Divide & Conquer (V4.5): Faction Overview - Moria 

*Me playing as Moria besieging Imladris* My Army: 4,500 Goblins. Defenders:600 Elves and Men Results: Victory resulting in 3000 goblins being killed. Me: Acceptable losses

Does anyone else find these faction overviews the most relaxing videos ever?

I love the occasional "meow" in the background. It gives your videos character. Don't need to apologize!

Moria's my favorite faction. A horde of underdogs takin' the world by storm.

One way to spice up their roster would be to make them the fastest ocs, as they are seen in both trilogies to be very agile and small. Also maybe creating unique merc pools for them aroun the misty mountains so that they can raise hirdes of trash even faster would be rly nice addition

20:21 "Or acting as the very squishy and malleable anvil that the enemy will bump into." ROFL, this may be one of your all-time best lines. And then there's the Flame Wranglers. Initially I was thinking, "well, you just have to find them a big enough target". But after seeing them in action...you could bring those things to besiege Minas Tirith and they'd find a way to hit Mordor!

"You already get the orch trash so don't bother training those (Orc Fighters from Brawler's Hall)." Well, they ARE your best unit in the early game, compared to the goblin units, so they are really useful. And Dunland are Followers of Melkor? Oh Galu :D, they are Middlemen.

Trash lower tier, but one of the best elite cavalry units in the game

Please Galu notice this thread: I think this faction has potential lore-wise for some cool events. I would love to see them get some stuff in future updates. Some ideas: As you mentioned Sauron's hold on the mountains is weak. Perhaps a choice where orcs from Mordor appear and offer something. You can then choose to pledge proper fealty to Sauron or become a rogue orc nation like Gundabad. Making the Balrog available is a good thing. If they had a Balrog which is a lieutenant of Morgoth, if a lesser one than Sauron would they really submit? Maybe the Balrog and some Gundabad units can be a reward for defying Sauron. Where as siding with him could give you some Mordor units? The Balrog and a decision event don't need to be linked. And i am trying to take into account the limited number of units by suggesting options which don't require entirely new units. If not Mordor vs neutral, maybe you can side with Mordor or Isengard for a building with some of their respective units (mid tier from each, but still better than Moria's base). Like I said these are just ideas, but I do hope you like them. Hopefully this faction doesn't need to remain the "forgotten child" of Dac.

Perhaps the unique script for the Goblins could do with the awakening of Durins Bane. Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't the Balrogs general's of Morgoth, in the same manner Sauron was? I.e. Sauron and the Balrogs are of the relatively same power level. So, when the Balrog awakes, it would make sense if the Goblins began worshipping the Balrog instead of Sauron/Morgoth, being themselves cowardly and fearful of this being who is much more closer to them relative to Sauron. (The idea of Balrog worship featured in the design of the Goblins in the Fellowship of the Ring). This would mean a breaking your alliance with all the evil factions, yet obtaining the Balrog as a general and perhaps some unique monstrous/heavy infantry.

Moria... The only faction I've ever won with

Don't apologize, it's the internet, cats are ALWAYS welcome here.

Just give them a revenge script to attack and sack the Shire, revenge for Golfimbul

Script idea: they get the balrog if they have the ring+ do something special 🤔 something like they get a message from Sauron : " Give me that bro." And the goblins be like "What about a no?" They turn enemies a big Army spawns and if you defeat them you get the balrog 🤔 I have a lot of more ideas i can write them down if you are interested. :)

I’ve always thought it would be cool if Moria became sort of a mismatch faction, like in that old LOTR Battle Strategy Game. Like while they are a horde faction with weak units they also have monsters which are strong. I know that this could have the issue of making it like Mordor, but maybe placing more of a reliance on beasts in Uber tier would be interesting. I know it’s probably not possible

Suggestion for unique buildings that thematically fit with goblins: I call it scavenger hoard. Relatively cheap building line that can be build at village level to city level, with increasingly more benefits to it. Like at the first tier it gives an armor bonus and culture bonus plus population growth , second tier improves armor bonus and adds building income, third tier adds free upkeep and increases the armor bonus further, and final tier gives the possibility to recruit a new unit? Further suggestion is that this building line can only be build outside the starting territories of the goblins. Reasoning for this building line is that it plays into the raider and scavenger nature of the goblins and that it is cheap because the building pays for itself. Would also give their early game a bit more of a punch because you can armor up the trash at village level and make their lategame scary because of the bonuses from the building. Really plays into the growing horde theme of the goblins in my opinion.

A small suggestion for Moria being to give them a building unique to the faction which they can only build in the mountainous regions which are goblin tunnels providing a small income boost and movement boost. Whilst I know that goblin towns special building already had this to some degree you could make capturing the city a requirement for this unique building.

Watching the snaga stats got me thinking... wouldn’t it be fun to make a top 10 worst units of the game???? I know it’s not very high quality content but for something like April fools it would be cool.

Being so populous, maybe give the goblins something like clans for a special script. Where you are given the choice of expansion to either attack the anduin or lothlorien. An example is if you choose to go for anduin, the clans that support you will give more support in terms of troops, plenty of trash or mid tier troops, and if you went for the elves, fewer clans will support you but giving you some of your elites, probably earlier than they are supposed to appear to give the goblins the danger factor they need. im sorry to leave this suggestion here, I'm of a minority that do not use discord.

The chanting Uruks had a weapon type listed as "Crude." I've seen that for ships in the game. What does that mean or rather, how does that compare to other unit's weapon type? I'm sorry if this has already been explained.

Saying that Balin comes with oomph is an understatement as a full-stack with a few of the best melee units in the game makes it almost impossible to win if you don't have two full-stacks. Also as another tip don't go for goblin town because you cannot hold it, the elves will immediately send a full-stack to take it from you.

Some scrip ideas maybe the longer you hold both morias the madder the dwarves get and the more coordinated their attack efforts, while at the same time because the orcs are there longer they get to delve deeper and get some monetary bonus for finding hidden dwarf treasures. Or something.

goblins of moria/orcs of the misty mountains were always my favorite faction. so sad lol

Think there’s a small typo on the Mountain Uruks, “It is a brave sole who stands his ground against these vile abominations”.

Moria is one of my favorite factions. They just fling goblins at the enemy until they win haha I love it

16:54 meanwhile AI orcs of gundabad field 2,5 full Blackshield armies out of 1 city (Dain's Halls)

Snaga and wargs are the early MVPs of the Goblins.

There’s something I really like about the Goblins, it’s probably because they remind me of the Skaven, although I’m not sure the Goblins have nuclear weapons and Gatling guns, I believe at least, maybe it’s in the Silmarillion

16:55 something I've been looking for. I really hated how they gave the AI cheat scripts for the third age mod. My playstyle revolves around building up a network of spies and watchtowers to scope out and defend territories, so an army popping up right beside my spy or several units spawning to defend a town that I've infiltrated is really obvious and immersion breaking. It's like playing chess and cornering your opponent, only for them to place several pieces on the board for no reason THEN EXPECT YOU TO KEEP PLAYING.

I think it would be fitting to include the resurgence or reemergence of a Goblin King. For example, if you play as Moria and you reclaim Goblin Town you get a mid-tier unique general that is supposed to be the "new Goblin King". Sort of like how uniting the clans script works for Rhun. And you could do the same thing for any orc faction that reclaims Goblin Town for the first time

I love moria. I love beeing the undersog and there is nothing more satisfying than trash goblins killing Elite elves.

I had already guessed it was Erebor due to the Dwarven Catapults and the lack of cavalry before you even attacked a unit with the Flame Wrangler. I did finally have a correct guess again, so that's nice.

I think it would be easy to spice orcish factions up a notch. Sense of advancement, building a legacy with monuments, having goals and evolution often makes playing fan-favorite factions such as Gondor, Dorwinion and Dunedain so much fun. Goblins lack this, being mostly an endless horde mowing down opposition. However, if Moria Orcs only had few script options to set them on with realistic but conflicting goals and faction-building at the expense of other evil factions, Gundabad in particular, I'm sure most players would not dislike them so much. Considering all the rich lore Tolkien provided of goblins, they should be very industrious and dwarf-like if "they take the trouble." Bad-hearted but sharp, enamoured by their own cleverness, enslaving other people to build things according to their designs. Goblins are, if left to their own devices, ingenious in their own way. Scavenging and looting and general disorganization - albeit their most infamous - are not by any means their only defining traits. Considering only Azog and later his son Bolg were capable of uniting all mountain orcs of North under one banner, both Orcs of Gundabad and Orcs of Moria should have a similar script that puts them at some point at odds to contend for overlordship of the Misty Mountains. Each orc tribe vies for a chance to form the eminent nation state if you will, which would also go nicely along with backstabbing but industrious nature of orcs. Ideologically Moria Orcs would see themselves to be inheritors of Azog with their sizable mordorian population of orcs and uruks further stoking their fanaticism. While Gundabad as an ancient orcish capital since Bolg's time, now its own kingdom, looks down on their southern kin and their claims. Orc tribes and polities would naturally squabble amongst each other for the top spot, with Moria orcs hypothetically more in line with Sauron's policies (after all many orc chiefs since times of the Last Allience were sent from Barad-Dur to whip northern orcs into shape), while Gundabad, being more fiercely independent due to their history and geographical distance from the Dark Lord, is not as completely daunted and dominated by his spirit. Perhaps have an event that at some point gives Moria Orcs choice to strive for overlordship over Gundabad, making two uneasy orcish allies neutral for the time being. Should Moria Orcs wrestle city of Gundabad under their control they subjugate their northern kin and vice versa. Victor gains not only appropriate ancillaries, but assumes overlordship of the mountains by strengthening their roster from special units from the subjugated faction, with advanced building options enabled in time. To balance the game, after this civil war that has given other good factions in the region a chance to breathe from relief, eventual unifier of the scattered orc tribes should most importantly be able to unlock possibility to raise "jihad" known as Raid against their enemies, especially against dwarven cities. If target city is captured it gains sizable boost of evil culture, making it ideal stronghold for Orcs, to symbolise how easily they could infest any region (In case of Moria, White Mountains and Gundabad). This raid gathers all evil creatures of the Misty Mountains under one banner, allowing them to march long distances for a few turns while recruiting orcs, trolls, wargs from wild regions along the way just like you do on a normal crusade/jihad. Bolg did similarly try to wrestle control of the North from elves and men even if he failed. It would be appropriate to give players then this chance to fulfill Bolg's dreams of the northern dominion either as a Wildcard faction unheeding to Sauron's commands, or as his ally, either way succeeding in what Bolg had failed. Also, as Tolkien writes in the Hobbit of goblins/orcs: "It is not unlikely that they invented some of the machines that have since troubled the world, especially the ingenious devices for killing large numbers of people at once, for wheels and engines and explosions always delighted them, and also not working with their own hands more than they could help; but in those days and those wild parts they had not advanced (as it is called) so far." Perhaps in this vein, Moria roster could be boosted in late game with fire-bombers or other incendiary devices in latter tiers when mass tactics won't cut it anymore, weakly armored, frail units with powerful offense capabilities. Allow Moria orcs to either hold or build larger fortresses and cities (with conquered slave labour of course), crude but expertly designed. This should symbolise Moria Orcs having unlocked their industrial potential, no more being mere backwater scavengers and plunderers skulking in mountain caverns. Orcs are, afterall, not only creatures of wanton and mindless destruction, but just as much if not more prone to worst industrial impulses and excesses of mankind. If they can raise beyond their backwater ways and settle their differences, Orcs should realistically able in time to settle as industrial power in Middle-Earth rivaling anyone. "In some parts wicked dwarves had even made alliances with them." Perhaps, just as bonus, give orcs evil dwarf mercenaries as well? Apologies from the long-winded comment. These are just some ideas to make Moria more than just a spammable tide without greater purpose. Moria Orcs have a potential to be very interesting if their strategy in early game is, like it has been till now, to harass good factions and gain some territory while war against Gundabad allows them option to evolve from rag-tag masses and simple horde-tactics to an industrial, centralised and organized orcish nation, with capability of waging wars alike Battle of the Five Armies.

I've heard about the OP pike animation, but I remember playing the original game as Scotland and butchering french pikes with Highland nobles via a straight up charge. I won with a surprisingly low number of casualties.

Was that Elladan/Elrohir leading a near full stack High Elves army near Imladris? Is that some buff that occurs only when your play as Moria?

Now I want to play Moria. I never thought I would say that.

I have to say that when it comes to how they represented on the battle map, Moria is spot on!!!! Truly the horde of hordes so I won't change a thing their. As for Ideas on the campaign map. Maby have a special building that increase pop growth drastically just to hammer in the fact that goblins are never going to stop swarming. As for scripts I was thinking keep it simple. Not all factions need super complicated game play. Maby something along the line of Azog wants to claim the title of King of Moria, but the Goblin King will not stand for it. You can chose to side with Azog and gain a Army from Gundabad, but have a few rebel goblins pop up or even have the Goblin King himself rise up against you as a rebel army. And if you side against Azog you gain a new building that increases Order to show that the Goblins are unified and maby the Goblin King joins your faction. But then any treaties with Gundabad is broken and they declare war on you. Also sorry for posting this here, but was at work when I thought of this.

hi Galu First of all i would like to thank you and the team for the time and effort you are putting in the mod, but i'd like to ask something: can the "High Elves" faction be renamed? All faction i DaC have cool names but High Elves is soo generic, maybe something refering to the noldor heritage?

Also can we please have a Rhun faction overview after Erabor? I really want to know more about the Dragon relics mechanic.

31:51 "They cut through their enemy with their giant two handed Swrods" hahaha

it cant be a 1 due to the Balin attack script. Also there is no warning for their attack, you can prepare only after you know they will arrive at the end of turn 26.

Lol when I started as Moria both imladris and that other one was full to the brim with units and I was basically screwed

what building do i need to build the troll catapult? I seems i can only build standard cats

It’d be nice if the Bodyguard has some tweaks to make them stand out more from the Elite infantry. Maybe darker armor? A cape with a fur trim perhaps?

I have a question somewhat related to the video. When playing with the dwars of Kaza Dum after you reclaim Moria, around turn 60, the F**king Balrog attacks you with a huge army. I've tried and tried again different stuff to defend kaza dum west but the balrogs bodyguard, the GIMP trolls, are invincible. I'm defending with a full stack and a balistae and can't seem to win. Any tips?

Build a road from moria/khazad dum to goblin town only accessible to the goblins of moria in between the mountains... keep goblintown rebel until captured and add a goblin sactuary building in goblintown as a new capital if made, with recruit bonuses

Why did you remove the misty mountain paths from the original Third Age mod?

One of the interesting things that people tend to over look is that the contender to the ring are not only Saruman and Sauron but also the Balrog. The Balrog chief dwelling is the Redhorn pass so it may have a hand in impeding the company, forcing them into Moria and deliver the ring to him.

MEOW poor cat. 6:48

I'd love to see dol guldor ask for help with the Vale but at the same time gundabad also asks for help with Bree there will be an hour option to help one or the other or can help both when you pick on or both considering witch one you pick the Vale or Bree will spawn a doom stack and will attack kazad dum if you pick both one the Vale will attack kazad dum and Bree will attack kazad dum west when you defeat the doom stack you will get a half banner army based on what option you picked. If you picked both you get two half banner army.if you picked both you will get better units.if you chose dol guldor over gundabad, gundabad will hate you.vis versa. This does not mean you are at war though

Can you get Durin's Bane (the Balrog) as a general?

The dwarves show up at the 26. turn end.

The unit your looking is the Hellstorm Rocket Battery. The only real challenge for Moria imo is the lategame against EL, Rhun and Isengard.

Never played as the goblins of the misty mountains, but always wanted to, might give them a go as I am used to playing as the elves, could be nice not having to worry about your numbers for a change and just throw endless hordes of trash at them, completely different to how the elves play.

Moria is definitely a 1 if you go for the Dunedain as they'll easily get overwhelmed, but you will really slow down and stagnate if you go east of the Mountains and fight the Vale. Perhaps the mountain-orcs could get one or two extra units like the Goblins from Mirkwood to bring a bit more diversity to that clan. Overall it's a very neat faction to play as. The orcs look unique and great and I really dig their aesthetic.

Quick question why do the goblins of Moria have heavy goblins always in there mountain bases its annoying fighting off waves of goblins just to not be able to take there key base's because of the extra muscle they get when i have shit tier?...

What is the weapon type “crude” of uruk overseers? And what does it do?

I always thought the overseers would make for a much more interesting bodyguard unit, I imagine the chanting gets overridden by the rally button tho.

I found Moria personally to be one of the best factions for blitzing through the campaign, I could easily get 100 regions before turn 50, something I don't think I could do even with Mordor/Gondor.

Can the balrog be unlocked in campaign?

16:58 i disagree so much. But if that's true then the high difficulty level nerfs your economy on astronomic levels. Maybe a full stack of enemies isn't much but when i can barely get a quarter of a stack without going bankrupt or they keep sending the same amount of troops than me but over and over again, then it feels like countless hordes.

Hey Galu can your team perhaps try to give everyone who gets an advanced blacksmith an new visual upgrade too? I would love that to give it the feeling for example that ND has started to make units have a more Numenorian armor vibe. @Arachir Galudirithon

Goblin roaster is one of my favorites in Dac, 250 Halberds in one unit is soooo strong. Deep line of ap infantry back up by uruks and trolls, with the best artillery and one of the most deadly cavalry charge in the game

A nice Unit from Khazad dum for Moria could have been a gobelin Unit dressed with Dwarven Armor. High Armor medium attack... :)

So we are not going to see mordor or harad?

A little info about factoin heirs. If your faction leader dies, Ludug is the first to replace him. Not Agorolg. Agorolg will stay your heir until he dies. No matter how many stars and victories he got....

I just captured dol guldur as lothorien, do I have to destroy all the orc buildings or can I keep them?

You say after the barracks event but I swear uruk taskmasters comes before the barracks events, I've used them before!

The campaign difficulty is closer to 3-4 because while the northern Dunedain will fight Angmar they'll still send troops your way and the elves will also be a pain, not to mention the fact that the only thing keeping your economy afloat (Khazad-dum west) is threatened by Balin and without it, you cannot afford an army. So even though neither Lothlorien, Bree or the Anduin will attack you the campaign is nowhere near easy

I think Moria could benefit from having one real elite General, give him AD if he's a mounted general, otherwise having a General with Troll bodyguards would aso make them more unique, Moria would be more unique as a faction.

Why not create a Goblin King as a fraction leader. His bodyguards could be Mountain trolls and faction leader model can be the same size as trolls. Or it may cause bugs ?

Moria has potential to just straight up overwhelm everyone. Very easy.

I know this isnt BFME and that it shouldbt be compred to it, but if youre looking to spice things up perhaps something like a drake, spiderlings or spiderriders would be an awesome addition

There’s a lot of interesting thing you could do with Moria if u just gave it a chance

Make a script where you have a choice to either swear allegiance to sauron or declare your independence and the supremacy of the balrog. Why would Moria follow sauron whom they have never seen when they have this giant maiar flamedemon in their own home. If you serve Mordor you play the campaign as is (with a general coming from mordor with mordor bodyguard and a number of their units and/or some black uruks). If you side with the balrog you get an evil version of the ND's free people script, any evil nations territory you take, you can train some of their units (mainly the orcish/troll units, maybe not humans), since Morias armies loyal to the balrog were superior and therefore the evil factions will follow them for the time being rather than Sauron. Also, make it the opposite of the free people's script in that you can ONLY train an evil factions units if you are at war with them or they die with you still being at war with them. When you make this choice you are declaring to be a nation ruled by Durins Bane, the balrog, so all elves, dwarves, ND, Gondor, Imladris and all evil factions declare war on you and hate you and Sauron will send an inquisitor to force the balrogs armies to submit. This shouldn't be too difficult to script since it's just a variation of other scripts already in the game. Also, the balrog need not be present in physical form (though adding him in doesn't hurt). You can either play the traditional way with the standard horde, or you can spice it up by fighting everyone and getting some roleplay opportunities and some more units.

Make moria great again

This campaign strikes me as hard after the addition of Gunabad

What about just making them be able to recruit units from other goblin nations like Mirkwood and the Snow orcs with new scripts. Kinda like Northern Dundedain can recruit most humans.

Uruk overseers unit should increase 53 to atleast 77 and atleast have a good custom general.that way a bit diverse for goblins

How about adding the troll drummers from reforged

Flame Wrangler = Napalm

Isn't Dunland's culture Middlemen?

Heyoo, heavy goblin crossbows are actually just as good as the blacklock engineers of erebor:) I did some test and you can see a top 10 crossbow video on my channel. The goblin crossbows are actually one of the best crossbows in the game.

You should do Lorien next!

Napoleon once said I spend 30,000 lives a month. How can you ever beat me. How I feel about playing as Moria lol. You can take losses and get back so easily. Everyone else it hurts to to mass casualties.

For lore reasons, i've always wondered... Why are the goblins in Moria? How the fuck did they get there from Morder, and why is Sauron not their overlord? Why are they a loose vassal

Ah yes moria the faction that decided on my dunland campian that sending a constant supply of 3 full stack armies to attack every 2 or 3 turns was a perfect startegy while all of there numrous enemies took over all of there land they were eliminate for this by the way I didn't take a single settlement then I had to fight a full stack of high elves and said no

o.O

when is Mordor overview i think they have been forgotten just like moria if you ask me

Wow i guess I'm not the only that thinks athrug is bloody terrifying also he kinda looks like a orc version of snoke

Zeeeeerg rush

The goblins are my favorite faction. I’m hoping to one day play with balrogs among the ranks of my goblin army God willing. An army of balrogs and cave trolls and goblins taking over middle earth God willing.

I'm not sure if this is massively far fetched or not, but if you're gonna include the Balrog for them, how about a ring-script like with Isengard? Like the Balrog awakens to find his lord Melkor banished, and doesn't acknowledge Sauron's authority, and decides to claim the ring for himself or something.

Why not give them a script that can occasionally pop up to dramatically increase population growth across your faction to simulate how numerous goblins are?

I mean...the flame wrangler is cool and all, but in a faction with a very sub-par army is it really that great to have a siege weapon that's almost as likely to kill you own troops? Is it possible to make it a tad more accurate? From my own Moria play-through I remember that I managed to kill off almost two whole groups of my own mountain uruks which played a big part in me losing that particular battle, so unless it can be tweaked I would suggest either removing it or replacing it just because of the fact that your army is already quite weak and killing your own units doesn't really help.

Can't say I have ever really been compelled by the hordes of goblins since it's so void of intricate tactics in comparison to other nations. Your units are so bad that they are best to just run in and die and hopefully you have enough to sacrifice to win the battle.

Add a script to the Goblins where cave trolls come to aid the Goblins in the early turns- this will not be overpowered as cave trolls have a massive upkeep for early game

Ah, the faction overview I've been waiting for. Love me some goblins. Hu, I thought Snaga Archers got removed because they were such an all arohnd useless unit and taking up space a better unit could use? That aside...well...scripts... Obviously working the Balrog into Moria would be a great thing. I suggest an event after the defeat of the Dwarves of Khazad Dum, stating that the Balrog now intends to exert more direct control over the Goblins. You get the choice to accept your fiery Overlord or try and fight him to preserve your own power. Accepting the Balrog makes the Balrog the new factiob leader and you get the unit. Resisting results in a goblin army led by the Balrog to spawn and attack Khazad Dum. Depending on the choice made, you could either have the Balrog submit to his old pal and superior Sauron, or the Balrog seeking to carve out his own realm, his own vision of what Melkor has promised. Likewise, the independent Goblins could align with Saruman via event or try to keep their own relative independence and engage in the beloved orcish recreational activity of drinking and pillaging.

aww your cat wants to play too basiclly ... your discription of the snaga units make me feel sorry for them... abit.. great overveiws fpr V4 loving the changes since v3

Do Erebor next please