The enchanted Dryads are the daughters of the Night Elf demigod, Cenarius. The playful, frolicking creatures vaguely resemble centaurs (their cursed cousins), but have bodies more akin to woodland fauns. They are swift and sure and are at peace with all of the children of the forest. Though they abhor unnecessary violence, the Dryads will defend the wildlands of Kalimdor with their lives if need be.
Dryads are popular units amongst Night Elf players because of their two most powerful traits; Spell Immunity and Slow Poison. Dryads innately come with these abilities, so no research is required in order to unlock them. Spell Immunity protects Dryads from spells (including most beneficial ones) and magic damage - essentially making them invulnerable when facing off against Gryphon Riders, Frost Wyrms and Chimaeras, along with most spellcasters.
Slow Poison causes the Dryad's attacks to slowly chip off the unfortunate target's health over time, along with the additional effect of slowing them down slightly. This, coupled with their fast speed and attack rate, allows them to chase down fleeing troops.
Dryads may also learn Abolish Magic, allowing them to dispel any unfriendly spells casted on allied units and beneficial spells on enemy units, essentially countering Bloodlust, Polymorph and Slow.
Counters
Focus on the Dryads whenever possible, as they have low health and Unarmored-based armor which makes them particularly suspect to piercing and siege attacks. Artillery units such as Mortar Teams can make short work of them.
Spells and abilities[]
Abolish Magic (Autocast)[]
Dispels positive buffs from enemy units, and negative buffs from friendly units. Deals 250 damage to summoned units.
Dispels buffs on target, 250 damage to summoned units.
Dispel Magic won't automatically dispel any summoned units such as skeletons or wards, so you will have to manually cast it to remove them.
Slow Poison (Passive)[]
A poison attack that deals 4 damage per second, and slows the target enemies movement by 50% and attack by 25% for 5 seconds (1 second Heroes). Affects organic targets only.
Spell Immunity (Passive)[]
Renders this unit immune to negative spells.
Upgrades[]
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: 18-22 (20 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: 19-25 (22 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: 20-28 (24 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
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.
The Dryad was originally called the "Huntress" during development. Concept art showed the unit with a significant amount of detail, including additional armor and foliage in her hair, which couldn't be implemented in Warcraft III due to that game's low polygon count.[1]
Casters, including Dryads, have had their mana regeneration rates boosted by 30%.
Dryads now have the unarmored armor type. This change was made to further specialize Dryads as melee killers, but allow piercing damage units, such as Crypt Fiends and Archers, to counter them more effectively.
Battle.net Warcraft III - Night Elves -> Units -> Dryad
