Iron Hills Guards (Adventure: Battle of the Five Armies)

* Portrait
* In Game
* Upgraded

"To the Great Hall of Thráin, Thrór brought back the Arkenstone, and he and his folk prospered and became rich, and they had the friendship of all Men that dwelt near. For they made not only things of wonder and beauty but weapons and armour of great worth; and there was great traffic of ore between them and their kin in the Iron Hills."
—Appendix A, Return of the King

The Warriors of the Iron Hills were skilled with many weapons they used in their wars with the orcs and men of the East. These soldiers were often forced to travel far, carrying with them great packs of supplies and weapons. When Dáin Ironfoot came to the aid of Thorin Oakenshield in the Battle of the Five Armies, he brought with him a force of trained soldiers wielding mattocks. After he became king, the warriors of the Iron Hills were brought into the army of Erebor, although some still remained in the east to defend their home.

While the Iron Hills Guards, or Ashâmar-sharâhul are a summonable unit for Reign of Ironfoot Erebor in standard play, they are also a permanently recruitable semi-Heroic Elite Swordsmen unit for the Adventure: Battle of the Five Armies subfaction in standard play. They are recruitable from a Level 3 Iron Hills Redoubt and are limited to 3 at a time.

*For their temporary summon variant in standard play, see the Iron Hills Guards page.*

## Abilities

**Rising Anger** - Consecutive attacks temporarily increase attack damage by 5% up to a maximum of 25%. Passive ability.

**Staunch Defenders (R)** - Heroes nearby the Ashâmar-sharâhul are granted +10% armour and damage. Passive ability.

At level 3, can be activated to pull enemies nearby the Ashâmar-sharâhul towards them. Left click to activate.

**Level 4: Hymn of Durin (T)** - The Ashâmar-sharâhul sound an intimidating chant, reducing armour of nearby enemy units by 35% for 20 seconds. Left click to activate.

## Upgrades

**Khuzdûl Runes (C)** - When equipped, increases damage dealt by melee weapons. Research the Armouries of Thrór fortress upgrade and cast its ability to cast Khuzdûl Runes**.**

*(NOTE: This upgrade is currently bugged and does not work.)*

**Thrór's Banners (V)** - When equipped, increases this battalion to level 2. Research upgrade at Dalish Ruin to enable this equipment. Cost: 100

## Strategy

The Ashâmar-sharâhul are an elite, semi-Heroic Swordsmen unit for the Adventure: Battle of the Five Armies subfaction. While they have about similar durability to the Iron Hills Warriors and their temporary summon counterparts, being pre-equipped with Heavy Armor and having the same amount of health, they have a plethora of powerful abilities to make them stand out. **Rising Anger** increases their damage output the longer they are in combat, which makes them very dangerous the longer they have been battling especially against enemies that have already been affected by **Sundering Strikes** from either the Iron Hills Warriors or Iron Hills Phalanx. **Staunch Defenders** passively increases the armour and damage of the subfaction's many heroes, both from Erebor and from the Woodland Realm, and can be activated at level 3 to pull nearby enemies towards them, making disengaging or escaping from the Ashâmar-sharâhul difficult. **Hymn of Durin** can heighten the threat level of the Iron Hills Guards even further, as it immediately lowers enemy armour by 35% around them and makes them more vulnerable to both the Iron Hills Guards themselves as well as their allies. It is recommended to level up the Iron Hills Guards as soon as possible with experience-boosting abilities such as Roäc's **Wisdom of Yore**, as an Iron Hills Guards unit with all of their abilities unlocked can single-handedly turn the tide of battle and will be a deadly threat against infantry and heroes regardless.

It should be noted that while the upgrades list for the Ashâmar-sharâhul includes **Khuzdûl Runes** from the Armouries of Thrór Fortress ability, this upgrade is currently bugged and does not actually work. Thus, one should avoid maneuvering the Iron Hills Guards upon the armour/weapon racks provided by the Armouries of Thrór as this will waste the upgrade and force the player to wait quite a long time before the ability recharges.