Hi everyone,
I would like to suggest a Warcraft III balance change for the Orc Shadow Hunter:
Healing Wave should damage enemy Undead units and heroes, while still healing allied units as usual.
The idea is that Healing Wave would keep its normal support identity for Orc armies, but gain a thematic interaction against opposing Undead players. In Warcraft III, Undead armies rely heavily on Death Knight sustain through Death Coil, Unholy Aura, Statues, and strong hero focus. Giving the Shadow Hunter a matchup-specific interaction could make Orc vs Undead slightly more dynamic without redesigning the hero.
Suggested mechanic:
Healing Wave:
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Heals allied units normally.
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Can bounce to enemy Undead units if they are not allied.
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Deals damage to enemy Undead units instead of healing them.
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Can affect Undead heroes, but with reduced hero effectiveness if needed.
Possible balance values:
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Enemy Undead units receive 50–75% of the Healing Wave value as damage.
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Enemy Undead heroes receive reduced damage, for example 35–50%, because hero focus could otherwise become too strong.
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The number of bounces could stay unchanged.
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The mana cost and cooldown could stay unchanged at first.
This would create interesting decisions in Orc vs Undead:
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Shadow Hunter could remain a defensive sustain hero.
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Healing Wave could become a situational offensive spell against Ghouls, Fiends, Statues, Destroyers, Skeletons, Abominations, and Undead heroes.
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Orc would gain a thematic answer to Undead sustain without simply buffing raw damage.
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Undead players could still counterplay through positioning, Coil timing, Destroyer dispel pressure, hero movement, and focus fire.
The goal is not to make Shadow Hunter overpowered, but to give Healing Wave a more Warcraft-like fantasy interaction:
life magic heals the living, but burns the opposing undead.
And furthermore, thank you in advance for your help and also for your support and everything. It’s really appreciated. Thank you!