30 replies to this topic

[OdoProudfoot]

XD

[OakenShield224]

Durubdyr (meaning “animal ruler”) was an orc with an affinity for the various dark beasts that were attracted to the darkness of Dol Guldur. No other orc in Mirkwood was as skilled at taming the vicious wargs of the forest, or at handling the great spiders in their nests. The Necromancer discovered this talent and placed the creatures under his command, preparing them for the day when they may one day be unleashed on the Free Peoples of Middle Earth.
 

Appearance: mainly wearing bones, furs and pelts. A few spider webs on him. Maybe a few “trophies” from animals (teeth and claws maybe?). Is scarred. Wields a long weapon (spear) with a whip hanging from his belt.
Alt Appearance: could be a corrupted, scarred Beorning. Similar clothing/weapon aesthetic.

 

Level 1: The Beastmaster – hero deals extra damage to mounted units, mounted heroes and creatures (warg, trolls, mumakil, drakes, spiders etc.). Passive
Level 3: Warg Pen – summons a small enclosure with 2 wargs that attack nearby enemies. Relatively short cooldown. Enclosures would have low armour. (maybe also add Dark Presence to the enclosure)
Level 5: Vicious Creatures – wargs in the target enclosure will permanently gain reduced crush deceleration and will gain health per strike.
Level 8: Animal Tamer – target cavalry/monsters are unable to trample for a small time OR have much higher crush deceleration
Level 10: Beast Rush – all nearby spiders and spider riders will trample better and will deal increased damage for a time.

[YE4M4N]

Will Khamul for this faction wear the armour he has in BOTFA?

 

[Mathijs]

He will not!

[LittleCritter]

My suggestion for Dol Guldur Spellbook:

 

Spoiler

Carnage – 5

Friendly units within the radius gain +100% damage at the cost of -50% armor.

[design cue: this power synergizes well with Broken Rabble's rank 3 ability 'Eternal Servitude', allowing the player to temporarily boost the Broken Rabble horde at the likely cost of losing them, but obtaining Risen Dead in return]

Tainted Land – 5

Taints an area of terrain; All ally units gain +50% damage & +50% armor; Does not stack

Spider Webs – 5

Stuns the enemy units in a targeted area during 12 sec.

 

Forest of Fear – 10

Targeted trees are twisted and corrupted. Provides vision range and spawns 2 units of wild spiderlings that attack anything in sight for 25s.

Spell of Concealment – 10

Creates a mist which camouflages nearby troops & structures. It can be countered with: Cloud Break, Durin's Day, First Light of the Fifth Day & Western Winds.

Entangling Roots – 10

Roots the enemy units in a targeted area, causing 1'25% of nature damage each sec during 25s (31% in total). Damage of Fire caused will interrupt the effect.

Summon Gúlog-Hai – 10

Summons an undead Olog-Hai during 25s. Is immune to poison, mind control's spells, fear & terror. Also, has a 25% resilence to physical damage. Magical damage does normal damage to him.

 

*The U contained in the word Gúl, in this case, it would correspond to the negative prefix in LOTR's etimology, like Úlairi means Nazgûl, Ring-Wraiths, refering to their condition of Un-living or Undead creatures. Also, Gul would be an abreviation for an unique Troll breed from Dol Guldur.

 

Darkness – 15

Covers the entire map in darkness for 30 seconds; All ally units gain +50% damage & +50% armor; Does not stack.

Twisted Huorn – 15

Summons a Twisted Huorn what works exactly as the Watcher from Isengard. Basically is an immovable & wild Ent type that attacks anything in sight during 30s.

Dark Void – 15

Sucks the enemies in a targeted area into the Dark Void dealing 50% of damage, spitting them out & knocking down after that.

 

Tentacles of Darkness – 25

Summons a Dark Void of Darkness which spawns Shadow Tentacles, ensnaring nearby enemy units into the Dark Void, automatically killing them. Range of attack the same that Fell Wind.

Summon Gwanthaur* – 25

Summons the Gwanthaur.

 

 *A corrupted, ancient spirit of the forest. Broken, bony antlers on a horrifying head, long-reaching limbs and a bent back upon which grow many mushrooms and strange trees. The Gwanthaur preys on lost travelers, claiming their souls for sustenance.

 

Maybe you could rename Krimpul as Ungwûk, bc Krimpul just mean ties, while Ungwale means "torture" & ûk "all".

 

PS: Btw, the Necromancer could summon Adûnaphel, this Nazgûl was summoned to help Khamûl attacking Lórien & Woodland Realm, and after the Pélennor Fields battle with the Witch-King defeat, he came back to Mordor to defend Morannon with the eight remaining Nazgûl.

Edited by LittleCritter, 04 October 2019 - 06:16 PM.

[TV2019]

Is it just me or does Dol Guldur not have a lot  of units? Especially powerful units that aren't affected by the weakening effect thing? I love the units that you have shown and talked about so far, but I feel like there's something missing. Maybe a magical unit? Or something Beastly?  Something that isn't  an undead Orc variation, cause it seems like there are enough of those kind of enemies. I dunno. Maybe it's just on paper that it reads as a bit paltry. Btw, do you plan on giving them walls? Since Dol Guldur is basically a fortress that would make sense, no? Also if you don't, that would mean like that there very few evil factions with walls and that seems a bit unbalanced? 

 

In any way, thanks for all your work on this and I hope to see  and learn more of the faction in the near future. Keep up the cool stuff! 

[LittleCritter]

If there's still any place for some other heroe for Dol Guldur, maybe you could add other spider heroes, Drûzhag, the Beastcaller and/or Ashrâk, the Spiderkin, i think both of the goblins could fit for Dol Guldur, although they're a little combo together.

 

Spoiler

Drûzhag, the Beastcaller - 800

 

Spoiler

 

https://vignette.wik...=20150203110934

 

Lvl 1: Skull Totem

Places a skull totem which will remain on the map until destroyed, revealing the nearby shroud & detects stealth. Duration: Until destroyed. Cooldown: 120s.

Lvl 2 (Rank 1): Beastcaller
Summons a swarm of bat what reduces nearby enemies to 25% damage and 25% armor for 12s. Cooldown: 62 seconds
Lvl 5 (Rank 2): Summons a swarm of bat what reduces nearby enemies to 50% damage and 50% armor for 24s. Cooldown: 74s seconds
Lvl 9 (Rank 3): Summons a swarm of bat what reduces nearby enemies to 75% damage and 75% armor for 42s. Cooldown: 92 seconds

Lvl 3 (Rank 1): Vampiric Bite
Melee attack of moderate damage which heals moderately. Cooldown: 60s
Lvl 6 (Rank 2): Melee attack of good damage which heals goodly. Cooldown: 75s
Lvl 8 (Rank 3): Melee attack of high damage which heals highly. Can't stack. Cooldown: 85s
Lvl 10 (Rank 4): Melee attack of severe damage which heals greatly. Can't stack. Cooldown: 95s

Lvl 4: Vanish
Allows him to become stealthed for 40s to escape attack. Cooldown: 150s

Visual Cue: A whirlwind of cave bats swallows him, making him dissappear.

Lvl 7: Giant Bat
Mount/Dismount a Giant Cave Bat. While he's riding the bat, he will reveal nearby stealthed units. Cooldown: 2s

Data: https://lotro-wiki.c...g_Dark-claw.jpg

 

 

Ashrâk, the Spiderkin - 1100

 

Spoiler

 

http://dramatickatas...-spiderkin.html

 

Lvl 1: Staff of Deceit

Places the Staff of Deceit, which will remain on the map until destroyed. Nearby enemies will be mind controlled in a normal radius around the placed staff. Duration: Until destroyed. Cooldown: 120s.

 

Lvl 2 (Rank 1): Venomous Projectile
Ranged attack which poisons the enemy causing moderate damage for 10s. Cooldown: 60s
Lvl 4 (Rank 2): Ranged attack which poisons the enemy causing good damage for 20s. Cooldown: 70s
Lvl 7 (Rank 3): Ranged attack which poisons the enemy causing high damage for 30s. Cooldown: 90s

Visual Cue: Green Magic Projectile.

Lvl 3 (Rank 1): The Spiderkin
Summons one horde Spiderling Allies for 12s. Cooldown: 62s
Lvl 5 (Rank 2): Summons one horde Spiderling Allies for 24s. Cooldown: 74s
Lvl 8 (Rank 3): Summons one horde Spiderling Allies for 42s. Cooldown: 92s

Lvl 6 (Rank 1): Headhunters
Summons 3 hordes of Orc Hunters under the caster's control for 63s. Cooldown: 125s
Lvl 9 (Rank 2): Summons 6 hordes of Orc Hunters under the caster's control for 125s. Cooldown: 140s

Lvl 10: Giant Spider

Mount/Dismount a Giant Spider. While he's riding the spider, he can cross walls & mountains. Cooldown: 2s

Visual Cue: https://lotro-wiki.c...-Iphantemel.jpg

 

Also, you could add this upgrade to the Spider Lair:

Terrors of Mirkwood:

Unlocks the recruitments in the Spider Lair for Enna San Sarab (2000), Unglob (2000), Queen Saenathra (2000) & Iphantemel (2000).

 

Enna San Sarab - 2000

Spoiler

Enna San Sarab, also known as the Spider of the Môrlat, was a daughter of Shelob and Mother of the Great Spiders of Mirkwood.

 

Visual Cue: https://vignette.wik...=20130329160941

 

Lvl 1 (Rank 1): Mother of Mirkwood's Progeny
Nullifies enemy leadership. Passive aura.
Lvl 4 (Rank 2): Causes fear. Passive aura.
Lvl 7 (Rank 3): Causes fear & devours 1% of hp each second from nearby enemy units. Passive aura.

Lvl 2 (Rank 1): Abdominal Stinger
Paralyzes the enemy causing good damage for 10s. Cooldown: 60s
Lvl 5 (Rank 2):  Paralyzes the enemy causing very good damage for 20s. Cooldown: 75s
Lvl 8 (Rank 3): Paralyzes the enemy causing great damage for 30s. Cooldown: 90s

Lvl 3 (Rank 1): Spiderweb
Enemy units are slowed a 50% in the big radius of the spiderweb. Also allows Enna San Sarab to be stealthed while not moving. Duration: Until destroyed (very weak vs fire). Cooldown: 60s
Lvl 6 (Rank 2): Enemy units are slowed a 75% in the large radius of the spiderweb. Also allows Enna San Sarab to be stealthed while not moving. Duration: Until destroyed (very weak vs fire). Cooldown: 75s

Lvl 9: Tunnel
Allows Enna San Sarab to tunnel under the ground and emerge at any unshrouded location. Cooldown: 90s.

Lvl 10: Call the Mirkwood's Progeny

Summons 10 Spiderling units for 60s. Cooldown: 120s

 

Unglob - 2000

Spoiler

Similar to the powerful spider Shelob, Unglob was a monstrous creature who broke away from other members of Ungoliant's brood to inhabit Mirkwood. She was on a path to become an immensely powerful spider, perhaps even more so than Shelob, and was fiercely aggressive by nature. Relying on brute strength and speed to take down foes, Unglob’s dependence on stealth was nonexistent.

 

Visual Cue: https://www.trueachi...ages/015567.jpg

 

Lvl 1 (Rank 1): Agressive Predator
+12'5% damage. Only Unglob. Passive.
Lvl 4 (Rank 2): +25% damage. Only Unglob. Passive.
Rank 7 (Rank 3): +50% damage. Only Unglob. Passive.

Lvl 2 (Rank 1): Poisonous Fangs
Poisons the enemy causing good damage for 10s. Cooldown: 60s
Lvl 5 (Rank 2):  Poisons the enemy causing very good damage for 20s. Cooldown: 75s
Lvl 8 (Rank 3): Poisons the enemy causing great damage for 20s. Cooldown: 90s

Lvl 3 (Rank 1): Hunting Jump
Inflicts 120 damage points to an area. Can jump a big distance.  Cooldown: 60s
Lvl 6 (Rank 2): Inflicts 150 damage points to an area. Can jump a large distance.  Cooldown: 75s

Lvl 9: Burrow

Allows to tunnel below the earth, making her invisible. Burrow/Unburrow. Cooldown: 90s

Lvl 10: Bestial Adrenaline
Becomes immune to damage for 35s. Cooldown: 125s

 

Queen Saenathra - 2000 (Already posted in Dol Guldur's faction)

 

Iphantemel - 2000

Spoiler

Iphantemel (Sindarin for Old Mother), a spider of the spawn of Ungwetári, and the bane of King Thranduil, is found in Torech Emel in Eryn Lasgalen and the Dale-lands.

 

Visual Cue: https://lotro-wiki.c.../Iphantemel.jpg

 

 

Lvl 1 (Rank 1): Saws as Legs
5% of damage each second to enemy units adjacent to Iphantemel. Passive.
Lvl 4 (Rank 2): 7% of damage each second to enemy units adjacent to Iphantemel. Passive.
Rank 7 (Rank 3): 10% of damage each second to enemy units adjacent to Iphantemel. Passive.

Lvl 2 (Rank 1): Shady Presence
Nullifies Leadership absorbs 25% spell's damage. Passive.
Lvl 5 (Rank 2):  Nullifies Leadership & absorbs 50% spell's damage. Passive.

Lvl 8 (Rank 3): Nullifies Leadership & absorbs 80% spell's damage. Passive.

Lvl 3 (Rank 1): Vore
Swallows a targeted enemy, healing her a 30% HP. Cooldown: 60s
Lvl 6 (Rank 2): Swallows a targeted enemy, healing her 60% HP. Cooldown: 75s

Lvl 9: Abominable Shriek

Nearby enemies flee away in terror for 15s. Cooldown: 90s.

Lvl 10: Thranduil's Bane.
Spits venom to one target selected. This attack causes severe damage when hits & does high damage for 35s. Cooldown: 120s

 

Edited by LittleCritter, 20 March 2020 - 11:15 PM.

[LelouchAK]

Idea for DG building

 

Dungeons of Dol Guldur

(Building would use model of old 15pp Mordor spell)

 

Cost 500

Much wider range of dark presence passive, comparable to fortress' one

Passively reduces hero cost by 5%

Or

Passively increases sauron movement speed by 5%

(Not sure which one fits more)

Limited to 4 buildings

building would enhance early game spam and late game army push by various upgrades

300 - There is no peace

-upgrade time: 15s

On the top of the building arrive orcs archers defending structure, range of view of structure is increased

300 - There is no life

- upgrade time: 6s

Dungeons of Dol Guldur gain access to a web of catacombs, those are too narrow for everyone though, can be accessed only by the lowest of the scums and those who are moving in single units

Tunnels can be used only by broken rabble, orcs gaolers, orcs archers, risen death and heroes 

600 - There is no light

-upgrade time:60s(!sic)

Ally units receive leadership bonus comparable to the statue one but on a much wider range, enemy units are slowed down by 5%, this debuff is low but can stack with other debuffs

700 -  There is no rescue

-upgrade time:60s(!sic)

Reduces armor of ALL surrounding units by the same amount it is increased by "There is no light", this means it can be nullified for your units if you get "There is no light" upgrade at the same time. Additionally units in close range of the DG dungeons are quickly replenished (but not healed)

Dol Guldur dungeons are being built by ghosts amazingly fast but it's upgrades take enormous amount of time. This building would be able to gain experience by getting upgrades. On first level (when built) it would be paper like, 1000hp so any unit would be able to quickly ruin it. After getting 2 of 4 upgrades dungeons reach its 2nd level, gaining high hp bonus. Now on 2500hp it would be much tankier but still comparable to high level resource buildings (maybe some black mist to show it is on 2nd level). After getting all of the upgrades building is empowered by Dark Lord, reaches 5500hp and gains a blight in close proximity of the building. This level is extremy hard to get as those upgrades cost a lot and require a lot of precious time, therefore those arent made for an early game and should be considered a lategamie option for DG

[DavidCopperfield]

Hello from me too. First of all Dol Gundur is a fantastic and unique faction. There are some really nice suggestions regarding buildings and units. I really like LelouchAk's suggestion and I want to propose mine too. I don't know if it's possoble for this suggestion to become reality but plz take it into consideration. My idea is the following: An extra column of spells like that of the campain. It really fits the theme of DG and can also solve the problem of not having unit upgrades for the late game. Bellow I introduce some spells that I thought. I will appreciate any suggestion or addition.

 

5P: Necranastasis (or Resurrection).

Heals a moderate amount of hitponts.

 

10P: Summon Tower.

Summons a defensive tower that can stealth near trees. It does not produce shades but has dark presence.

OR: Summon Prison Cell.

Summons a building that can cast spells similar to Rohan's 10p summon.

 

15P: Recruitments from Mordor.

Summons 2 battlations of fully upgraded Morgul swordsmen and 2 battlations of fully upgraded Morgul pikemen. (To be fair they should be easterlings units according to the lore.) 

 

25P: Revelation of the Dark Lord.

Enemy units in a wide area lose all leadership and buffs and are slowed by 10%. Friendly units in a wide area gain +50% armor and 50% damage.

 

Thanks for your time.

George.

Edited by DavidCopperfield, 16 May 2021 - 10:08 PM.

[Nerevar42]

I once supported the idea of a Dol Guldur Dark Obelisk building, leading to some proper turtling strategies for DG with debuffing enemies instead of buffing allies with heroic statues. I still do. It would be some kind of a bonus aside from ruined towers and barrows that already are greatly efficient concerning this specific aspect. However, this is an additional suggestion, so it is less important than corrective suggestions.

 

One of the actual problems with Dol Guldur is that Risen Dead, Ravagers and Spiders are really strong, and they outvalue each other aspect of the faction. For example, Harbingers of Shadow or Unburied Wights, that are extremely fun and cool undead units : I don’t see them that much used, which is a shame because I love their designs and effects. For Risen Dead notably, I think that a nerf might be necessary to give more depth to other units. Spiders might also be a little bit too fast, you can never catch them up with pikes unless the DG player stops micro-ing them.

 

The speelbook has one power that seems underused for me, that is the Spell of Concealment. The Spawn of Carcharoth is so good (and the two other T2s being interesting enough) that the aforementioned power is just never played. The fact that it can stealth allied structures is truly interesting, and has the potential to give birth to very innovative strategies, but I think the positioning of the tree would need a rework to see this power played. The problem might also come from the Gift of the Necromancer tier 4 that is basically insane, but I don’t really know how to fix that one apart from reducing its damage (and maybe increasing its speed to compensate).

[Arius_]

I feel that the faction is very dependent on the matchup. To fix this, here are some ideas for changes:

 

Necromancer:

Current issue: Comes in too late as moving Presence, too strong for 2500

Proposed fix:

• reduce cost to 1500
• Lv1 Ability: Switch (like mounting) between Shapeless Malice and Standard Form.
  Standard Form now is supporting troops like Arwen
• Add Lv1 Ability: ‘Grow in Strength’ (Lv up for 800/1000/1200)
• Buff to overall stats

Effect of the fix: The Necromancer would not be engaged in the front line but support troops or weaken enemies, which would be more accurate to his actions in the canon. The faction would now have a proper albeit weird faction leader.

 

Wraiths:

Current issue: Very strong units that require little skill to use

Proposed fix: Add Damage over time inflected

Effect of the fix: Wraith are not being seen roaming middle earth – true to canon. Also not too big of a nerf if Necromancer changes as proposed.

 

Black Banners:

Current issue: Faction does not use conventional upgrades - this seems therefore weird as does building orcs and immediately sacrificing them

Proposed fix:

• Change name to ‘eternal servitude’
• Change research cost to 1200 and upgrade cost to 250
• Unit now unlocks the ‘eternal servitude’ of Broken Rabble

Effect of the fix: Orcs can now be properly used in combination with the Wraiths

 

Tower of Sorcery:
Current issue: Faction is dependent on good matchup – factions with strong and upgraded units can delete Dol Guldur in later stages of the game.

Proposed fix: New unit ‘Mind Breaker’

• Model either some orcish company with torture equipment or an elven spirit like the builder
• Accessed at Tower of Sorcery Lv3
• Cost 1500
• Ability: ‘Corrupt their mind’ – target enemy unit: After a small delay, the Mind Breaker vanishes and the target enemy unit gets taken over.
• Stats and other abilities are secondary

Effect of the fix: The enemy can’t use strong units to progress the game, essentially keeping an endless midgame. In addition, the enemy is encouraged to use a lot of heroes (as they can’t switch sides) which adds to the feeling of a hero company fighting Dol Guldur – which is a nice nod to canon.

I have some other ideas, but as this is getting too long I would be glad to first hear about your opinion on those.