Warcraft II Part #26 - Mission 12: Burning the Sea to the Ground

Part 26: Mission 12: Burning the Sea to the Ground

Act 4: Return to Azeroth

Episode 12: The Battle at Crestfall or Burning the Sea to the Ground

: Easy now, Varin. Just your average mission. Nothing to worry about.

: Hoooooooooly crap! Orders from th' Lion o' Azeroth 'imself! Screw this up and we'll be hangin' by our beards!

: Ruku!

: ...Urk.

Earlier that week...

: Alterac is back under the Lordaeron's rule, Lieutenant Turalyon has repelled the orcish horde from the Capital City walls, and General Lothar is hot on their heels to rout them once and for all. These are truly good times.

: A gold piece says it don't last much longer than ya nose.

: Are you always this pessimistic?

: Nah, I jus' play th' odds.

: Captain Wells! A message for you from... well...

: General Lothar!

: Oh, Light damn it.

Now...

: Y'know, that whole, "not really in th' military thing" is kind of a kick th' pants... "Cap'n."

: I'm sure he had his reasons, Ruku.

: We can put aside my credentials for another time. Right now, we are staring down an orcish armada, and it's our job to neutralize it.

Alright, I'm not going to lie. I hate this mission. I really do. Apparently this is a fairly easy mission for most people, but I am all thumbs when it comes to naval combat, and that is the theme for this adventure. To compound things, there's also, well... we'll get to that.

: Cannons! We'll have th' shores stained wit' blood by th' morn'! I call th' big 'un wit' th' thirty pounders leanin' out th' portside!

: I'm not even sure that those are naval terms.

: Neutralize, Ruku. We're aiming to cripple the orcs, not destroy them.

: Aye, but destroyin' is just cripplin', but fer overachievers.

: You two can debate the merits of overzealous slaughter, but in the meantime, I've sent out our avian gnomes to reconnoiter the surrounding sea.

Ah, problem number one. This may not seem too bad right now, but do note how far away this oil patch is from our base on the minimap. This is the closest patch of oil. Of course, there are ways around this, but... nothing safe.

: And our first sign of resistance. I'll just get Varin and we'll-

: AVAST, YE SCURVY DOGS!

: Oh, great.

: Ye worry too much. Come on, what can these orcs do ta us tha' would send ol' Ruku to th' briny depths?

: Uh, that was surprisingly articulate.

: Aye, I heard about this piratin' thing. Seems like a pretty good gig. Figured I'd brush up on th' lingo for when this war be over.

Back at base...

: Alright, men, I want our northern perimeter watched at all times. Mages, you are on guard duty as well. Ah! There's Gaz's signal. I'll send out the tankers to begin construction on the oil derrick.

: You're going to be a pirate after the war is over!? You can't do that!

: Oh? An' why not?

: You... you just can't! That's stupid!

: Okay, fine. I got a better idea anyways.

: This should be good.

: Dragon slayer!

: I'm leaving before my ears start bleeding.

: Hmm...

: Yes...

Just want to point out a few things here: Lumber is scarce. Crazy scarce. Given that you're going to be building a large sea force, you're going to want to be pretty decisive in combat and fairly cautious about buildings. There are a few other gold mines out there, but the resources that you'll spend to secure them just aren't worth it in comparison.

: Well, none of this looks very good. Did the orcs take everything from this region already?

: Oh, what now? Looks like we've been discovered. Gee, I wonder how.

Elsewhere...

: DEATH TO THE DRAGONS!

Back at base...

: Incoming! Stand strong, men!

: Oh, nevermind. Just a few grunts.

: What the-? A little overkill, don'tcha think?

: Alright, let's get a workshop and and running before we-

: -Helloooooo?

Gnomish submarines! I'm surprised I haven't touched on these guys yet. You may note that they're... underwater. The submarine is invisible to all units with only a few exceptions, which I'll cover later. As well, their attacks are hitscan, which means they won't be missing whatever they fire at, unlike the rest of the sea units. I like them a lot.

: Let's get this offensive underway.

: An excellent chance to test out our new ship! Sally forth, you brave gnomish troopers.

: Err...?

One of the units that can spot undersea units is an opposing undersea unit. In this case, it's the orcish... uh, giant turtle. Why the orcs have giant turtles is a matter for another time. We'll just leave them as a priority target when you have submarines around.

: Problem solved, I guess.

: Now, let's see what you can do...

: Not bad. I can see some merits to this sort of subterfuge.

: Abort! Abort!

Back at the Strait of Firefist...

: 'Oi? Wha's this now?

: Ruku, look out! It's a-

: SEA DRAGON! Fire!

Also note that the turtles fire torpedoes. And everyone is saying that Warcraft adding pandas is zany? Dude, look at the history.

: Uhh... Ruku...

: Dwarf! Get to the other ship, you moron!

: A seasoned dragon slayer like me? Nay!

: 'Sides, I got backup.

: Alright, the short guy got lucky. In the meantime, I may have a small suggestion, Varin.

: I think I miss being called "Captain Wells."

: ...Look, just let me solve our lumber problem.

: There. With steady lumber supplies coming from that northern island we can-

: Sorry to interrupt you, Gaz, but something far more interesting is happening right now.

: What do you mean?

: CHARGE! ...Mateys.

: Oh good. He's back on the pirate thing.

: Sea dragons! Again? I've got this...

: Wait, Ruku, what are you doing?

: Huuuurrrrraaaah!

: WHAT.

: NO.

: Woo!

: He can't do that! That can't be a thing! I shoot fire from my hands, and I find that completely unbelievable!

: Could ye grab me tha' towel thar?

: What the Nether was that, you diminutive freak!?

: Oh, tha'? Tha's me patented Clan Firefist... uh, firefist. We're better at hittin' things than comin' up wit' names.

: Alright you two, an orcish shipyard is just ahead, think you can pull it together for this?

: Depends. Does Ruku want to punch that, too?

: 'Oi! I'mma dragon slayer, not a shipyard... murderer. Again, not so good wit' names.

: Things aren't looking so good, Varin.

: Seems you're right-

: As always.

: -so I propose a retreat.

: Maybe ye do need me ta punch th' thing into th' ground.

: Varin, it looks like our oil supply line is facing some difficulties.

: Some wayward tankers? I think we'll need more evidence than-

: Ah. Well.

: Always right.

: Ruku, you tend to things along the front line; I'll handle this.

: Ah, just one of those sea turtles. Shouldn't be too difficult to clean up.

A little difficult to see in a single frame here, but the giant turtle just took out my submarine. If you recall, undersea units will allow me to see the other undersea unit. That means without it...

: Ah, dammit all.

: For the love of all that is holy! Where is Ruku now!?

On the front lines...

: Aye, ye shoulda seen it! Punched th' dragon right in th' craw I did, men!

Back on the oil route...

There is another unit that can spot the undersea units: flying units. Typically this means grabbing a nearby scout and wailing on them.

: Ahead of you, Varin! Fire the forward cannons!

: Gaz! You can't imagine how glad I am to see you! But, uh, if you're here... who's watching Ruku?

On the front lines...

: Avast, ye swabs! Tremble now at th' mighty fleet o' Cap'n Ruku, dragonslayer! I figure if Wells can do it, why can't I be a cap'n, too?

: Vengeance! Y'arrr! Onward, men! Plunder an' riches await!

: New target!

: Oooh! Time fer a skirmish on th' high seas.

: Ahem.

: ...Oh, hello, Varin. I was jus'... Uh...

: You've done well, mercenary. However, you could stand to use your head a little bit more for these confrontations.

: That's asking a lot.

: Allow me.

A squadron of subs make for excellent naval assassins. They can launch an attack quickly and dart away before the enemy can get any sight over them. They're especially devastating against massive ships like the battleship and juggernaut.

: See? That's all there is to- Hey!