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The powers of the Middle Earth, as you've never thought of them before.
Divide and Conquer (or DaC for short) is an extensive sub-mod of Third Age: Total War (a The Lord of the Rings-based mod of Medieval II: Total War: Kingdoms). This entirely campaign-focused sub-mod not only adds a massive amount of new content (such as units, factions, scripts, maps, etc.), but substantially overhauls pretty much everything inherited from the original Third Age. Currently, Divide and Conquer is on Version 3.Advertisement:
It can be found here. For more information, there's also its official forums and the YouTubechannel of the sub-mod's current head.
Unless noted otherwise, all tropes pertain to Version 3.
Not to be confused with the trope of the same name.
Divide and Conquer provides examples of:
- Adaptation Expansion: The realm of Dorwinion and the fisher-folk of Enedwaith, who were mentioned only a few times in The Hobbit and the appendices of The Lord of the Rings (with supplemental texts offering only a little more in the way of details), are full-fledged factions here.
- Animated Armor: The Castellans of Dol Guldur are basically suits of armor possessed by evil spirits.
- Anti-Cavalry:
- Factions like Dunland and Harad that will likely have to fight against lots of high-quality horsemen tend to have a particularly strong anti-cavalry focus. A few units even get a bonus against specific horse breeds; for example, Isengard's Uruk-hai Infantry get a special bonus against Rohirric cavalry, despite being regular swordsmen otherwise.
- While melee and skirmisher cavalry in general get an attack bonus versus other cavalry, all of Khand's horsemen fight better against other cavalry, befitting their in-universe status as master horsemen.
- Several High Elven units, even those who aren't otherwise anti-cavalry, get a bonus specifically against Wargs.
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- Amazon Brigade: A handful of units comprise of all females, namely Dunland and Enedwaith's Warchanters, Khand's Uushixià Stormriders, Harad's Hasharii Shadows, Lothlórien's Yavanna's Chosen, and (of course) the Shieldmaidens of Rohan.
- Armor-Piercing Attack: Besides the usual crossbows, axes, maces, hammers, javelins, etc., there's also a handful of AP archerslist , swordsmenlist , and stone-throwing hobbitslist .
- Arrows on Fire: For a number of reasons, this ability was taken away from almost every archer from V2 onward, with only two of Rhûn's units (the Lôke-Nar Rim and the Süri'ut Chariots) retaining it. However, Rhûnnic fire arrows work quite differently from the fire arrows of vanilla Third Age (and indeed Medieval II in general); their fire arrows retain the damage buff of standard fire arrows without suffering any of the rate of fire and accuracy debuffs present in the base game. Rhûn's Darïtaï Hunters also shoot fire arrows, but unlike the missiles of their higher-tier counterparts, these flames are purely cosmetic and don't actually burn their targets.
- An Axe to Grind: The most common armor-piercing weapon, with Erebor in particular favoring their use to the point where even their primary ranged weapons are throwing axes.
- Back from the Dead:
- If Gandalf the Grey falls, he'll eventually come back as Gandalf the White, with an even more powerful bodyguard.
- Whenever a Nazgûl dies, they will eventually revive. Additionally, if Dol Guldur is defeated, their three Nazgûl will respawn in Mordor.
- Badass Bookworm: According to their unit description, the Nanohtar of Imladris are not just elite-level sword-and-shield infantry, but librarians and archivists who spend most of their time holding a quill instead of a blade.
- Bad with the Bone: According to their unit description, the Troll-men Champions of Harad are rumored to create their swords from the tusks of mûmakil.
- Barbarian Tribe:
- The men of Enedwaith and Dunland are fierce savages with little in the way of civilization, which is reflected in the campaign by their relative lack of economic and technological capabilities, and on the battlefield by their relatively undisciplined nature and low armor compared to more civilized men (though the Dunlendings do get a boost in the latter thanks to their alliance with Isengard). The aforementioned features also apply to early game Anduin, though in a more Noble Savage manner.
- The troll-men of Far Harad are even more barbaric, going into battle with little more than a Loincloth and a wicker shield, which they compensate for with their sheer hardiness (being among the few multiple-HP infantry in DaC). Their Muhad comrades are more sophisticated, but still go into battle half-naked.
- Bears Are Bad News: The Vale of Anduin's standard bodyguard unit are Skin-Changers, men who can transform into bears in the lore. While technical limitations have so far prevented the modders from implementing actual bears on the battlefield, the Skin-Changers are still one of DaC's most powerful units, possessing both multiple HP and the highest attack by far of any non-monster unit in the game, with their only weakness being their relatively low armor.
- Beef Gate:
- Some factions will spawn a giant elite-tier army to kick your ass if you take their capital without dealing with the rest of their territories.
- If you're playing as Rohan, Isengard will get a starting horde of late game units so you can't just overwhelm their relatively weak starting units with your cavalry.
- Black Knight: Mordor's mightiest warriors are the Temple units, darkly-clad Black Númenórean knights of great valor who emit a terrifying aura; fittingly, every Nazgûl directly controlled by Mordor gets them as their bodyguard.
- Bows Versus Crossbows:
- In keeping with the trope, crossbows tend to have a much worse range and firing rate than bows, and are particularly terrible at arcing shots, but compensate with armor-piercing (and usually higher base damage to begin with). As such, they are generally favored by factions with more wealth than fighting skill, namely Bree, Dorwinion, Moria, and (by Dwarven standards) Ered Luin; even in the case of the Ar-Adûnâim's and Rhûn's more professional rosters, their crossbowmen are very much low-tier units, with their more elite ranged units being bowmen instead. In fact, the only crossbowmen that can match rangers in terms of accuracy are the Broadbeam Marksmen of Ered Luin.
- Like in the films, Isengard's heavy usage of crossbows reflects the industrialized brutishness of its armies, with the actual archery skill of Uruk-hai crossbowmen paling in comparison to most post-Barracks Event bowmen.
- Cavalry of the Dead: The Aragorn Quest script ends with the Northern Dúnedain getting an army of undead Oathbreakers, who can be used for three battles before disappearing.
- A Commander Is You: With twenty-seven highly varied factions to choose from, chances are a player will be able to find at least one that fits their specific playstyle:
- Angmar: A very Balanced faction, the Hill-men have a well-rounded roster that contains a lot of armor-piercing and Warg-riding units, but otherwise tends to be more middle-of-the-road in terms of quality.
- Bree-land: A primarily Economist faction with a strong focus on trade, Bree's early game roster has somewhat of a Guerilla/Ranger orientation thanks to their stealthy (and surprisingly good) hobbit and woodland units, but is otherwise fairly mediocre outside of the occasional Greenway or Dúnedain unit. They actually become more of a Spammer faction after the Barracks Event, since their late game units are among the worst (and cheapest) in the entire game, though this is slightly compensated for by being able to recruit the occasional foreign mercenary or Dúnedain-associated unit (depending on whether the player picks the even more Economist 'Isolationist' option or the slightly more Elitist 'Friends of the Dúnedain' path respectively).
- Dale: A very Ranger-oriented faction, with some of Middle-earth's finest archers from top to bottom. They also become more of a Tank faction after the Barracks Event, gaining a particularly big boost to their armor and shield stats, as well as a solid core of polearm infantry. However, the rest of Dale's roster is fairly mediocre, though still relatively well-rounded in terms of tactical variety. They also become something of a Economist faction once they finish rebuilding their core regions, thanks to Dale's mercantile orientation.
- Dol Guldur: Guerilla/Ranger-focused Spammers whose roster is reliant on archery, skirmish, stealth, and sheer numbers, to the point of being the only orc faction with a 'true' Ranger unit. They're also a bit of a Gimmick faction, as a key tactic will be using their poison arrows to break the morale of their foes.
- Dorwinion: Very much an Economist faction (thanks in large part to their highly valuable wine), their early game roster is relatively Spammy for a non-orc faction, being well-rounded and cheap but rather low quality. After the Barracks Event, Dorwinion's roster can either become significantly more Balanced in terms of quality, or take a much more archer/ambush-focused Ranger/Guerilla playstyle, depending on whether they choose the Mannish or Elven path respectively.
- Dwarves: Like in the original Third Age, these three factions are an Elitist take on the Turtle/Brute options; from top-to-bottom, their melee infantry can outfight, outtough, and simply outlast almost every non-Elven counterpart. They are also very much Economist factions, as their economies (even that of the initially nomadic Khazad-Dûm) will be blessed with an embarrassment of riches once they get their mines going, helping to compensate for how expensive and small their units tend to be. However, Dwarven armies are the slowest in all of DaC and are relatively lacking in archery.
- Erebor: Takes the Brute approach to the max; they hit even harder than their brethren, but have slightly lower defense compared to Khazad-Dûm and almost no ranged capability outside of throwing axes.
- Ered Luin: Something of a Technical/Turtle hybrid, they'll need to rely on keeping the enemy at bay with their pikes while maneuvering their crossbows to get the best shot, as their units are generally somewhat weaker than those of the other two Dwarven factions in a direct melee.
- Khazad-Dûm: Takes the Turtle approach to the max, with the highest armor and shield values out of their brethren, but slightly lower attack compared to Erebor.
- Gundabad: Despite being orcs, they are the most overall Elitist of the evil factions, with only the Elves and (some) Dwarves able to outmatch them in a direct fight. Tactically, Gundabad has a Brutish roster that is focused around quickly getting into melee with the enemy, being comprised mostly of lightly-armored but hard-hitting infantry. However, they can become more Balanced/Spammy with the 'Subjugation' system, which allows them to recruit units from other orc factions (and Angmar) as they expand their territories.
- Harad: Probably one of the most Technical factions in the game, as their units move fast and hit hard, but have very low defensive stats and are particularly vulnerable to missile fire. Good micromanagement becomes particularly key after the Barracks Event, as their late game units have low troop counts and high costs even compared to Dúnedain counterparts, but are still less durable than even many equivalent orc and wild men units. Even the mighty mûmakil will require some finesse to achieve their full effectiveness in battle.
- High Elves (Imladris, Lindon): These two well-rounded factions go all the way with the Elitist philosophy, with their units being the absolute best in the entire game at each tier, but incredibly expensive and low in number.
- Isengard: Similar to the original Third Age, Isengard has a Brutish infantry-focused roster. However, even though Uruk-hai units are better than equivalent orc units at each tier, Isengard is still pretty Spammy pre-Barracks Event, with only a few standout units like the half-orcs and the Berserkers. However, once the late game hits, Isengard becomes a lot more Elitist, gaining heavily-armored Uruk-hai who can outmatch even the descendants of Númenor in direct combat.
- Khand: Very much a Ranger faction, Khand's lineup is designed to favor hit-and-run tactics, with their main strength being an extensive roster of swift and hard-hitting cavalry that includes the finest horse archers in all of DaC. However, while Khand's non-mounted roster does include some reasonably hard-hitting units, it has very little tactical variety (to the point where it contains almost no polearms) and simply lacks the sturdiness to be able to hold a line for long; they'll need to ally with the Blue Wizards if they want any infantry that can truly duke it out in an extended slugfest.
- Mordor: If it wasn't for the existence of Moria, Mordor's main roster would be the Spammer par excellence of the entire game, with a relatively Brute-like focus on hordes of cheap orc infantry due to their mostly mediocre archery and complete lack of mainline cavalry outside of a few units they can recruit from the Men of the East. However, Mordor's non-Orc elites are on the complete opposite end of the quality-vs-quality scale, being some of Middle-earth's very best.
- Moria: The Spammiest faction in all of DaC, with their goblin mainstays being even cheaper, weaker, and more cowardly than regular orcs. Indeed, their roster generally has the largest unit sizes for each tier in the entire game. Which isn't to say that the goblins are all about Cannon Fodder; their roster is probably the tactically diverse of the orcs and includes some fairly unique special units.
- Númenóreans: The four factions in this group are sort of a mix of Generalist and Elitist; their troops generally have well-rounded stats and tend to be better than equivalent units from other Mannish factions, if also more expensive. The Númenórean factions also all have impressive economic capabilities (at least potentially), including far more building/upgrade options than other Mannish factions, making them sort of Economist/Research factions as well.
- Ar-Adûnâim: Very much the Númenórean Brute, victory will mostly hinge on their infantry's ability to crush their foes in a head-on clash, especially since the Ar-Adûnâim's core roster has zero cavalry until the late game. There's even an element of Spammer to their gameplay, since unlike their nobler kindreds, the lowest tier of the Ar-Adûnâim's core roster includes a few cheap Cannon Fodder units to support a lineup that is otherwise roughly on par with those of the other Númenorean factions. They can also take a more Balanced approach by recruiting other factions' units through the auxiliary system (in particular, it'll be their chief means of getting cavalry).
- Dol Amroth: Definitely the Elitist of the Mannish factions, particularly after the Barracks Event. While their infantry lineup is already an even better version of Gondor's mainline roster for the most part, their real strength is their cavalry, which man-for-man are the best Mannish horsemen in the entire game. Their one weak spot is their archers, and even those are still around average.
- Gondor: Their roster is something of a jack-of-all-trades, as they can recruit a wide variety of very good region-exclusive units from their various fiefdoms to supplement a reasonably solid mainline. Gondor's only real weakness is that their cavalry will be outclassed by almost everyone else's (though this is slightly compensated for by being able to train some Amrothian cavalry); as such, Gondorian tactics will often tend towards defensive turtling, especially since the majority of their most elite units are spear/polearm infantry.
- Northern Dúnedain: They tend to have a very Ranger/Guerilla playstyle in the early/mid-game, with some of the finest non-Elven archers in all of Middle-earth and a core pre-Barracks Event roster well-suited to pulling off devastating hit-and-run tactics in the forests of Eriador. Additionally, they also boast some excellent melee infantry and cavalry which makes them arguably the most tactically diverse of their kin. That said, while the core Dúnedain roster remains Elitist throughout, most of it is only easily recruitable within the former heartlands of Arnor, meaning that if the Northern Dúnedain want to expand beyond Eriador, they'll have to adopt a more Balanced roster made up of whatever local troops they can recruit through the 'Beacon of Hope' system.
- Rhûn: Perhaps the most Balanced faction, the Easterlings have a very well-rounded roster that holds up reasonably well in terms of both quality and numbers. Like in vanilla Third Age, Rhûn in the early game is more Ranger-focused with a plethora of ranged units, but becomes more of a Brute/Tank faction once they can start training the heavily-armored Lôke-Khan units. However, while most Rhûnnic units are at least solid for their tier, their roster doesn't particularly excel at anything either, outside of their fire-based Gimmicks.
- Rohan: The Men of the Riddermark are definitely a Ranger-focused faction thanks to their varied and well-rounded plethora of solid-to-excellent cavalry, but this is balanced by the non-mounted part of their roster being fairly mediocre for the most part (being particularly lacking in ranged units), if still better suited for holding a line than Khand's.
- Silvan Elves (Lothlórien, The Woodland Realm): These Elves are masters of the Ranger/Guerilla approach, with their plethora of excellent missile troops and mastery of forest-based stealth. But don't assume they're helpless in a straight fight; their rosters compensate for their high cost and low unit sizes by being almost just as Elitist as the High Elves', with their only hole being their relative lack of cavalry. In general, the Woodland Realm's units tend to be more focused on dealing damage, while Lórien's are generally more defensively-oriented.
- Wild Men: In general, Middle-earth's three most primitive Mannish factions are Guerilla Spammers whose greatest strengths are numbers and stealth. Though they may not be quite as quantity-over-quality as the orcs, the wild men are definitely solid runner-ups; in particular, they arguably have the worst late-game rosters in all of Middle-earth, since the relative quality of their units starts to really fall behind once the Barracks Event hits.
- Dunland: Very much a Brute faction that relies on overwhelming the enemy in close combat, Dunland actually has some pretty decent mid-tier melee units (though they still lack any real 'elite'-caliber ones). However, their roster has rather pitiful ranged capabilities and is not quite as stealthy as the other wild men's, though this can be somewhat compensated for if Dunland manages to complete the 'Unite the Clans' script and starts recruiting from Enedwaith's more skirmish-oriented roster.
- Enedwaith: Victory here will require a Ranger playstyle, since Enedwaith's units will almost always be outclassed in a straight fight. Instead, their primary strength is their skirmishers; any unit that finds itself the recipient of an Enedwaith javelin volley is not going to be existing for much longer. Their weakness in close combat can be somewhat compensated for by completing the 'Unite the Clans' script, which allows them to recruit from Dunland's sturdier roster.
- Vale of Anduin: The 'jack-of-all-trades' of the wild men, the Valesmen are something of a Technical/Specialist faction; they can't spam units on the level of the other wild men, and while their roster as a whole is tactically versatile, their units individually tend to be rather specialized to the point where none of them can really fill the role of an all-around mainline unit, making victory particularly reliant on carefully coordinated tactics. That said, if they do have a strength, it would be their archers, who can hold their own even against those of Dale and the Northern Dúnedain, and their Beorning axemen, who can quickly fell even the mightiest of dwarves and elves.
- Pre-V3 Angmar was very much a Brute/Spammer faction that focused on overwhelming the enemy in close combat, which was reinforced by their wide array of armor-piercing units from top to bottom (and their rather mediocre-to-the-point-of-almost-nonexistent ranged capabilities). In fact, their post-Barracks Event units were actually relatively Elitist by orc standards, being able to hold their own against most non-Númenórean Mannish counterparts.
- Cosmetically Different Sides: Averting this trope is the reason why the three Dwarven factions were overhauled in V3 to be significantly more differentiated from each other. It is also a major factor in the planned re-merging of the two High Elven factions, as even the mod team have come to feel that Imladris and Lindon don't really stand out too much from each other.
- Crutch Character: Some starting generals are guarded by a mid-tier unit instead of their faction's default bodyguard or an actual elite unit; they'll still massively outclass most other units in the early game, but their comparative combat usefulness tends to drop sharply once the Barracks Event hits.
- Drop the Hammer: Maces and hammers are another common armor-piercing weapon, with Khazad-dûm in particular favoring their use. However, the true masters of the hammer (besides Sauron's bodyguard, of course) are Imladris's Smiths of Eregion, who are even more powerful than they were in vanilla Third Age, to the point of being probably the strongest non-monstrous unit by far in all of DaC.
- Elves vs. Dwarves: AI-controlled Ered Luin has a reputation for being rather aggressive against a Lindon player, though funnily enough, AI-controlled Lindon is usually quite friendly towards an Ered Luin player.
- Evil vs. Evil:
- Isengard's campaign is designed to encourage the player to eventually turn against Sauron, since Saruman taking the Ring for himself is not only required in order to start training Nazg-hai (Isengard's most powerful (non-troll) unit), but will cause the Nazgûl themselves to eventually all defect to Isengard's side.
- The Ar-Adûnâim may be evil imperialists, but do not start off any more friendly to Sauron than they are to the Dúnedain when player-controlled; in fact, the welcome message outright encourages the player to get revenge on Sauron 'for his crimes of high-treason against the Golden One'.
- Face–Heel Turn: For future versions of DaC, the mod team plans to add a new script that would turn Ered Luin evil by having them accept the three surviving Dwarven Rings of Power from Sauron.
- Fighting for a Homeland: Given that Khazad-Dûm and the Ar-Adûnâim don't even start off holding any settlements to begin with, this trope is very much in force with them at least in a gameplay sense, especially if they end up losing whatever settlements they do conquer and are forced to wander the proverbial wilderness once more.
- Glass Cannon:
- The Haradrim are this as a faction; their units have very aggressive stats even compared to their Númenórean counterparts, but tend to be very fragile thanks to their relative lack of armor.
- Low-tier 'Berserker-type' infantry are capable of inflicting even more damage than many elite units, but will melt away the moment their enemy hits back. This is perhaps best exemplified by the Mountain-Orc Hunters of Moria and Gundabad; they can cut through even Dwarven armor with ease, but will instantly fall to a single 1-damage arrow.
- The Woodland Hunters, despite being an early game unit, are just as deadly with their bows as many post-Barracks Event archers. However, they will start dying the moment an enemy so much as sneezes on them.
- Graying Morality: While all the factions in vanilla Third Age were basically grouped into 'Good' or 'Evil', DaC adds a few wrinkles to this setup:
- Enedwaith starts off with no allies or enemies, and generally has an equal chance of warring against both good and evil factions.
- Although Dunland is allied with Isengard, their culture is Middlemen (the same as Enedwaith and Bree) instead of Melkor's Shadow or Men of the East, reflecting that they just want to retake their old lands and have zero interest in helping Sauron take over the world.
- While Bree starts off allied with the Northern Dúnedain, the former can break said alliance by choosing the 'Isolationist' path when prompted, which is described in the accompanying description cards as the Bree-landers and Shire-folk deciding to prioritize their own interests over contributing to the greater war against the Shadow.
- Word of God is that part of the reason why Dale and Rhûn don't immediately start off as enemies is so that a Dorwinion player could have the option of allying with the latter despite their preset alliance with the former.
- Grim Up North: According to the head modder himself, the reason why the snow-orcs of Gundabad are so much stronger than the other orcs (and most men, for that matter) is because of the countless millennia they've spent in Middle-earth's frigid north after the fall of Morgoth.
- Heel–Face Turn: Around turn 40-50, Khand will get the option to turn against Sauron by allying with the Blue Wizards. Doing so will net them two powerful armies commanded by the Blue Wizards themselves and allow them to recruit Orocarni Dwarves and the Uushixià Stormriders (powerful chariot-mounted crossbow[wo]men), but it will also cause Mordor, Harad, Rhûn, the Ar-Adûnâim, and a significant portion of Khand's own population to all instantly turn on the player with a vengeance, to the point where it's common for a good-aligned Khand player to initially lose all of their starting settlements.
- Horse Archer: Many factions have at least one unit of such, but Khand in particular have this trope as their main hat, with their default bodyguard unit, the Variag Nobles, firing armor-piercing arrows. Also worth noting is that Angmar has two types of warg archers, Dorwinion and Moria get low-tier mounted crossbowmen/goblins, and the Northern Dúnedain's Grey Company used to be elite cavalry archers (like in the original Third Age) before V2.2 changed them into uber-elite melee infantry.
- Javelin Thrower: Many factions have at least one unit of javelinmen, who will likely be your best counter against mûmakil and other elephant-derived units like chariots. Enedwaith in particular is built around javelins; despite being as cheap as dirt, their javelinmen as a whole have the highest ammo count, damage output, range, and accuracy out of all the factions, and even their most elite unit are javelinmen.
- Kill It with Fire:
- A specialty of Rhûn's; besides their fire arrows, they also have the firebomb-throwing Udege Marines.
- Besides being one of DaC's best shock infantry units, the Nazg-hai of Isengard also throw firebombs.
- The Goblins of Moria have the Flame Wrangler, a catapult that flings barrels filled with explosive oil.
- Last Stand: If a faction goes below a certain number of provinces, they will spawn a full stack of high-tier troops in order to repel the invaders and retake their lands; the script is even called 'Last Stand'!
- Lethal Joke Character: Hobbit Shirriffs may have hilariously low stats (particularly those from the Vale of Anduin), but the ridiculous amount of armor-piercing throwing stones they carry means that they'll often have the highest kill count of your entire army.
- Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Like in any other Total War game, shields are especially protective against missile fire; a big reason why Dale is so deadly in a skirmish fight is because most of their post-Barracks Event archers carry a shield, with their elite bowmen having shield stats on par with those of elite heavy infantry. This is also the main saving grace of Bree's Journeymen, whose giant pavise-type shields elevate them from being mediocre crossbowmen to one of the most durable ranged units in the early game. However, the unit with the best shield value by far (about double that of even the heaviest dwarven and elven infantry) is Aragorn's Grey Company, despite several of them not even carrying shields in the first place!
- Magikarp Power:
- Dorwinion starts off with a weak roster that will be handily outclassed by their likely foe Rhûn, but once they hit the late game, they'll be able to recruit elite units that can more than hold their own against their counterparts from the Lôke-Khan's armies.
- Similarly to the original mod, Dale begins with relatively weak units and an economy that's still recovering from the devastation wrought by Smaug. However, by the time they hit the late game, Dale will be quite capable of holding the line in a straight fight, and rolling in money to boot.
- Mercenary Units: Like in any other Total War game, local mercenaries can be hired, with the two best probably being the Sellswords (well-armored two-handed swordsmen) and the Sons of the Fallen (elite Dwarven spearmen). Bree in particular can eventually recruit mercenaries as part of their mainline roster if they take the 'Isolationist' path.
- Mighty Glacier: Dwarves in general are extremely resilient, with the best overall armor, stamina, and morale out of all the races. On top of that, they also hit hard, thanks in part to a plethora of excellent armor-piercing units. However, they will invariably have the slowest armies in the game.
- Morale Mechanic: At each basic tier of morale (Low, Average, Good, etc.), Orcs have the lowest, Elves and Dwarves have the highest, and Men are in between. Enedwaith and Moria in particular have such low morale that they each have a unit specifically dedicated to maintaining morale(the Warchantersnote and Uruk Taskmasters respectively).
- Nerf:
- From V2 onward, only a handful of elite units (generally one per faction) can place sharpened stakes, in an effort to prevent players from taking too much advantage of the battle AI's stupidity.
- Because of how powerful heavy cavalry is in the Medieval II engine, particularly against the majority of early game units, most factions no longer have default cavalry bodyguards, with only Khand, Rohan, Dol Amroth, and Harad retaining them from V2 onward.
- In V3, in order to balance out their new emphasis on pikes and crossbows (and rather comfy starting location), most of Ered Luin's melee units either had their stats somewhat reduced or lost their armor-piercing.
- Archers that used to have armor-piercing arrows, but now no longer do for balance reasons, include Khazad-Dûm's Hithaeglir Beast Hunters, Dale's Barding Marksmen, and Khand's Warlord's Kataphract Archers.
- One-Hit Polykill: The Silverthorn Arrows used by the Gûrveleg of Lothlórien and the Hin-e Daur of the Woodland Realm can pierce through multiple foes. Other units who fire body-piercing missiles include the Guardians of Enedwaith (javelins), Rhûn's Süri'ut Chariots (fire arrows), and Khand's Uushixià Stormriders (crossbow bolts).
- Our Elves Are Better: Besides the woodcraft-focused Silvan Elves and the straight-up elite High Elves most predominately featured in most Middle-earth media, there's also the Avari of Dorwinion. They make excellent archers, but are relatively lacking in melee prowess compared to the Eldar (or even some of the more elite Mannish units).
- Our Wights Are Different: Angmar can train Barrow-wights in locations where there are, well, barrows. They're just as powerful and implacable as one would expect, being arguably Angmar's best unit.
- Poisoned Weapons: Poison arrows drastically reduce the morale of any unit they hit, with Dol Guldur's archers and the Drúedain Hunters favoring their use (also, the Goblins of Moria, but they're not particularly skilled archers).
- Pragmatic Adaptation: As the modders themselves admit, various liberties are taken with the lore in order to facilitate gameplay, particularly in terms of unit and faction variety.
- Ranger: Several factions (namely, the majority of Mannish factionsnote , both Silvan Elf factions, and Dol Guldur) have a 'ranger'-type unit; basically, a lightly-armored foot archer that can hide anywhere and usually has the highest accuracy, missile damage, range, and ammo count out of all the archers in their faction. Rangers also usually have better melee stats than most pre-Barracks Event mainline troops, making them particularly useful for factions that can recruit them early on.
- For a mounted version that can at least still hide in woods, there's the elite Imladris Rangers. While the Dúnedain Scouts are conceptually basically mounted Dúnedain Rangers, their relatively low stats precludes them from fully qualifying for the trope.
- There are also units that the head modder has described in some way or another as being quasi-rangers, like Dúnedain Steelbowmen and Mordor's Temple Marksmen (armor-piercing archers who are also deadly swordsmen), Ered Luin's Broadbeam Marksmen (essentially dwarven rangers with crossbows), Enedwaith's Elder Guildsmen (stealthy archer bodyguards who are slightly tankier than most rangers, but slightly less adept with the bow), the Lôke-Nar Rim of Rhûn (who have lower archery stats than rangers and no stealth capabilities, but fire high-damage flaming arrows), and the Dúnedain Bodyguards (basically roided-up Dúnedain Rangers with armor-piercing arrows who also make formidable axemen in a pinch).
- Racial Remnant:
- While all the native peoples of Enedwaith are related to the Haladin, the Foresters of Haleth are implied to be their direct descendants, with their unit description indicating that they still retain a mythologized memory of their ancestors' deeds in Beleriand.
- A number of the Dwarves of Ered Luin are descended from those who fled the ruins of Belegost and Nogrod after the sinking of Beleriand, represented in-game by the Broadbeam Marksmen, Firebeard Warriors, Azaghâl's Tomb Protectors, Gabilgathol Guard, and Tumunzahar Nobles, who all retain proud memories of their people's former glory. This heritage was played up more pre-V3, but it's since been established that most of Ered Luin's inhabitants are of Durin's Folk.
- Ragtag Bunch of Misfits:
- Enedwaith's campaign basically revolves around uniting a bunch of primitive woodsmen, fisher, and fowler clans into something that half-resembles a military power.
- Bree's roster is mostly made up of a motley array of what are essentially militia, ranging from hobbits armed with farming tools to merchants with better equipment than training; when even your starting faction leader is just a forgetful innkeeper (Barliman Butterbur himself), you very much quality for this trope. As such, most of their best units are either mercenaries or come from other factions.
- The Remnant:
- The Ar-Adûnâim are the descendants of Númenórean colonists who settled in Middle-earth's far south and thus survived the sinking of Númenór. Unlike the descendants of the Faithful or even Sauron's own Númenórean followers, the Ar-Adûnâim maintain the ideology of the King's Men who ruled Númenór in its final millennia.
- As indicated by their faction name, the Remnants of Angmar are the surviving vestiges of the evil kingdom that destroyed Arnor before being destroyed in turn by the Gondorians and High Elves; the game starts with Sauron sending one of his Black Númenórean generals to reestablish Angmar, since the Witch-king is initially too busy with matters in the south to return to his former domain.
- The snow-orcs of Gundabad are the descendants of Morgoth's original orcs who fled to the northern fringes of Middle-earth, where they remained for all of the Second Age and most of the Third Age before finally returning south in order to eradicate the Dwarves for good.
- Rock Beats Laser: The Stoor Shirriffs of the Anduin and the Watch Shirriffs of Bree are stone-throwing hobbits, and though each rock's base damage is only one, they're also armor-piercing, making them surprisingly effective against even elite troops.
- Savage Wolves: Warg-riding units tend to do incredibly high damage for their tier, particularly on the charge, and are especially effective against other cavalry. In fact, Moria's Azog's Defilers have the highest attack stats out of all of DaC's horse-sized mounted units.
- Shields Are Useless: Most units who wear their shield on their back instead of holding it actually have a shield value of zero, presumably because their shield is supposed to instead represent their armor stat coming into effect whenever they're being hit in the back. The only exceptions to this are most shield-wearing bow/crossbow units, presumably because they do switch to holding their shield when in melee.
- Siege Engines: Besides the default catapults, ballistae, battering rams, etc. that basically every faction gets, there's also a few faction-exclusive siege engines; Gondor and Dol Amroth get trebuchets, the dwarves get a special catapult that can fire both grapeshot and mortar shots, and Moria gets the firebomb-flinging Flame Wrangler.
- Skeletons in the Coat Closet: Harad's Troll-men Champions wear horned skulls as part of their helmet, and other troll-men units get skull masks when given an armor upgrade.
- Starting Units:
- Most factions start off with at least a few generals who have a late game unit as their bodyguard instead of their faction's standard bodyguard. A couple of generals even have as bodyguards units that otherwise are exclusive to other factions; of particular note is Angmar's faction leader Agandaûr, who is guarded by the otherwise Mordor-only Temple Wards.
- Additionally, a handful of generals come with unique (and very powerful) bodyguards that are 100% unrecruitable otherwise; Aragorn gets the Grey Company (melee infantry armed with a variety of weapons), Saruman has the Guard of the Hand (shielded crossbow/mace infantry), Elrond and his two sons get Noldorin Guard (shielded bow/sword infantry), Balin has (of course) Balin's Guard (hammer-and-shield infantry), and Sauron (should Mordor manage to recover the Ring) is protected by shield-and-mace pseudo-wraiths.
- Stone Wall: Though this applies to several spear units with high defense but relatively low attack, perhaps the epitome of this trope in the early game are Bree's sword-and-shield Merchant units, who have even better armor than most late game mainline troops, but a pathetically low attack (they also have zero defense skill, making them particularly vulnerable to armor-piercing units).
- Tech Tree: In general, the Dwarves, High Elves, and Númenóreans have the most extensive upgrade options, while the Wild Men have the most restricted (though the latter do get the benefit of being able to recruit all their units from just one building line). Additionally, Bree has a particularly unique recruitment method; most of their units require various economy buildings instead of the standard Barracks/Stables/etc. Also, like in vanilla Third Age, more elite units can not be recruited until the automated Barracks Event script kicks in.
- Treants: Ents can be recruited from Isengard by the Silven Elf factions, and are just as powerful as you'd expect. Also, they've been changed so that the game's engine counts them as infantry instead of elephants, meaning that, among other things, they're far less likely to cause a crash.
- Wutai: In the earliest versions of DaC, Khand's unit designs had a lot of Chinese and Japanese elements, with the default bodyguard straight up looking like samurai. However, V2 gave their roster a drastic redesign that eliminated most of the Wutai elements in favor of a more uniformly 'Central Asian' aesthetic; nowadays, the only remaining Japanese/Chinese elements are the small banners worn on the backs of most Khandish units and the wuxia-inspired look of the Variag Nobles.
- Zerg Rush: Orc and Wild Men factions are very much built around the principle of drowning your foes in a sea of disposable bodies.
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Index
Divide and Conqueris a mod for Medieval II: Total War: Kingdom created by DAC strike team. It’s a unofficial expansion pack for other mod called Third Age. That project was abandoned by it’s devs years ago, so a new group decided to continue the work of their predecessors. With it the list of factions gets expanded up to 30, with hundreds of new units and scripting events, as well as lots of new graphical elements.
How to install: this mod has it’s own installer. Before using it makes sure you have the last version of Third Age installed first.
Report problems with download to [email protected]
see morePopular files for Medieval II: Total War - Kingdoms
Name | Type | Size | Date | Total | 7 days |
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Medieval II: Total War - Kingdoms - Third Age v.3.2 | mod | 3871.7 MB | 8/28/2017 | 134.6K | 154 |
Medieval II: Total War - Kingdoms - Stainless Steel v.6.4 | mod | 2617.3 MB | 2/3/2017 | 16.5K | 69 |
Medieval II: Total War - Kingdoms - 4 GB Patch | mod | 21 KB | 5/6/2018 | 3K | 58 |
Medieval II: Total War - Kingdoms - Divide and Conquer v.2.2 | mod | 4235.2 MB | 5/1/2019 | 15.9K | 46 |
Medieval II: Total War - Kingdoms - Westeros: Total War v.1.0 | mod | 2250.5 MB | 6/5/2019 | 14.5K | 45 |
Medieval II: Total War - Kingdoms - Eras Total Conquest v.2.3.7.8 | mod | 3332.5 MB | 5/25/2019 | 3.7K | 39 |
Medieval II: Total War - Kingdoms - The Elder Scrolls: Total War v.1.6f | mod | 4247.4 MB | 6/6/2019 | 2.1K | 38 |
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Medieval II: Total War - Kingdoms - Gothic Total War: Chronicles of Myrtana v.1.0NH | mod | 777.4 MB | 4/2/2017 | 5.2K | 32 |
Medieval II: Total War - Kingdoms - Third Age: Reforged v.0.9.6.1 | mod | 6095.8 MB | 7/23/2018 | 2.1K | 30 |
Medieval II: Total War - Kingdoms - M2:TW GEM - Graphic Enhancement Mod v.2.2 | mod | 1.1 MB | 11/13/2016 | 4.8K | 29 |
Medieval II: Total War - Kingdoms - Call of Warhammer: Beginning of The End Times v.1.5beta | mod | 8481.2 MB | 5/29/2017 | 8.4K | 28 |
Medieval II: Total War - Kingdoms - Westeros: Age of Petty Kings v.3.0hf | mod | 1245.5 MB | 6/6/2019 | 22.4K | 25 |
Medieval II: Total War - Kingdoms - Rise of Legends II (1080 Campaign) | mod | 234.9 MB | 5/15/2016 | 4.2K | 19 |
Medieval II: Total War - Kingdoms - Dawn of Conquest v.1.3.1 | mod | 1760.5 MB | 6/6/2019 | 3K | 19 |
Medieval II: Total War - Kingdoms - Deus lo Vult! v.6.2 | mod | 1993.4 MB | 11/22/2013 | 22.3K | 19 |
In Third Age Total War you can play with all the important factions of the Third Age, including Gondor, Rohan, High and Silvan Elves, Dwarves, Dale, Eriador, Arnor, Isengard, Mordor, Rhun, Harad, the Orcs of the Misty Mountains and the Orcs of Gundabad.
Every faction has its own strengths and weaknesses, benefits and disadvantages on the battle as well as the campaign map. The unit design is based on visual references of the Lord of the rings movie trilogy, completed with fictional units and artwork, all based on the lore of Middle-earth.
GondorEdit
Steward Denethor II Gondor, the Southern Kingdom of the Númenóreans – founded in the Second Age by Elendil, and ruled by his sons Isildur and Anárion. After the War of the Last Alliance, in which both Elendil and Anárion were lost, and the death of Isildur by an Orc ambush, the throne fell to Anárion's son Meneldil. Gondor prospered for many decades under the rule of Anárion’s line, and became the most powerful kingdom in the land, expanding its borders and conquering parts of Harad and Rhûn.But after the return of Sauron darkness fell upon Gondor. Civil war, plague, and Easterling expansions gravely weakened the once powerful Kingdom. Lands were lost to the South and East; the cities of Osgiliath and Ithilien were devasted; the tower of Minas Ithil was captured by the Nazgûl, and thereafter known as Minas Morgul. Eärnur, last King of Gondor, fell at the hands of the Witch-king, and Gondor fell into the hands of Stewards. Many years of war and instability followed. Eventually, Steward Cirion called on the Éothéod, a tribe of Northmen, for aid, and the enemy was successfully driven back. As a reward, he granted Gondor’s new allies the province of Calenardhon, where they founded the Kingdom of Rohan.Now Steward Ecthelion II rules in Gondor, and he must strengthen his realm against the threat of Mordor and its allies: the Haradrim and the Easterlings. The Pirates of Umbar cause a further threat, pillaging the Kingdom’s southern coasts. Gondor’s stability and pride hangs in the balance.The bulk of Gondor’s army is made up of well-trained infantry and the less-experienced provincial militia. Higher ranking troops include the Fountain Guard and Ithilien archers. However, Gondor’s pride truly lies in their cavalry – few in numbers but powerful knights of Minas Tirith and Dol Amroth, capable of breaking any enemy formation.
UnitsEdit
- Axemen of Lossarnach- Experienced warriors protected by a chain mail and armed with a tall two-handed axe. REQUIRES LOSSARNACH
- Gondor Militia- Strong militia units with solid shields and swords.
- Pelargir Marines- Well equipped infantry, armed with javelins, sword and shield. REQUIRES PELARGIR
- Gondor Infantry- Professional heavy infantry, armed with swords and shields, with excellent morale and stamina.
- Dismounted Swan Knights- Well armoured, elite unit blessed with unwavering morale. REQUIRES DOL AMROTH
- Gondor Spearmen- Professional heavy spearmen protected with shields and plate armour and armed with a solid spear.
- Citadel Guard- Elite spearmen with heavy armour and strong shields.
- Fountain Guard- Elite Gondorian spearmen without shields. REQUIRES MINAS TIRITH
- Archer Militia- Militia units equipped with simple bows and a short sword.
- Blackroot Vale Archers- Skilled and hardy bowmen from Blackrot Vale loyal to Gondor. REQUIRES ERECH OR CALEMBEL
- Gondor Archers- Professional heavy archers, armed with a longbow and a sword for close combat. Wearing full plate armour.
- Ithilien Rangers- Light archers with excellent morale and stamina. Best used in supporting or ambushing roles. REQUIRES AN ITHILIEN REGION
- Gondor Cavalry Militia- Strong cavalry militia with small shields and sharp spears.
- Gondor Cavalry- Professional medium cavalry armed with lances and swords and protected by plate armour.
- Swan Knights- Professional heavy cavalry with a very strong charge. Armed with spears and shields, able to form a wedge formation. REQUIRES DOL AMROTH
- Alcarondas- A great warship for long voyages of exploration.
- Númerrámar- This light and manoeuvrable warship of the Fleet should not be underestimated for her size.
- Pallaran- This heavy warship of the Fleet can outmatch most other vessels, though a Corsair Marauder will provide a challenge.
- Ballista- Resembling a giant crossbow, this powerful weapon can fling javelins a great distance, skewering men with ease.
- Catapult- Older style rock-flinging wooden artillery piece. Can launch fireballs of immense power and destruction: very useful against clumped up enemy units.
- Guards of Osgiliath - elite spearmen, maybe one of the best units in the game, can only build after rebuilding Osgiliath, so only available at the very end of a game
RohanEdit
Silvan Elves. Edit
DwarvesEdit
The dwarves start out with two settlements. One is Erebor the other is the Iron Hills. The dwarves field really good infantry but lack archers or cavalry. 'After Lord Dain II's victory at the battle of he five armies he has reestablished the kingdom of Erebor and his most trusted adviser Balin son of Fundin pleads the king to allow him to set an expedition to Kazad-Dum.
DaleEdit
EriadorEdit
ArnorEdit
IsengardEdit
Isengard Lay South of the Gap of Rohan the Capital of Isengard being Isengard/orthanc and their faction leader being saruman. They mainly use Uruk-hai in their armies but also use the mighty men from Dunland
Orcs of the Misty MountainsEdit
Orcs of Gundabad (the silly orcs of Azog and Bolg)Edit
HaradEdit
Men that Lay in the south, They are Servents of The dark Lord, They tame the great Oliphaunts that walk the deserts in their lands. 1 Man controls this, 1 Man who will help destroy Gondor
RhunEdit
The lands in the far east. Followers of Sauron, known as the Easterlings by some. With vast armies of veteran soldiers, gold mines aplenty, and enormous amounts of land the Easterlings are a force to be reckoned with; a horrible opponent but a mighty ally. They have a over all good infantry the thing they lack is better pike men and their best unit is probably the dragon wraith gilds men who either have gold or silver armor and who can house a general while not being killed easily like the archers even when surrounded.
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Medieval 2 Divide And Conquer
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Third Age Divide And Conquer Units
March 5, 2018 - 11:02am
Divide and Conquer is the biggest Third Age total War submod of all time. We have recently released DaC V2.0 (on March 3rd, 2018) which has been in development for a full year. DaC V2.0 has a lot of new features and content from all aspects of the game such as new units, new campaign strategy map models, new scripts, new battlemaps, and much. We hope you all enjoy DaC V2.0!
Divide and Conquer Version 2 - Part 1. You need a fresh (no mods present) Third Age Total War 3.2 installation.