- For lore, see Druids of the Talon.
These secretive Druids have adopted the totem of the Crow. Their primary role in society is information gathering and intelligence. They have the ability to transform into Storm Crows and fly over the field of battle to scout and deliver orders to distant troops. Their magical spell-like abilities are capable of channeling even the winds to fight against the enemies of Kalimdor.
Information
A supporting spellcaster unit, the Talon druids are seldom used by Night Elf players. However, they can be quite feared when put in the hands of a skilled player.
The druids start off in their humanoid form and come with Faerie Fire. This spell reduces the armor of the targeted unit by 4 and also grants them vision of that unit as if they were their own. The spell works extremely well with high-damage units like Chimaeras, as the reduced armor means their attacks deal even more damage against the enemy. They use a weak auto-attack and being spellcasters, only benefit from magic upgrades.
In their aerial form, the Talon druid transforms into a crow, where he transforms from a supporting spellcaster to a ranged anti-air unit, dealing higher damage, though limited to air units. Despite this, it is very powerful against most air units due to the high damage and the fact that many heavy air units have light armor, making them take more damage from their attacks. The druid also loses access to his spells unless Mark of the Talon is researched, which allows them to retain Faerie Fire in their crow form.
Cyclone is by far the most strongest skill - though it makes the targeted unit invulnerable and can only be cast on ground units, it disables them for 20 seconds and cannot be dispelled. When facing a powerful ground army, the druids help lower the amount of potential targets for you or your allies to pick off the remaining units easily. When the affected units return to solid ground, they'll then be greeted with a large number of hostile faces and be killed before they even knew what happened.
Spells and abilities
Night Elf Form
- Transforms the Druid into a Night Elf, allowing him to cast spells.
|
Duration |
Mana Cost |
Effect
|
1.45 sec. |
25 |
Transform into Night Elf Form.
|
|
- When in Night Elf Form he may cast these spells
Faerie Fire
- Reduces a target enemy unit's armor by 4 and gives vision of that unit.
Duration (Hero) |
Cooldown |
Mana Cost |
Range |
Allowed Targets |
Effect
|
70 (40) sec. |
1 sec. |
45 |
70 |
Air, Ground, Enemy, Neutral |
Target's armor -4, shares vision
|
|
Storm Crow Form
- Transforms the Druid into a storm crow, giving him the ability to fly. While in Storm Crow Form he cannot cast any spells until you have researched Mark of the Talon.
|
Duration |
Mana Cost |
Effect |
Requirements
|
0.45 sec. |
25 |
Transform into Storm Crow Form |
Druid of the Talon Adept Training
|
|
Cyclone
- Tosses a target enemy unit into the air, rendering it unable to move, attack or cast spells, and stopping others from attacking or casting on it.
Duration (Hero) |
Cooldown |
Mana Cost |
Range |
Allowed Targets |
Effect |
Requirements
|
20 (6) sec. |
5 sec. |
150 |
60 |
Ground, Enemy, Neutral, Organic |
Unit is stuck in a Cyclone. |
Druid of the Talon Master Training
|
|
Upgrades
- Druid of the Talon Adept Training
- Increases mana capacity by 100, mana regeneration rate by 30%, hit points by 40 and gives them the ability Storm Crow Form.
- Stats increase affects only Druid Form.
Research Cost |
Researched At |
Upgrade Time |
Effect
|
100 50 |
Ancient of Wind |
60 sec. |
Hit Points: 340 Mana: 300 (Initial 112.5) Mana Regen Rate: 0.99 Mana/sec. Spell Learned: Storm Crow Form
|
-
- Druid of the Talon Master Training
- Further increases mana capacity by 100, mana regeneration rate by 30%, hit points by 40 and gives them the ability to cast Cyclone.
- Stats increase affects in both Forms.
Research Cost |
Researched At |
Requirements |
Upgrade Time |
Effect
|
100 150 |
Ancient of Wind |
Druid of the Talon Adept Training, Tree of Eternity |
75 sec. |
Hit Points: 380 Mana: 400 (Initial 150) Mana Regen Rate: 1.31 Mana/sec. Spell Learned: Cyclone
|
-
- Mark of the Talon
- Allows Druids of the Talon to cast Faerie Fire while in Storm Crow Form.
Research Cost |
Researched At |
Requirements |
Upgrade Time |
Effect
|
25 100 |
Ancient of Wind |
Druid of the Talon Master Training |
20 sec. |
Spell Learned in Storm Crow Form: Faerie Fire
|
- Strength of the Wild
- Increases the damage of Druids of the Claw in Bear Form, Druids of the Talon in Storm Crow Form, Dryads, Mountain Giants, Faerie Dragons, Hippogryphs, and Chimaeras.
Research Cost |
Researched At |
Upgrade Time |
Effect
|
100 75 |
Hunter's Hall |
60 sec. |
Normal attack: 36-48 (42 avg)
|
-
- Improved Strength of the Wild
- Further increases the damage of Druids of the Claw in Bear Form, Druids of the Talon in Storm Crow Form, Dryads, Mountain Giants, Faerie Dragons, Hippogryphs, and Chimaeras.
Research Cost |
Researched At |
Requirements |
Upgrade Time |
Effect
|
175 175 |
Hunter's Hall |
Tree of Ages |
75 sec. |
Normal attack: 37-55 (46 avg)
|
-
- Advanced Strength of the Wild
- Further increases the damage of Druids of the Claw in Bear Form, Druids of the Talon in Storm Crow Form, Dryads, Mountain Giants, Faerie Dragons, Hippogryphs, and Chimaeras.
Research Cost |
Researched At |
Requirements |
Upgrade Time |
Effect
|
250 275 |
Hunter's Hall |
Tree of Eternity |
90 sec. |
Normal attack: 38-62 (50 avg)
|
- Reinforced Hides
- Increases the armor of Druids of the Claw in Bear Form, Druids of the Talon in Storm Crow Form, Dryads, Mountain Giants, Faerie Dragons, Hippogryphs, and Chimaeras.
Research Cost |
Researched At |
Upgrade Time |
Effect
|
150 50 |
Hunter's Hall |
60 sec. |
Armor: 2
|
-
- Improved Reinforced Hides
- Further increases the armor of Druids of the Claw in Bear Form, Druids of the Talon in Storm Crow Form, Dryads, Mountain Giants, Faerie Dragons, Hippogryphs, and Chimaeras.
Research Cost |
Researched At |
Requirements |
Upgrade Time |
Effect
|
200 150 |
Hunter's Hall |
Tree of Ages |
75 sec. |
Armor: 4
|
-
- Advanced Reinforced Hides
- Further increases the armor of Druids of the Claw in Bear Form, Druids of the Talon in Storm Crow Form, Dryads, Mountain Giants, Faerie Dragons, Hippogryphs, and Chimaeras.
Research Cost |
Researched At |
Requirements |
Upgrade Time |
Effect
|
250 250 |
Hunter's Hall |
Tree of Eternity |
90 sec. |
Armor: 6
|
- Ultravision
- Gives Night Elves the ability to see as far at night as they do during the day.
Research Cost |
Researched At |
Requirements |
Upgrade Time |
Effect
|
50 50 |
Hunter's Hall |
Tree of Ages |
45 sec. |
Night Sight: 140 (Druid Form) 160 (Storm Crow Form)
|
|
- 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 25 |
Townhall-type Structure |
Player-built Shop |
20 sec.
|
|
Backpack is unavailable in Storm Crow form.
Any items in the inventory will be dropped when transforming.
Quotes
Trivia
- Druids of the Talon are voiced by Michael Bell.
- In the late Warcraft III beta, the Druid of the Talon had a different model. After the Arch Druid hero unit was cut, the Druid of the Talon was given a modified version of the Arch Druid's model instead.
- The official Warcraft III website depicts the Druid of the Talon with antlers much like the Arch Druid, whereas the in-game model lacks them.
Gallery
Old model casting Crow Form.
Patch changes
- Patch 1.25b (2011-03-08): Faerie Fire duration decreased to 90 from 120.
- Patch 1.17 (2004-09-20): Faerie Fire armor debuff reduced to 4 from 5.
- Patch 1.15 (2004-05-10):
- Faerie Fire cooldown increased to 1 from 0.
- Faerie Fire mana cost increased to 45 from 35.
- Patch 1.10 (2003-07-03): Cyclone no longer affects mechanical units.
- Patch 1.06 (2003-06-03):
- Most spellcasters (Sorceress, Priest, Shaman, Witch Doctor, Necromancer, Banshee, Druid of the Talon) have been re-balanced. In general, units with piercing damage rip up spellcasters, while basic melee units, such as Ghouls or Footmen, are weak against spellcasters. The specific changes to the units in question are:
- They have a new armor type, unarmored, which takes bonus damage from siege and piercing attacks.
- They also have a new damage type, magic, which does reduced damage to fortified and hero armor, but does bonus damage against medium armor.
- They had their damage adjusted, typically downwards.
- They no longer gain damage as they go up in level, and gain less hitpoints as they go up in level (but start with more hitpoints when initially built)
- Many autocast buffs and debuff costs reduced.
- Casters, including Dryads, have had their mana regeneration rates boosted by 30%.
- Cyclone duration on units increased to 15 from 10.
- Faerie Fire cost reduced to 35 from 75.
- Patch 1.04 (2002-11-04):
- Cyclone duration reduced to 10/5.5 from 30/6 (normal unit/Hero units).
- Druid of the Talon (in Night Elf form) acquisition range increased to 700 from 600, improving the frequency with which Faerie Fire is auto-cast.
External links
Battle.net Warcraft III - Night Elves -> Units -> Druid of the Talon
es:Druida de la Garra