Mordor Fortress

* Normal
* Heraldry of the Dark Lord
* Flames of Sammath Naur
* Scorching Spires
* Breeding Grounds
* Morgul Sorcery
* Morgul Spire
* Expansions

### Upgrades

Heraldry of the Dark Lord, Flames of Sammath Naur, Scorching Spires, Breeding Grounds, Morgul Sorcery, Morgul Spire

### Bonus

n/a

"Then at last his gaze was held: wall upon wall, battlement upon battlement, black, immeasurably strong, mountain of iron, gate of steel, tower of adamant, he saw it: Barad-dûr, Fortress of Sauron. All hope left him."
—The Breaking of the Fellowship, The Fellowship of the Ring

The Mordor Fortress is the central building of the faction, enabling the recruitment of builders and Morgul units as well as providing various defensive upgrades.

## Upgrades

The Mordor Fortress can be improved with various upgrades:

**Heraldry of the Dark Lord (W)** - Allies near the fortress gain +33% damage, +33% armour and earn experience twice as fast. Stacks with buffs and spells. Reduces hero cost by 10%. Reduces hero recruit time by 10%. Reduces builder cost by 20%. (cost: 500)

**Flames of Sammath Naur (E)** - Damages enemy units adjacent to the fortress (cost: 600)

**Scorching Spires (R)** - Allows the fortress to emit noxious fumes to poison enemy units (cost: 1000)

**Breeding Grounds (T)** -Unlocks Flight of the Hell-hawks for Nazgûl. Unlocks First of the Nine ability. Can be cast to replace the Witch-King's horse with his Fellbeast (cost: 1000)

**Morgul Sorcery (S)** - Increases fortress armour by 65%. Unlocks Gothmog and Legions of Morgul. Prerequisite to Morgul Spire (cost:1500)

**Morgul Spire (D)** - Requires the Morgul Sorcery upgrade. Allows recruitment of Morgul Vanguard. His Deadliest Servants: Passively grants +15% damage and +15% armour to all Nazgûl on the battlefield. Does not affect Fellbeasts. Allows the fortress to use the Beacon Of Morgul: All orcs on the battlefield gain +15% speed and +50% damage and armour for 30 seconds. (cost: 1500)

## Expansions

The Fortress can also have the following expansions on the surroundings build plots:

**Catapult (W)** - long range defensive weapon (cost: 600)

**Barricade (E)** - defensive arrow tower that fires at enemy units (cost: 400)

**Gate Watchers (R)** - Causes enemy units to flee in terror. Modifier Type: Passive Debuff. Nearby enemy units suffer -20% damage and -20% armour.

## Function

The fortress will shoot at nearby enemies and will periodically earn the player +25 resources.

### Recruitment

 Legions of Morgul | Elite Infantry
 Morgul Vanguard | Heroic Cavalry

All of Mordor's permanent heroes can be bought here.

### Abilities

**Scorching Spires (R)** - Emit noxious fumes to poison enemy. Requires the Scorching Spires upgrade. Left click to activate

**His Deadliest Servants** - Requires the Morgul Spire upgrade. Grants +33% damage and +33% armour to all Nazgul on the battlefield. Passive ability.

**Beacon of Morgul (F)** - Requires the Morgul Spire upgrade. All orcs on the battlefield gain +15% speed and +50% damage and armour for 30 seconds. Left click to activate.

## Strategy

Like all other fortresses, the Mordor Fortress is the core of the player's base. Without it, builders are unable to be recruited and spellbook powers are unable to be used, making it very important to defend. Fortunately, the Mordor Fortress has effective defensive expansions with the Barricade (which can be upgraded once the fire arrows upgrade has been bought), Catapults and Gate Watchers which can easily disrupt any army that isn't resistant to fear. By using the powers, the Fortress can also deal damage with **Scorching Spires** and the **Flames of Sammath Naur**. This upgrade will force any melee attackers to bunch up around the fortress entrance or force the player to use ranged siege.

The Fortress will provide some late game units with the Legions of Morgul acting as stronger but more expensive version of your orc warriors that can lower enemy armour. The Morgul Vanguard are expensive but powerful heroic cavalry, able to weaken, disrupt and trample enemy forces while attacking heroes with their morgul blades. Finally, **Morgul Spire** is an expensive but powerful upgrade, allowing your Nazgûl to transition into the late game by improving their stats (although this does not include Fellbeasts). By activating **Beacon of Morgul**, orc units across the map (including Black Uruk Marauders and elite Legions of Morgul ) can be supported.