Wind Rider (Warcraft III)

The sentient Wyverns of Kalimdor were eager to ally themselves with the Shamanistic Horde. Impressed by the Orcs' commitment to honor and victory, the Wyverns allowed the Orcs to ride them into combat against those who would disturb the tranquility of Kalimdor and its denizens. The Wyverns, who share a common ancestry with both Dragons and Gryphons, use their powerful talons and razor-like fangs against both airborne attackers and ground troops.

Wind Riders are popular among Orc players because they possess high all-around damage which is particularly effective against ground units. This comes into play when under the effects of Bloodlust and Envenomed Spears researched, as not only the rider attacks significantly faster, the poison from their attacks also weakens the enemy over time which deals significant damage if no healers are present.

In Reign of Chaos, they're called "Wyvern Riders" instead.

As medium air units with a somewhat slow attack if not under the effects of Bloodlust, Gargoyles, Hippogryphs, Flying Machines are the best counters against them by overwhelming them with numbers. Troll Batriders may also be used.

• Counters

• Research E nvenomed Spears (Passive)
• Adds an additional poison effect to the Wind Rider's Attack. A unit poisoned by the Envenomed Spear takes an additional 4 damage per second over 25 seconds.

• Highly mobile flying creature. Excellent at scouting. Can learn Envenomed Spears.

• See Warcraft III Wind Rider quotes