Warcraft III Closed Beta

This is a sub-page of Proto:Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos.

General Differences#

• Unit stats are arranged in a different order. For heroes, the attributes are arranged in a row, bottom-middle, not a column on the right.
• Units affected by an Aura ability are highlighted with a miniature texture of that Aura below their feet instead of a blue glow as in the final game.
• Priests and Sorceresses are trained in a structure called the Mage Tower. The building was cut in the final game, its role merged with the Arcane Sanctum. and its model reused for the High Elven Barracks.
• The Arcane Sanctum doesn't train any spell caster units, instead it's used to research Priests and Sorceresses Training upgrades.
• Priests have "Inner Fire" by default, and "Heal" requires the Master Priest training upgrade.
• The portrait camera for Gryphon Riders is centered on the Gryphon, and the Gryphon opens its mouth as the Dwarf speaks, giving the humorous impression that the Gryphon is speaking.
• In the March 8th patch, the Far Seer was given "Feral Spirit", which functioned differently than in the retail version, where the Far Seer transforms a friendly unit into a Spirit Wolf for a period of time.
• The Tauren Chieftain's "Endurance Aura" gave nearby friendly units increased Health regeneration and movement speed. This effect was transferred to the Death Knight's "Unholy Aura" in the retail release.
• The Death Knight's "Unholy Aura" reduced enemy units Armor. Was given the effects of "Endurance Aura" in the retail release.
• The Death Knight's "Death Pact" sacrifices an allied unit to create a damage-absorbing shield, instead of healing the Death Knight.
• The Lich's "Frost Nova" had a different functionality and effect model: Blasting the area around the Lich with frost instead of an enemy target.
• Instead of Inferno, the Dreadlord's ultimate ability is "Dark Summoning", which functioned in the opposite way of the Arch-Mage's "Mass Teleport": Teleporting a group of units to the Dreadlord. The final game keeps the spell for use in one cutscene, and the item "Diamond of Summoning".
• The Necromancer can cast "Corpse Explosion". This cut spell is cast on corpses, exploding them and dealing damage. Its icon is used in the final game for the "Finger of Death" ability. The actual icon for "Finger of Death" was not included in the retail release.
• The Undead need to build a Gargoyle Spire to unlock the training of Gargoyle units. This building was removed in the retail release, though its model and soundset were kept.
• In the March 8th patch, The Priestess of the Moon was given "Scout", which behaves closer to the Far Seer's "Far Sight", revealing an area of the map to the player. Was turned into a Summon in the May 2nd patch, functioning the same as it does in retail.
• Dryads do not have "Spell Immunity" by default and has to be researched from the Bear Den. The Bear Den was cut but its model was reused for the campaign.
• Wisps are not needed to extract gold, it's automatically collected by the Tree of Life.

Icons#

There were many unused icons in the build, many of these icons would later go on to be used in World of Warcraft.

Abomination Explosion#

This is a cut upgrade for the Abomination. Abominations with this upgrade, when they die, deal damage to all nearby units by exploding in an alternative death animation. This animation as well as its sound effect are still in the final game. This icon was edited to create the Disease Cloud icon, since it didn't yet exist as of the Closed Beta. The raw graphic of this icon was later reused for the Corruption Warlock ability in World of Warcraft.

Animal Breeding#

This is the original icon for the "Animal War Training" upgrade. In the closed beta, it was called "Animal Husbandry", and costs 250 Gold and 200 Lumber to research. It increased the maximum hit points of the Knights and Gryphon Riders by 150. In the final game, this icon has been replaced with the icon that originally belonged to "Swiftness Aura".

Ancient of the Wild#

An unused icon for a Night Elf building. No other references to this building has been found within the closed beta, so the functionally of this building is unknown.

Assassin#

The Assassin was one of the planned hero units for the Night Elves. When she was cut, her model was reutilized for the campaign-exclusive Warden unit but this icon wasn't reused because it actually depicts an older model. A hand drawn closeup icon of her face is used instead.

Improved Gold Mining & Advanced Gold Mining#

These are cut upgrades for Humans. The first one is Improved Gold Mining while its second tier is Advanced Gold Mining. These were supposed to increase the minimum amount of Gold mined by peasants. The first tier costs 100 Gold and 60 seconds to finish researching while the second tier costs an additional 50 Gold and 30 seconds to finish.
The icon for Improved Gold Mining is also unused in the final game, but it would go on to be used as the icon for Mining in World of Warcraft.

Human Artillery Upgrades#

An entire upgrade line for Humans, which consists of three upgrades respectively named Steel Artillery, Thorium Artillery and Arcanite Artillery was cut. It was supposed to increase the ranged attack damage of Mortar teams. The first upgrade costs 100 Gold and takes 40 seconds to finish research. Further upgrades cost 50 Gold and take 20 seconds to finish. Since creating three upgrades for one unit seems unnecessary, it was probably removed because of that and Mortar teams were made to benefit from the Black Gunpowder upgrade line instead. It's interesting to say the names for these upgrades are the same as the Orc Artillery Upgrades, which means they were copied from the Orcs.

An edited icon of Steel Artillery is used for the Gyrocopter Bombs upgrade in the final game.

Orc Artillery Upgrades#

WIP

The Fragmentation Shards upgrade from the expansion pack uses an edited icon of Thorium Artillery.

Banish#

Banish was one of Spirit Walker hero spells. When this hero was cut, the spell went down with it. The spell was supposed to damage Demon units in the same way Holy Light (Then known as Exorcism) damages undead units.

Black Arrow#

WIP The original Ultimate ability of the Ranger hero, it would drain the life of a unit until it reaches 0 health. This ability's Icon and Missile model returned in The Frozen Throne expansion, but with a completely different effect from what was described in the Beta and its buff model did not return with it.

Bloodrage#

The cut Orc Warlord hero had a number of abilities that never saw the light of the day. Bloodrage was among those abilities. There's no clear indication to how it worked.

Charge#

Charge is a cut ability for the Human Knight.

Call Storm#

Call Storm is a cut spell for the Far Seer. It calls down a massive lightning storm upon the enemy. In the Frozen Throne expansion, This icon for this spell was slightly edited to remove the Far Seer and was used for the Forked Lightning and Moonsoon spell in the expansion pack. A modified version of this spell made it back under the name, Monsoon, used by various neutral Creeps and Admiral Proudmoore in the campaign.

Chain Lightining#

This is probably a newer, alternative icon for the Chain Lightning spell. It's actually misspelled with an extra i.

Curse#

The Curse icon in this build doesn't have a border trim.

Druid Of The Talon#

The Druid Of The Talon in this build uses the icon and model of a cut Night Elf hero called the Arch-Druid. Prior to his removal, the Druid Of The Talon used a vastly different model. This might've been a hasty last-minute change since his model was later retextured and edited to remove the horns.

Earth bind#

Earth bind was a spell for the 2000-era Shaman. The spell worked by binding air units to the ground, its soundfiles and SFX effects as well some text strings are in this build. The raw graphic of this icon was later reused for the Cyclone druid class talent in World of Warcraft

Entangle Mine#

The Entangle Gold Mine ability has its own icon that never gets used. This icon is still in the released game.

Exorcism and Retribution#

This Undead-damaging spell was originally one of the priest's abilities, before it was given to the Paladin hero. Either way, it was cut from the game but the idea of a spell that damages undead survived into Holy Light.

Retribution was said to be an upgraded version of the Exorcism spell and uses a different but similar icon.

Fireball#

Fireball is a cut spell for the Archmage. It does appear in some prerelease media. Its raw graphic was later used for the Fire Blast mage spell in World of Warcraft.

Finger of Death#

Finger of Death has a unique, unused icon, the one used in the final game is that of a different cut spell - Corpse Explosion. The raw graphic of this icon was reused in World of Warcraft.

Flame Arrows#

One of the Ranger's original abilities. Its icon, and SFX is still in the released game under "ReplaceableTextures\CommandButtons\BTNFlamingArrows.blp" for the icon and "Abilities\Weapons\FlamingArrow\FlamingArrowMissile.mdl" for the missile model.

Gather Shadows#

Gather Shadows is a cut Dreadlord spell. The Dreadlord model in the final game has missing sound sequences referring to "AUGS - GatherShadowsMorph" and "AUGA - GatherShadowsMorphAlternative", which hints that Gather Shadows was an ability that turned the Dreadlord into a swarm of bats, however the full effects of the ability is unclear.

Healing Drums#

Kodo Beasts originally had 2 Drum-based abilities with this icon being used for Healing Drums. When the game was released, the Kodo Beast only had War Drums, so this icon was removed.

Hippogryph#

An old version of the Hippogryph's icon.

Items#

An assortment of different weapon icons are unused in the files. These are likely items, and not upgrades or abilities. However there's no other related data or strings whatsoever so their actual purpose cannot be ascertained.
Edited versions of the Arrow and Maul icons are used for the Impaling Bolt and Storm Hammers upgrades respectively in the final game.
The raw graphics of the Mace and Maul icons was later used for the Blunt Instruments warrior talent and Lightbringer Mastery in World of Warcraft, respectively.

Human Building Sight Upgrades#

A set of icons for an upgrade that goes unused. The first tier is named Town Watch, the second is named Town Patrol.

Lament#

In the closed beta, Lament's Object ID is the same ID as the released game's Sacrifice ability used by the Acolytes and Sacrificial Pit ("Alam"), however it's unclear if Lament and this icon is meant to be that. The Icon is still in the released version under "ReplaceableTextures\CommandButtons\BTNLament.blp" and is used as an icon for a quest in the 3rd chapter of the Undead campaign.

Lightning#

This might an icon for an ability, it's not used in this build. This was later used for the Innervate talent and Lightning Bolt shaman spell in World of Warcraft.

Nature's Wrath#

Nature's Wrath is a cut upgrade for the Night Elves that allowed their Ancient units to attacks. It was originally added in one of the April patches, but was removed a couple of patches later and the ancients can attack without the need for the upgrade.

Orc Architecture Up#

A set of upgrades that for Orc buildings. In the strings, the first level is called "Stone Architecture" and the second level is called "Arcanite Architecture". The upgrade and these icons goes unused.

Orc Building Sight Upgrades#

Similar to the Human Building Sight icons, these and its associated icons goes unused. The first tier is named Town Watch, the second is named Town Patrol.

Orc Peon Upgrades#

Orcs had a set of icons to improve their gained Gold and Lumber, similar to humans. However, the upgrade and these icons goes unused.

Poison Arrows#

This was originally a Night Elf hero ability. This ability is still in the released version of the game and can be used with the World Editor, but it uses the Searing Arrows icon and missile model instead of its own. Its Icon and model is still in the release game under "ReplaceableTextures\CommandButtons\BTNPoisonArrow.blp" for the icon and "Abilities\Weapons\PoisonArrow\PoisonArrowMissile.mdx" for the missile model.

Racial Command Buttons#

It seems the developers planned for each race to have unique Control Bar buttons. These buttons are a reflection of each race playstyle (E.g. Humans have a sword for the attack button, while the Orc have an axe). Every race in the files have unused full sets, except for the Orcs. This is probably because the default, red Control Bar buttons are already the same army color as the Orcs, and creating duplicated icons would be unnecessary. These don't appear in any prerelease media, game previews or interviews, which could mean such idea was quickly canned.

Human	Orc	Undead	Night Elf
	Missing
	Missing
	Missing
	Missing
	Missing

Ranger#

The Ranger was originally the fourth Human hero. She was scrapped late into development and some of her spells were given to the Priestess of the Moon, the latter had her own unique selection of spells. Her model and abilities were recycled for Sylvanas and Shandris in the campaign. One of her original abilities, Flaming Arrows, is still in the final game in the form of an unused icon, model and sound effects. Her texture is also unused in the final game. One of the Ranger possible random names was "Somand Wayfinder" which is also one of the random names for the Dark Ranger hero introduced in the Expansion pack, perhaps hinting that all of the Dark Ranger random hero names were recycled from the Ranger.

Restoration#

It was originally planned for spells to change names with each level, Restoration would've been the upgraded form of Resurrection. With the added benefit of resurrecting a unit with full hit points and mana. However, it's unknown if the icons were also meant to change. Its raw graphic was later used for the Light's Inspiration priest talent in World of Warcraft.

Ritual of Sacrifice#

WIP

Requiem#

It was unknown was this icon was meant to be used for. This icon has an On/Off state icons which suggests it was an autocast or toggleable ability of some sort.

Scattershot Rockets#

Scattershot Rockets is a cut upgrade for Mortar Teams. According to its unused string, it would've provided Mortar Teams with an area of effect anti-personnel attack.

Shadow Hunter#

The Shadow Hunter was the fourth Orc hero, first appearing in prerelease media from mid 2000. He was cut from the game but later brought back for the expansion pack. It's interesting to say that the Shadow Hunter in the expansion pack does not use this Reign of Chaos icon, instead he uses a newer icon added in the Frozen Throne expansion pack.

Speed Drums#

WIP

Spider#

There were no Spider creeps in the Closed Beta so this icon's purpose is unknown. In the released game, it was replaced by an icon of the Spider creeps' head.

Spirit Tower#

This unused icon shows an Undead building that doesn't resemble the Spirit Tower of the final game. It's very possible that this Spirit Tower might've been a separate building from the Ziggurat since Rob Pardo does mention in an online interview the removal of an Undead defensive building, this could've been it.

Spirit Walker#

The Spirit Walker was one of the planned heroes for the Orcs. After his removal, his model was given to the Shaman, the latter originally used a vastly different model that was repurposed for the Orc Warlock in the final game. According to Rob Pardo, the Spirit Walker was cut because he overlapped the Shaman too much in gameplay. This icon shows the 2000/2001 era model of the Spirit Walker, and not the newer one used in the final game for the Shaman.
The Spirit Walker would later resurface in the expansion pack as a Tauren unit.

Tauren Totem#

This icon depicts the Tauren Totem, which matches the design of the building in its current form. For some reason the final game icon depicts a different design of this building.

Time Stop#

Time Stop was the original proposed ultimate of the Archmage. It's mentioned in some game previews and interviews. It's not known how a time stopping spell would work in a large scale RTS game. This icon would go on to be reused in World of Warcraft for a variety of spells.

Tracking#

An upgrade for the Troll headhunters that increases their vision during the night.

Troll Berserk#

An older version of the Berserk icon, depicting a green Troll instead of the standard blue. For some reason, this icon was used for the Grunt's Berserker Rage ability. The icon was recolored blue for the final game but remained unused until Troll Berserkers were added in The Frozen Throne expansion.

Voodoo Lounge#

The Voodoo Lounge was required for unlocking Witch Doctors, trained from the Spirit Lodge (known back then as the Troll Lodge). This building survived long enough to show up in E3 2001. The building returned in the expansion, serving as the Orc's item vendor, but uses a different icon.

Wyvern Taming#

A research that allowed players to produce Wyvern Riders. Was eventually scrapped and it is possible to produce Wyvern Riders without this research.

Ziggurat#

These unused icons depict an old model of the Ziggurat. It seems Ziggurats were upgradeable up to three levels, with the Ziggurats' size increasing in each upgrade.

Wendigo#

The Wendigo creep in the Closed Beta had a completely different icon than in the released game.

Wisp#

The Wisp had a different icon than the retail release, being colored blue instead of green.

Abilities#

Dirge#

An Ability ID for "Dirge" exists in the AbilityUI.slk file ("Adir") along with order ids for "dirge" and "undirge". No other file references this ability. This ability is mentioned in pre-release material as an ability for the Banshee unit that allows them to keep corpse from decaying completely.

Drowsy#

An Ability ID for "Drowsy" exists in the AbilityUI.slk file ("Adrw") along with order ids for "drowsy", "drowsyon" and "drowsyoff". No other file references this ability.

Lightning Bolt#

An ability for the Far Seer. It uses a slightly edited icon from the Chain Lightning ability. The ability is a single target heavy damaging attack.

Swiftness Aura#

An ability for the scrapped Ranger hero. It uses the icon that would eventually be used for the Animal War Training research. It provided nearby allied units a Movement speed increase.

Buildings#

Bear Den#

This was a Night Elf building that allowed Ancient of Lore to train Druids of the Claw, and housed upgrades for all Druids and Spell Immunity upgrade. This building was removed in the March 8 patch and all upgrades were transferred to the Ancient of Lore. It's model remained in the released games' files and was reused for the Barrow Den building in the Night Elf campaign.

Gargoyle Spire#

The Gargoyle Spire was an Undead building that allowed Crypts to train Gargoyles and research Stone Form. The building and its associated data were removed in the March 8 patch. In the released game, its model and soundset remained and can be used in the World Editor.

Mage Tower#

This was originally the building that trained Priests and Sorceresses, while a separate building, the Arcane Sanctum was used to upgrade those units. In the March 8 patch, this was change so that Arcane Sanctum has both the units and the upgrades. A slightly modified version of the Mage Tower's model remains in the released game, being used for the High Elven Barracks in the Undead campaign.

Orc Forge#

Orcs originally had a Forge that functioned similar to the Humans' Blacksmith, it contained improved armor and melee upgrades. In the March 8 patch, this building and the Lumber Mill were combined into the War Mill building which housed both of those buildings upgrades.

Orc Lumber Mill#

Orcs originally had a Lumber Mill similar to the Humans' Lumber Mill. It contained upgrades for ranged units and the Spiked Barricades upgrade. In the March 8 patch, this building and the Forge were combined into the War Mill which housed both of those buildings upgrades.

Pig Farm#

This was originally the Orc's Food source building. In the March 8 patch, it was replaced by the Burrow. The warning voice line "We need more Pig Farms!" was also changed to "Build more Burrows!". For the final game, the Pig Farm became campaign-exclusive, appearing in some missions in both the original game as well as the Frozen Throne expansion pack.

Sacrificial Altar#

A neutral building that allows a player to sacrifice a unit for their hero units to gain EXP. It's object id is "nsac" and its Sacrifice ability id is "ANsa". The building and its Sacrifice ability doesn't appear in the beta, but its model and the Sacrifice SFX does. In the released game, the Sacrificial Altar's model was reused for the Skull of Gul'dan model in the Night Elf campaign and the Sacrifice SFX still exists in the game files under "Abilities\Spells\Other\ANsa\ANsaTarget.mdl".

Strings#

WIP

Unused Models#

Doodads#

The Closed Beta, surprisingly, contains many unused doodads. These were first seen in prerelease screenshots from 2000 and early 2001. Some of the Ashenvale doodads made it to the final game, in the Night Elf campaign menu. However, they cannot be placed in any maps, since they're part of the 3D menu and have no actual game data.

Ashenvale#

WIP

Barrens#

WIP

Hellscream#

Grom's model is in the files but his unit is not in the code. This indicates his model's inclusion was accidental.

Thieves Guild#

The Thieves Guild is a cut natural building. There's no indication to what its purpose was. The final game contains the building icon and some strings but the actual model is found only here.

Unused Units#

There are several units in the code that retain no models in the first beta build but can still be hacked into a map and function. Some of these units would later be removed during the beta, and by beta version 1.21 all of these would be gone.

Pixie#

This is a unit labelled "npix" in the files. It is called Pixie in the strings. This unit has 15 hp and appears to be a critter.

Tallstrider#

This is a unit labelled "ntal" in the files. It is called Tallstrider in the strings. This unit has 15 hp and appears to be a critter. Interestingly this creature appears in World of Warcraft as a prominent fauna of the Durotar and Barrens region.

Warlock#

This needs some investigation. Discuss ideas and findings on the talk page. Specifically: The Uwar label in the final game more than likely stands for Undead Warlock. There's only one hero in the entire game with the Warlock class, Archimonde, and almost always seen with the Undead. Nwar probably stands for Neutral Warlock. Which is either the cut red Eredar Warlock, or just an older data name for Archimonde.

This is a neutral hero labelled "Nwar" in the files. It is called Warlock in the strings. This unit is a proper hero, and has one major ability called "Inferno", this ability would later be made into the ultimate of the Dreadlord.

The Warlock has the following names assigned in the NeutralUnitStrings file: "Algannnon,Gorushar,Il'Noron,Mikasa,Magalar"

In the final game a hero labelled "Uwar" exists who uses a model labelled "warlock", and that unit is Archimonde.

Unit Quotes#

All units were planned to have voicelines for casting spells/abilities. The idea was removed before many of the units were finalized. For that, many of these quotes reference spells/abilities that no longer exist in the final game, not even this beta. This indicates that these quotes are remnants of an even older build.

Crypt Fiend#

The Crypt Fiend was once described as a female undead hero with a focus on summoning insects. This quote is probably for one of her summoning spells. Interestingly, this voiceline was modified/created on the 11th of May 2001.

Dreadlord#

Perhaps the Dreadlord at one point had the ability to morph into a flock of bats, similar to the morphing abilities of the Druids. These quotes are the only proof of this. These are all just sounds of bats.

Druid of The Claw#

The Druid has two voicelines. One for his transformation ability, the second is for casting a cut spell called Hibernation. Both files were last modified/created on the 27th of April, 2001.

Dryad#

One voiceline is a quote for casting a weakness spell of sorts. This voiceline is pretty old, last modified/created on the 28th of November 2000. The second is a cut attack order.

Abomination#

The Abomination was originally a Hero for the Undead. These voicelines are of him attacking and were last modified/created on the 8th of May, 2000.

Demon Hunter#

Voicelines for casting four spells, three of which never made it to the final game. All last modified on the 19th of April, 2001.

Lich#

The Lich had a different assortment of spells and a cut ultimate ability, the summoning of a Frost Wyrm. All last modified on the 4th of May, 2001.

Priestess of the Moon#

Priestess of the Moon had voice lines for different abilities. All last modified on the 12th of May, 2001