“Warcraft 2 Receives Long-Awaited Balance Updates After 24 Years, Bringing Exciting Changes for RTS Fans”

Blizzard recently unveiled Warcraft 2: Remastered, though it hasn’t been without some disputes, as the original version of the game is unfortunately set to be removed from the DRM-free platform GOG. It appears Blizzard aims to prove that this new iteration of one of the finest strategy games ever created is worthwhile, as the studio has just announced Warcraft 2’s “first balance alterations in 24 years.”

I place “in 24 years” in quotes because I cannot independently verify precisely when the last update was implemented – PC game patches in the ’90s were not as meticulously recorded as they are today – but the statement from Blizzard’s Adam Fletcher on Bluesky might suffice for reassurance. At the very least, this genuinely marks the first balance patch to hit the game since Warcraft 3 succeeded it in 2002.

So, what does this balance patch entail? Well, you can peruse the full patch notes yourself for all the details, but generally, it’s a series of damage and power adjustments for various abilities. Notably, the Bloodlust spell for the Horde’s Ogre Mage unit has been adjusted, reducing its duration, increasing its mana cost, and ensuring that the double damage effect it grants to allied units is applied after armor reduction – rather than before.

Bloodlust has long been considered the most powerful spell in Warcraft 2, and the advantages it provides the Ogre Mage have consistently led to the Horde being viewed as the superior of the two factions, to the extent that competitive players frequently opt for the Orcs. This adjustment has been a long, long time coming. “Bloodlust FINALLY NERFED after 29 years,” as one Reddit user put it. Another commenter mentioned they’ve been anticipating this “since elementary school!”

World of Warcraft developers once joked about the MMO generating $1 million monthly — just months before it surpassed $15 million in monthly earnings.