Mountain Troll

* Portrait
* Regular
* Upgraded Portrait
* Armor
* Sword
* Club
* Hammer

* Normal

"[There] came striding up, roaring like beasts, a great company of hill-trolls out of Gorgoroth...Like a storm they broke upon the line of the men of Gondor."
—The Return of the King

**Mountain Trolls**

Mordor's Mountain Trolls are hulking abominations that dominate the battlefield with their raw size and brutal savagery. These monsters boast a good health pool with some armor to boot, and they trample enemy troops under their feet while dealing big splash damage with their vicious punches. Mountain trolls are also excellent for crumbling enemy buildings—and if a troll dies, there is a chance for it to flail around to damage and knock back even more people before it falls.

As they are quite expensive, Mountain Trolls can't be amassed rapidly but even one or two of them pair up well with swarms of orcs because of their ability to overpower almost everything else. Furthermore, if Sauron has influenced a troll cage, mountain trolls can be equipped with armor for a beefy health boost, and one of three oversized weapons with diverse properties, turning them into mighty living engines of destruction.

Owning four mountain trolls will increase Sauron's level by one. Outfitting four trolls with troll armor will also increase Sauron's level by one. Recruiting Mollok and leveling him up to level 10 will also raise Sauron's level by one. The troll cage is a good building for increasing Sauron's power, if the investment can be made.

## Abilities

*(Troll abilities have prerequisites: see "**Upgrades**")*

 **Hammer: Splintering Blow -** For 10 seconds the Troll's hammer blows disable all buildings that he attacks.

 **Club: Sweeping Strikes -** For 10 seconds the Troll's club swings hit a 30% greater area.

 **Sword: Vicious Swipes -** For 10 seconds the Troll's sword swipes knock down, in addition to units, heroes and trolls.

## Upgrades

Upgrading the mountain troll is a key part of the Troll Strategy and requires the Troll Cage to be under Sauron's influence. It is important to note that once upgraded trolls gain a new ability but will still all be selected no matter the weapon they have. Therefore doing select across map will select all the mountain trolls present but not allow you to use the abilities. The upgrades are as follows:

 **Battle Armor:** This doubles the armor from 4000 health point to 8000; it is required to move on to the weapon upgrades. Changes the armorset to **EdainTrollHeavyArmor**. **Cost:** 300

It also unlocks the following upgrade, of which you can pick one:

 **Assault Mace:** Deals large AOE damage. Unlocks the **Sweeping Strikes** ability. **Cost**: 200

 **Troll Sword:** Deals high damage against heroes and monster. Unlocks the **Vicious Swipes** ability. **Cost**: 200

 **Siege Hammer:** Deals high damage against the buildings. Unlocks the **Splintering Blow** ability. **Cost**: 200

## Strategy

These enormous monsters squish most foot soldiers underneath them, while sending enemy troops flying with their vicious punches. Plus, with their dense hides, they boast armor enough to be respectable damage-soakers in an attacking force. A group of three to four trolls are a nightmare to deal with, especially if they've been upgraded with armor and a weapon.

While mountain trolls are excellent combatants up-close, they have their limitations. While they can rip cavalry to shreds, the trolls are themselves vulnerable to the same weakness as cavalry: Spears. Mountain trolls are also rather slow compared to cavalry, meaning that they'll naturally falter in a retreat. Because of their size, mountain trolls will naturally draw fire towards them, which means that large groups of archers can stick them to death from a safe distance. One or two mountain trolls can put up a great fight against an enemy hero unit, but attacking the enemy hero is likely to draw reinforcements to fight the trolls.

The price of mountain trolls are also a point of contention. At 800 each, trolls are a hard bargain to begin with. Their price can be reduced by controlling more slaughterhouses, but their usefulness is situational, and wasting them is punishing. Mountain trolls also take patience to heal all the way, and they cannot self-heal until they reach level two of veterancy. This means that level one trolls that are severely injured just turn into suicide fodder, while the higher level trolls need to be escorted away to a safe place to heal before they're slain—a feat made far trickier if the trolls are pursued by agile cavalry.