Blue Mountains

* Loading Screen
* Map Layout

"So Thráin and Thorin with what remained of their following (among whom were Balin and Glóin) returned to Dunland, and soon afterwards they removed and wandered in Eriador, until at last they made a home in exile in the east of the Ered Luin beyond the Lune. Of iron were most of the things that they forged in those days, but they prospered after a fashion, and their numbers slowly increased. But, as Thrór had said, the Ring needed gold to breed gold, and of that or any other precious metal they had little or none."
—Appendix A, The Return of the King

After Glorfindel and Glóin defeated the Goblins at the Ettenmoors, they were found by a dwarven messenger who requested their help. Drogoth the Dragon Lord had taken the fortresses of the Ered Luin after Sauron promised him one of the seven Dwarf Rings. The alliance in the north must now defeat this beast before he causes more chaos.

This mission is the third mission of the War in the North Campaign. It is recommended that the level is played as Rivendell.

## Guide

**New Objective - Slay the Dragon**

The player begins the mission with their army fleeing into the tunnels to escape Drogoth's attacks. This force includes Rivendell Guardsmen, Erebor Warriors, Erebor Archers, an Iron Hills Demolisher and two Dwarven Builders, as well as Glorfindel and Glóin. The main objective of the mission is to kill Drogoth the Dragon Lord. While the player can go south into the opening to fight him off, this will end in failure. They must progress through the tunnels to build up their power. There is some treasure north of the starting position that can be collected. Only Dwarven units can be recruited in this mission and the map is quite large so use of the tunnel network can speed up the unit movement.

**Bonus Objective - Eliminate the Spider Lairs**

As the player progresses through the caves, they can find Spider Lairs. These can be easily wiped out by the heroes and archers, and will give treasure as a reward (which can be useful due to the limited resource production in the caves).

**Bonus Objective - Build a fortress inside the cave**

As the player fights off the Spider Lairs, they will find a more open cave area that will trigger this objective. The fortress can be useful as a defensive position. It is also recommended that the player build a Well here to help replenish their forces. A few Moria Orc Archers will try to attack your forces but these can be easily dealt with. It is recommended that the player recruit some Erebor Pikemen here as well to deal with the monsters later in the mission. The player can also build a Grand Forge to upgrade their units.

As the player's army progresses through the level, they will find a region of the map that is outside the caves. Here, there are some goblin tunnels that can be destroyed. These are guarded by some Moria Orcs that shouldn't pose too much trouble. If needed, the Demolisher or Glóin can be used to quickly destroy the buildings. On the other side of the bridge, there is a Wolf Cairn, a Tunnel and a Moria Orc Cave that can be destroyed, as well as a Signal Fire that can be captured.

**Bonus Objective - Demolish the Citadel Gate**

A cutscene will then play showing the gates of the Dwarven Fortress opening and two Stone Trolls will come out with tree trunks in hand. These can be dealt with by archers and heroes although they can heavily disrupt any melee forces sent to fight them. The player can then use the Demolisher to destroy the gate.

The player can also enter the fortress through a tunnel east of the Signal Fire although they will have to fight through spiders, wargs, goblins and two Mountain Giants on the way. A mounted Glorfindel can deal with the Giants quickly while the rest of the army deals with the other units and buildings. Once this region is secure, buildings can be built here. It is best that a Dwarven Mine be built in this region to allow for quick movement, as well as a Well.

**Bonus Objective - Eliminate all Fire Drake Lairs**

The player can progress into the cavern in the north-east of the map to confront Drogoth himself. However, they also have the opportunity to explore the rest of the caves. These caves are full of wargs, spiders, goblins, trolls and giants, as well as treasure that can be collected. There are also Fire Wyrms and their lairs that can be fought and destroyed. The Wyrms are devastating to melee infantry so it is best that they be fought with heroes and archers. Once all lairs across the map are destroyed, the objective is complete. It is also possible that any allied buildings in this region of the map can be attacked and so the player should have some defences in place.

Before attempting to attack the north-east of the map, the player should ensure that they have a large number of Erebor Archers with them. The path to this region will be blocked by gates that can be damaged by the Demolishers, Erebor Grim Hammers and Glóin. At the most northern gate, the final battle begin. The player will need to fight off Spiderlings that can climb over the walls as well as wargs, Mountain Orcs and Drogoth himself. Focus all archers on the Dragon Lord while the rest of the army fights the other creatures. Drogoth can deal heavy damage to your armies with his standard attacks while disrupting your forces. He can also paralyse your heroes which can prevent them from attacking. Make use of Glóin's Slam to deal with the enemy units and the spellbook buffs to improve your archers. Once Drogoth has been killed, the battle will be won.