Battle for Middle Earth 2 1.06

Ever since the release of the 1.05 patch, every BFME2 player was enlightened with a new concept of game play that involved something we had not seen previously used to this extent. Heroes. Besides the all-powerful flying units of patch 1.04, heroes were of lesser use than basic unit spam due to a universal low hit point system of most structures, or, put simply, they weren't needed. MaDDoX and Locke, with the help of some willing others, enlightened us with some all new revolutionized heroes such as Aragorn and Nazgul, those two being the most dramatic new-rendered heroes from 1.04.

These new changes dramatically effected the game play style from an almost entirely unit based game to a solid mix of units and heroes, which is currently found in both Electronic Arts official patch(1.06), and GameReplays very own Battle Test Directors Cut patch who has been generously developed by MaDDoX, the current iteration being 2.1. Let's take the opportunity to have a look at the the new heroes of the Battle Test and see why the ramifications from 1.04 were so important in vitalizing BFME2 to its current state.

Another factor which is worth noting is the price standardization in the BTDC patch, which applies to all factions. Heroes are priced starting from $1100,$1500,$2000,$3000, and the last being $5000. This is to give each faction a fair chance and to enhance overall balance and game play.

This guide is aimed at giving not only a representation of the new heroes, but a thorough investigation of there abilities to showcase the fact that they all have an important role to play, unlike that of pre-1.05.

Starting from my favorite, the heroes are as follows.

Gorkil is an early game hero that excels mainly as a support hero. This hero alone can grant the cap of 75% armor to troops using his totem and the High Level Leadership which he attains at level 4. Later in his leveling he becomes a semi hero-killer, and finally he gains one of the most powerful abilities in Battle for Middle Earth 2.



Totem: Gorkil inserts a totem into the ground. All allied units nearby gain 50% armour, reveals nearby shroud as well so can be used for scouting.This skill is invaluable because goblins become so much more powerful when given an armor LD. Is very helpful when dealing with pike spam. Gives your goblin warriors the needed boost that they need in order to stand up to every other swordsmen and pikeman of the enemy.The totem can of course be killed but a lot of players do not recognize this fact.



When Gorkil gets to level three, he is able to mount, which gives him a bonus against archers and obviously a trample damage which he does not have unmounted. He also gains a speed increase while mounted so it is ideal for running from combat. His mounted ability is not often used as goblins mostly deal with pike spam and so you'd mostly be keeping him on foot so he does not suffer from crush-revenge pike damage.While its not common to see Gorkil mounted because of his poor turning movement, he must be mounted to use his level 6 poison stinger ability which comes from the tail of his mount.



Gorkil at level four gives access to his leadership value of 25% armor and 25% more experience to allied troops. It is shown by a golden sparkle on troops as high level leadership.



At level 6, Gorkil gains access to a stinger which can only be used while mounted. It can take off quite a lot of health from heroes and is also good for keeping the hero pinned if he is about to cause you a lot of trouble. For example pinning Eomer and letting half trolls finish him off.In this instance, Gorkil has hunted down and poisoned a builder. Try to use the poison stinger on a hero before they run away, then run in a few goblin warriors and activate poison blades to finish him off.The stinger currently deals 2000 poison damage, which may not be a lot, but even so it will trap a hero for you to pursue as a result.



At Gorkils final level, 10, he gains the ability to summon three fire drakes, which can devastate en entire army with there inferno ability. In the shot above the inferno is captured, taking out structures from MOTW. It is however more beneficial casted on armies of significant size. Their fire is also very effective vs heroes, beware though, drakes can be knocked back by things such as Boromir, flying swoops, and siege weapons. The recharge time on this power, "call from the deep", is very low, which is another reason why this power is arguably the best in the game.The opponent does not have much chance of generating large armies if Gorkil reaches level 10.





Shelob has not changed a lot since 1.04. She still plays the same role as a hero killing machine while not being so able in the combat department. However she has been granted the ability to travel over boundaries which no other "land-dwelling" hero can. For example she can cross over the river in the Fords of Isen map. She is also good for invoking fear into units to make micro difficult for the opponent.



Ok so as shown above unlike other non-ground dwelling heroes Shelob can walk over rivers and mountains.Its especially powerful considering the nature of her hero stinger. She can sneak up on heroes from any angle and poison them like no other hero can. Its also very useful in late game for example vs elves with mirkwoods, where you can come form an unusual angle and use her fear power as opposed to coming from the front.



Ok here we have Instill Terror, probably her most useful power, even better than stinger. Provided units aren't level 5(fear resistance), she can use this ability and units around her will flee in terror.This is a good power because goblin units are faster than most and can hunt down the enemy while they flee. Best used in conjunction with wildmen to take the focus fire off Shelob.



Above is a simple shot of Shelob flanking archers-the unit she is best against(at trampling)She is also good against un-upgraded cavalry and swordsmen, but do not trample pikes with her as you will take serious damage form crush revenge.



Poisoned Stinger-Shelob gains access to this amazing and game changing power at level 6. Above she is about to poison Elrond as you can see. It will one shot a lot of heroes, including fliers such as Drogoth and Fellbeasts(provided they swoop nearby), but will take a few extra hits to take down a hero like Aragorn for example. This ability is particularly useful vs Men of the West.



Tunnel is a great ability that transports Shelob anywhere on the map thats is visible. This is very powerful used with stinger as you can sneak right behind heroes and kill them, well, thats the best use that I've found for it, alternatively you can use it for retreating.





Sadly, Drogoth has lost a lot of his former glory from the days of 1.04. For a few reasons. Fliers are no longer able to take out buildings in a few hits, meaning Drogoth can no longer level as fast, and of course cannot be used as an anti-building unit. Thirdly, Drogoth's powers, mainly fireflight, received a heavy nerf in the area of effect department. However he did receive a very good pierce resistance buff as well as a nice health bonus, not to mention a damage increase to.His regeneration rate is very poor in the latest patch as well. Despite this he still remains semi-useful, his attack damage is so high that cavalry harassment becomes nullified and archers die in one swoop. However I don't recommend being as reliant as him as you were in 1.04 if you do play BTDC.



This is Drogoth's first ability, available at level 1, fireball.It is a good way to level him if the opponent has upgraded archers. Its damage is very high and will take out units with heavy armor. It is also the answer to Mordor's counterpart, fellbeasts, taking about 50% of ones health off. This power will also dismount heroes, even Gandalf, so if your going to target a mounted hero have some pikemen nearby to kill him while hes down.Also for maximum effect wait until units are clumped.



WingBlast: This is arguably the most unused power in the entire game. It hasn't changed since 1.04, its damage is quite low, and can only be used realistically to prevent units from taking your fortress down.It simply knocks them over and over again dealing minimal damage over a long period of time. It can spread fire from fireball, making it deal extra damage but thats not exactly ideal your better off just using Drogoth's standard attack anyway. I suggest only using this power on clumped dwarf and goblins units exiting the tunnel system or for saving your fortress if you need to.



Above is a shot of fireflight which I mentioned before in the context of 1.04. Its still a good ability though. Drogoth shoots out a dragon-looking fireball at the enemy which deals an impressive amount of damage.Although its radius is quite small in the BTDC patch its damage output remains the same. Very good for killing clumped armies, also Drogoth becomes so much more difficult to kill upon having access to this power because he now has two ranged powers which can obviously both take out archers making any other units vulnerable to his standard attack.



Incinerate is Drogoth's level 10 ability. Much like we have all heard stories of fire breathing dragons, this is an exact replica of that.He will breathe fire on the enemy is a large area dealing massive damage to both units and structures. It will kill fully upgraded units, and take out any fortress expansions which may exist, so its uses are versatile. Having 3 ranged powers at level 10, Drogoth becomes quite the army killing machine.

Elrond is still as good as he was in 1.04, just in different ways.Yes, his tornado has been moved to level 10, but that means his restoration is now level 7 which is more beneficial in my opinion. In the latest iteration of BTDC, Elrond is a fast moving support and fighting hero.He is only weak to pikemen which elven archers destroy in seconds.Not only that but he is very effective at taking down retreating heroes with his high speed movement. Then of course they are forced to fight him which results is the entire elven army supporting Elrond and the hero loses. Elrond also has a mini power point tree in his arsenal, all powers being quite good and versatile in nature. Elrond is one of only two heroes that provide Leadership to troops for the elven faction(besides Treebeard which is solely to ents), and in the form of high level leadership, which is +25% armor and damage and of course faster generated experience.He is still highly underrated and unused, but do not let that fool you Elrond is 100% worth his $3000 cost.



Elrond's first ability-athleas. Although not as powerful as Aragorn's, it is still as useful because Elrond is also a lot faster than Aragorn, so him having his own heal is slightly more beneficial in terms of hit and run attacks. This power will heal nearby troops and heroes, heroes gaining on average about 25% HP back from it, which isn't bad considering elves have so many heroes. Try not to waste it, its recharge time is quite high. The animation of it being used is shown above.



At level 3 Elrond can use far sight-the very same ability that elves have at tier one in the power point tree, only it does not grant a range bonus for troops, it simply reveals shroud on the cast location. Its quite a good power at such a low level considering the elven powers available such as ent and eagle summon and even flood because Elrond can just use far sight and you will have a good vision of what you can do to the enemy base.Even so if your not using it in that manner, its good to see what your opponent is building and planning.



I took this screenshot for the sole reason Mirkwoods with high level leadership are ridiculous and a very deadly force to have. It means obviously they can take more tramples from cavalry, which, is already hard enough to get near Mirkwoods without dying. This is why Elrond is such a good hero, elite archers with leadership are one of the toughest things to stop, generally speaking so are most elven units which is why they have limited access to leadership. Also in the shot is shown the glitter of high level leadership.



Restoration is a very unique ability which restores all heroes powers timers. That is extremely good late game when you have Thranduil with dead=eye and thorn of vengeance and can use them twice, thats a lot of heroes dead.The power also heals heroes as well, which is 4 heal powers in total for elves, heal, Arwens athleas, Elrond's athleas, and restoration. It's also two golden arrows which can be used and in reality even more heals from Arwen. The more heroes you have the more you will benefit from this power it's one of the best in the game in my opinion.



Tornado has been moved to level 10, from that of 7 in 1.04. It's role remains the same, as an anti unit power, it does not deal a lot of damage to heroes. If you leave it over structures for a while it will eventually kill them, but is best used to wipe out armies. It's very difficult to achieve this level, Elrond levels very slowly.





TreeBeard had an absolute overhaul from 1.04, now having access to leadership for nearby ents granting them a ranged, damage, armor, and vision bonus. Imagine that with far sight and you can almost throw a rock from the river in Fords of Isen to the enemies fortress.The armor bonus of 50% also makes them able to fight off a few pikes if need be(in melee). Sadly, all ents, including TreeBeard are immune to heal simply because of there very good siege capabilities. Try him out, see for yourself he is quite good.



Above is just a simple example of TreeBeards area of effect, thought it may be of some use to you to know he is quite able in the melee department.



You can see in the above shot how far TreeBeard can throw, thats quite impressive, and applies to nearby ents with his leadership to.In this example though they went in for melee in conjunction with flood.Not a bad way to end a game.





Haldir was rarely seen in 1.04, his health was pitiful as was his resistance to almost everything. Well I'm glad to say now that in BTDC Haldir is extremely good and very popular amongst players. His damage is quite high for his price of $1100, and has a random chance of dealing splash and double damage in an ability called elven strike. This is very handy against Dwarves and Goblins tunnel networks. Haldir will go down pretty quickly to swordsmen but isn't much of a problem considering his high speed. Haldir is without a doubt the most commonly used hero in the elven army of BTDC.



Okay so above is a shot of his damage leadership of +50%. He can get this very early at level 4 which is obviously a huge boost to elves already high damaging troops.This is the main reason Haldir is so good.



Golden arrow is an ability that is designed to be anti-hero.It is very strong against mounted heroes and fliers. Above it is being used on Lurtz, and knocks him back while almost killing him.Like I have previously stated, having thorn of vengeance, restoration, and golden arrow is going to make your opponents life very difficult.





Arwen was easily the worst hero of 1.04. Her athleas was pitiful and her flood ability was at level 10. If memory serves me right she would lose to one battalion of orcs. In other words she had no use.Well like most of the elven heroes she has been changed for the better in BTDC. Her flood is now level 4, and her athleas is level 10, and for a good reason, it regenerates more hit points than any other heal power. Arwens role is now mainly anti cavalry, and average at harassment.



Here is flood being used on some x-bows. Flood is a high damage power very good at taking out archers and cavalry.Even late game it is still good because it knocks down upgraded cavalry buying you time to kill them with heroes or Mirkwoods. Arwen gets this ability at level 4 which is obviously not hard to obtain, be careful though, its recharge time is very high so use it wisely.





Thranduil. What to say about Thranduil. Probably the most frustrating hero to come up against in previous EA patches. His classic invisible ability while shooting was annoying for us all, especially in conjunction with thorn of vengeance, he would go around in stealth and take out any hero of choice, then come back and do it in 30 seconds again. In BTDC he has had some significant changes. He is no longer stealthed while firing and deadeye has been nerfed quite a bit in terms of damage, as has his rank 10 power.



Here is deadeye, an ability which not only increases his damage, but rate of fire as well. This is when Thandruil begins to really shine.The power can easily destroy a lot of heroes and fully upgraded cavalry. It can also grant Thranduil siege damage and he can actually take out buildings while deadeye is active. Once he reaches level 4 and this ability he begins to start to level up a lot easier for obvious reasons. Its duration time is quite long as well.



Wildwalk is basically what Thranduil used to be in previous patches permanently without using this power. It simply means he can shoot while being stealthed and is granted at level 6. Is very powerful used with deadeye and thorn of vengeance, picking off troops and heroes as he wishes.



Move unseen is a nice ability that will stealth surrounding allies when activated.Although its not currently used a lot by players, it can have some good implications such as stealthing pikemen and luring cavalry into them to die. Thranduil will be able to use this power at level 7.



The screenshot above shows Thranduil's final power called thorn of vengeance, ascertained at level 10. This power is a single shot arrow of very high damage output that can severely damage or even kill some hero's. In this particular shot it has killed Sharku as you can see. It has a very short recharge time, and combined with Thranduil's stealth abilities its very difficult for the opponent to actually keep his heroes alive as he wont be able to see the arrow coming until its to late.





Glorfindel used to be elves best counter against rohirrim in 1.04. He had a blademaster ability that he could use mounted and it would tear apart cavalry. Plus it would stack with wind rider so he was unmatched in battle. Sadly at the present time he has been modified to a serious extent. He no longer has blademaster, instead it has been replaced by a siege power, his damage vs units is lower, but his damage against buildings is higher-he's very much a siege oriented hero in today's patch.



Blade of purity has replaced Glorfindel's original blademaster ability, now acting as more of a siege weapon. He becomes invincible for 10 seconds and gains +50% damage, which is basically one building of his choice dead.He can only use it unmounted though which is good. He's very much a siege hero in the latest patch, unmounted his damage against buildings is very high. If you use this blade of purity target the most expensive building, normally being a forgeworks or upgraded stable. This ability is available at level 3.



Wind rider grants +60% speed and double armor for Glorfindel. It can only be use mounted and is mainly for retreating and nullifying cavalry harassment that is otherwise to powerful. You can get this power at level 6.



Starlight is his level 10 ability which grants all troops +50% armor and damage and stuns surrounding units as well, much like the cloudbreak power, only better. It also has a very short recharge time and could be considered overpowered. When you can keep freezing enemy armies every minute or so, you've basically won the game.





Legolas is not quite as good nor common as he was in 1.04, but then again he now costs less and so a nerf has obviously been put in place. His damage output isn't quite as high but he still remains a good anti cavalry hero. He is rarely seen in most games except for the occasional one versus Men of the West because his hawk strike devastates rohirrim.



Ok so here is hawk strike, Legolas's first and in my opinion best power. It's basically two arrows being launched simultaneously that deals splash damage. Will even take down cavalry with heavy armor. Of course it is best used against clumped units for maximum effect. Its also very helpful in leveling Legolas quickly so that his standard attack damage is enough to one shot units instead of two shots, and finer details like that. The power remains helpful throughout every stage of the game, and can also be used to take out retreating heroes with farsight. It can also be used to take out units that are chasing Legoals if need be.



Train archers is a simple but effective ability that will boost the experience of archers. That may sound pathetic but archers with banners will obviously regenerate quickly and have more health than units of lower level. Plus elven archers are generally expensive so its good to be able to restore their numbers for free with banners from Legolas's experience.



Legolas isn't just an archer he can also engage in melee combat with knife fighter at level 6. It will grant him an additional 20% armor which is great if upgraded cavalry are chasing him he can just switch this ability on and fight them and most likely win. I don't really suggest using this power unless a unit faster then Legolas is chasing him down.



Arrow wind was accessible at level 7 in 1.04 but has now been moved to level 10. It's good against every unit except siege and will take out half an army if Legolas isn't killed in time. Keep in mind though that it isn't quite as powerful against hero's as it used to be and thats because everything in 1.04 had very high vulnerability against magic type damage.

Eowyn, much like Arwen, was absolutely pathetic in 1.04. She didn't have a single good use. Now she tears apart cavalry and is a great anti flier hero. She is also quite versatile, being an able fighter dismounted as well as mounted thanks to her abilities. She is strongest against Mordor at the moment but that doesn't mean she isn't an option against the other factions as well.



Here is her first ability, available at level 1, smite. She throws a spear which is effective vs non upgraded units and retreating heroes. Its main use though is against monsters such as trolls, and just like Battle for Middle Earth 1, it tears apart Fellbeasts to the point where they have to heal for 2 minutes before coming back(including the Witch-King mounted).



Disguise still to this day is almost useless. Its intended to make her appearance similar to that of rohirrim, which it doesn't. If your playing an incompetent player then perhaps you may trick him that is not Eowyn and may focus fort fire on her as opposed to other units, or something of that nature, but otherwise the ability is rather silly in my opinion.



Shield Maiden grants Eowyn an additional 65% armor which can be good for taking out pikemen(dismounted) and for base raids on enemy unit production buildings. Its usable at level 5 as well so it wont take long for you to level her that far. Alternatively it can be used as a retreating power if under archer fire, or if running from a flier.





Theoden was Men's most prevaIent hero in the days of 1.04 for several reasons. Firstly he gave units leadership of 50% armor and 50% damage, and secondly he had access to Glorious Charge at level 4, which, in those days, was able to get in a few minutes. Today Theoden is slightly different. His leadership is now +50% damage and Glorious Charge has been moved to level 5 for obvious reasons. Theoden is a solid hero simply because he provides good early leadership(at level 1)and only costs $1100. Plus if you get him early you'll have faster access to glorious charge which is extremely powerful.



Besides his leadership Theoden's first ability is king's favor which is the same as Legolas's train archers except it effects all units. You will most probably be using it on rohirrim. Again, most people forget it exists and how important banner carriers actually are.



Here it is folks, Glorious Charge in its full shine. Theoden grants 90% armor to himself and rohirrim, as well as 100% damage, also known as a pseudo ability as it goes against the normal cap of 75% armour on units.. The only thing that can stop this power from taking out your entire base is fear powers and units that can knock rohirrim down such as trolls. Even 2 knights with this power can take down a fortress easily. Plus, cavalry will take barely any trample damage so can run right through pikemen onto the archers.The ability can also act as a very good hero killing one.





Much like Eowyn, Eomer was not seen commonly in 1.04.Mostly because Theoden was just so much better. Well, in BTDC its the other way around, Eomer is the single most popular hero seen from Men of the West. He has some great abilities and acts both as a support hero for cavalry(granting them a massive 50% armor) and for taking out certain units which will be discussed further down the page.



Above is a shot of his spear throw which can be used right from level 1. Spear throw is very effective against cavalry and generally just any type of clumped unit. It is also a good counter to Nazgul and will deal good damage to certain other mounted hero's. It's very powerful against Goblin cave trolls as well, as is Eomer's normal attack because he cannot be dismounted by trolls with trees. In conclusion though mainly use spear throw against mounted units and hero's.



Outlaw leadership is very similar to the Goblin power scavenger in that it generates resources based on kills(is also active all the time, or passive as we call it), only difference is that it only effects units killed near Eomer. It will also give you money for killing buildings, so I suggest playing very aggressive once you have this power as it will pay off.





Faramir has become quite a versatile hero. Although he has low health his base damage is quite high and his leadership of 50% armor is priceless. He is especially useful against elves as his arrow will one-shot any unit, and his leadership will turn the favor to rangers and towerguards in battles. He also has some great other abilities which I will discuss below.



Above is showing wounding arrow, which is a high impact single shot. It is good for picking off retreating heroes and is also very good vs fliers and monsters. It has a fast recharge so is commonly seen being used multiple times in one battle.



Captain Of Gondor is identical to Theoden's king's favor ability in that it grants experience to units, except is made available at a higher level





What can I say about Boromir. His purpose will never change and hasn't so far in all the patches.His main use is still the horn of Gondor, but has had a few small tweaks which are quite good. For example he has a 15% chance of knocking down any of the other $1100 heroes, which is priceless when a Nazgul is coming to kill nearby archers and doesnt get any because he has been knocked down and killed by Boromir. He can also knock down cavetrolls and wights, which may not sound useful but sometimes can win you battles you wouldn't of otherwise won.



I think we are all familiar with the horn of Gondor. Boromir blows his horn and stuns units in a massive radius for over 10 seconds while you either retreat or pick off half the opponents army. It has been moved to level 3 in BTDC after it was decided level 2 was to low of a level to have it in 1.04. This is still one of the most powerful and easily attainable abilities in the game and can be quite frustrating to come up against. Use it in conjunction with Tom Bombadil and arrow volley for maximum effect.



Boromir also has the captain of Gondor ability, totaling three experience bonuses in Men of the West's hero arsenal.





Aragorn's current state is not even close to what it was in 1.04. There are so many aspects of him which have been improved upon that its ridiculous. He has a lot more health, higher damage,splash damage, and high level leadership. He is one of the best value for money $3000 heroes in BTDC without a doubt. There's not a single race where he cannot be useful against, some races in fact struggle to keep up with his destructive nature.



Athleas is Aragorn's first ability which heals himself and nearby heroes, its not a full restoration, around one third of his full hit points are replenished. It had to be nerfed from 1.06, where it restored almost a full hero's hit points and basically made Aragorn invincible when in Blademaster.



Blademaster is available at level 2, and grants double damage and double armor. So as you probably guessed Aragorn becomes about 4 times harder to kill. For the magnitude of this power, its without a doubt the best low level power out of any hero. Aragorn can take down fort's and also survive a mumakil trample while in this mode. Plus, its recharge rate is very fast which is why Aragorn is one of the best hero's in BFME2. Plus it grants an even bigger area of effect(splash damage) to the sword so you can actually hit several heroes at once. In fact theres not a single hero(save for fliers) that can beat Aragorn in blademaster.



Elendil is a fear invoking power much like Shelob's except slightly better because it lasts a little longer. An aura surrounds the hero which causes units to flee until the power runs out. If it is used with athleas and blademaster its basically an instant loss to the enemies fortress unless he has some powerful upgraded pikeman and heroes as well. Elendil also has a recharge time of 30 seconds which is another reason why even a beginner player will barely ever lose Aragorn.



Summon army of the dead is a devastating level 10 power that will kill anything it comes into contact with. It's basically the same as the 25 power point one except not as many battalions. Your best off using this power when sieging a fort, making retreating a bad option for your opponent.





Gandalf is a difficult one to explain in terms of changes since 1.04 simply because back then everything took so much damage from magic, for example his Lightning Strike would devastate heroes and now it doesn't. However he now has a lot more health and a lot more resistance to a lot of things. To be quite honest I would prefer the 1.04 Gandalf simply because magic damage was so much more deadly back then.Still despite these things Gandalf is actually the best $5000 hero available at the moment and the skills below will hopefully explain why. To make things simple I'll explain this now, from level one to four he is Gandalf the Grey, from level 5-10 he is Gandalf the White. From 5 onwards he has more health, higher spell damage, and faster spell recharge time.



Gandalf's wizard blast has been buffed several times. In it's present state even a lot of units with heavy armor wont survive(even as Gandalf the Grey). Use on clumped units for maximum effect. It will also actually deal quite a bit of damage to heroes so if your getting chased by Elrond or something use wizard blast. This power is easily the best level 1 ability out of all the heroes.



Lightning strike is my favourite ability out of any hero.Like I was saying before back in 1.04 magic vunerability was very high and this ability would even kill Gimli. Unfortunately now its a bit less powerful but still good. For example you can take down a level 3 forge with it or even 5 or 6 fort expansions. Its damage vs hero's is ok, it will take about half of Gimli's health off as GTW. However if you manage to get a flier with this they are as good as dead, even the Witch King will go down. It's also one of the few powers that can take down the mighty Balrog. It has a long recharge time so be careful you make it a good cast.



Istari Light, to my pleasure, in the latest iteration of BTDC has been buffed tremendously after a long awaited change. It will kill any of the Mordor fliers and a lot of land Hero's as well(to many to list). This is why MOTW's late game is so good now because they have a mounted hero killing machine that is basically unkillable(very similar to the BFME1 Gandalf). It doesn't have to be used against hero's though, if need be you can take out clumped cavalry raids and similar things like that if need be.



Ok word of power is an amazing level 10 ability that is an explosion of magic from Gandalf that blasts back and damages any unit in a large area. Will knock back units that cant normally be knocked down. I don't have the exact stats but I believe fully upgraded units will perish. This skill is probably about on par with Gorkil's call from the deep.

Nazgul used to be good for one reason:their debuff.That has changed and now these black riders of doom are a worthy hero of purchasing.On top of their debuff,hey have very high trample damage with some good powers such as morgul blade and screech.If you manage to get all three together no swordsmen archer or cavalry unit has much chance of living. Be careful though, one scrape of a pike unit and they will die.



Above basically shows there role as anti-archer and also shows the effect of the debuff(available at level 2).Nazgul also tear apart swordsmen and cavalry. ALso remember that that debuff is priceless especially against Forces of Light who heavily rely on leadership, the Nazgul's debuff will cancel out any LD that isnt high level(for example Aragorn's and Dain's.).So late game try and keep your Nazgul alive just to keep the debuff active as it will win you battles you wouldn't of otherwise won.



Morgul blade is an ability which poisons a unit turning it into a wight. Wight's are fast moving ghost like creatures who are incredibly difficult to kill as they regenerate health every time they swing.They also deal splash damage which is rather frustrating for the two tunneling factions. If you have all three Nazgul at level 6 or above, having 3 wights is a very powerful combination which will only die to upgraded archers of multiple heroes.Also remember morgul blade is very useful at pinning heroes while your mumakil tramples the hero and kills it.



At level 10 the Nazgul gets the screech ability which is identical to the Fellbeast's.All nearby units will run in fear provided they aren't level 5.This is another component of why Mordor's late game is so powerful because they have have potentially 6 screech powers(Nazgul, Fellbeasts, Witch-King) and that is without mentioning drummer trolls





My favourite hero in 1.04, easily, was Mouth of Sauron.The perfect army and hero killing unit to have, along with more health than Gimli. Don't get me wrong, he's still a good hero, just in other ways.He now has a huge splash damage, dissent has a bigger radius,and evil eye has been turned into a solid cavalry counter.He is debateably the best $2000 hero available.



Evil eye-the single most overhaled power form 1.04. As some of you may know it used to kill almost every hero with a few exceptions such as Aragorn in blademaster and Elrond.However of course, back then, it was a level 10 power. It is now available at level 3 and its use has been changed to an anti-unit power instead. As you can see in the shot above it's being used on a rohirrim batalltion(you'll see Integrals chat there reminding me to cast it ). It's basically good against any type of unit provided you get a good clump. There are a few exceptions where it can kill heroes quite effectively, one is Legolas since his health is so low, another is fellbeasts where it will take about 90-95% hitpoints off one. Other than that it doesn;t deal a lot of damage to most other heroes(save for Theoden).



Here we have the Mouth casting doubt on a group of soldiers.Doubt is the same as a regular Nazgul debuff except for the fact that it also affects heroes. It's a good idea to use doubt and then cast evil eye if your going to usr it on a hero.



Dissent, a power which devastates any army inside its large radius by making them turn against one another and fight.This power used to be granted at level 6, but is now 10 with a larger radius.It's very difficult for your opponent to do anything against this power he will have to use small scattered armies if he wishes to avoid it which in itself is a bad idea. The power is typically most effective vs forces of light as they are more "army oriented".





The Fellbeast used to be one of those units where you knew your life was about to become very difficult to win if the opponent got one, for the simple reason they were flying siege weapons in previous patches and could even destroy fortresses.Thats why the "Fellbeast rush" was so common.Although it was fun, the concept was a little silly and has been changed. They now excel at anti-harassment instead, and against certain factions with low health resource buildings, attacking aswell.



Screech from the Fellbeast is the same as from a Nazgul, only, you can use it slightly more to your advantage as he can fly anywhere quickly if you need it to save a mumakil pen just for example.Also good for making archers run in fear to avoid losing your Fellbeast.



Above is an example of what not to do-dont go near Gandalf when he is level 7 or above.





Ah the Witch-King. Still as powerful as he has always been, as it should be to, for $5000 you tend to want a return on your investment^.Anyway, this hero will tear apart any unit(besides monsters), in one hit, regardless of any armour or leadership they may have(dismounted). He can also mount his flying steed to deal with cavalry raids and such.His standard attack will also knockback the cheap $1100 heroes-this is particularly useful against lurtz when pinned, he wont be able to use carnage. He's still pretty lacking in the skills department, but not to worry his standard attack makes up for it.





The Witch-King also has a screech at level 6.Most importantly though is his level 10 power, hour of the Witch-King, which resets the timer on all powers of one enemy hero or their fortress.In most cases you'll pick the opponents most powerful hero to cast it on. Sometimes you may get lucky and be able to use it just as the opponent gets a level 10 hero such as Gorkil or Gandalf so that he has to wait forever to use it. The shot there it has been cast on Aragorn to prevent him from using blademaster.

Theres not a lot to say about Lurtz in terms of changes he has had from past to present.His main role is still taking out other heroes and supporting troops with leadership, which he does very well.
His voice-overs haven't changed though-he's still not the happiest camper in BFME2



Ok so at level four Lurtz can pin a hero which will be immobile for quite a long time. This ability is particularly good against mounted heroes such as Eomer and Mos who can tear apart Isengard's economy.Once pinned it's very easy to kill them with pikeman.In this example Lurtz has pinned King Dain, waiting for the kill. in most occasions Lurtz will use carnage aswell(level 2), on the hero. Try and be intelligent though and only use carnage on the hero if you have to, if its a mounted hero and you have pikes nearby dont waste carnage. On that same note you will see in the picture a glow on the uruks, that is Lurtz's level 5 leadership of +50% damage.





Sharku in the past was also one of those you just didn't care about, he wasn't worth his price.Well, now he has splash damage, lots of health, can run through multiple pike batallions and survive ,a great anti-cavalry role, and some amazing leadership for wargs.



Tame the beast is still a silly power.All that happens is you get temporary control over the wargs of a warg lair.To me that is useless, if it was permanent and I could buy extra wargs I might actually consider using this power.



Theres a few things in this screenshot, the first being the glitter on the wargs, that being high level LD(+25%damage and armour) from Sharku(called bloodhunt). Now that may sound pathetic but its very useful versus Men and Elves, to help both versus rohirrim and pierce resistance from archers.Not only that but Sharku just by himself is a great rohirrim counter.Plus, part of the leadership is less trample deceleration-great for taking out soldier of gondor spam and also lorien archers.Secondly, if you look closely you'll see Sharku just ate a unit which restores his health and grants him 50% armour and damage.The name of this ability is Man Eater and is great because it's like having the forces of light heal power.Sharku also levels very fast so it wont be long before you get to level 8 to use this.





Likewise to Sharku, Wormtongue wasn't often seen in the past, most people would get Lurtz then go straight to Saruman. His only good power in my opinion back then was Corrode Allegiance which wasn't until level 10 anyway.Nowadays Wormtongue is widely seen, his debuff slows down units which is incredibly good for nullifying cavalry harassment, his backstab does reasonable damage to heroes, and he is the single fastest levelling hero in the latest patch.I'll explain to you why him getting level 10 so fast is so powerful in a second.



Venomous words is his first ability which reduces enemy speed and armour. This is priceless against strong cavalry factions such as MotW and Elves, by that I mean rohirrim and upgraded lancer harassment, as you can pick them off with pikeman and they cant run away. It's also very good against other fast units such as well every elven unit basically, it lets you pick your own fights as once its cast they have no choice of retreating.



Escape is exactly what its title is, its used to escape by going invisible if he is on low health, very good used in conjunction with backstab on heroes and then retreating.



Backstab is identical to Selob's stinger except it deals a higher initial damage but a significantly lower poison damage, good for finishing off heroes. This can be used at level 6.



Corrode Allegiance is available at level 10 and temporarily takes control of an enemy hero. This is the ability where you need to be creative, for example taking control of Aragorn and killing there own fort, or getting Gimli to kill Dain and Gloin, then pinning him with Lurtz when the timer runs out, its really a great ability that has endless implications.





Saruman hasn't changed a lot from past to present, theres only been some leadership added and some shifting of hero abilities. He is a great hero because wizard blast and fireball come at level one and two and have very fast recharge times, so the wizard can use them multiple times in one battle. Saruman can also knock back the cheap heroes. There are certain match ups where he is very effective, Men being one and Elves being another example. Fireball is good at anti cavalry and wizard blast is great for killing pikeman and archers, both which have low health.



Ok so there you have it wizard blast in all its glory, used on a clump for maximum effect. Not quite as powerful as Gandalf's, but will kill most non-upgraded units. Can be used with devastation to bolt down troops for simple casting.



Fireball is mainly anti cavalry but that does not mean it wont kill other troops. It's also very good at knocking back heroes especially when they are chasing Saruman for the kill. It's also very good against fliers, especially Fellbeasts, taking around three quarters of ones health off. This is because Isengard is very vulnerable to fliers especially considering x-bows pre-attack delay. This power can also dismount heroes such as Eomer and Arwen, so try and have pikes nearby if your going to do that.



Speechcraft is much like Captain of Gondor, a simple spell increasing the amount of experience a unit has. Quite good for Isengard though as it can help retain its expensive troops and upgrades.



Dominate used to be a level 4 power, which was quite a lot of fun to use, sadly, now it has been moved to level 8. Saruman will take control of units for a period of time and can be used to kill the opponent. This is why he was slightly more powerful in previous patches, he could have his best power at just level 4, one that could turn games around. My favorite scenario being taking control of rohirrim and then killing his own stables with them. The possibilities are endless though, just be creative!



Lightning Bolt is a power designed for killing enemy heroes which it does very well. Almost every hero will lose at least 50% health from this power.That is quite good late game against heavily reliant hero factions such as Men. Units will also die, but its just better for killing heroes. Use with devastation to capture as many heroes as possible in one location.

Gloin used to be the most common debatable hero in 1.04. He would always be there to finish your fort after the guardian rush had wiped out half your base. He is an able fighter with very strong structural powers. He hasn't changed a lot to this present day, his role and powers remain identical, and is still commonly used.



If you look closely those flying uruks are a result of Gloin's first ability, Slam, which is just a high damage attack with splash damage. Like a mini wizard blast. Its also pretty good against structures. For best results use on clumped units by making them chase Gloin and then turn around and cast it. Also don't forget that this power will save you from Lurtz's carnage power by knocking him back.



Shake foundation is like an instant building killer at level 4. It will even take down some level 3 structures and actually disable a building if it isn't destroyed(stop unit production etc). Use it on a fort if the opponent is about to get an eagle or something and buy yourself some time. In most cases though your opponent will do his very best to prevent Gloin getting near your base for fear of losing a valuable building such as a forge, so keep him at the back of your army.



Shatter Hammer is much like word of power, only, not quite as powerful. He slams his hammer into the ground causing a mini earthquake damaging and knocking back units. He wont be getting this power until level 10, which actually wont be that difficult if your getting plenty of use from shake foundation. This is the power that is best used with King Dain's royal guard





King Dain was a very popular hero in 1.04 because his leadership was so powerful and became available at level 1. His mighty Rage ability used to heal heroes as well, giving Dwarves two heals for there extremely powerful heroes(which was very overpowered). His other abilities are pretty much the same, but there have been a few good changes to his early powers. His attack rate is also very slow now, but also very high damaging as well. His role is clearly as a support hero unlike that of Gimli and Gloin.



Mighty Rage grants nearby troops a small speed and damage bonus as well as a debuff to the enemy troops. This ability is very useful against Elves considering there faster speed and high output damage archers. Not only that but Dwarves having a debuff is extremely powerful because there troops are one of the strongest in the game. Its best used against any faction that has strong troops, that being Men, Elves and Isengard, the buffs are good but the debuff is what makes it really shine.



Stubborn Pride makes nearby units immune to fear. Now that may sound poor but its very good against certain races. Its great against Mordor (as they have lots of fear powers as previously discussed), and Men because of Boromir's horn. Resistance to fear is incredibly good because it saves your whole army from being scattered (or stunned) and killed. Dain also levels extremely fast so theres no problem having to wait long. Without this power Dwarven late game would be quite poor.



Summon royal guards is his level 10 power that summons three battalions of fully upgraded troops, an axe thrower, a guardian, and a phalanx. They are on a counter of course, but they have enough time to deal a lot of damage. Since Dain is one of the fastest leveling heroes in the game, its worth getting him before Gloin and Gimli in some cases because this power is so devastating. Even if your running low on troops and you have Dain level 10, you can use undermine and summon guards and take out the entire enemy base.





Gimli has had some serious ramifications since the old days, one being his actual price. He used to be $4000 but is now only $3000. Not only that but he is actually a better hero now. All his skills had an overhaul, and he even received the most powerful leadership in the game(+50% armor). His only weakness is against pikeman who he can destroy with leap anyway. He is an anti-cavalry, anti-swordsmen, anti-hero, and anti-archer hero(with slayer no hero can run away).



As you can see above Gimli's axe throw has just killed most of an upgraded warg batallion which is what it is best at, killing cavalry. Helps a lot against rohirrim with there splash damage against mines. It's also pretty good against mounted heroes, Nazgul for example will take off half ones health. If slayer is active the damage of axe throw increased significantly and becomes in itself a hero killer as well. So you can see this power is useful even late game



Leap is a power designed for Gimli to kill units that are faster than him, for example Lorien archers. He doesn't have to be very close to use it, and will kill archers and most swordsmen in one hit.



The mighty slayer gives Gimli double damage and significantly increased speed, the perfect combination for killing heroes. With this power the only hero who can survive it is Aragorn in
Blademaster(who will beat Gimli, and Glorfindel can use blade of purity). He's almost as fast as a Fellbeast with this active so make sure you have some pikes near your heroes if you see him activate it. If Gimli didn't have this power Dwarves would be absolutely pathetic late game, Gimli is really the heart and soul of Dwarves.This power can also be used for retreating if it needs to be.


Written by Val`

Discuss this huge amazing guide here.

Great work Val`

Zomg its here. Thankyou Blinky for the sick revision and also Menik for the finishing touches and such, seems it turned out pretty nice.

Can we throw this sucker on the portal, no w8, let me rephrase, if you don't TDA^ will remove your testicles Menik.

This post has been edited by Val`: Nov 7 2007, 06:36 AM

Longest Guide Ever.

I did, look underneath GENERAL, and then look for the newspost which should be posted in like a few seconds.

Very nice guide.

Amazing.

Read the first part and skimmed the Elven part and I couldn't believe my eyes - Val actually talking as if he was a professor

Some mistakes here and there, like Arwens healing on level 10 (it's level 8 if I'm not mistaken), like as well some stats are wrong, but doesn't really matter.

Level 5 article medal right away for him plz

OMG... Well done Val'

I don't think King Dain's Summoned units can enter buildings.

I forgot how huge this thing was lol.

Very good job.

This post has been edited by KingSpillBlood: Apr 25 2008, 20:51 PM

Insanely well done. I would like to have a little more serperation between diffrent, heros, and maybe at the being's of the post a link to diffrent heros, instead of jsut having to try and find them)

will you make one for btpdc 2.2 or 2.3 when it comes out?

This post has been edited by Tinky Winky: May 4 2008, 20:09 PM

nice guide, must of taken you ages to make