Misty Mountains Fortress

* Standard
* Cave Bats
* Cruel Spikes
* Infestation
* Brood of the North
* Gundabad Spires
* Drums in the Deep
* Expansions

### Upgrades

Wild Allegiance, Cave Bats, Cruel Spikes, Infestation, Brood of the North, Gundabad Spires (Desecrated Halls for Adventure: Shadow and Flame), Drums in the Deep

### Bonus

n/a

"Messengers had passed to and fro between all their cities, colonies and strongholds; for they resolved now to win the dominion of the North. Tidings they had gathered in secret ways; and in all the mountains there was a forging and an arming. Then they marched and gathered by hill and valley, going ever by tunnel or under dark, until around and beneath the great mountain Gundabad of the North, where was their capital, a vast host was assembled ready to sweep down in time of storm unawares upon the South."
—The Hobbit, The Clouds Burst

Throughout the Misty Mountains there lived various Orc tribes that raided the lands of Eriador throughout the Third Age. After the death of Azog at the hands of Dáin Ironfoot, the armies of the Misty Mountains came under the command of Bolg of the North. Upon learning of the death of Smaug and capture of the Lonely Mountain, Bolg united the Orcish tribes under one banner and mustered them at the ancient stronghold of Mount Gundabad before marching to war upon Erebor.

The Misty Mountains Fortress is the central building of both the Misty Mountains faction as well as its Adventure: Shadow and Flame subfaction, enabling the recruitment of builders in addition to unlocking various units in the faction via upgrades. It can also be upgraded with various defensive expansions.

## Upgrades

The Misty Mountains Fortress can be upgraded with various upgrades:

**Wild Allegiance (W)** - Unlocks Wild Allegiance. Can be cast on any Creep Lair to take control of the lair and start producing units. Captured Lairs produce resources. Reduces Hero cost by 10%. Reduces Hero recruit time by 10%. Reduces cost of builders by 20%. Cost: 800

**Cave Bats (E)** - The Fortress gains a vision bonus and can detect stealthed units. Cost: 500

**Cruel Spikes (R)** - Damages enemy units adjacent to the Fortress. Cost: 600

**Infestation (T)** - Adds a number of Moria Orc Archers with fire arrows onto the Fortress. Adds fire damage to all Orcish Lookouts. Cost: 1500

**Brood of the North (S)** - Unlocks Mountain Giants and Wyrm Lair. Allows the fortress to temporarily summon a Wyrm. Cost: 1500 (*Standard Misty Mountains faction only)*

**Gundabad Spires (D)** - Increases fortress armour. Allows training of a second battalion of Bolg's Bodyguard. Cost: 1500

*(Note: In Adventure: Shadow and Flame, this upgrade is renamed as **Desecrated Halls** and instead allows for the training of a second battalion of Hobgoblin Plunderers.)*

**Drums in the Deep (F)** - Requires Gundabad Spires/Desecrated Halls. Temporarily summons 5 hordes of Moria Orc Screechers. Cost: 500

*(Note: In Adventure: Shadow and Flame only, this upgrade also allows Moria structures to temporarily summon 2 hordes of Moria Orc Screechers with their own Drums in the Deep ability.)*

## Expansions

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

**Orcish Lookout Expansion (W)** - defensive arrow tower that fires at enemy units. Benefits from Infestation fortress upgrade (cost: 400)

**Wolf Den Expansion (E)** - Wolves will emerge and attack nearby enemy units (cost: 500)

**Troll Sentry Expansion (R)** - A troll that hurls rocks at enemy units (cost: 600)

**Tunnel Entrance Expansion (T)** - Connects this Fortress to the tunnel system (cost: 200)

## Function

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

#### Recruitment

All of Misty Mountain's permanent heroes can be recruited from the Fortress.

#### Abilities

**Wild Allegiance (T)** - Requires the Wild Allegiance upgrade. Cast on a lair to gain control of the lair. Creatures guarding the lair are slain. Captured lairs produce resources and recruit units. Left click icon then left click on target lair.

**Lesser Dragon (D)** - Requires the Brood of the North upgrade. Temporarily summons a Fire Wyrm. Left click on icon then left click on target area. *(Standard Misty Mountains faction only)*

**Drums in the Deep (S)** - Requires the Drums in the Deep upgrade. Temporarily summons 5 hordes of Level 2 Moria Orcs.

Modifier Type: Active Debuff. Targeted enemy units suffer -25% Damage and -20% Armor. Does not stack with other Debuffs. Left click on icon then left click on target area.

## Strategy

As with all fortresses, the Misty Mountains Fortress is vital to the Misty Mountains player's gameplay. Without it, builders and heroes are unable to be recruited, spells are unable to be used and the player would lose a vital defensive structure. The building is therefore an important target for any enemy forces, making the defensive upgrades and expansions very useful.

A key upgrade for the fortress is **Wild Allegiance**. Not only does this reduce the cost of the faction's heroes but it also allows for control of a lair. This can provide map control with the goblin units protecting the lair and provides a long term source of income if the lair can be protected. Depending on the map, this can also help the faction's unit roster in the early game with many possible options including powerful monsters, early cavalry, tanky barrow wights or even more goblin spam. The fortress has a number of defensive upgrades that can be used to fight off enemy armies, with the most powerful being **Brood of the North**, summoning a powerful monster to the field to burn through armies. This upgrade is also useful in the late game to provide access to Fire Wyrms and Mountain Giants. **Drums in the Deep** is also a useful ability, both for defence and for quickly boosting an army's numbers with temporary units.

The Fortress largely remains the same for the Adventure: Shadow and Flame subfaction. One major difference is that **Brood of the North** is absent from the list of possible upgrades. Instead, **Drums in the Deep** will also allow other Moria orc structures to temporarily summon 2 units of Moria Orc Screechers by themselves, providing them an additional layer of defence that allows them to stall enemy attackers until the player's main army can deal with them.