Building on the success of the original Warcraft, Blizzard crafted Tides of Darkness into a genre-defining real-time strategy experience. Players could command vast armies across land, sea, and air, employing new strategies with expanded unit types and magic spells. The gripping narrative, told from both the Human and Orcish perspectives, immersed players in a world of high fantasy and war. With refined multiplayer and map editors, Warcraft II set the standard for RTS gaming for years to come.