Rivendell (Dominion of Sauron)

### Playable Heroes

Muzgash, Urshak, Wulfgar, Mouth of Sauron, Khamûl, Nazgûl, Wraiths on Wings, Sauron

"'Pride and despair!' he cried. 'Didst thou think that the eyes of the White Tower were blind? Nay, I have seen more than thou knowest, Grey Fool. For thy hope is but ignorance. Go then and labour in healing! Go forth and fight! Vanity. For a little space you may triumph on the field, for a day. But against the Power that now arises there is no victory. To this City only the first finger of its hand has yet been stretched. All the East is moving. And even now the wind of thy hope cheats thee and wafts up Anduin a fleet with black sails. The West has failed. It is time for all to depart who would not be slaves.'"
—The Pyre of Denethor, The Return of the King

The last hope of the Free Peoples of Middle-earth has failed. Frodo has fallen and the One Ring is now in Sauron's grasp. His last obstacle in conquering Middle-earth is the Elven haven of Rivendell where the last leaders of the Free Peoples are preparing to make their final stand. And so the Dark Lord sends his armies to the Valley of Imladris to destroy this final threat.

Rivendell is the eighth mission on the Dominion of Sauron Campaign. It is recommended that this mission is played as Misty Mountains.

## Guide

**New Objective - Penetrate the perimeter of Rivendell**

The player begins in the south of the map with a force of Moria Orcs, Mountain Orcs and Dunlending Longbowmen led by Wulfgar, Muzgash and Urshak. They have a Misty Mountains Fortress, a Dunlending Longhouse and an Armory for use in upgrading the Dunlendings. This mission can be difficult and requires patience, but can be dealt with flexibly. Begin by building up a strong economy before worrying about an army as it is likely that your armies will be need replacing multiple times. Make sure that defences have been built up in your base as well. The enemy will quickly send an attack of Knights of Rivendell led by Glorfindel to your base. Use your Mountain-orc Brutes and archers to deal with the Knights will the heroes fight Glorfindel. The enemy will also use Barrage on your structures. Once the player has built up an army, they can proceed further east where they can fight off a force of basic Lothlórien units. These are guarding an Outpost, a Shipwright and the eastern bridge leading into Rivendell.

This bridge is heavily guarded. The northern end is protected by towers garrisoned with upgraded Rivendell Archers, as well as a pair of Heroic Statues and elven units on the walls. Prioritize the towers and archers first to avoid excessive losses. Use powers, monsters and Urshak to destroy the gate. However, once the gate is destroyed, the elves will retaliate with a Sunflare which can destroy or damage much of your army. They will also send out additional Rivendell troops (including Veterans of the Last Alliance) led by heroes to attack your forces. It may be best to retreat and rebuild your army here.

Once the gate has been destroyed, the enemy will also send a large number of Eagles to your base. These can deal heavy damage to your structures and army, so use base defences and archers to wipe them out. Dunlending Longbowmen can be very useful here, as can be Mountain-orc Scouts. After a short time, the player will receive reinforcements in the form of the Witch-king, two Wraiths on Wings and a pair of Mordor builders which can be used to allow Mordor units to be added to your army. Use the flying heroes to help finish off the Eagles.

**New Objective - Destroy the House of Elrond and surrounding fortresses**

The player can then begin to attack the rest of Rivendell. The first fortress is to the north of the eastern bridge. The second fortress is to the west of House of Elrond. Rivendell itself can be split into three sections: left, right and center. The center section contains the House of Elrond and is mainly guarded by upgraded Rivendell units, as well as Elrond and Arwen.

As the level continues, the player will gain additional reinforcements in the form of Khamûl, Mouth of Sauron and a Nazgûl with Harbingers of Shadow, Catapults and a Tethered Shade. Use this to gain access to Dol Guldur units (make sure to build a Dol Guldur Fortress or Ruinous Tower first to get access to additional Shades).

**Bonus Objective - Slay the Fellowship**

Once the player has progressed further into Rivendell, they will have a notification saying that Gandalf and the rest of the Fellowship is attacking. They will arrive from the west of the map, along with battalions of Nandor Hîr-Hathol, Grey Company and Wyrm Slayers. At this point in the mission, the player should have a large army complete with heroes and so this force can be dealt with easily. Once this is done, the player can then continue to assault Rivendell. The player will also gain control of Sauron who is a very powerful addition to your army.

**New Objective - The Dark Lord Sauron must not be vanquished**

The right section of Rivendell mainly contains a few Elven structures and a few upgraded Rivendell units. However, attacking this area will also trigger the summoning of half a dozen ents along with Treebeard. These can be taken out with upgraded archers, monsters and heroes.

The left section of Rivendell can be assaulted by crossing the western bridge. Like the eastern bridge, the northern end to this bridge is protected by multiple towers with garrisoned archers. Prioritise these to minimise losses. Upon attacking this region, your army will also be attacked from a path on the west by an army of Dúnedain Rangers and Dúnedain Outriders led by the Sons of Elrond. Defeat this army and proceed further north. This area of Rivendell contains buildings and units from Rivendell, Lothlórien, the Woodland Realm and the Dúnedain. Galadriel is present in this region. If your units are armoured, then she will not have much effect and can be easily dealt with by your own forces. There is also a Hall of Fire which will summon all of its images to deal high damage to your forces. These are the main dangers in this area of the map and can be easily dealt with.

The House of Elrond itself is protected by a few upgraded towers and Rivendell units. However, these would not be too much trouble at this stage of the mission. Once the House and all Fortresses are destroyed, the mission is completed.