Last week, W3Champions released a new matchmaking system that affected all modes, but in particular team games! Today members of the data science team,  Toxi and Helpstone would like to share some information on what was changed, and how it should improve matchmaking in future. For those who like to know about the nuts and bolts of how this platform works, you've come to the right place.

In this article, I'll be covering the 'Power Curve' as a topic. It's easily one of the most important concepts in Warcraft 3, and in pretty much any other game/sport. Chances are that you'll be thinking what I'm writing is obvious; because to a certain extend it definitely is. Where it gets tricky is when you'll have to apply it in a game.

PLEASE NOTE: This article was written before Reforged. How replays are stored and loaded has changed with the 1.32 Reforged release, this article does not apply to those game versions, however it will still work for old versions of the game if you wish to watch old patch replays.

Warcraft III replays are a beautiful thing. Entertainment, teaching, and record keeping all for a few hundred kilobytes. However they can be awkward to get at - you have to save the replay, put it into a folder (which they moved a few patches ago to deal with modern Windows permissions!), boot up Warcraft, select Singleplayer, View Replay, find the file, open it.

How tedious, if only you could double click the replay and it would open instantly... 

... Wait, you CAN do that?!

Sure, just follow this quick guide below for Windows machines:

Let's talk tax.

Now that I have your attention with such a riveting topic, I would like to discuss the humble Upkeep system and why it is critical for the game we know and love today. Why it deserves credit for its contribution to the tight game play loop that has kept competitive players interested in this game for 15 years, and why it's something you should pay attention to in your own games.

We all know of several games where you receive experience points and gain levels. Quite a simple concept: Kill stuff, get stronger. In Warcraft 3, the logic behind gaining experience is, at times, a bit weird. In this article, I'll try to explain some of the principles behind experience points and hero levels.

When getting an item from neutral creeps, it's sometimes clear as day which hero should be have it. This is, however, not always the case. In this article I'll be explaining the concept of "Armor" and "Damage Reduction". Hopefully,  it will give you a better understanding to which hero you should distribute which armor-enhancing items. In other words, we'll try to figure out who's the Lord of the Rings of Protection! 

Pit Lord is a rare sight in competitive play, with a peculiar kit and an even more peculiar (and funny) voice line. In this article we will take a look at his abilities and try to get a better grip of why he is used so rarely.

To optimize creeping routes, it's important to be aware of how interactions with creeps work in the game. In this article, we'll take a look at how the creep's aggro works as well as when and how they use their different abilities.

Mercenaries are used to give your army a bit more *umf* through either raw stats or abilities. Mercenaries can be hired without production-time in exchange of being overpriced compared to normal units. This extra price you pay makes it important to know when to acquire mercenaries and when not to. Hopefully you'll be able to make competent judgement calls on this matter after you've read the following guide!

The following article is written by Floss2xdaily. The article contains some simple, yet very useful, tips on how to deal with ladder anxiety and frustration. So if that's something you struggle with, make sure to read this article!

Floss2xdaily is an active viewer on various Warcraft 3 Twitch streams and is also very active on the Gym Discord. He's a stand up guy, so if you happen to bump into his name somewhere, make sure to compliment him on all the great work he's doing!