Warcraft III/Patch 1.15

Patch 1.0.15
Warcraft III “Reign of Chaos & The Frozen Throne”
Announcement date	April 14, 2004 (2004-04-14)
Release date	May 10, 2004 (2004-05-10)
Version	1.0.15
Initial build	5917
Related links
Reign of Chaos 1.15 patch notes The Frozen Throne 1.15 patch notes
Patch chronology
← Previous Next → Patch 1.14b Patch 1.16
Additional links
Patches category, Warcraft III

Warcraft III patch 1.15 is the second major patch since patch 1.07 which was released on May 10, 2004.

Reign of Chaos

Features

• The matchmaking system has been significantly updated. New accounts should more quickly begin playing against opponents of equivalent skill level.
• Display of channel moderators has changed.
• Ladder information is now more clearly separated in your user profile.
• Free For All (FFA) games are now anonymous. Account names and player levels will no longer be displayed to other participants. Other players will be displayed as "Player X", where X is the number of the player in the game.
• Added an on/off button for the "Alt" formation toggle functionality to the Options --> Gameplay menu. The option is "On" by default.
• Added a "Worker Selection" button that appears beneath the construction progress indicator for Night Elf and Orc buildings. This allows Orc and Night Elf players to re-select workers that are currently constructing a building and give them additional way-pointed orders.
• Added the ability for users to double-click replay files (*.w3g files) from system directories. Doing so will automatically launch the game and load the appropriate replay.
• Buff and debuff icons (not including auras) now flash when their duration has 10 or fewer seconds remaining.
• Buff icons will display in the tooltip when a group-selected unit is high-lighted in the info panel.

Fixes

• Fixed an issue with cargo-based structures/units (Entangled Gold Mines, Orc Burrows, Goblin Zeppelins, etc.) which could cause units to get stuck inside permanently.
• Fixed a problem where water elementals that died during Mass Teleport were not being properly removed from the game.
• Fixed an issue that caused hit point bars not to show up properly for some teams when viewing replays.
• Fixed an issue that caused the Anti-magic Shell art to display incorrectly on Crypt Fiends after they unburrow.
• Fixed a problem where a Scroll of Town Portal could be wasted if the targeted town hall was destroyed before the spell completed. The Hero now retains the Scroll if the spell doesn't complete.
• Fixed an issue with the "Observers on Defeat" functionality that caused units not to be displayed on the minimap.
• Fixed an issue that could cause the Web and Ensnare graphics to display improperly.
• Fixed a problem with the Scroll of Town Portal which did not allow Heroes to regenerate the appropriate hit points and mana while the spell was being cast.
• Fixed Shockwave's damage radius to 125.
• Fixed an issue with Militia in which units ordered "Back to Work" could change back into Militia when arriving back at the town hall.
• Acolytes harvesting from a Haunted Gold Mine with the Entangling Roots buff now register as idle like other peons.
• Fixed Lightning Shield so that if two units with Lightning Shields overlap each other, they both correctly take damage.
• Fixed an issue with Animate Dead which in some cases caused the spell to transfer the unit upgrades to the new owner.

Maps

• (2)Plunder Isle - Added some trees to the north and south location near the Goblin Merchant to prevent the player from making purchases without engaging the creep guarding the building. Cleared some room around the Goblin Merchant to prevent Archer cheese.

Balance Changes

Human

• Mass Teleport cooldown increased to 20 seconds from 15 seconds.
• Bash % chance to hit increased by 5% across all levels.
• Slow mana cost increased to 50 from 40.

Undead

• Frost Nova cold effect now lasts 2/3/4 seconds against Heroes. It previously lasted 4/6/8 seconds against Heroes.
• Animate Dead mana cost reduced to 175 from 250.
• Death Coil cooldown increased to 6 seconds from 5 seconds.
• Possession damage multiplier reduced to 166% from 225%.

Orc

• Feral Spirit cooldown increased from 25 to 30.
• Wind Walk bonus damage increased to 50/85/120 from 50/75/100.

Night Elf

• Force of Nature casting range increased to 800 from 700.
• Faerie Fire mana cost increased to 45 from 35.

Items

• Red Drake Egg is now a level-4 charged item, down from 5.
• Talisman of the Wild is now a level-5 charged item, up from 4.
• Legion Doom-Horn is now a level-5 permanent item, up from being a level-4 permanent item.
• Wand of Lightning Shield reduced to 2 charges from 3.

Miscellaneous

• All autocast buffs and debuffs cast by racial units now have a cooldown of 1 second. Before, some had cooldowns of 0 seconds, while others had cooldowns of 1 second. This change does not include Priest Heal.
• To purchase from a neutral shop or Mercenary Camp, a valid unit or Hero must now be within 450 distance units, down from 600 distance units. Note that this change does not affect racial shops.

World Editor Features/Improvements

General

• Reduced minimum map size to 32 (was 64).

World Editor Fixes

General

• Object Properties dialogs now properly load facing angles between 270-360 degrees.

Trigger Editor

• Dialogs will now respond to clicking the 12th button.
• Compile errors in the custom script section will no longer disable all triggers or lead to an infinite loop of error messages.

Object Editor

• Warnings about resetting objects now properly refer to the current tab.

NOTES: Replays are incompatible between major game revisions (1.14 replays cannot be viewed with the 1.15 version of Warcraft III). Custom save games will not load from version 1.14.

The Frozen Throne

Features

• A new Neutral Hero, the Goblin Tinker, has been added to the game. For further information on this strange new Hero and a listing of his abilities, visit http://www.battle.net/war3 .
• The matchmaking system has been significantly updated. New accounts should more quickly begin playing against opponents of equivalent skill level.
• Clan ladders are now functional. Games against ranked players will now contribute to your clan's ranking on the ladder.
• Clan information is now displayed in your player profile, including your clan name, tag, ladder ranking, and more.
• Display of channel moderators has changed.
• Ladder information is now more clearly separated in your user profile.
• Free For All (FFA) games are now anonymous. Account names and player levels will no longer be displayed to other participants. Other players will be displayed as "Player X", where X is the number of the player in the game.
• Added an on/off button for the "Alt" formation toggle functionality to the Options --> Gameplay menu. The option is "On" by default.
• Added a "Worker Selection" button that appears beneath the construction progress indicator for Night Elf and Orc buildings. This allows Orc and Night Elf players to re-select workers that are currently constructing a building and give them additional way-pointed orders.
• Added the ability for users to double-click replay files (*.w3g files) from system directories. Doing so will automatically launch the game and load the appropriate replay.
• Buff and debuff icons (not including auras) now flash when their duration has 10 or fewer seconds remaining.
• Buff icons will display in the tooltip when a group-selected unit is highlighted in the info panel.

Fixes

• Fixed an issue with cargo based structures/units (Entangled Gold Mines, Orc Burrows, Goblin Zeppelins, etc.) which could cause units to get stuck inside permanently.
• Fixed a problem where water elementals that died during Mass Teleport were not being properly removed from the game.
• Fixed an issue that caused hit point bars not to show up properly for some teams when viewing replays.
• Fixed an issue that caused the Anti-magic Shell art to display incorrectly on Crypt Fiends after they unburrow.
• Fixed a problem where a Scroll of Town Portal could be wasted if the targeted town hall was destroyed before the spell completed. The Hero now retains the Scroll if the spell doesn't complete.
• Fixed an issue with the Mountain Giant's Taunt that could cause Invisible and Shadowmelded units to improperly attack and reveal themselves when the ability was activated.
• Fixed an issue with the "Observers on Defeat" functionality that caused units not to be displayed on the minimap.
• Fixed a problem with the Pandaren Brewmaster that caused incorrect regeneration of health and mana while his ultimate was active.
• Fixed a problem with Spell Steal and Polymorph that could turn a ground unitinto a Flying Sheep.
• Fixed an issue that could cause the Web and Ensnare graphics to display improperly.
• Fixed a problem that caused the Inferno stun damage to not be applied to magic-immune units in The Frozen Throne. All ultimates should ignore magic immunity.
• Fixed some spell targeting issues with Resistant Skin. Doom (and possibly other spells) should work the same way as Charm.
• Fixed an issue with Metamorphosis which prevented some Orb effects from working while the Demon Hunter was in his altered form.
• Fixed a problem with the Scroll of Town Portal which did not allow Heroes to regenerate the appropriate hit points and mana while the spell was being cast.
• Fixed the accidentally inflated hit point regeneration rate on the Naga Sea Witch, Beastmaster, Pandaren Brewmaster, and Spell Breaker back to the standard .25 hit points per second.
• Fixed Shockwave's damage radius to 125.
• Fixed Orb items to now cause the proper damage versus air for melee Heroes.
• Fixed an issue with Militia in which units ordered "Back to Work" could change back into Militia when arriving back at the town hall.
• Fixed Breath of Fire's damage area to more accurately represent a cone area of effect, rather than a line.
• Acolytes harvesting from a Haunted Gold Mine with the Entangling Roots buff now register as idle like other peons.
• Fixed the Blight generated by the Sacrificial Skull such that a non-Undead building placed on top of the Blight will not remove the Blight when it finishes construction. Detonate, Dispel Magic, and Disenchant correctly dispel this Blight.
• Fixed an issue that allowed Banished worker units to build, Repair, and harvest. Note that Detonate and Unsummon will remain unaffected by Banish since they're considered "magical".
• Fixed Lightning Shield so that if two units with Lightning Shields overlap each other, they both correctly take damage.
• Fixed an issue that allowed an ally that did not have Shared Control to Uproot and command your Ancient of Wonders. Allied players without Shared Control should only be able to purchase items from the building.
• Fixed a problem with item-summoned units which would cause them to leave corpses and spawn units from Black Arrow.
• Fixed an issue with Animate Dead which in some cases caused the spell to transfer the unit upgrades to the new owner.
• Fixed an issue that prevented players from way-pointing the Faerie Dragon's Mana Flare ability.

Maps

Expansion - The Frozen Throne

• (2)Tirisfal Glades - Added more trees to bottom start location. Mercenary creep camps are better suited to drop a level-4 charged item.
• (2)TheTwoRivers - Removed the Rune of Rebirth from Ogre Mage; added Rune of Mana to Ogre Mage. Lowered Ogre Lord drop from permanent level-6 item to level-5 item. Increased level of power up.
• (2)GlacialThaw - The drop tables have been re-adjusted for better one-on-one competition.
• (4)TwistedMeadows - Corner creep camps harder to Gargoyle rush. Replaced Tavern with Goblin Merchant; replaced Marketplace with Tavern. Lowered creep strength for Goblin Merchant. Goblin Laboratories are harder to purchase from without engaging creeps.
• (4)TurtleRock - Added some trees to the south Goblin Merchant area to prevent the player from making purchases from the building without engaging the creeps that guard the building. Changed several creep drops to help with game flow.
• (6)DemonsCrossing - Fixed alliance settings.
• (6)RiverOfSouls - Removed the creeps from the taverns and fixed a cave doodad.
• (8)AzureTowerDefense - Fixed the hotkey for the Azure Wisp 'A'. Fixed a spelling error with 'Upgrade Arrow Damage' tooltip. Azure Witch had a conflicting ability hotkey that has been fixed. Brilliance Aura and Frost Arrow both used 'R'; Brilliance Aura now uses 'A'. The +3 Tome's description now correctly states that it adds +3 to all Hero attributes.

Classic - Reign of Chaos

• (2)Plunder Isle - Added some trees to the north and south location near the Goblin Merchant to prevent the player from making purchases without engaging the creep guarding the building. Cleared some room around the Goblin Merchant to prevent Archer cheese.

Balance Changes

Human

• Flamestrike damage capped to 5 targets. If more than 5 targets are hit, the damage done to 5 targets normally is split evenly across all available targets.
• Mass Teleport cooldown increased to 20 seconds from 15 seconds.
• Level 1 water elemental damage reduced to 1d5 + 17 from 2d5 + 19, but hit points increased to 525 from 450.
• Bash % chance to hit increased by 5% across all levels.
• Slow mana cost increased to 50 from 40.
• Control Magic mana cost is now calculated based on the target unit's current hit points instead of its maximum hit points. The dynamic mana cost of Control Magic has also been increased to .45 mana per hit point from .3 mana per hit point.
• Spell Breaker feedback damage vs. Heroes reduced to 4 per hit from 5 per hit.
• Dragonhawk Rider damage reduced to 1d3 + 17 from 1d3 + 18.
• Flying Machine damage vs. air increased to 1d2 + 13 from 1d2 + 11.
• Militia are now level-1 units, instead of level-2 units. This causes them to give less experience when killed.
• Scout Towers can be repaired twice as fast as before.

Undead

• Frost Nova cold effect now lasts 2/3/4 seconds against Heroes. It previously lasted 4/6/8 seconds against Heroes.
• Animate Dead mana cost reduced to 175 from 250.
• Death Coil cooldown increased to 6 seconds from 5 seconds.
• The damage a Banshee takes while possessing a unit has been reduced to 225% from 300%.
• Anti-magic Shell mana cost reduced to 75 from 100.
• Anti-magic Shell correctly allows self-targeting now.
• Devour Magic cooldown reduced to 7 seconds from 8 seconds.
• Ziggurat armor reduced to 1 from 5.
• Abomination hit points increased to 1175 from 1080.
• Obsidian Statue hit points reduced to 550 from 700.
• Frost Wyrm build time reduced to 65 seconds from 80 seconds.
• Boneyard build time reduced to 70 seconds from 80 seconds.
• Necromancer build time reduced to 24 seconds from 30 seconds.
• Skeletal Longevity now costs 50/75, down from 100/75, and can be researched in 30 seconds, down from 60 seconds.
• Necromancer Adept and Master training now take 30 and 45 seconds to research, down from 60 and 75 seconds.
• Exhume Corpses now requires Halls of the Dead instead of Black Citadel.
• Level-2 Carrion Beetles are now the same size as Ghouls, instead of the same size as Crypt Fiends. Level-3 Carrion Beetles are now the same size as Crypt Fiends, instead of the same size as Abominations.
• Possession damage multiplier reduced to 166% from 225%.

Orc

• Disenchant range increased to 650 from 500, and mana cost reduced to 100 from 125.
• Feral Spirit cooldown increased from 25 to 30.
• Troll Batrider's Unstable Concoction has changed such that the Batrider increases speed dramatically when it gets within a short range of its target.
• Liquid Fire damage reduced to 8 per second down from 15 per second.
• Demolisher damage reduced to 1d18 + 71 from 1d19 + 75.
• Troll Headhunter build time reduced to 20 seconds from 22 seconds.
• Spirit Walker build time reduced to 38 from 42.
• Blademaster speed increased to 320 from 300.
• Wind Walk bonus damage increased to 50/85/120 from 50/75/100
• Watch Tower build time increased to 60 seconds from 55 seconds.

Night Elf

• Chimaera movement speed reduced to 250 from 270.
• Fan of Knives level-2 base damage increased to 125 from 120, and level-3 base damage increased from 180 to 190. Although this appears to be an upgrade, it actually is a reduction in overall power. The previous patch had a bug at levels 2 and 3 in which, if 6 or more targets were available, the ability did more than the expected amount of maximum damage. This change remedies that error.
• Mana Flare splash damage no longer harms units that lack a mana pool.
• Wellspring now upgrades Moonwells to 425 mana, down from 500 mana, and Moonwell mana regeneration scaled proportionally.
• Force of Nature casting range increased to 800 from 700.
• Faerie Fire mana cost increased to 45 from 35.

Neutral Units and Heroes

• Dark Ranger starting Agility increased to 21 from 19.
• Breath of Fire now correctly has a cone shape at all levels. Previously, the level-2 and level-3 versions were shaped exactly like Shockwave, while the level-1 area was occupying a much larger area than intended. The spell now hits far fewer targets, which roughly matches the graphic. The damage of Breath of Fire has been increased to 65/120/175 from 50/100/150 to compensate for this change.
• Level-3 Quilbeasts' splash radii have been reduced from 75/100/150 to 25/75/125.
• Drain Life damage increased to 25/40/55 per second from 20/35/50.
• Cleaving Attack damage increased to 30%/55%/80% from 25%/45%/65%.
• Tornado can now cyclone a particular unit more often once every 22 seconds, down from once every 30 seconds.
• Tornado speed increased to 75 from 60.
• Zeppelins are now available at the start of the 2nd day, rather than at the first nightfall.
• Neutral Hero lumber cost increased to 135 from 100.
• To purchase from a neutral shop or Mercenary Camp, a valid unit or Hero must now be within 450 distance units, down from 600 distance units. Note that this change does not affect racial shops.

Items

• Boots of Speed now cost 250 gold, up from 150 gold. They are not available until the first nightfall, and are now considered a level-3 permanent item, up from level 2.
• Talisman of the Wild is now a level-5 charged item, up from 4.
• Legion Doom-Horn is now a level-5 permanent item, up from being a level-4 permanent item.
• Wand of Lightning Shield reduced to 2 charges from 3.
• Orb of Venom poison damage increased to 9 per second from 7 per second.
• Orb of Fire cost reduced to 275 gold from 300 gold.
• Staff of Preservation cooldown increased to 30 seconds from 15 seconds.

Miscellaneous

• All autocast buffs and debuffs cast by racial units now have a cooldown of 1 second. Before, some had cooldowns of 0 seconds, while others had cooldowns of 1 second. This change does not include Priest Heal.
• Hero spell resistance increased to 30% reduction from 25% reduction.

World Editor Features/Improvements

General

• Added Game Interface fields for "Text - Unit Classification".
• Reduced minimum map size to 32 (was 64).

Trigger Editor

• Added new functions:
  • Hero - Hero Proper Name (string call)
  • Player - Divert Player Income (Tax) (action)
  • Player - Player Tax Rate (integer call)
  • Unit - Add Classification (action)
  • Unit - Remove Classification (action)
  • Unit - Issue Order Targeting An Item (action)
  • Unit Group - Issue Order Targeting An Item (action)

Object Editor

• Enabled additional abilities for modification: Poison Arrows and Blighted Gold Mine ability.
• Added checkbox UI for Channel ability "Data - Options" field.
• Added new fields:
  • Stats - Hero - Hide Hero Death Message (Hero units)
  • Stats - Hide Minimap Display (units)

World Editor Fixes

General

• Custom abilities are now disabled properly via the Ability Properties dialog.
• Object Properties dialogs now properly load facing angles between 270-360 degrees.
• Fixed a crash that could occur when modifying very long Game Interface text fields.

Trigger Editor

• Abilities added via "Unit - Add Ability" action now properly apply currently researched "Ability Level Bonus" upgrade effects.
• Dialogs now respond to clicking the 12th button.
• Compile errors in the custom script section no longer disable all triggers or lead to an infinite loop of error messages.

Object Editor

• Import/Export menu items now properly update text for Buffs/Effects tab.
• Warnings about resetting objects now appropriately refer to the current tab.
• Maximum value of "Data - Maximum Creep Level" has been increased in order to work with some abilities (Devour, Possession, Item Command).
• Ability "Item Attack Corruption Bonus" now has the correct data fields.
• Ability "Thorns Aura (Neutral Hostile)" now has the correct data fields.
• Fixed some abilities that did not recognize non-default buffs and/or effects.
• (Mac only) Mousing over the "New Custom Buff" toolbar button will no longer crash the editor.

NOTES: Replays are incompatible between major game revisions (1.14 replayscannot be viewed with the 1.15 version of Warcraft III). Custom save games will not load from version 1.14.