The Last Alliance

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"In the land of Mordor, in the fires of Mount Doom, the Dark Lord Sauron forged in secret a master ring, to control all others. And into this Ring, he poured his cruelty, his malice, and his will to dominate all life. One Ring to rule them all. One by one, the free lands of Middle-earth fell to the power of the Ring. But there were some who resisted."
—Galadriel

In the Second Age, the Dark Lord Sauron forged the One Ring to dominate all other Rings of Power. The Elves became aware of his deception and formed the Last Alliance of Men and Elves with Elendil, the High King of Gondor and Arnor. Together, the Last Alliance drove Sauron's forces back into the land of Mordor, where the shadows lie. They besieged Sauron's fortress of Barad-dûr until at last, the Lord of the Rings revealed himself and fought with the Last Alliance to determine the fate of Middle-earth.

The Last Alliance is the first mission of the Lord of the Rings Campaign, its playable heroes consist of Elrond, Isildur, Elendur, Elendil and Gil-galad. All heroes must be kept alive during gameplay, otherwise the mission is failed.

## Guide

**New Objective - Destroy the orc camp and establish a base**

Elrond and Isildur arrive at level 1 with a small force of 2 battalions of Dúnedain Soldiers, 1 battalion of Dúnedain Archers and 1 battalion of Lindon Warriors and Lindon Spearmen each to scout the area without rousing Sauron's full attention. They are immediately confronted by hordes of Orc Warriors and as well as two Battle Towers that guard the pass; these towers can inflict substantial damage and so it is advised to use the heroes to destroy the towers whilst the units dispatch the orcs. These towers drop treasure when destroyed, which the player will need later on for recruiting troops as they cannot build any resource structures throughout the mission. To the west, there is an orc camp which is being assaulted by Dúnedain Soldiers who are becoming overwhelmed - the players must traverse the plains of Gorgoroth to rescue them and set up camp at that location.

**Bonus Objective - Clear out the hordes of orcs that infest the plains of Gorgoroth**

As they progress, the player shall encounter more defensive towers which must also be destroyed with several orc battalions. Killing these battalions and destroying the towers helps level Isildur and Elrond up and increases the amount of resources the player will be able to spend when building their army. There are several orc tents as well that can be destroyed for additional resources. Upon reaching the camp, the player will gain control of the attacking Dúnedain Scouts as well as Elendur - these can be pulled back so that the orcs pursue them and can be cut down by the heroes and archer fire. Elrond's **Leithio I Philinn!** ability is particularly useful at wiping out the clumped up Orc Warriors. The player must also destroy the Mordor Citadel to gain control of the position.

**New Objective - Destroy the orc pits to the north and await reinforcements**

There is a small orc camp to the north of the player's position that must be destroyed to prepare for Gil-galad and Elendil's arrival with reinforcements; this camp is protected by several orc battalions and an Olog-hai. The player is given access to three build plots, which they can use to build a Dúnedain Tent, a Noldor Tent and a Well. The Dúnedain troops are cheaper in resources and CP but weaker than the Lindon troops available from the Noldor Tent - CP is limited throughout the mission and so players must be conservative with which troops they recruit and when they recruit them. As the player advances up the hill to the northern orc camp, they will receive a notification that their base is under attack by Nazgûl and orcs; these will destroy all of the player's structures if the camp was left undefended and then shall move up the hill to attack their troops. Players should use Isildur and Elrond to deal with the Nazgûl as when **Shards of Narsil** is active, Isildur can kill the Nazgûl in a very small number of hits.

Upon arriving at the orc camp, the Olog-hai will attack the player's forces. It is suggested that the player keeps their melee infantry back whilst their heroes and archers bring the troll down as otherwise they could suffer significant casualties - particularly if their units are grouped up. There are two Orc Barracks which must be destroyed; they each drop treasure when destroyed.

**New Objective - Protect the camp and move up the slopes of the Orodruin**

Gil-galad and Elendil arrive with a vast number of reinforcements; Isildur, Elrond and their remaining forces can return to camp to rally with the rest of the Last Alliance. An enormous number of Orc Warriors swarm from the slopes of the Orodruin, which the player must fight their way through to confront the bulk of Sauron's forces. Players must be cautious as volcanic debris randomly bombards the area, which can kill friendly troops and stun units in the vicinity of the impact. Players should line their troops up so that the heroes and melee infantry hold the hordes of Mordor at bay whilst the Dúnedain Archers and Lindon Warriors with bows equipped at the rear fire at the enemy. These archers should prioritise the greatest dangers, such as the group of Olog-hai attacking, before they can reach the player's front line. Elendil's **Hands of the King** allow heroes to use their abilities in quick succession - allowing **Leithio I Philinn!** and **Shards of Narsil** to be cast at least twice in this engagement. As this battle rages, the orcs launch another attack on the player's camp and then attempt a flanking attack once the camp has been destroyed - it is possible to prevent this by leaving a battalion or two to stand guard at the camp.

**New Objective - Push through towards Sauron's final stronghold**

Upon defeating the vast hordes of Mordor, a gate opens to the East - giving players access to Sauron's stronghold which is protected by many orcs and three Nazgûl. It is recommended to wait, to allow battalions to replenish all of their units before advancing into this stronghold - this is because the army's CP far exceeds the limit and so the player is unable to recruit any more units.

Heroes should be used to engage the Nazgûl, particularly Gil-galad who can stun the Nazgûl with **His Lance was Keen**. Archers should once again prioritise high-risk targets such as Olog-hai that will charge the player's forces. Once the three Nazgûl are killed, a cutscene begins depicting Sauron's arrival and the deaths of Elendil and Gil-galad by his hand.

From this point onwards, the hordes of Mordor are innumerable - victory can only be achieved by defeating Sauron himself - this can be achieved by focusing all archer units on him and by targeting him with Isildur whilst **Shards of Narsil** is active. Once Sauron is defeated, the mission is complete.

## Trivia

* This mission was released in AotR 3.0 alongside Battle of Azanulbizar as a prelude to the rest of the Fellowship of the Ring campaign which was released in AotR 4.0. However, this mission was originally created as a mission map for BFME 1 before it was converted and expanded for AotR.