depleted forces. Luckily for me however a slight annoyance caused Nightstalk3r to delay his siege… Nightstalk3r averts his forces from my top left nat to the low right nat in order to clear it for himself. Because of the towers he had to wait for his slow rolling ballista and this bought me just enough time to clear the ogres and pick up another battle drums and tome of exp, bringing my mk to lvl 6, as I receive the first signal that my nat is under attack my army is very far away, it seems I’m going to lose my nat until….

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In the nick of time my mage is resurrected, as ballista bolts slams into my towers at the low right nat, I concoct a plan to get my mage to my army, and my army to the nat, in less than ten seconds. My mage gallops full speed to the merch shop near my main, buys two portal scrolls, and a scroll of protection, ( I forgot I already had one on my mk ) while the same time my Army moves to my top left nat, A.S.A.P. my mage portals to the top left nat just in time to meet my army and 3 newly trained knights, once gathered they all portal to the bot right nat to do battle with the invaders.

As soon as I portal in, I pop my scroll of protection, immediately the knights out class the dryads and druids of the claw. Nightstalk3r never had enough resources to get his tree to a tree of eternity and upgrade bear form. However he roars, and rejuvenates, and metomorphs, and immolates, and abolishes all my scroll of protection. The battle wavers for a few seconds until the line of bears crumbles to my knights. My mk tributes his war rage by yelling “FOR Khaz Modan” as he grows in size and corners the demon hunter. The two fight toe to toe for about ten seconds, until my knights careen in over the fallen bear corpses, with a final Storm bolt the demon hunter lunges upward white bolts of electricity flicker of his blackened charred body, he falls limply to the ground, and the game is over.

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Well I hope it was as exciting to read as it was for me to play. It was an extremely fun situation trying to fight out from under the pressure of his lore force, and a higher lvled hero, by outexpanding constantly, and massing footys. I hope this might help show that expansions have more room in this game than people originally thought. Neway ~ The final scores were like this.

thanks to my smurfs who are making war3 very fun game to play.
I invite all nhers to visit our new war3 smurf site here
and thanks to mark4 for the front page hookup -_- (again)

this has been a

Joe.Smurf

production

thanx for the read, and thanks to the site

;) – out