Introduction​

Lord of the Rings Footmen vs Grunts is a LotR-themed game built off the backbone of Footmen vs Grunts created by Compit. It is a 3v3 map between good and evil, and players from both sides will pick a race/races of their choosing, a hero, and use the Command Center (or other commands) to issue mass commands to their entire army. The goal is get stronger armies/heroes and destroy Barad-dur/Imladris.

Gameplay​

Units will automatically spawn from your Castle/Stronghold. Buy/research new units from specific barracks separated by race (Elf/Dwarf/Gondor/Isengard/Mordor/Easterlings). Attack and defense upgrades are located within the Castle and Stronghold while more specific upgrades are located in specific racial upgrade centers.

Access your Mass Control Center (Esc) or use a number of text commands to issue orders to your entire army. You can issue mass attack orders, mass retreats, move your army to a specific area, change spawn location, stop spawn of a particular unit, or ensure a unit type can not obey mass commands. Strong gameplay is a combination of good control of your army and hero as well as good tech progression.

Acquire gold by slaying enemies/creeps and acquire lumber from using shredders to harvest from trees in the surrounding areas. Both gold and wood are required for upgrades and new units, but particularly powerful units, mercenaries, upgrades, heroes, and items, are locked behind wood.

AI Mode​

A unique AI mode is available to the player to either practice skills/builds or to engage in a challenge. Simply start the game without any players on the opposing side (available for Good and Evil). When the game starts, you will have 5 minutes to clear the creeps from the middle of the map and prepare for the invasion. 10 waves of enemies will assault you and you must use your wits to defeat overbearing numbers. You may take on this mode alone or with friends, but it is not any easier/harder to do it alone/with friends as the difficulty is balanced around that.

Upgraded Units and Unit EXP​

Footmen vs Grunts is a unique strategy game with lots of tech progression, variability, and styles of play. Many units are capable of upgrading into greater forms of themselves, acquiring stronger stats and new abilities. The strongest builds are those dedicated around the cost-efficiency of different types of units that share unit EXP AND upgrades. Every unit that can be upgraded into a better version of itself will have a tooltip that explains how to do so. Examples of such builds is a Galadhrim-focused army of elves, dedicated to well-armored infantry and archers, the Ent Titans and Ancient Ents, dedicated to fielding only the tankiest and deadliest of ents, and the trolls of Mordor, where you can rush out a legion of deadly battle trolls and the infamous Olog-Hai.

RACES​

-Gondor​

Gondor is known for employing a versatile array of heavily-armored and well-shielded infantry, spearmen, and cavalry. You may outlast Sauron's forces through sheer defense or overwhelm them with the power of Knights of Gondor and Dol Amroth. Their elite-tier units are Minas Ithil Reclaimers, a powerful archer unit that fires an arrow that penetrates through multiple enemies dealing AoE damage and the Fountain Guard, heavily-armored spear infantry designed to shut down enemy Large units and shred heavy armor.

-Elves/Ents​

The elves of Middle Earth are known as graceful deadly fighters and excellent archers. Not only do they boast the strongest archers in all of Middle Earth, but the Galadhrim Archers and Sindar Nobles are elite, heavily-armored archers capable of wielding two-handed swords and can throw themselves into melee when needed.
On the flip side, you may play as the Ents, the most hardy race of creatures of Middle Earth. Overwhelm the forces of evil with powerful Ent units that can both deal out and eat tons of punishment.
The elite-tier units are the Sindar Nobles, a long-ranged, fast, well-armored archer with a bouncing attack, that can pull out a two-handed sword in melee and scythe through hordes of orcs, and the Ancient Ent, a powerful force of nature that can pulverize hordes of enemies.

-Dwarves​

The dwarves are known for their thick armor, stalwart battle formations, and technological innovation. The core dwarven infantry and spears are a burrowing deathball while their deadly crossbows shred well-armored enemies. Their elite units are the Captain of Erebor, an overbearing warrior that strikes fear into orcs and goblins, and the Dwarven Axe Berserker, a medium-ranged unit that tosses multiple axes at once at their enemies.

-Isengard​

The Uruk-Hai of Isengard are known as the most brutal breed of orcs in Middle Earth. Much stronger and donning thicker armor than that of the orc rabble of Mordor, they bully enemies into submission through brute power. The forces of Isengard can feature agile, deadly rangers, powerful crossbows, and an array of deadly pikes and warg riders that spell doom for any mounted foe that dares to resist them. Their elite units are the Nazg-Hai Berserker, an incredily powerful and fast bruiser with deadly AoE, and the Uruk-Hai War Savage, a medium-ranged warrior that throws deadly axes at absurd speeds.

-Mordor​

The forces of Mordor are vast, various, and deadly. While Uruks are the main breed of Mordor, Trolls, Vampires, Spiders, and other undead units are the spawn of Morgoth, Sauron's predecessor. March forth hordes of Wights and skeletons, legions of Trolls, great numbers of Spiders, or a murder of deadly flying monsters. Their elite units are the Nazgul, the Nine, the deadliest fighters of all of Middle-Earth, and the Vampire Bloodthirster, an ancient demon of Morgoth capable of powerful magics and deadly assassination abilities.

-Easterlings/Black Numenoreans​

Sauron would not be the threat he posed to Middle-Earth if not for his corrupting influence over the Easterlings, Haradrim, and Numenoreans. The golden legions of Rhun are well-armored, skilled fighters, with armor-penetrating polearms, supported by lethal cataphracts and other deadly black numenorean warriors. Their elite units are the Black Numenorean Rangers, powerful long-ranged archers that dabble in the dark magics of Melkor, the Black Numenorean Captain, deadly swordsmen that augment the very warriors they command, and the Mumakil, massive lumbering beasts that stampede over their enemies and launch arrows and javelins.

Heroes and Items​

LotR Footmen vs Grunts has well over 100 heroes, some unique to Good, some unique to evil, many random heroes with seemingly random abilities, and the special Tavern which has access to strongest heroes in the game including Sauron, the Witch-King, the Balrog, and Elrond. There is also a great assortment of shops. There are many items that can augment your army or you may dabble in the Middle-Earth shop, where the artifacts of Middle-Earth may provide unique and powerful bonuses, including the One Ring.

Mercenaries and the Monster Cage​

Another feature of LotR Footmen vs Grunts is the addition of mercenaries and monsters. These units cost only wood and may be used to augment your armies. Mercenaries share upgrades with a specific race (you can purchase Eldarinwe warriors that share the same upgrades as elves, Rohirric soldiers that share the same upgrades as Gondor), and can be fielded in large numbers. However, mercenaries do not obey the commands of the Mass Control center, and are therefore, micro-intensive. From the Monster Cage are eggs that can hatch ferocious monsters, accessible to both good and evil. These have much greater lumber costs, much more limited in number, but are far more deadly. These creatures do obey your Mass Control commands.

Restart your client before each game to prevent desyncs and play with music on! This map has a diverse set of hand-picked soundtracks from Peter Jackson's trilogy.