When it comes to my favorite game mode in Warcraft III, 2v2 is easily the mode I love to play out of the game modes you can play. I’ve always thought the game just feels “right” in 2v2. Warcraft III is a game where units do tend to take a while for them to actually be killed. In 2v2, the slower time to kill is certainly decreased due to more players, and I have always thought it had that right balance of lethality. On top of that, the race synergy is always the fascinating part of 2v2. In this game mode, it’s all about taking advantage of the faction you play and your teammate’s to its fullest potential.
With that said, 2v2 isn’t the most new player friendly mode compared to 4v4. It is one of the modes that are played competitively with the primary 1v1 mode that many top Warcraft III players have mastered throughout the years of the game’s lifespan. 2v2 has always been the secondary mode behind the solo duels, but that means it is a mode that will appeal to skilled players.
These five tips will give you important things to do well in this mode. I do also want to mention that you’re not going to be a skilled 2v2 player right off the bat while knowing these tips, but it will certainly help you understand how to play the game mode better. This will allow you to have a better chance of winning games and you’ll simply be doing moves that benefit you and your teammate during the game. Hopefully, you and your random teammate or a close friend will understand the beauty of Warcraft III’s 2v2. I predominantly play Human and Orc as my main factions, but these tips can certainly be applied to all races.
Hunt Those Expansions (or Expos)
Just like in every real-time strategy game you play, you should always be on the lookout for expansions or multiple bases. In 2v2, expansions are absolutely game changing. Obviously, you get more resources which are nice, but this means you can feed your teammate which is also something that can affect the chances of winning a match.
Gnoll Wood is sometimes a nightmare to play.
I’d always be heavily obsessed by looking for expansions every time I get into the game. You don’t want your opponents to get away with an easy expansion. I would say if you miss an expansion for probably at least three minutes against any decent player, the game is basically over. Especially if you and your ally are on a one base set up. You would be too far behind to catch up and there is a chance the other team can obsessively mass towers to defend their bases which those types of games are never fun to play.
This can be applied to the other modes as well, but in 2v2, always be on the hunt for expansions at all stages of the game. Also, the maps tend to be small in 2v2, so the game sort of wants you to scout them. Never let your opponents expand for free!
Aggression Is Key
I did say it’s important to always keep an eye out for expansions. That is because in 2v2, you have to constantly be aggressive. This aggression will be noticeable during the early game. The main reason why is it’s to pressure your opponents and test out their multitasking skills. It’s to know their hero and unit composition, to know whether they are expanding or going for a one base set up, and of course, know their base location if you didn’t scout them during the base building process. Another thing that promotes aggressive playing in 2v2 is because of the maps. Most of them are small sized maps, so you want to use that to your advantage and try to rush or harass your opponents.
The Right Decision for the Right Time
This tip is simply easier said than done. In 2v2, your decision making skills is always going to be tested and you simply want to make the right moves that benefits you and your ally during crucial situations. I can give some good examples.
Recently, I had a game on Turtle Rock where my Undead ally was creep jacked by two players that were creeping the two Goblin Merchants as their starting creep route. My Undead ally was also fairly wounded from that and had to avoid the fight. I had already done the green and orange creep camps nearby and I could’ve gotten level 3 if I did the goldmine creeps. Level 3 is certainly amazing for most heroes because it’s the level that makes your hero go online.
Team Human or Night Elf?
I didn’t take that route because I thought it was greedy and I knew my units would’ve been wounded. I also had a feeling the opponents were going to attack my teammate after their creeping is done. Instead, I attacked one of the opponents base with pure aggression; harassing their workers and delaying any sort of buildings in the process which forced one of the players to go home and defend. This gave space for my ally to heal up and delayed their big attack.
It’s these sorts of moves that can increase your chances of winning a match and it’s also something that isn’t selfish. It’s a move that’s there to benefit your teammate and yourself, and those are the kinds of moves that you should always pay attention to while playing this mode.
Embrace the Race Synergy
I did briefly mention that 2v2 is cool because of the different race combination that one can play with, and that is something that you should do too. If I am aware that my Orc ally is going for a Tauren Chieftain first, I’ll pick a hero that’ll benefit that hero like a Paladin where the Holy Light ability is extremely useful for the Tauren Chieftain.
This has always been one of the fun things to experiment while playing this mode and there’s certainly a decent amount combinations you can try out. I’ve always liked using Mountain King whenever I have an Undead ally to take advantage of our hero killing abilities or I can go Paladin if I have a Night Elf ally that wants to go Mountain Giants for the late game. It’s always nice to have some basic discussion with your ally of what unit and hero composition they are going and you want to try to synergize with it.
Generally, it’s better to have a mixed race team than a team of the same faction. You would have different advantages and disadvantages and that basically makes it harder for the opponents to figure out how to take down your mixed faction squad.
Survive the Big Push
For my final tip of this article is to discuss the importance of the first big push. This is a fairly vague term if you aren’t a veteran Warcraft III player, but there will be a certain time window where players will make their first big attack.
Generally, when it comes to these attacks, you have to be prepared for them. You must have a reasonable army and your tech should be good depending if you are on one or two base set up. If you are on a one base set up, you should be tier 2 by the time they attack you. If you notice you’re struggling to survive these big pushes, you need to simply have better army or your tech speed might not be fast enough.
All four races in action!
Getting a second hero or having access to tier 2 units makes a big difference in surviving these encounters. Generally when the first big push is done, everybody goes back to creeping to gain experience for their heroes and then there will be another big push afterwards.
Those are my five tips to help players improve in 2v2. It’s definitely going to require lots of playing and time to become reasonably skilled at the mode. With that mentioned, 2v2 is certainly a fun game mode to play and it always had an amazing list of maps to play which is another great thing about the mode. I’m hoping the next season for Warcraft III will include one of my all time favorite 2v2 maps into the playlist: Goldshire. Until then, these tips will be helpful for this season and the next one too.
