| “ | [The Deeping Wall] could be reached by a stair running down from a door in the outer court of the Hornburg; three flights of steps led also up on to the wall from the Deep behind; but in front it was smooth, and the great stones of it were set with such skill that no foothold could be found at their joints, and at the top they hung over like a sea-delved cliff. | ” |
–The Two Towers, Helm's Deep | ||
In multiplayer, with rivals and enemies all around you, you will find it necessary to build and defend a fortress. There are useful tutorials for PVP bases and other building styles on the Minecraft Wiki. Click on this link to view the tutorials page: Middle-Earth Gameplay Guide.
However, there are some aspects of the mod that are not covered in vanilla Minecraft, such as the use of hired units and unique blocks and weaponry. Thus, various other suggestions are made on this page. If you're interested in adding traps to your fort, a page about this can be found here.
Position[]
One of the first things to consider when starting a fortress is where to build it. The things you will need to consider are: invasions from enemy factions, many allied NPC's, it being hard for enemies to access, and having plenty of resources to make all the things you will need. As a good faction you have 3 good choices, these being Lindon, Lothlórien and Gondor. As an evil faction, your best choice would be Mordor.
Battlements[]
A necessity; this will make it much harder for the enemy to target you with bows, crossbows and even bombs. If you are shooting from a flat place atop a fortress surrounded by battlements, the enemies will have a much harder time getting in, because the battlements provide a wall over which the enemies must climb, and while they are doing that, all you need to do is shoot at them, and the knock-back effect of the arrows will knock them back down. But in order for that to be possible, the battlements must be vertically aligned with or be placed at the outermost point of the wall or fortress. This is what they should look like:
As you can see, the battlements are along the outermost point of the tower, and are comprised of a wall in the middle and two blocks with a slab on top on the side (this will prevent hired units from getting out, and enemy units from getting in). The rim of these battlements also prevents Mirkwood or Mordor spiders from climbing over your fort's walls.
The enemies which stand near the wall will miss your troops
In addition, there is another design to help your archers find the target without falling off the wall. You need a three-block-high gap (four with three-block-high unit), put one half-slab at the bottom, one at the top, and there will be a two blocks high gap for the archer, then place two trapdoors like in the picture.
It's very effective to keep your troops on (or in) the wall, they won't jump off the wall to find the target, and the enemies will miss your troops if they stand too close to the wall. You can replace the outside trapdoor with fence or stair, it will work too, but sometime it block the unit's line of sight.
It is recommended to not build this gap too high because your troops won't "see" the enemies, just build it 5 blocks above the ground. And you should use units with longest range possible and only use units that have equal or better range than normal archer, that means elves are excellent but axe-throwers and spear throwers are not.
Player can use this design to avoid falling off the wall, in this case, you should build higher so the NPC's will mostly miss you, and replace the outside trapdoor with fence or stair for a better view of the battlefield. The best thing is you don't even have to hold Shift !!!
Gatehouse[]
The Gatehouse is one of the most important parts of a Fortress. It is the main way in and out and capturing it is, apart from destroying the walls (which can be very costly and in some servers illegal),the only way to be able to get good amounts of troops, cavalry and large units in. Therefore it is vital to give it a solid defence.
One thing you can use are wall spurs, as seen at the gates of Minas Tirith in the movies. There are excellent for putting archers on which can fire at the enemy from all directs, making it nearly impossible for the enemy to block or dodge the arrows.
Another thing you can add in the gatehouse itself are the double gates. This is seen in Gondor Walled Towns, where you have 2 gates in the gatehouse, with 1-3 blocks in between each. In this highly contricted gap you can easily fire at your foes from arrow slits in the roof, which you can also use for pike-ing your enemies.
Arrow Slits[]
Some efficient and effective arrow-slits ready for war!
These are crucial to your fort's defense although your hired units may have trouble firing out of these, this just means your opponent's hired troops will have even greater difficulty! Most of my player model is covered by a wall making it easy to pick off your enemies one at a time. Arrow slits are constructed with 2 stair blocks both facing the same direction in the wall that they are in with one on the bottom with the flat side down and the other on the top with the flat side up. Hired units (belonging to you) only shoot through these when an enemy NPC or player is within their arrow range on the other side of the arrow slit.
Units[]
It is very important which units you use! Archers are good for standing behind battlements, and melee units are good for staying inside the fortress. But never use bombardiers! These will only serve well outside the castle when it is not yet besieged. Putting bombardiers in your castle will, at some point, result in you doing the enemy's work for them; they will not even need to waste their own bombs to destroy your fort.
Cavalry and other mounted units can also be good for defending your fort, and, like the melee units, are best left inside the fortress. They are also good for fighting outside the walls of the fort before it has been besieged. Another technique is to surround your outer perimeter with stealthy long-ranged troops such as Rangers of the North or Wood-elf scouts.These troops could take out a whole army before you even know they are there. Moreover, they act as an early warning system, since the death messages in the chat will alert you of incoming enemies.
Materials[]
Try to use as much stone and metal (or other strong material) in your building so it is harder to blast or mine through, and by the time the enemies have got through your units will most likely have slain the besiegers. Do not use any worn materials in your fortress, such as cracked bricks, which are easier to break and blast. Use as little wood in your fortress as possible, especially if you are good-aligned! With the addition of fire-bombs, evil-doers can cause new devastation to wooden structures. Also, wood is very blast-able even without firebombs, and is easy to break. And, if the besiegers set fire to your fort, it will burn and be destroyed, along with your units and you! An excellent material with which to build a fort would be the blocks of Utumno, as they're nearly indestructible, and have stunning colour and texture.
Retreat Route[]
An example of a hidden entrance located within a cave.
Unless you are strong and determined enough, there should always be a (preferably secret) escape route, so that if the battle is not going your way, you can slip off quietly and save yourself, and preferably with a few hired units. This will allow you to go far away and make a new stronghold and army, and possibly re-take your old castle. An escape route should be an underground tunnel that emerges on the side of a hill, with a Dwarven door on each end for it to be as secret as possible. Make sure to use standard Dwarven Doors so that their location is not given away at night by the beautiful glowing effect of Ithildin Dwarven doors. You could also use a piston door instead, or (as seen in the picture) make it emerge into a naturally occurring cave. Make sure that the light from the cave isn't visible from the outside.
Location[]
The location of your fort is a very important consideration, and depends greatly upon your alignment. The best place to build your fort is deep within friendly territory, as it will make it much harder for foes to get to your base. If you have thrown your lot in with Sauron, you may want to place your fort within the Nan Ungol region of Mordor, as there are many powerful and dangerous spiders and spider riders on the prowl. If you are a defender of the Free Peoples of Middle-earth, you should strongly consider Rohan as a place for your stronghold, as the soldiers there (the Rohirrim) are exceptionally strong and are almost all on horseback (their horses are also the finest in all of Middle-earth). This makes them very dangerous for the forces of evil. However, there are many other options for each alignment, so explore which region would be the best for you.
Position[]
Sometimes, the spot upon which a safe haven is built is just as important as the materials you make it out of. The positioning of the fort is mostly dependent upon the type of biome you call home. Mountainous regions are great places for forts. Try to construct your stronghold atop a sheer cliff with very few access points. This makes it far more difficult for enemies to reach, and far easier for you to defend. If you live in a large forest, treehouse forts (such as the Elven tree-house) are a great idea, as you have the advantage of being far above your enemy's head, and it is exceedingly difficult for enemies to reach if you play your cards right. Island fortresses are one of the best options, although it is very time consuming to build your own artificial island fortress whether on a lake or in the middle of a river. The island near Rauros in the Anduin (near Emyn Muil) is ideal, however, you will need to rid yourself of the spiky terrain. Of course, if you take the necessary precautions, the Forodwaith biome makes a spectacular fortress location, since the opponent and his army will be greatly worn down by the freezing cold before he even reaches your fort, if he ever does. Finally, make use of naturally spawning structures in the area; they grant you a constant supply of spare troops and extra points of defense. Mountains are also good for defense, because its hard for troops to get up. Finally, it is recommended to not use trees or wood for your fort, because your opponent isn't stupid, and can burn everything.
Traps[]
Thanks to the redstone circuitry graciously granted to us by Notch, players can now engineer all sorts of saucy tricks for unwanted guests. Whether you prefer the classic arrow-launching hallway, the tricky piston-activated lava trap, or the truly evil TNT pit, these home security systems are a sure-fire way to pick off invaders. After all, the players might notice your pressure pads and dispensers, but their troops will not. If you haven't been to the Overworld to mine some redstone and prefer a more Middle-earth way of killing your foes, then here are some tricks: dig a hole that an enemy cannot jump out of and place spikes (stabbing thorns or stalagmites) at the bottom. Enemy troops fall in and then sometimes try to jump out, but kill themselves in the process. If you live near a marsh, go and collect some quagmire to surround your walls. There is nothing funnier than watching an enemy sink (and slowly suffocate) in the quagmire. For those of you who don't want a quick thinking player with a shovel to escape, placing lava below a layer of 1 block deep quagmire is an effective way to make sure that they can't escape. For some more traps, take a look at this page.
Banners[]
Banners are a good way to protect your base and the surrounding territory if you play your cards right. You can place a banner on a bronze block to protect a 9x9 area, or you can place it on a silver block that protects a 33x33 block area, or you can place it on a gold block to protect a 65x65 area. The banner itself is an entity, so it can be destroyed by other players, but if you set up another banner, those banners will protect each other. Thus, you can make an impenetrable fortress. In the recents versions of the mod it is no longer needed, as banner can now protect themselves.
Double Walls[]
Double walls are the key to a castle's defense. If the enemy bursts through the gates, but hasn't taken the first wall, then they will be attacked by both the inner wall and the outer one at the same time. Alternatively, if they take the first wall, the enemy must also take the second before finally reaching the keep. A good example in The Lord of the Rings is Minas Tirith, which has seven walls. Traditionally, it is better to have the inner wall higher than the outer one, which means the defenders can see what is happening on the outer wall. If you want a history lesson, Constantinople had these walls, and they warded off the Turkish invaders who had new cannons and many more troops for months!
Slab-Reinforced Walls[]
In order to prevent bombs from breaking through your walls quickly, utilize the effective slab and put a space of half a block in between them, with a three layer thick slab defense. With walls on either side, it will take 2-3 Orc bombs to get through. This is highly effective to hold off attackers while your archers pick them off. The added defence potential is due to a different blast resistance of slabs from normal blocks. Remember, the thicker the wall, the more bombs it takes. If that is too expensive for you, you can also employ the use of water walls. These highly effective walls help negate bomb explosions entirely, and are also effective against bombardiers, as they must stop the water to use the bomb.
Here is the effect of triple Orc bombs on a wall reinforced with slabs:
After all of these expensive bombs have been used to get in, you will no doubt be well aware of your enemy's whereabouts, and most of his army will have been picked off by then.
Gameplay mechanics of the Lord of the Rings Mod
Basic Mechanics:
Alignment •
Books •
Crafting •
Equipment Modifiers •
Factions •
Farming The World:
Biomes (Variants) •
Clock •
Compass •
Fast Travel System •
Roads Achievements and Quests:
Achievements • Mini-Quest • Shields • Titles • The Red Book • Tutorial In-Game Events:
Bandits • Bloodmoon • Invasions • Player Respawning • Skirmishes • Thieves Combat:
Banners •
Boss Mechanics •
Combat System •
Conquest •
Fort Besieging Tips •
Fort Defense Tips Brewing:
Portals:
Other / Technical:
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