Warcraft III : The Frozen Throne Warcraft III : The Frozen Throne is an expansion pack of " " developed for Microsoft Windows , Mac OS and Mac OS X by Blizzard Entertainment . Released in stores worldwide in multiple languages beginning on July 1 , 2003 , it details Arthas ' transformation into the Lich King , Illidan ' s awakening of the naga , the conversion of the blood elves , the breakdown of Horde - Alliance relations in Kalimdor , and more . " The Frozen Throne " takes place approximately one year after " " , whilst " World of Warcraft " takes place three years after the events detailed in " The Frozen Throne " . " The Frozen Throne " continues some of the loose ends of the original game , as well as spins off some new plots of its own and paves way for the new conflict of " World of Warcraft " , as well as set plots further explored in " World of Warcraft " ' s expansions : " " and " " . Story . Sentinels Campaign : Terror of the Tides . The Warden Maiev Shadowsong pursues the former prisoner Illidan Stormrage across Azeroth . Illidan has gained the allegiance of the naga , former night elves who adapted to underwater life , but they do not stop Maiev , who pursues Illidan from Kalimdor to the Tomb of Sargeras , then all the way to Lordaeron . During her chase , she asks the assistance of Malfurion Stormrage and Tyrande Whisperwind , but Maiev holds a grudge against Tyrande for her actions in releasing Illidan in the first place , culminating in her lying about Tyrande ' s death to Malfurion . Malfurion and Maiev successfully prevent Illidan from using the Eye of Sargeras , with the help of a blood elf , Kael ' thas Sunstrider , but in the process , Maiev ' s treachery comes out , and the brothers Stormrage join forces to save their mutual beloved . Malfurion then pardons Illidan , though he does not revoke his exile , and Illidan departs . . . with Maiev still dogging at his heels . Alliance Campaign : Curse of the Blood Elves . The Alliance ( the humans are not the main characters ) Campaign follows the adventures of Prince Kael ' thas , leader of the Blood Elves , a group of high elves that survived the invasion of Quel ' Thalas by the Scourge . Originally helping the Alliance , the Blood Elves are imprisoned by a racist Human knight , Lord Garithos , and are eventually rescued by Lady Vashj and her Naga . Vashj then takes Kael ' thas to the Outland , the remnants of the orc realm Draenor , to meet ( and free ) their master , Illidan . After fending off Maiev ( again ) and gaining the allegiance of the native Draenei , Illidan is able to conquer the Outland , where he hopes he will be safe from his failure to use the Eye of Sargeras to destroy the Frozen Throne . But his master , the demon lord Kil ' jaeden , catches them nonetheless , and the episode ends with Illidan renewing his vow to destroy the Lich King . The human forces in this campaign are very different than the ones used in the multiplayer game . Instead of the full Alliance , only the blood elven units are available , with the addition of a few new units and a blood elf hero added to the expansion pack . The draenei and the naga , with their lone heroes , are also eventually playable . Scourge Campaign : Legacy of the Damned . In the blighted lands of Lordaeron , now known as the Plaguelands , a civil war is taking place within the Scourge . The undead forces splinter into three major factions : Arthas and Kel ' Thuzad , who are loyal to the Lich King ; the Forsaken , led by the Banshee Queen Sylvanas Windrunner ; and a third group still loyal to the Burning Legion , led by the Dreadlords ( Nathrezim ) who are unaware of the Legion ' s defeat on Mt . Hyjal . The campaign switches between Arthas ' journey to Northrend to assist the Lich King , and Sylvanas ' war against the Dreadlords for control of the Plaguelands . In the end , Sylvanas emerges as the nominal ruler of the Plaguelands , while Arthas travels to Northrend to defend the Lich King , meeting the subterranean Nerubian race , and eventually defeating Illidan in a one - on - one duel . ( Contrary to popular belief , and the release of TBC , Illidan survived . ) Arthas then ascends to the Frozen Throne and becomes one with the Lich King . What becomes of this unholy union is addressed in " World of Warcraft " . Bonus Campaign : The Founding of Durotar . The Bonus Campaign is a departure from the rest of the game and featured the three longest campaigns in the game . It has features more like an RPG similar to " Diablo " , featuring a Beastmaster named Rexxar as he helps the orcs defend and develop their new home of Durotar from various enemies . The Bonus Campaign is probably meant as a bridge between the traditional " Warcraft " real - time strategy genre to the latest release of Blizzard , the MMORPG of " World of Warcraft " . It was also created because the game ' s designers were having trouble getting the orcs involved in the main plot of " The Frozen Throne " , and the RPG - style allowed Blizzard to show off many of the new features added in the World Editor , as an example of how custom maps can differ greatly from standard melee maps . The player controls a group of two to four heroes , primarily Rexxar and a troll Shadow Hunter named Rokhan . The player can also gain permanent control of a pandaren Brewmaster named Chen Stormstout and the tauren Chieftain Cairne Bloodhoof , as well as temporary control of Far Seer Drek ' Thar , Blademaster Samuro , Jaina Proudmoore , and Cairne ' s son , Baine Bloodhoof . Maps are interconnected , with each one being set up as various areas of Kalimdor , such as the orc fortress city of Orgrimmar , and a human city on the Theramore Isles . Initially , only one of the three acts was included in the game , allowing Blizzard to spend more time on the remaining two after release . Each act was expected to be released in a subsequent patch , but , due to delays in patch development , they were both finished and included in the first major patch in the expansion . Development . Warcraft III : The Frozen Throne was originally announced on January 22 , 2003 . On February 14 , 2003 , Blizzard announced the first beta test for the game , which offered 10 , 000 players to sample the game . On March 10 , 2003 , 10 , 000 more players were selected to participate in the beta test . On May 29 , 2003 , Blizzard announced that the expansion set had " gone gold " . And was released in July 1 , 2003 . " The Frozen Throne " started at the version 1 . 07 of the game ( by the time the game actually shipped patch 1 . 10 was downloadable ) , but there have been many patches after the expansion was released . Important changes , beside gameplay and World Editor changes , include the addition of some new maps in patches 1 . 17 , 1 . 18 , 1 . 19 , 1 . 21 and 1 . 22 ; and the new neutral heroes Goblin Tinker , Goblin Alchemist and Firelord in patches 1 . 15 and 1 . 17 . In patch 1 . 13 the Acts II and III of the Bonus campaign were added . The patch 1 . 21b allowed the game to be played without the official CD . Due to the patch 1 . 23 , many third - party programs were rendered unusable and it also disabled collided maps , which would make modified custom maps appear to be the same as the original . Another effect of the patch , which is not included in the release notes , is that custom maps with large filenames will not appear in the game . The limit is believed to be 20 characters , but this has not yet been tested . The 1 . 23 patch included no actual changes to gameplay but rather dealt with security concerns relating to multiplayer hacks . The 1 . 24 patch and the subsequent and the 1 . 24a , 1 . 24b and 1 . 24c patches followed suit , also dealing with malicious code that could be contained in custom maps . Consequentially , many older maps using custom text rather than standard triggers may no longer work until updated . Hash Tables were added to the World Editor to compensate for some of the lost functionality . Patch CD ? There was a CD made to patch ( possibly patch 1 . 17a which includes patches 1 . 15 and 1 . 17 ? ) the game with the new Goblin and Firelord neutral heroes . The CD has given much confusion that it is another expansion to Warcraft III : The Frozen Throne due to the CD having its own CD art and title named " Warcraft III : Goblin & Firelord " with words saying Expansion To Warcraft 3 Frozen Throne : Goblin & Firelord put in it but this CD was actually just the patch . Awards and ratings . " The Frozen Throne " has an average rating of 90 . 75 % on Game Rankings and received the following ratings and awards by the listed companies :