Dreadlord

• Death Knight
• Dreadlord
• Lich
• Crypt Lord

[e][h] Dreadlord
(Dread Lord)

Heroes Information

Attributes

20 +2.50

16 +1

18 +2.50

22 - 32

3

Primary Attribute

Base Stats

Movement Speed:

300

Sight Range:

1800 / 800

Attack Range:

Melee

Turn Rate:

0.50

Hotkey:

E

Icon

Level Changes

Level:

1

5

10

Hit Points:

600

850

1150

HP Regen.: (+2.00 on Blight)

1

1.5

2.1

Mana:

270

420

600

Mana Regen.:

0.91

1.41

2.01

Armor:

3

4

6

Damage:

22 - 32

32 - 42

44 - 54

Cooldown:

1.36

1.29

1.2

Dread Lords are incredibly powerful demons who wield the powers of darkness and mental domination. These cunning, malefic beings once served as the demon Kil'jaeden's most trusted lieutenants. Yet, at Kil'jaeden's request, the vampiric Dread Lords were sent to watch over the Lich King Ner'zhul, and ensure that he carried out his orders to sow chaos in the mortal world. Though Dread Lords have been known to revel in the gore of single combat, they generally prefer to manipulate and beguile their enemies from the shadows.

The dread lord is not a very popular hero for top undead players in 1v1, with most pro players preferring to go Death Knight or Lich first. It can be chosen as a third hero in 1v1 as a support hero for the DK+Lich combo, mostly for games where mass gargoyles are used. Dread lords are more popular in team games like 2v2 and 4v4 because both Carrion Swarm and Vampiric Aura are stronger in team games where there are more units that can be affected by these abilities. In team games, a popular strategy is going solo dread lord, getting a fast expansion and going into mass gargoyles.

The dread lord's key early game strength and what makes him a strong hero choice for fast expansion is his Sleep ability, which allows the player to go for easy surrounds on enemy heroes, resulting in a kill or forcing them to use their scroll of town portal in the early game. The constant threat of being "sleep surrounded" means enemy heroes are forced to stay out of reach of your dread lord, thus allowing you to get your early expansion up safely.

Many players choose to go dread lord solo so they can quickly get him to lvl6 and unleash the iconic Infernal on unprepared enemies. The infernal is one of the best, if not the very best summon in Warcraft III. A single infernal can singlehandedly take on a whole army by himself with his chaos damage and Immolation passive ability, and is incredibly hard to kill due to it having magic immunity, 6 armor and 1,500 health.

If you want to get a second hero to support your dread lord, the Death Knight is by far your best option for healing. However keep in mind that getting multiple heroes means your dread lord will receive less experience, making it more difficult for him to reach lvl6 quickly. In a battle, it's probably way better to have an infernal than a lvl2 Death Knight or Lich!

Abilities

Carrion Swarm
	Cast Type : Active  Ability Type:  Magical Target Type : Point Target  Damage Type:  Magic Sends a horde of bats to damage enemies.
Cast Requirements : 100 10 s  Range:  700 Targets Allowed : Ground, Air, Enemy, Organic, Mechanical Area of Effect : 100 Damage : 75 / 125 / 200 Damage Cap : 400/700/1200 Hotkey : C

Notes:

• Carrion Swarm can cause great damage to enemy units, especially low hit point units such as ranged units and casters. While many players prefer Sleep, Sleep can only put an enemy unit out of action for a limited time. Also enemy players can just wake up their unit that has been slept. Carrion Swarm on the other hand can noticeably take a large chunk out of the enemy.
• Carrion Swarm is also useful if another allied Dread Lord in the game is using Vampiric Aura. That frees up some points you can place in Carrion Swarm since they already have Vampiric Aura covered.

• Carrion Swarm does not hit wards.

Sleep
	Cast Type : Active  Ability Type:  Magical Target Type : Unit Target Puts a target enemy unit to sleep. A sleeping unit can be awoken by attacking it.
Cast Requirements : 80 / 65 / 50 4 s  Range:  800 Targets Allowed : Air, Ground, Enemy, Organic, Neutral Duration : 15 (4) / 35 (8) / 55 (12) s Invulnerability Duration : 2 seconds Hotkey : E

Notes:

• Sleep is an incredibly powerful spell. Good use of Sleep can help determine the outcome of the game. Use Sleep on enemy Heroes to put them out of action. Use Sleep on Heroes that are attempting to run away. Surround them with your Ghouls or Abominations then attack them once they are trapped. Cast Sleep on the most powerful enemy units to take them out of the battle. This can often turn the tide of the battle in your favor. Cast Sleep on the most powerful Creeps before attacking them. You can cast Sleep again on the enemy after they have awoken. This is truly one of the most annoying spells to the enemy. This spell is even more powerful with multiple allied Dread Lords. They can put a whole army to sleep!
• Use Sleep on Heroes trying to cast spells that must be maintained such as Blizzard, Death and Decay, Tranquility, Starfall, and Earthquake. This will stop the enemy from casting these spells.

Vampiric Aura
	Cast Type : Aura Target Type : No Target Nearby friendly melee units gain hit points when they hit a unit.
Targets Allowed : Air, Ground, Friend, Self, Organic, Vulnerable, Invulnerable Area of Effect : 900 Lifesteal : 20/35/50 % Hotkey : V

Notes:

• The Vampiric Aura works very well with Ghouls. The Vampiric Aura is especially useful in large team games with allied Grunts, Footmen, Knights, Tauren, and Bears. Be reminded that Vampiric Aura doesn't work with ranged units so it's not useful with Crypt Fiends or any other ranged units.

Inferno
	Cast Type : Active  Ability Type:  Universal Target Type : Area Target  Damage Type:  Universal Calls an Infernal down from the sky, dealing 50 damage and stunning enemy land units for 4 seconds in an area. The Infernal lasts 180 seconds.
Cast Requirements : 175 180 s  Range:  900 Targets Allowed : Ground, Structure, Enemy, Neutral Area of Effect : 250 Stun Duration (Hero) : 4 (2) seconds Impact Damage : 50 Impact Delay : 1 second Summoned Unit : Infernal Summon Duration : 180 seconds Notes : Inferno destroys trees. Hotkey : N

Notes:

• Inferno is an awesome ultimate ability since you gain control of an Infernal. Infernals have permanent Immolation and do Chaos damage which allows them to do full damage to all armor types including buildings!
• Inferno is useful for clearing trees. Cast it on a section of trees you wish to Clear.

• Inferno is useful for casting on an enemy army. It's a great way to spawn in the Infernal because enemy units in the area of effect take damage and are stunned when Infernal lands.

• Inferno can be used to interrupt spells that must be channeled.

Version History

Balance Patch History
Version	Release	Balance Changes
1.36.1	2023-11-20	Dreadlord move speed increased from 290 to 300.
1.29.0	2018-04-10	Dreadlord Carrion Swarm mana cost reduced from 110 to 100; maximum damage increased from 300/600/1000 to 400/700/1200; can now target mechanical units. Dreadlord's movement speed increased from 270 to 290. Dreadlord Sleep cooldown reduced from 6 to 4 sec; mana cost reduced from 100/75/50 to 80/65/50. Dreadlord Vampiric Aura Increased life steal from 15/30/45% to 20/35/50%. Dreadlord Sleep duration decreased from 20(5)/40(10)/60(15) to 15(4)/35(8)/55(12).
1.17	2004-09-20	Line damage spells such as Shockwave, Carrion Swarm, Breath of Fire, and Breath of Frost no longer damage a targeted friendly unit.
1.10	2003-07-03	Carrion Swarm max damage reduced to 300/600/1000 from 375/700/1000 and damage per target reduced to 75/125/200 from 100/150/200.
1.06	2003-06-03	Carrion Swarm max damage increased to 375/700/1000 from 300/550/800. Carrion Swarm no longer hits wards.
1.04	2002-11-04	Sleep duration decreased on Hero units to 5/10/15 from 10/20/30.

Games

• Dreadlord first
• Dreadlord second
• Dreadlord third

The most recent games with Dreadlord first are

Inspired  |	vs.	|  GodFather
Game 1 on Hammerfall Round 3 - Inspired vs GodFather in B2W Weekly Cup 126
EchoGoodman  |	vs.	|  Griesfrei
Game 1 on Twisted Meadows Round 1 - EchoGoodman vs Griesfrei in B2W Weekly Cup 126
eer0  |	vs.	|  Fortitude
Game 3 on Autumn Leaves Grand Final - Eer0 vs Fortitude in B Cup 12 - Showmatch
Sheepy  |	vs.	|  tenti
Game 1 on Turtle Rock - Sheepy vs Tenti in Japan
Flyshow  |	vs.	|  tenti
Game 1 on Twisted Meadows - Flyshow vs Tenti in Japan

The most recent games with Dreadlord second are

Marlon  |	vs.	|  MINTOSU
Game 1 on Twisted Meadows - Marlon vs MINTOSU in Japan
Sheik  |	vs.	|  HawK
Game 3 on Twisted Meadows Semifinals - Sheik vs HawK in B2W Weekly Cup - June 2024
x3-DemoN  |	vs.	|  HeHaBucT1
Game 3 on Springtime Upper Bracket Quarterfinals - X3-DemoN vs HeHaBucT1 in Slide Cup 1
x3-DemoN  |	vs.	|  HeHaBucT1
Game 2 on Shallow Grave Upper Bracket Quarterfinals - X3-DemoN vs HeHaBucT1 in Slide Cup 1
x3-DemoN  |	vs.	|  HeHaBucT1
Game 1 on Hammerfall Upper Bracket Quarterfinals - X3-DemoN vs HeHaBucT1 in Slide Cup 1

The most recent games with Dreadlord third are

eer0  |	vs.	|  Fortitude
Game 4 on Hammerfall Lower Bracket Final - Eer0 vs Fortitude in Warcraft 3 All-Star League - S1
LabyRinth  |	vs.	|  Blade
Game 2 on Terenas Stand LV Grand Final - LabyRinth vs Blade in Warcraft 3 All-Star League - S1
Cas  |	vs.	|  GoDRieN
Game 2 on Twisted Meadows Quarterfinals - Cas vs GoDRieN in NA Cup 6
PaTo  |	vs.	|  KraV
Game 2 on Shallow Grave Grand Final - PaTo vs KraV in B2W Weekly Cup - July 2024
Rivendell  |	vs.	|  MisterWinner
Game 3 on Twisted Meadows Upper Bracket Semifinals - Rivendell vs MisterWinner in Slide Cup 2

External links

Articles

• 2019-06-27 |  Dread Lord First - Strategy Overview by RehcraM of Warcraft3.info

References

http://classic.battle.net/war3/undead/units/dreadlord.shtml