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Battle of the 9 Armies



Wait that's not right...
Well you get the idea.
The 9th faction will be Erebor, faction of the shaving adversed.

Erebor has been the faction I've wanted to release most but at the same time it has always been the faction with the largest workload.
Finally Erebor has started progressing enough to be released in the nearish future.





Erebor are a powerhouse infantry faction fielding a large number of strong infantry units for both attack and defence.
Familiar faces will make up the hero list like Gimli, Gloin, Dwalin and King Dain Ironfoot.
Via the spell store other dwarf heroes will also be making an appearance such as Thorin Oakenshield and his ill fated companions.

Breaking with tradition Erebor won't be coming alone they'll be released at the same time as the Strongholds.

Return of Shadow Beta 0.2

Download Link






Rivendell is now finally available for play without having to use a game mode code.
The mod now has 7 factions available.
Rivendell plays differently from the other factions it uses a good variety of strong units culminating in some powerful elite units with exclusive upgrades.
As well as the support unit the Lightbearer that can be upgraded to use either Healing, Defensive of Offensive spells.






Notes

Beta 0.2 is the first full version release since Beta 0.15 and has a new file structure and updated launcher.
The file size has been reduced as well by trimming as much fat as possible bringing the current size down to 2.5gb from somewhere around 4gb.

A new optional addon is coming soon that will change the look of the game slightly to give a more cinematic look.
The UI has an updated look to match the Return of Shadow theme, even the launcher has been tweaked to match it.

Check out roschangelist.txt for a full list of changes.
Beta 0.2 also includes a small hotfix 0.21 that fixes a few issues I noticed while I was slowly uploading the Beta (it took me about a week to do so).

An installer and old version uninstaller is planned to be released later today.

You can also read the updated manual from the download section.

Return of Shadow Beta 0.15

You can download it here.
Simply download and install with the installer then follow the prompts in the launcher.
This version is stand alone and does not require the previous Beta or patches, it's recommended you uninstall Beta 0.1 before installing this beta.

It's been almost 6 months since Beta 0.1 was released and it's come a long way.
I'm happy to present Beta 0.15.
The main feature of this version is the new faction Dunland.
 

Of Dunland and ancient hatred

Dunland is the land to the south of Eregion and the west of Rohan home to descendants of the folk of Haleth.
The people of Dunland hold a long grudge against both the Numenoreans and the Rohirrim who drove them out of the land of Rohan.
While the Dunlendings are usually content to keep to themselves Saruman and his agents have gone amongst the Dunlendings and spread discord and talk of war and riches among the villages of the Dunlendings.
Saruman has managed to stir up an old hatred and direct it towards the Rohirrim.
 
Dunland is different from the other factions in Return of Shadow this faction relies more on fast moving light infantry and raiding attacks to win.
They have the fastest infantry in the game allowing them a useful advantage balancing out their weaker than normal defences.
Through the use of their upgrades and units they can completely overcome a battlefield in a short time by building Wildmen from outlying Farms in fast speed through the use of the Gather the Clans spell.
Combined with the Fire Torches upgrade Dunland can make quick work of enemy farms and other outlying buildings.
Dunland also has the useful War Hound horde which is a pack of fast moving dogs that can chase down enemies and harass them.

Inspiration for the Dunlendings came from the Celts and Scots and they use similar strategies as those armies do in other RTS games.
 

Outside Dunland

Lorien has also undergone some work.
Edhellor has been tweaked to be more of a Warden style hero with 2 new abilities Wind Piercer replacing Shatter Armour and Siege Breaker replacing Gate Breaker.
Galadriel has a new skill replacing Haven of Light which allows her some more offensive power.
Lorien also now have a Statue to provide leadership.
They've also received some aesthetic changes to their bases making them look better than ever.

Rohan,Gondor and Isengard have had only minor changes since Beta 0.145
Lurtz gained a new skill Slam Shooter which adds a knock back to his ranged attack.

Mordor has received some attention and getting quite a few bug fixes.

The Campaign has had some work done on it as well with some common issues being resolved.
But it's still an ongoing process but I hope to have the 2 campaigns fully operational by Beta 0.2.

With Beta 0.15 comes  some new maps 2 maps set in Dunland Vale of Wulf and Northern Dunland and a couple more Fredius' Glanduin, and 2 more of my maps Thrain's Vale and Wilderland Plains.

 

The Road leads ever on

Beta 0.2 is up next in roughly a month and with it will come the 7th faction Rivendell.
A lot of the ground work has already been done on Rivendell as you can see in recent news and images but you will have to wait till then to see them in action.