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For lore about raiders, see raider.
Raider
Race Orc and Wolf
Faction Orcish Horde
Statistics
Hit points 610
Hit point regeneration Always
Hit point regeneration rate 0.25 HP/sec.
Unit Classified As Ground
Level 3
Gold 180 Gold
Lumber 40 Lumber
Food 3 Food
Produced at Beastiary
Build time 28 sec.
Attacking priority 6
Hotkey R
Combat
Weapon(s) Warblade
Normal attack 23-27 (25 avg)
Can attack Ground, Structure, Debris, Item, Ward
Range 10 (Melee)
Attack type Siege
Cooldown 1.85 sec.
Weapon type Normal
Armor Type Flesh
Defense Type Medium
Armor 1
Day Sight 140
Night Sight 80
Movement Speed Fast (350)
Sound
Sound Set Wolfrider
WC3RoC-logo
This article contains lore taken from Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, the manuals, and/or official bonus maps.

Raiders were once considered to be the most honored warriors of the Horde. Yet, just prior to the Second War, Gul'dan the Warlock masterminded the disbanding of the Raiders. Now, after many long years, the young Warchief Thrall has decided to train a new generation. These mighty warriors carry hefty warblades into combat and rely greatly upon the cunning and ferocity of their faithful Wolf mounts to defeat their enemies.

Information[]

Raiders, as their name suggests, specialize in raiding the enemy by destroying their buildings. They possess fairly high health with a siege melee attack, making them the mobile counterpart of the Human Steam Tank. Before sending out Raiders to harass enemy settlements, it is important to research Pillage so that the Raiders generate resources while attacking enemy buildings. The resources gained from pillaging allow for further research or additional units in the army, especially as many players usually won't have towers defending their town hall early/midway through a game.

Raiders can also learn Ensnare, which allows them to net an enemy unit. Ensnared enemies cannot perform any action other than attacking and casting spells, which allows them to grab any fleeing enemies or stop workers from repairing buildings. Ensnared air units will be brought to the ground and can be attacked by melee units.

Unfortunately, Raiders aren't suitable for anything else due to their siege melee attack which deals reduced damage against non-fortified armor types. They also have medium type armor which makes them die fairly fast to other units.

If the map contains a Goblin Laboratory, Raiders work especially well with the aid of Goblin Zeppelins as it allows them to bypass enemy buildings who may surround their town hall to make aiming it harder. However, additional aerial units should be brought alongside the zeppelins so that they are less likely to be destroyed.

Spells and abilities[]

Ensnare[]

BTNEnsnare
Causes a target enemy unit to be bound to the ground so that it cannot move. Air units that are ensnared can be attacked as though they were land units.
Research Cost Researched At Upgrade Time
50 Gold 75 Lumber Beastiary 40 sec.
Duration (Hero) Cooldown Range Allowed Targets Effect
9 (3) sec. 15 sec. 50 Ground, Air, Enemy, Neutral Target caught by net

Ensnare works on all enemy units, including Heroes (although with shorter duration). Ensnare works similarly to the Crypt Fiend's Web ability, but Ensnare can hit any target, although the unit can still attack any unit in range. Use Ensnare on melee units. This will temporarily stop them from moving around as easily and prevents them from using their bulk to tank incoming attacks.

Ensnare also works on enemy workers, which will stop them from repairing buildings if they are doing so. Use it on them when the enemy attempts to repair a building.

Pillage (Passive)[]

PASBTNPillage

Each attack that does damage to a building also gains resources.

Pillage returns 50% of the cost of the building if you destroy it at full health.
Research Cost Researched At Upgrade Time
75 Gold 25 Lumber Great Hall/Stronghold/Fortress 60 sec.

Pillage also works on buildings even if the enemy left the match (and would turn them into a neutral passive-hostile faction). Many players in large free-for-all matches generally ignore destroying them, which means free resources for the Raiders.

Upgrades[]

BTNOrcMeleeUpOne
Steel Melee Weapons
Increases the melee attack damage of Grunts, Raiders and Tauren.
Research Cost Researched At Upgrade Time Effect
100 Gold 75 Lumber War Mill 60 sec. Normal attack: 24-32 (28 avg)
BTNOrcMeleeUpTwo
Thorium Melee Weapons
Further increases the melee attack damage of Grunts, Raiders and Tauren.
Research Cost Researched At Requirements Upgrade Time Effect
150 Gold 150 Lumber War Mill Stronghold 75 sec. Normal attack: 25-37 (31 avg)
BTNOrcMeleeUpThree
Arcanite Melee Weapons
Further increases the melee attack damage of Grunts, Raiders and Tauren.
Research Cost Researched At Requirements Upgrade Time Effect
200 Gold 225 Lumber War Mill Fortress 90 sec. Normal attack: 26-42 (34 avg)
BTNSteelArmor
Steel Unit Armor
Increases the armor of Grunts, Raiders, Troll Batriders, Tauren, Troll Headhunters, Troll Berserkers, Wind Riders and Demolishers.
Research Cost Researched At Upgrade Time Effect
150 Gold 75 Lumber War Mill 60 sec. Armor: 3
BTNThoriumArmor
Thorium Unit Armor
Further increases the armor of Grunts, Raiders, Troll Batriders, Tauren, Troll Headhunters, Troll Berserkers, Wind Riders and Demolishers.
Research Cost Researched At Requirements Upgrade Time Effect
225 Gold 200 Lumber War Mill Stronghold 75 sec. Armor: 5
BTNArcaniteArmor
Arcanite Unit Armor
Further increases the armor of Grunts, Raiders, Troll Batriders, Tauren, Troll Headhunters, Troll Berserkers, Wind Riders and Demolishers.
Research Cost Researched At Requirements Upgrade Time Effect
300 Gold 325 Lumber War Mill Fortress 90 sec. Armor: 7
BTNPackBeast
Backpack
Gives the ability to carry up to two items. Items carried by the unit will be dropped upon death.
Units can not use or gain benefits of items that they carry.
Research Cost Researched At Requires Upgrade Time
50 Gold 25 Lumber Townhall-type Structure Player-built Shop 20 sec.

Manual description[]

Note: The description is very similar to the one in Battle.net, but differs in some sentences.

The marauding, wolf-riding raiders were once considered to be the most honored warriors of the horde. Yet, just prior to the Second War, Gul'dan disbanded the raiders. Now, after many long years, the young warchief Thrall has decided to train a new generation of wolf riders. These mighty warriors carry hefty warblades into combat and rely greatly upon the cunning and ferocity of their faithful dire-wolf mounts to defeat their enemies.

World Editor description[]

Highly mobile wolf rider. Effective against buildings. Can learn the Ensnare ability.

Quotes[]

Gallery[]

Patch changes[]

  • WC3tFT-logo Patch 1.25b (2011-03-08): Ensnare Cooldown increased to 16 from 12.
  • WC3tFT-logo Patch 1.19 (2005-09-19): Ensnare duration reduced to 12 seconds from 15 seconds.
  • WC3tFT-logo Patch 1.10 (2003-07-03):
    • Ensnare duration increased to 15 from 12, and range increased to 500 from 400.
    • The Frozen Throne
      • Raiders now have a base armor of 1, up from 0.
  • WC3RoC-logo Patch 1.06 (2003-06-03):
    • Raiders now have light armor instead of heavy armor.
    • Raider Ensnare lasts 12 seconds, down from 20 seconds, and has a cooldown of 12 seconds, down from 20 seconds.

See also[]

External links[]

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