Warcraft III: Starcraft TC mod

World of Warcraft, the seminal MMO which has lasted an unprecedented eighteen years of operation, is now celebrating its 18th anniversary. With an upcoming expansion and new management possibly on the way for Blizzard, things may be looking up for WoW after a few years of setbacks. In any case, the world of Azeroth is rich with potential, and where there's mods, there's total conversions - so here's five Warcraft mods exploring the franchise in their own way!

Warcraft: Total War

By Warcraft Total War Development Group

Built upon Medieval 2: Total War’s Kingdoms expansion, this mod features twenty playable campaign factions drawing upon all facets of Warcraft lore. Dozens of new units across all the factions are usable in new custom campaigns that take place in a new world map. Great amounts of care have been taken to create factions that expand the gameplay loop of the original game whilst paying homage to the Warcraft 3-era of the franchise.

Warcraft: Guardians of Azeroth

By Warcraft: Guardians of Azeroth Modding Team

This mod reimagines Azeroth in all its glory, particularly focusing on the story of the classic strategy games and World of Warcraft Classic. Players will be able to assume the role of one of the human kings or test your luck in the role of conqueror of other worlds. It's up to you to either restore justice in Azeroth or plunge into the chaos of the Scourge and the Burning Legion. In the end, all decisions fall to the player as to how they wish to govern these eternally war-torn lands.

Warcraft: Alliance and Horde

By StevenLuo

WAH (Warcraft: Alliance and Horde) has 4 factions: Alliance, Horde, Burning Legion and Undead Scourge, 30 distinctive heroes and 50+ units. 6 melee maps from Crossroads to Ice Crown for players to fight with each other or AI, and benefits from being in the newest engine for Blizzard RTS. All in all, the chances of a new Warcraft RTS may seem pretty slim, but mods like this one help stave off that hunger for more Azeroth strategy carnage just a bit longer.

Warcraft III: Starcraft TC

By Infoceptor

However, Starcraft II is not the only game that received the Warcraft TC treatment - its isometric predecessor did too! Developed over twenty years ago, it was lost for some time in the wake of legal troubles in advance of the release of Warcraft III. Not to be deterred, though, dedicated fans dug up the mod and managed to preserve it for history. It's a great look at a Starcraft total conversion scene that existed even prior to Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, and proof positive that sometimes even the oldest ideas hold up damn well.

Warcraft 3 Extended Edition

By Rohirim91

And now, a return to form - a mod for Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne! Warcraft 3 Extended Edition is a project with the goal of expanding the existing game by adding unused features from the campagin as well as by adding new content of the highest possible quality while trying to keep the game as balanced as it can be.

Battling For Azeroth

World of Warcraft was first released in November 2004, beginning life as a product on the Warcraft III engine and evolving into a standalone creation later on. Taking many cues from Frozen Throne's "Founding of Durotar" campaign, it became a smash hit, outperforming many other MMOs of the time when the industry was still reasonably fresh. Eighteen years and many expansions later, WoW has seen better days, but it still represents a tremendous chunk of the MMO player-base and the Classic rendition has been reasonably successful at channelling nostalgia for the past.

Power Of The Horde

A new WoW expansion is coming soon - Dragonflight - which will inevitably see yet another change-up to the Azeroth status quo. Whilst Warcraft III: Reforged was, to put it lightly, an unsuccessful re-entry into the Warcraft series of RTS games, the Microsoft buy-out continues to chug along and their move to revive other RTS franchises like Age of Empires might see dividends for us Blizzard RTS fans if the buy-out succeeds. There's also always Stormgate, an RTS made by ex-Blizzard alumni which, as our Q&A described, presents some great things for RTS fans and mod makers alike to look forward to.