It's no secret that fans aren't happy with Warcraft 3: Reforged, Blizzard's recent remake that somehow turned one of the most beloved real-time strategy games of all time into a mess. Though many unhappy Warcraft 3 fans have demanded refunds, there are a few who have stuck with the game.
One such fan, a modder by the name of Serj Vasylyshyn, has gotten creative with trying to improve the disappointing remaster. He has made a new mod that reworks Warcraft 3: Reforged into a third-person RPG similar to World of Warcraft.
Of course, RPG maps and third-person mods aren't new to Warcraft 3. Given how prevalent the modding community was in the original game, hundreds of these mods have been made. However, this is the first time anyone has shown a third-person mod running on Warcraft 3: Reforged, and the footage is interesting. Vasylyshyn shared two gameplay videos online earlier this week, one showing gameplay in outdoor environments and another indoors.
In these videos, Vasylyshyn shows how the transition from strategy to RPG still works well with Warcraft 3's mechanics and gameplay. The third-person perspective also gives players a better appreciation of the game's revamped graphics, one of Reforged's upsides, as well as making fights with Rock Golems and skeletons feel much more intense. Combat feels more immediate and exciting, and while players may not be able to fully appreciate larger battles from this closer perspective, it's interesting to witness battles from the perspective of a soldier rather than a distant general.
Vasylyshyn calls the RPG map "Engless Tale: Dragon Hunter." The mod is still in development and unavailable for download, but Vasylyshyn aims to make it a single player map when finished. Some gamers are surprised anyone would bother making a custom map for Warcraft 3, given its policy on mods and custom games saying all the rights belong to Blizzard. Vasylyshyn, however, is unconcerned with ownership: "I’m having fun making it. Maybe someone [is] gonna have fun playing it, no matter who will be marked as author.”
While Vasylyshyn may not mind Warcraft 3's custom games policy, there are many other fans who do. This questionable policy, along with a poor UI, lack of dynamic cutscenes, and a host of bugs has plummeted the game's user score on Metacritic to historic lows. Blizzard has taken notice and recently announced its plans to address the problems fans have with Warcraft 3: Reforged. Whether or not it will be enough to save the game remains to be seen.
Warcraft 3: Reforged is available now on PC.
Source: Serj Vasylyshyn/YouTube