Dol Guldur (War in the North)

* Loading Screen
* Map Layout

### Playable Heroes

Elrond, Celeborn, Galadriel, King Dáin, King Brand, Thorin III Stonehelm, Glorfindel, Glóin, Thranduil, Arwen

"...the assaults were driven back; and when the Shadow passed, Celeborn came forth and led the host of Lórien over Anduin in many boats. They took Dol Guldur, and Galadriel threw down its walls and laid bare its pits, and the forest was cleansed."
—Appendix B, The Return of the King

The last act of the War of the Ring in the North was to destroy Sauron's fortress of Dol Guldur. It was from here that his forces had assaulted the realms of Lothlórien and the Woodland Realm. The fortress would need to be cleansed by the Free Peoples for the Forces of Darkness to be defeated, and army of elves was ready to do just that.

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

## Guide

**New Objective - Locate and capture the Northern Signal Fire. Locate and capture the Southern Signal Fire.**

**Bonus Objective - Destroy all spider lairs**

The player begins with an army of Rivendell and Lothlórien elves under the command of Lord Elrond, Galadriel and Celeborn, as well as a trio of builders. Use your builders to prepare a base, making sure that it includes defences. The main objective is to capture the two Signal Fires in the map to obtain reinforcements. The paths to each of the Signal Fires contains Spider Lairs that can be destroyed to help level up your heroes. The Signal Fires themselves are defended by a Mordor encampment containing Orc Barracks, Sentry Towers and Troll Cages. Use of your heroes can be vital here as Galadriel can devastate the orc masses with her AOE attack while Elrond and Celeborn can both support your army.

The north Signal Fire will bring reinforcements from Erebor including King Dáin, King Brand, Thorin III Stonehelm, Glorfindel and Glóin. Once the fire has been lit a dragon will be summoned along the west of the map. It will try to destroy any buildings and units you may have in the region. Try to avoid it until its timer runs out. Otherwise, use primarily upgraded archers and heroes to defeat it as melee troops will be killed quickly.

The southern Signal Fire will bring reinforcements from Mirkwood in the form of Woodland Realm units led by Thranduil and Arwen, three Ents and a pair of Lothlórien builders. The builders that arrive with reinforcements can be used to buy upgrades for non-Rivendell units.

**New Objective - Breach the fortress of Dol Guldur**

**New Objective - Destroy all structures within Dol Guldur**

**Bonus Objective - Seize all Signal Fires**

Breaching the fortress from the center will require breaking the main gate. The ents can do this easily although they will need to be protected. Alternately, the player can enter the fortress by crossing the river at the north or south-east of the map. The fortress itself is heavily defended with orcs and trolls, as well as countless towers. Work through the fortress slowly, making sure to wipe out all forces in an area before moving on. The abilities of your heroes are invaluable for supporting allies, slaying foes and destroying buildings. Your ents are also invaluable for destroying fortifications from afar.

**New Objective - Repel the Mordor Counterattack**

Once you have breached the fortress, a timer will begin before Mordor reinforcements will arrive. These will arrive from both the west and south of the map. The west reinforcements will mainly contain orcs, Nazgûl on horseback, a pair of Mûmakil and Catapults. The southern reinforcements will contain Easterlings, Haradrim archers, Olog-Hai, additional Nazgûl and more catapults. Be sure to have units and heroes in both regions of the map to counter the reinforcements. If your defences and armies are well prepared, these Mordor armies can prove to be little trouble.

Once the counter attacks are defeated, the player can continue to attack the fortress. There are a few threats to watch out for. Attacking the fortress from the west river will trigger an attack from the Watcher. Approaching the citadel will trigger an attack from a fell beast. In both cases, use ranged attacks to bring down the creatures to avoid excessive losses. Once all Mordor buildings and units have been destroyed, the battle will be won.