Blizzard recently released Warcraft 2: Remastered, though not without some controversy, as the original version of the game is sadly about to be delisted from DRM-free storefront GOG. It seems Blizzard wants to make sure this new version of one of the best strategy games ever made is worth investing in, however, as the studio has just released Warcraft 2’s “first balance changes in 24 years.”
I put “in 24 years” in quotes because I can’t independently verify exactly when the last patch went live – PC game updates in the ’90s were not nearly as well documented as they are today – but the word of Blizzard’s Adam Fletcher on Bluesky is probably enough to trust. At a minimum, this is certainly the first balance patch to hit the game since it was succeeded by Warcraft 3 in 2002.
So what’s in this balance patch? Well, you can read the full patch notes for yourself if you want all the details, but basically it’s a bunch of damage and power value tweaks for various units. Most notably, Bloodlust spell for the Horde’s Ogre Mage unit has been nerfed, decreasing its duration, increasing its mana cost, and making sure that the double damage effect it bestows on allied units applies after armor reduction – not before.
Bloodlust has long been considered the best spell in Warcraft 2, and the power it gives the Ogre Mage means that Horde has always been seen as the better of the two factions, such that competitive players usually go for the Orcs. This particular change has been a long, long time coming. “Bloodlust FINALLY NERFED after 29 years,” as one Reddit user puts it. Another says they’ve been waiting for this “since primary school!”