Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness is a fantasy real-time strategy (RTS) computer game created by Blizzard Entertainment. It was released for MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows in 1995 and for Mac OS in 1996 by Blizzard's parent company, Davidson & Associates. The game followed Warcraft: Orcs & Humans and received positive reviews, winning most major PC gaming awards in 1996. In 1996, Blizzard released an expansion pack called Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal for DOS and Mac OS, and a compilation called Warcraft II: The Dark Saga for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. In 1999, a Battle.net edition was released, which included the expansion pack, provided Blizzard's online gaming service, and replaced the MS-DOS version with a Windows version.

In Warcraft II, as in many RTS games, players gather resources to build structures and create units to defeat opponents in battle. Players unlock advanced units after constructing technology buildings and researching upgrades. Most of the screen shows the area where the player is currently active, while a small mini-map allows the player to switch to other locations. The fog of war hides unexplored areas (shown as black), while explored terrain appears in gray. Enemy units remain visible only if they are within the sight range of friendly units. Buildings are displayed as the player last saw them and do not show changes like being built, damaged, or repaired if those changes are not observed.

Warcraft II was a commercial success, selling over 3 million copies worldwide by 2001, with about two-thirds sold in the United States. The game greatly influenced Blizzard's later RTS game, StarCraft (1998), in terms of gameplay, character design, and storytelling. In 1996, Blizzard announced Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans, an adventure game set in the Warcraft universe, but canceled the project in 1998. Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, released in 2002, used some characters and story elements from Warcraft Adventures but expanded on the gameplay introduced in Warcraft II.

Gameplay

Warcraft II is a real-time strategy game. In Warcraft II, one side controls the human people of Lordaeron and their allies, while the other side controls the invading orcs and their allies. Both sides try to defeat the other by gathering resources and building an army. The game takes place in a medieval world with fantasy elements. Both sides have units that fight up close, units that attack from a distance, naval units, air units, and spellcasters.

Players can play against AI opponents in separate Human and Orc campaigns or in individual scenarios. Most missions in the campaigns follow the same pattern: gather resources, build structures and units, and destroy the enemy. Some missions have different goals, such as saving troops or forts or protecting important characters while moving through enemy territory.

The game includes a map editor that lets players create scenarios for multiplayer games or to play against AI opponents. The editor works on Mac computers and also on Windows 95 or, if the WinG library is installed, on Windows 3.0.

Scenarios can be played against AI opponents or in multiplayer games with up to eight players. The DOS version of the game allowed multiplayer games using a null modem cable, modem, or IPX. Mac players could also play using TCP/IP or AppleTalk. Blizzard later added support for Kali, which lets programs access the internet through IPX.

To win, players must gather resources and build structures and units to defeat the enemy. Humans use the Town Hall, and orcs use the Great Hall to create workers who gather gold from mines and wood from forests. These workers deliver the resources to their buildings. Both buildings can be upgraded twice, which increases the amount of resources each worker can carry. Players can also build shipyards to create combat ships and oil tankers. The tankers build offshore oil platforms and deliver oil to buildings on the shore. Since gold, wood, and oil cannot be replaced, players must use them wisely. This can lead to creative strategies, such as using forests as both a source of wood and a way to block enemy movement.

Workers can also build farms, which provide food for up to four units. Additional units cannot be created until enough farms are built. Farms are strong for their cost and are sometimes used as defensive barriers.

Humans and orcs have similar types of buildings but with different names and designs. These buildings produce ground, naval, and air units. Most units require help from other buildings or must be built at structures that depend on other buildings. Many buildings can upgrade combat units. When advanced units are available, orcs have a strong advantage in ground battles, while humans have stronger naval units and spellcasters. The most advanced units on each side can be upgraded and taught spells that differ between the two sides. Some missions include hero units, which are more powerful than regular units, have unique names and images, and cannot be destroyed, as doing so would fail the mission.

The main screen has five areas:

• At the top, there are menu buttons and counters showing the player’s resources: gold from mines, wood from trees, oil from oil patches, and food from farms.
• The largest area on the right shows the part of the map where the player is currently playing. This lets the player select friendly units and buildings.
• The top left shows a mini-map that displays the entire map at a smaller scale. It highlights the area the player is currently exploring. Clicking or dragging on the mini-map lets the player move to a different location on the main screen.
• The middle left area shows descriptions of selected units or buildings. If multiple units of the same type are selected, icons appear showing their health and other details.
• The bottom left area shows the actions a selected unit or building can perform and any upgrades that apply to it.

At the start, most of the map and mini-map are hidden. As the player’s units explore the map, the visible area grows. The fog of war hides all unexplored areas, showing only the land but hiding enemy units and buildings if no player units are present there.

All functions, such as game setup, menu options, and gameplay actions, can be controlled using the mouse or keyboard shortcuts. Units and buildings can be selected by clicking or using a box to highlight them. Once selected, their actions can be controlled with the mouse or keyboard.

Storyline

The First War led to the fall of Azeroth after the Orcs attacked in the game Warcraft: Orcs & Humans. People from Azeroth escaped by boat to the Human kingdom of Lordaeron. The Orcs then tried to take over Lordaeron, starting the Second War. Both sides gained new allies and tools, such as ships, flying machines, and stronger magic users.

During the Second War, the Orcs won early battles. However, the Humans and their allies fought back, helped by an Orc rebellion led by the warlock Gul'dan. Gul'dan wanted to awaken the Tomb of Sargeras, a powerful ancient site. Later, Alliance forces pushed the Horde to Blackrock Spire, but Anduin Lothar, the Alliance leader, was killed there. In the final battle near the Dark Portal in Azeroth, the Alliance defeated one Orc group, captured the Orc leader, and drove the remaining Orcs away. To stop future attacks, the Alliance destroyed the Dark Portal.

The story continues in the expansion Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal.

Development

After the successful release of Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in November 1994, Blizzard Entertainment began creating Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness. Development started in February 1995, and the game was released in North America and Australia on December 5, 1995. In Europe, the game was released by Zablac Entertainment in January 1996 for MS-DOS, with a version for Mac OS released in August 1996. Blizzard explained that limited budgets at the time allowed for shorter development periods. The success of Warcraft: Orcs & Humans also helped Blizzard hire more skilled developers. The company’s early design included a mix of modern and fantasy elements, such as fighter pilots attacked by a fire-breathing dragon. However, they found this idea not satisfying and decided to focus on fantasy content for a real-time strategy (RTS) game. The first version of Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness allowed multiplayer games over a local area network using IPX, but not over the Internet using TCP/IP. A program called Kali, which connected players over the Internet like a local network, became popular. Blizzard quickly provided a tool to help players set up multiplayer games using Kali.

In 1996, Blizzard published Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal, an expansion pack originally planned to be made by Cyberlore Studios. Blizzard canceled this contract after being unhappy with a progress check and took the project in-house. The expansion added new campaigns for Humans and Orcs, including more powerful heroes. Later that year, Blizzard released Warcraft II: Battle Chest, a collection of Tides of Darkness and Beyond the Dark Portal for DOS and Windows 3.

Several non-canon expansion packs were released, which are not part of the main Human and Orc story. In 1996, WizardWorks published W!Zone, an expansion made by Sunstorm Interactive, Inc. and approved by Blizzard. This was followed by W!Zone II: Retribution, also published by WizardWorks and approved by Blizzard. In 1997, Maverick Software released The Next 70 Levels, an expansion made by Maverick Software and approved by Blizzard. This was followed by The Next 350 Levels, also published by Maverick Software and approved by Blizzard.

Blizzard sold the exclusive worldwide rights to create, publish, and distribute console versions of the game to Electronic Arts. In 1997, Electronic Arts released Warcraft II: The Dark Saga for the Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn, combining the campaigns of Tides of Darkness and Beyond the Dark Portal. This version was developed by Climax. The Dark Saga allowed players to automate building upgrades and unit production and to select more troops at once, features not included in the DOS and Mac versions. Early versions of The Dark Saga had a two-player mode using console link cables, but this feature was removed before the final release.

In 1999, Blizzard released Warcraft II: Battle.net Edition for Windows and Mac, combining the original game and the expansion pack. This version kept the Mac features and replaced the DOS version with a Windows version that included Blizzard’s online service, Battle.net, for multiplayer games. After reviewing new content, Blizzard focused on making it easy for both new and older players to play together. Battle.net Edition included some user interface improvements from StarCraft, such as a hot key to center on events, assigning numbers to unit groups, and double-clicking to select all units of a type. However, it did not include production queues or waypoints.

In November 2024, Warcraft II and Warcraft: Orcs & Humans were remastered.

Reception

Warcraft II first appeared at number 2 on PC Data's computer game sales chart for December 1995, behind the game Myst. It remained in the number 2 spot in January 1996 but dropped to number 3 in its third month. The game stayed in PC Data's top 3 from April through October, reaching number 1 in April, August, and September. In November, it fell to number 5 and left the top 10 the next month. By November 1995, Warcraft II had sold 500,000 copies worldwide within three months of its release and over 1.2 million units by November. This made it the most commercially successful computer game of the year as of November, according to PC Data. In the United States, it was the second-best-selling computer game of 1996, again behind Myst. The game sold 835,680 copies and earned $34.5 million in the region for the year. To take advantage of its success, Blizzard released the Warcraft Battlechest on November 11, which included Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, Warcraft II, and the Beyond the Dark Portal add-on.

In January 1997, Warcraft II was ranked 13th on PC Data's sales chart, while the Warcraft Battlechest was ranked 6th. The original game left the top 20 after finishing 16th in February. However, the Battlechest remained on the charts through May, reaching number 9 in February. After not appearing in June, it returned to the top 10 for two months before dropping to number 16 in September and leaving the top 20 in October. The Warcraft Battlechest was the 17th-highest-selling computer game in the United States in 1997, with sales of 262,911 units.

By April 1998, the basic version of Warcraft II had sold 1.02 million units in the United States and earned $39.8 million in revenue. This led PC Data to name it the sixth-best-selling computer game in the country from January 1993 to April 1998. Globally, Warcraft II reached 2 million sales by July 1998 and passed 2.5 million by the end of the year. By September 1999, it had sold 1,250,675 units in the United States alone, making it the sixth-best-selling computer game in the country since January 1993. Sales continued into October, when the Warcraft II Battle.net Edition finished 20th on the sales chart for the month. As of 2001, worldwide sales of Warcraft II had surpassed 3 million units, with two-thirds of those sales coming from the United States.

Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness received positive reviews, helping Blizzard join a group of top game developers, including Westwood Studios, id Software, and LucasArts. The competition between Blizzard's games and Westwood Studios' Command & Conquer series helped drive the popularity of real-time strategy (RTS) games in the late 1990s.

In 1996, GameSpot, Next Generation, and Computer Games Magazine said the artificial intelligence (AI) in Warcraft II was better than in Warcraft: Orcs & Humans. Computer Games Magazine also said Warcraft II "surpasses the original game in almost every way." GameSpot praised the fog of war feature, which forces players to explore the game world constantly. IGN also agreed with this assessment. Next Generation noted that new units and resources added more strategic options, but the biggest improvement was the control system, which lets players select multiple units at once and use right-click commands. The Adrenaline Vault mentioned that players must manage resources carefully because they can run out. GameSpot said the game offers many different strategies for players with different styles, and The Adrenaline Vault pointed out that maps set in winter allow ground units to walk on ice. Macworld writer Michael Gowen wrote: "This game set the standard for the genre and still represents one of the best titles available. If you haven't played it, you have missed something."

Andy Butcher, who reviewed Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness for Arcane magazine, said, "Warcraft 2 is a great game. Despite its limitations, it's challenging, fun, easy to get into, and very addictive. The ability to play either side means that there are a vast number of missions on offer, and a level designer gives yet more longevity."

PC Gamer US named Warcraft II the best game of 1995. The editors called it an "easy" choice and wrote that "Warcraft II stands out — way out — as the most impressive, most entertaining, game of 1995." The magazine also gave Warcraft II the award for 1995's "Best Multi-Player Game." Macworld gave the game its 1996 "Best Strategy Game" award. It also won Computer Game Review's 1995 "Military Sim of the Year" award, tied with Steel Panthers. The same year, Next Generation listed it as number 10 on their "Top 100 Games of All Time," saying the strategy is complex, the graphics are clear, and the use of sampled speech is the best ever. Warcraft II was a runner-up for Computer Gaming World's 1995 "Strategy Game of the Year" award, which went to Command & Conquer and Heroes of Might and Magic (tie). The editors wrote that Warcraft II "will keep you glued to the computer for hours on end" and noted that it "could have won had the competition not been so strong." MacUser declared Warcraft II one of 1996's top 50 CD-ROMs. In 1996, Computer Gaming World ranked Warcraft II the 28th-best computer game ever released. In 1996, GamesMaster ranked the game 38th on their "Top 100 Games of All Time."

The IGN review said Warcraft II is well-balanced, but GameSpot's retrospective review said the Ogre-Mages with the Bloodlust spell were too powerful. IGN noted that searching for survivors of a defeated opponent could be tedious, and that the first few missions were easy, though the final ones were challenging.

In 1996, GameSpot, Computer Games Magazine, and Entertainment Weekly praised the SVGA graphics. Retros