Rexxar's Campaign

Fladian

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Blizzard's RPG​

Rexxar's Campaign


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As everyone who plays Warcraft III The Frozen Throne knows, Blizzard added a small RPG-like campaign with Beastmaster-hero Rexxar to the game.

When I first played the RPG-like campaign, I was quite fond of it but disliked the primary hero. Don't understand me wrong, I hold no grudge to the Beastmaster, but summoning creatures all the time wasn't my style of play. A lack of healing spells bothered me too, until Rokhan showed up, which really caused me to sigh in relief. Rokhan was a fine hero, but later in the game got me in a little problem because he lacked quite a decent amount of health without using any items in particular to increase his health (if necessary, temporarily). Chen Stormstout was a fair hero as well, but despite lacking the physical strength of Rexxar or the supporting abilities of Rokhan, it was more than useful to have him around. Not to mention that he is the first access to some multiple attack spells next to Rexxar's ultimate, which the cooldown makes it a spell to only use in crowded areas. Later on, Nazgrel (who is surprisingly not a hero) joined for a short amount of time (which bothered me more than that it helped me) for quest related events. Samuro (who is a normal Blademaster) didn't play a giant role and I was quite disappointed to use him. Not because of any particular reason, but I don't like Blademasters because I can't control them properly. Not to mention that he had nothing to do with the story. By the time I got to that point, Rexxar and the rest of the team could destroy anything with easy with an exception of the lv.10+ heroes, which proved to be quite the pain in the butt. Jaina counted in a similar way, but I didn't mind her too much because she was only there for a(n insanely) short time and her brilliance aura made a lot up for it. The last hero (next to the son of Cairne) that joined was Cairne himself, who acted quite in a similar way as Chen for me, except that Cairne's spells were far more useful... but unfortunately, by the time he joined, he was behind by at least two to three levels from my heroes, which immediately caused him to be the weakest link in my team (despite the Reincarnation) and he only had a similar amount of health as Rokhan (which I complained of having too little health). Later on he made it quite up by using his spells that have no equal in Rexxar's or Chen's spells.

Rexxar was quite the hero, which I must admit saying despite being quite critical about him for most of the time. His Storm Bolt was quite strong and took out most of the annoying little critters you met along the way - especially the spellcasters near the end. Unfortunately, summoning Quilbeast became useless quite quickly, simply because Misha is far more stronger and is also permanent, in opposite of the Quilbeast. The only advantage it had were a small arsenal of spells and a ranged attack, which really doesn't equal the amazing strength of both Rexxar and Misha. Summoning Misha is definitely the best spell for the first level as Misha is stronger than most creeps you encounter. By the time you reach Jaina, however, she isn't very useful anymore because most enemy spellcasters know how to cast dispel. When you encounter multiple spellcasters at the same time, Misha doesn't live long. Near the end of the game, I even forgot to summon her. Rexxar's ultimate was quite disappointing for me. As I recall, I used it once through my entire campaign. This was during the Ogre-Gauntlet where you encounter numerous of gnolls. They weren't really a problem, but I figured that went faster. Rexxar was further the perfect type of hero for battle. His strength had no equal (despite his comments on that the Tauren had "legendary strength" even though he had more than ten points higher) and his spells were in the beginning of the game more than useful. It's unfortunate that only Storm Bolt became useful near the end.

Rokhan was the perfect support hero. To start off with his healing spell, which was just a must. Because of a high number enemy you will face at the same time, a healing spell was extremely important. Considering that Rokhan stays at the back most of the time because of his ranged attack, the spell could be used quite easily. Especially after fighting with multiple heroes. His second spell, Hex, was quite useful too for the harder fights, but not very necessary near the start of the game. Heroes you can't handle together with several other enemies could be hexed for a short amount of time. It was often just the time I needed to let Chen and Rokhan heal my party. His third spell was as useful as his previous by summoning a ward. I must admit that I rarely used it, but it was quite useful on the times I did use it and I can imagine people making great use of it. His fourth spell (and ultimate) was the only ultimate (next to Reincarnation) which I found truly useful simply because of Rokhan's low health. In big fights (like the one in Outland) Rokhan's ultimate spell was more than useful. As I said before, Rokhan is the perfect support hero. It's only a minor down part that he doesn't have a really high health, but on the other hand, Rexxar, Chen and Cairne just had a lot.

Chen Stormstout was nice to have, but he wasn't really a must. His spells were not very useful at the start, which is very unfortunate. But he became more useful the further the game got. But at the start, he acted mostly like a meatshield for me, but I already had Rexxar for that, so he just helped taking care of minor creatures. His Fire Breath became extremely useful later on in the game because its range was quite far. Further than I thought at the start, which made him useful by the time you got sight of Proudmore. Shockwave of Cairne usually finished the job nicely. His second spell, Drunken Haze, despite being very useful at times, I always forgot to use it and instead always used Storm Bolt of Rexxar. His third spell, a passive, was one of the most useful spells in the game, despite that I never noticed a critical hit or an evasion from him. But every passive spell is a good one. His ultimate was completely useless for me. I used it once and that was by accident (I clicked the wrong button). The spell bothered me because I needed him in his full form. In all honestly, except Custom Games, I never really liked his ultimate. But all in all, Chen was a decent hero. Useless at the start, but became better as the time passed. When used well, he could be a better hero than Rexxar... especially if you get him early on.

Cairne Bloodhoof was quite the surprise for me that he was a permanent addition to the squad. I expected him to join temporarily so I didn't really give him much attention until we reached Thrall again (who surprisingly didn't join, considering every other former hero joined). Cairne was the least useful hero (by far) when you just get him. Not because his spells were weak (the opposite, actually) but simply becuase he lacked a good health at that time (too low on level) and by the time you got him, you already got used to the combination of the other three heroes, making a fourth a bit too much. But when you get used to him (and give him items that boost his low mana and slow attack speed) he can easily be the most useful hero in the game. Next to Rexxar's ultimate spell, he is also the only one who can attack buildings by using his skills (Shockwave), which was a slight relief because of the big towers with 4000 health, which were more annoying than dangerous. Cairne's Shockwave was a great addition to Chen's Fire Breath, which combined nicely. Because of Cairne's size, I often found him surrounded, so a War Stomp was a useful spell too. Besides being useful, War Stomp was always one of my favorite spells in the game. His aura was nice, but I already had two of them. Of course, the hero aura is always more useful. Finally, his reincarnation (passive) which is always a good thing. But to be honest, I never even had to use it. Cairne never died. Only Chen and Rokhan died by the time I got Cairne. The Tauren Chieftan was a more than excellent addition to the hero party, if you could control him properly, of course and keep him out of trouble near the beginning.

The Campaign was a great success in my eyes... or at least, the beginning was. The Troll encampment was a giant disappointment. When they got back to Thrall, it picked up the success but it got less as the game continued.

The game started nicely. You are free to explore whatever you want. Do some random quests (and even pick up Chen if you like) and explore, something I always liked in every RPG. No commitments. I was a bit surprised that Chen had absolutely no role in the game next to his skills as a hero. Rexxar was first refused entrance because of who he was, but when Chen entered there was no problem at all. Slight disappointment from my side, but I guess I can't have all, which I can accept.
Oh yes, is it me, or was there something wrong with that alchemist, Drek'Thar. I remember Thrall directed me to Thunderridge Valley after Drek'Thar left to that place. This was also during the time I got Nezgral and started to increase my pace of quests, which really gave me no time to visit the old Drek'Thar. Not to mention that it is on the other side of the map and because none of my three heroes at that time could level up anymore, I saw no reason to go through an entire map just to see the old wolfrider.
The story was further (in the start) just fine until the Humans attacked. The idea was fine and the Admiral was a decent villain but he lacked common sense, which is surprising, considering the rank of the man.

As the story continued, it constantly became weaker. What exactly did the naga have to do with it? Besides that, why did they kill humans? The most logical explanation I can find is that the forces of Proudmore encountered those beasts while sailing. Assuming that this campaign happens around the same time as Illidan's capture, (not that it really matters) the naga had far more important business to attend to than attacking some random humans.

I found it pleasant to know that Admiral Proudmore was the father of Jaina, giving him a decent reason to attack as he did. What does disappoint me greatly is that Jaina didn't manage to get to talk to him properly. She defended the Horde (not Rexxar or Thrall in particular) once (in vain) and didn't seem to care afterwards. Someone with the rank of Admiral Proudmore could have listened to reason in my opinion. Thrall is also a quite an intelligent wizard (shaman, pardon me) which should be more than able to talk properly with the Admiral. If he refuses to talk, then take Jaina hostage (willingly) for that matter so you can get his attention. Besides that, he had a level 15 Archmage and Paladin as servants (and more). Don't you think they would think logically for even a second? I understand that they are quick to draw their conclusions when it comes to Orcs, but even a fool should notice that they are not immediately hostile.
When Thrall was summoned to that mountain by those assassins, (Rexxar went instead) didn't Rexxar mention the name of Jaina? Yes, he did. The soldiers were surprised to hear that name ("Why would Jaina be...?") and I conclude from it that they aren't aware that Jaina is currently in that area (or island, for that matter), meaning that the Humans knew that the Orcs expected an ambush. In a neutral point of view, if Jaina would have been there instead then the orcs had no reason not to come, or Thrall, in this case. Give me one reason why the warchief of the Orcs would come, knowing the most likely chance is an ambush. The designer obviously forgot that, which was the biggest disappointment.

In terms of fighting story-wise, it was excellent. Quite pleasant too. They give reasons to fight (not very good reasons, but still, it's the type of game) and there are numerous of ways to do so. The items were nicely used as a backup (though I forgot to use all abilities until I got to Proudmore's final battle).
However, the fighting itself (not story wise) was heavily disappointing. The start of the game was good, the creatures were very nicely able to equal you in combat, but that's about it. There were, in total, three fights I actually had to be careful with. I'll list them in the following order from easy to hard:
1. The Female creature in Outland.
She wasn't too hard, but I expected them to be much weaker, which caught me completely off guard. The second attempt was an immediate success, but in my opinion, she was (by far) the hardest of the three creatures in Outland.
2. Admiral Proudmore's final battle (in his own fortress)
He wasn't very hard at all. Every time he started to cast a spell a nice Storm Bolt or War Stomp was enough to stop letting him channel it. They should have made him immune to magic, making him a complete and extremely powerful creature, worthy of being the final boss of the game. But the idea was good. Putting him there with an Archmage, Paladin and several Elite Guards was a good idea. They only forgot they could be drawn one at a time. I first killed most guards, then the Archmage, Paladin and then went after the Admiral. I actually wanted to kill the Paladin first, but the Archmage approached me first. The combination of them all was pretty good though.
3. The three heroes in Jaina's fortress
Easily said, they were by far the hardest fight in the game for me. A combination of several (minor) spell casters, a Paladin, an Archmage and a Mountain Giant, all of lv. 12+. Because this was the first time fighting that combination in the campaign, I thought of taking the one out I thought was most dangerous (the Archmage), but when he was healed I quickly went over to kill all minor creatures who kept healing the heroes, which was a bad idea as well. By the time I got most of them dead, they were revived by the Paladin. At that time, I was already running out of mana and health and withdrew to the Fountain of Life nearby, forgetting that they would follow me, killing Chen in the process. After leaving that part of the island, healing up and heading back, they still remained to be a good challenge (and now next to the Fountain of Life). This time, however, I first tried to kill the Paladin (after his use of Divine Shield upon receiving a bit of damage). After that, it went quite easy, despite them practically hugging the fountain of life but still making sure my heroes didn't come too close enough.
But generally spoken, all fights with disappointing because they were too easy. The only real big challenge I got was when all creatures suddenly got a giant level boost (not the one from lv.1 to level 6) which caught me completely off guard. Though it was only a few seconds until I adjusted properly to it.
What might be a funny details to mention:
During the final battle, Jaina asks you not to kill her men because it will be the closest to family she will have left. I can imagine. The orders are not to destroy her buildings, but in the mean time, you are free to kill her people. Good way of spawning enemy soldiers though.

The biggest disappointment (by FAR) was the ending though. Admiral Proudmore fell (nice use of the death animation of Jaina though), Rexxar paid his respects to Jaina, Thrall praises Rexxar and Rexxar declines Thrall's offer. The end. Could be me, but don't those Tauren, Trolls and Ogre's have anything to say about it? I can imagine the Ogre's, that they don't speak, simply because they have the brains of a snail. The trolls I can imagine (a bit) too because they have been members of the Horde for a longer time and even experienced the death of demonlord Archimonde (and Tichonderius) and Manaroth. The death of a human admiral isn't very impressive that way. But no words from Cairne (assuming he didn't die during the battle), Rokhan or Jaina is beyond me though.

So, summing everything up (simply because I want to go eat =P), the start of the game was fun, but the further the game got it got much less fun. The fights got too easy and the story had several flaws, not to mention a lack of useful dialogs at times. All in all, I must admit that I had fun playing it and even went on until midnight until I decided to quit because I had an exam the next day.
 
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Kem Rixen

New Member
Wow, I'm impressed that you managed to make it so far through the campaign. I got very tired of it, quite quickly actually. I felt the beginning to be very fun, but as time went on, it was just boring. The main reason I was really frustrated with this campaign is that I'm not all that good at micromanagement, and, with multiple heroes and summons, it went way out of my league.

That's probably the most in depth (and only) review of this campaign, hopefully it will get others to at least try it, as it has some semi-important story bits.
 

Jupackazoin

New Member
I played through the campaign until the end, but I enjoyed the end fight mainly because I ran strait in there and took everything on at once with my trusty orc allies coming in from three directions :) Made for a very interesting fight :)
 

Undead_Lives

New Member
I enjoyed the campaign, just because it was different, but also because the (big picture) story was a nice conclusion to the orc settlement hole that was left in the normal campaign.
However, I do agree with you Flad, the story did have a lot of flaws. As for the challenge, ya, the harpies were the hardest part. Mainly because Rexxar (at the time) couldn't attack air, only storm bolt and summon (useless) quill beasts.
Other than that, it was easy. I think that I used Rexxar the most, but only because he had a ranged stun. Other than that, his ult was only semi-usefull, and didn't damage quite enough for my liking.
However, Rokhan's ult was REALLY usefull. He could survive anything while damaging foes and healing allies (other skill). I liked his ult the best out of any.
 

Maximilianx

New Member
big, well written review :eek:k:
i read the entire thing, and although ive never played the campaign all the way through, it seems like a thorough, proffesional review to me, nicely done! :nuts:
 
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Maelstrom_

New Member
Wow nice review. I finished all of that campaign and thought it was pretty good. Tauren Cheiftains are probably my favourite hero (i just think they're cool) so i was happy when Cairne came into the story. I think i ended up making him alot stronger than Rexxar or any of the other heroes. :D
 
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