First lets elaborate Lord Dáin: after he picks up the Ring, as all heroes have small bonus from the start with their new form, I came up to mind to let the young, hot-tempered Lord be able to provide increased leadership bonus as well as 5-10% increased attack for 30-45 seconds. It will correspond with the Battle of the Five Armies scene in two ways: first, when they formed their shield wall which made the Elves charge trough because they were encouraged from their ( dwarven ) will to fight much greater odds, and later, when he ordered the last charge after Thorin entered the field. Even though Thorin inspired the dwarves, naturally the Iron Hills warriors obeyed the commands of their Lord and therefore after the shout: “To the King” they literally crashed the ranks of the opposing orcs.
Level 1 - Rising Rage: Dáin's rage increases with every attack against enemy units or heroes. After five attacks, he deals damage in an area and gains +30% armor. After 10 attacks, his strikes throw enemies to the ground and he can't be knocked down himself. Rage wears off after 20 seconds. This one should stay as now even in the ring form because it would give Dain his normal ability to be re used again even in ring form since this one in particular is unique and well-fitting to him. Alas, as proposed on MU by Oakenshield and Julio, it could have a double-edge sword effect that would also harm own units since his hot temper combined with the power of the Ring could result in deadly combination.
Level 3 - Dáin's Boar: Requires full rage. Dáin briefly ( maybe permanently ) mounts his boar. Not as fast as other steeds, but deals increased trample damage. It doesn't slow down when trampling enemies on shattered soil. This ability should stay since he have one of the most iconic mounts and therefore the re-usage of the boar is well-fitted to him.
Level 5- Emergency measures: from the book we were able to read that Dain and his 500 warriors arrived at Erebor from their holds in several days with great haste and willing to help their kin. Even though in Edain Iron Hills are depicted as “tanky” dwarves that excel in high armor and durable in combat, with this active ability, Dain could speed their movement for 10-15% which could result in either escaping big battles or aiding allies. Furthermore, when activated, it would grant small fear ability to nearby troops because once they entered the theatre in the book, they were described as grim-looking, angry host.
Level 7- Lord of the Iron Hills ( active/passive ): this one was his level 1 ability in 4.4.1 and we know that this ability was passive and provided boost to nearby warriors with 30% armor and fear resistance. My suggestion is that we should keep the name of the ability but make it completely unique. Iron Hills as a region in Tolkien’s universe was a range of mountains that were turned into mining facilities by the dwarves who made strongholds there. The mountains were rich in iron which is one of their key resources for producing weapons, armor and engines of war. So, from knowing this, we can make him grant via this ability permanent bonuses to mining shafts in terms of increased resources as a passive ability when he is near to the camp and once activated, all troops around him would be armed with heavy armor and forged blades similar how Wulfgar arms his Dunledings. Should have very low recharge rate ( 90-120 seconds ) due to balance.
Level 10- Lord’s pride: this one will represent an old ability that was used for April fools day of 2017 when the team did an article about Dáin. Remember how he was able to cast on selected area a chariot ( wagon ) charge ? Well, this comes up to my mind. Since now we have new looking battle-wagons, Dain could charge them to tight enemy ranks for devastating effect. Should not be upgraded as King Dáin is able to summon them, but, rather normal wagons that will allow the player to decide a tight battle or to disrupt formations of archers.
Ring form for King Dáin: because here we discuss a “what If” situation where King Dáin accepts the Ring even though he refused any offer from Mordors emissaries, we can make a situation that will make his realm for short period of time produce even more resources ( 100 % ) because of the increased greed, but troops during this time will have decreased attack and will fear Dain for short time. The idea behind this is that once he has the Ring, he will start making Erebor even more richer that it was before Smaug destroyed it and thus because of that, all troops will start to fall for the riches and will “forget” what war is. In addition to this, Dáin will be monarch that will be feared because of his extended treasures.
Level 1- Long live the King: ( passive ) this was, however the aftermath of the BOTFA movies when we witnessed the funeral of Thorin, Kili and Fili and at that moment, Dáin was elected as the new King under the Mountain. This ability will grant Dáin extended HP points. Additional to this, allied units near to the base will be resistant to fear wile outside, will have increased attack values. Small depiction of the last Battle at Dale when he fought till the very end.
Level 3- Might of the Red Axe ( active/passive ): makes Dain swing with his axe at great ferocity even at old age. When activated, it would clever down any foes dealing them high damage, strong even against some heroes/monsters. Without the activation, it would give him permanent aoe attacks.
Level 6- King’s royal carriage: Here, I like to thank to AuletheSmith, Oakenshield and Julio for their approval and ideas for reintroducing the iconic mount for our old king Dáin. As seen in the screenshot of the wagons, there was one upgraded wagon that had Arkenguard besides the two pikemen and the driver. I will suggest that instead of the Arkenguard, Dain takes his place and therefore take the initiative of commanding from atop of the wagon’s platform. This however, will make him have permanent access to very unique mount and will allow the engine itself to do the killing instead of him.
Level 8- Trusted friends: after the destruction that the orcs and goblins had at the Battle of the Five Armies, Dáin not only rebuilt his kingdom, but, he helped the Men of Esgaroth restore the once powerful city of Dale. Their alliance lasted trough the ages. They celebrated together and they died together, but their relations were true and they both respected their cultures. With this ability, depending of his stance, Dáin could summon 3 different “gifts or aid” from Dalians:
Defensive stance: this will increase the armor of the Dalian outpost since after the rebuilding of Dale, most of the dwarven stonemasons helped the Men to restore the might of Dale.
Normal stance: will provide small treasure around selected area that will increase the income and will represent their notable trade.
Aggressive stance: should summon several upgraded battalions of Dalians that will provide support in times of need. This according to me should give closer touch to the last battle of Dale where they fought together.
Level 10- Nothing stands taller than the might of the Dwarves: here again we can re-use the old ability from 4.4.1 that was able to cast a unique fortress that could produce the units of the other two realms. The usage of the fortress should be reworked as well and instead of only producing units, I propose of giving an ability to create earthquake around the building similar to how the Earth Hammer works. Good for defending the building and providing support when troops are nearby in case the odds are too great. In addition to this, once Dáin enters the building, he might summon Durin the Deathless who has long summon cool-down and can use his abilities that we all remember and know.
I hope that you may like this proposal,
Best regards,
Filip Georgievski