W3C Season 18 - Sylvanas Windrunner
Rankings reset
There will be a 100% MMR Reset for FFA.
There will be a 100% MMR Reset for Legion TD 1v1, Legion TD 4v4 RT and Legion TD 4v4 AT.
Rankings and RP will be fully reset in all modes so the leaderboards will look fresh after the reset. Remember, activity is rewarded more at the start of the season!
Season end tournament
Current Schedule:
Saturday, April 6: 1v1 Round of 16 + Round of 8 + 2v2 Semifinal
Sunday, April 7: 1v1 Round of 16 + Round of 8 + 2v2 Semifinal + FFA
Friday, April 12: 1v1 Round of 16 + Round of 8
Saturday, April 13: 1v1 Round of 16 + Round of 8 + FFA Grand final
Sunday, April 14: 1v1 Semifinals, 1v1 & 2v2 Grand Finals
Matcherino: https://matcherino.com/t/w3cs17finals
New UI theme - Sylvanas Windrunner
In the tranquil depths of Ashenvale, Sylvanas Windrunner, a ranger of unmatched prowess, crossed paths with the enigmatic Illidan Stormrage, veiled in shadows and burdened by inner turmoil. Their meeting beneath the moon's gentle gaze marked a convergence of destiny and understanding as Sylvanas extended a hand of compassion to the tormented soul before her. In the dance of light and shadow, she glimpsed the flicker of redemption within Illidan's haunted gaze, forging an unlikely alliance bound by their shared reverence for nature. As dawn broke upon the horizon, their paths diverged. Yet, the memory of their encounter endured as a testament to the enduring power of empathy and the fragile bonds that unite even the most disparate of spirits in Azeroth's vast tapestry.
Replays in the Launcher
Thanks to the hard work of Fluxxu, we can now parse replays on your computer and display information such as player names, player races, map and match duration. This will be helpful when browsing replays in the Launcher!
Additionally, Allied-chat is now saved in the replays. Previously, only All-chat was visible. This lets you view the replay exactly as it played out, with the chats intact.
We also added a new tab to the score screen, allowing you to rename a replay after a game, and instantly watch your game, without having to navigate to the replays section.
Map pool changes
1vs1
All veto preferences from previous seasons have been reset
Total maps increased from 13 to 14, number of vetoes unchanged
Added Gloom Stalker
Gloom Stalker is a macro-oriented map crafted by the same creator of Autumn Leaves. At the very middle there is an unguarded gold mine, a feature which has already been brought into showcase with Springtime. On top of that, the other main feature are the 4 gold mines at the corners of the map: at a glance they are unguarded, yet nearby creeps will take no time to shut down any possible expansion attempt without messing with them first.
Ruins of Azshara replaced with Shattered Exile v2
Shattered Exile is one of the most popular 2vs2 maps. Despite having 4 starting locations, bear in mind that for this very game mode players will always spawn on cross positions. The map comes with a focus on macromanagement, and for all those of you who remember it from our past seasons, please note there are two major improvements since last time:
Assassins, who can be hired at the mercenary camps, are considerably slower than before (270 movespeed, instead of 290)
The rogue wizard’s frost armor effect now lasts 1 second less. This creep can be found both at the green camp nearby your base, and at the mercenary camps.
Turtle Rock replaced with Terenas Stand LV. Terenas Stand LV has been missing from our map pool for quite a while, and on top of that is still being featured in many high-end tournaments. We want to provide top players a good practice ground, and let nostalgic and macro players enjoy this map after rotating out both TR and RoA at the same time.
4vs4
Full Scale Assault replaced with Lilious. Lilious is a small map where each team can easily secure 3 expansions early on. The middle hosts an unguarded random fountain and 4 red camps with different orientations.
Golems in the Mist LV replaced with Obsidian Heart. Obsidian Heart is a very wide map where the rushing distance between main bases is quite noticeable. Both teams have an extremely safe expansion, while two more are to be found in more exposed positions.
The Juggernaut replaced with Tatsa’s Castle Gardens. Tatsa’s Castle Gardens is a popular FFA map with lots of gold mines that got slightly tweaked to provide far wider battlegrounds.
Dark Beacons: fixed a bug which would sometimes prevent heroes from gaining experience from killing level 10 hydras.
Rocky Ridge: added an extra green creep camp right in front of the gold mines separating the two enemy teams.
Winterly Magic: level 10 dragons at red camps now drop rune of rebirth, plus a level 6 charged item (such as Demonic Figurine). The bearer of each item drop is determined at random to prevent sniping.
ATR
Removed Echo Isles v2, Gnoll Wood, Lost Temple LV, Terenas Stand LV and Twisted Meadows
Added Candlestick Gallery, Circumvention v2, Drake Nostrum, Shattered Exile v2 and Tioga Pass
All veto preferences from previous seasons have been reset
Now random heroes awaken with their intended “ready” warcry!
A shoutout to the map makers
A lot of the work you see on the maps that are tirelessly updated every season is thanks to the MMC (Melee Mapping Central) community. You might see names like Tenshi, JaleVeliki, Kaer, Meerel, Mafe, SaveOrcas, rhythmt and more mentioned often but they are all a group of volunteers who love the game as much as we do and have spent a lot of cycles building these maps to be up-to-date for us to play and watch games on. Previously they worked with Blizzard to provide community maps for the BNET ladder. Updating existing maps (like LR, EI, SV, and TM) and improving them is also a significant effort that we want to show them gratitude for. You can always say hello, post suggestions, or join in, on their Discord server:
Build W3Champions together!
W3Champions is looking for .NET, TypeScript, and Rust developers
While we appreciate PR submissions, we are mainly interested in developers that are willing to commit time and take ownership of their projects. We have very little formal hierarchies and our approach is free-for-all. We are always open for a talk if you want to inquire more about how you can help!