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The campaign now goes into Act 2, which takes place in Khaz Modan. In the Warcraft setting, Khaz Modan is an eastern continent that’s home to the Dwarven peoples, and it’s also where the Human kingdom of Stromgarde is located. This kingdom is going to be our main opponent for the next few missions, and in our briefing we’re told that Stromgarde forces have besieged the Orcish outpost of Dun Modr. Dun Modr is a key strategic location and an important staging area for our warriors, so the Horde can’t afford to lose it. We’re being rushed in to retake and secure Dun Modr, then launch an assault against Stromgarde’s nearby island base at Tol Barad.

As the mission begins, we have no base. Dun Modr itself has fallen to the Alliance, and before we can do anything else we have to destroy the force occupying it. Fortunately, the enemy base is fairly small and we start with a large army. We have four Grunts, six Troll Axethrowers, two Troll Destroyers, three Peons, and one each of two new units: a Catapult which can be used for siege warfare, and a Goblin Zeppelin which is unarmed but can fly and scout enemy positions. Notably, our units are colored black rather than red as in past missions—Dun Modr is occupied by blue Azeroth forces, but Stromgarde’s main color is red and so we need a different color. From a lore standpoint, we’re commanding forces of the Black Tooth Grin clan, which gets its name from a tradition of its members knocking a tooth out. In any event, I simply select four Grunts and five Axethrowers and launch a frontal assault on the Alliance base. We clear it out with only one casualty, and then I move our Peons in to start building our own base. It takes a while because we have a large force but no Farms initially, and we need to build several Farms before we can expand our workforce. Eventually, though, we have what we need and begin developing our city.

This mission marks two major milestones from a tech tree standpoint. First, we can now build a Blacksmith, and doing so allows us to train Catapults at the Barracks. It contains one upgrade each for our melee weapons, shields, and Catapult projectiles (later each of those gets a second upgrade), and also gives us an alternative to the Watch Toer upgrade. If we wish, we can upgrade them to Cannon Towers that do more damage (although they’re more expensive and, unlike Guard Towers, they can’t fire at air units). Beyond that, starting with this mission, once a Barracks is built we’ll be able to upgrade any Great Hall we have to a Stronghold. Besides making it significantly stronger, it also grants a bonus of 10 gold units to each haul we get from a Gold Mine, and it also allows us to construct a Goblin Alchemist structure. In the lore, Goblins are physically weak but excel at making useful contraptions, building this structure allows us to create the Goblin Zeppelin spy units mentioned earlier. I make sure to build all the structures and purchase all the upgrades, but my main concern is still the seas. Like Hillsbrad, this is a water mission that requires an amphibious assault, and there are actually quite a few enemy ships guarding the map’s Oil Patches. With that in mind, I build two separate Shipyards to make ship construction go faster. The basic plan is to take full control of the seas, clearing it of hostiles and building an Oil Platform on every Oil Patch.

It takes a while—the map is pretty big—and we have some setbacks when the Alliance raids our base, but eventually we do succeed at isolating the enemy at their home island. From there, it’s time to focus on their destruction. I have our nine Troll Destroyers attack, but we’re repelled the first time. There are two Ballistae—the Alliance version of Catapults—protecting Tol Barad, and they’re highly effective at coastal defense. Between them, Elven Archers, and a Guard Tower near the enemy Shipyard, our ships take a real beating. We inflict plenty of damage, but the Shipyard survives and I end up withdrawing one surviving Troll Destroyer. Undeterred, I build another eight Destroyers to replace our losses and attack again, this time clearing all the coastal defenses. From there I load two Transports with six Troll Axethrowers, four Grunts, a Catapult, and a Peon. I have them unload on the now-undefended coastline, where they quickly establish a beachhead. The military units engage the defenders and drive inland, while I have the Peon build a Barracks to replace any losses. There’s little the enemy can do to stop us and soon enough Tol Barad falls to the Horde.