Watch tower

For the human towers, see Scout tower.

Razor Hill Watchtower during the Darkspear Rebellion.

Watch towers (also spelled watchtowers) are insubstantial but highly useful lookout posts mostly used by the Horde. The role of defending orcish settlements is shared between them and the bunker-styled burrow.

Second War

This section concerns content related to Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness or its expansion Beyond the Dark Portal.

Main article: Watch Tower (Warcraft II)

Rising high above the treeline, watch towers resembled primitive huts laced with animal bones and giant tusks of every kind. These insubstantial - but highly useful - lookout posts were ideal for spotting the cowardly and deceitful human forces from above, making them a desired part of any orcish settlement's defenses. These emplacements could be upgraded to loose deadly projectiles upon any approaching enemies, or to rain explosive death down upon their foes on land and sea...^[1]

Third War

This section concerns content related to Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos or its expansion The Frozen Throne.

Main article: Watch Tower (Warcraft III)

Watch towers can be used to guard embattled orcish settlements, and provide static defense against land and air attacks.^[2]

Unlike during the events of the Second War, the orcish watch tower started already armed and couldn't be upgraded to a guard tower or a cannon tower. Also, the Centaur Marauders had access to their own watch towers.^[3]

Special Orgrimmar Watch Towers were built during the Invasion of Durotar.

World of Warcraft

A watch tower in the Barrens.

This section concerns content related to the original World of Warcraft.

Orcish watch towers are extremely common in World of Warcraft and can be found all over Azeroth, Outland and alternate Draenor, anywhere orcs also are. A named one is the Razor Hill Watchtower. Fortified towers can also be found in the Alterac Valley battleground, like the Iceblood Tower. Finally, the Mag'har are known for having a different architecture, including their own watch tower style. As seen in many Horde settlements, these towers are equipped with a system of pulleys to bring heavy supplies all the way up to the cabin.

Troll watch towers identical to the orcish ones can be found, such as at the entrance to Zul'Gurub and at Sandsorrow Watch in Tanaris.

The humans are also known to build tall wooden structures resembling the orcish watch towers. There is no way to get up into them and they are strictly used for show. Examples of these can be found in Fray Island, Alcaz Island, Light's Point, Scalawag Point and Marshal's Stand.

Trivia

In the canceled Warcraft Adventures, it was shown that some watch towers had been repurposed into windmills in the orcish reservations.
The early alpha watch tower model in World of Warcraft was more primitive. One such example of the tower can be found at Brackenwall Village. Troll villages also use it sparingly.