The Road to Edain 4.8.4: The Dorwinian Tidingshall

[The_Necromancer0]

Greetings, companions of Edain!

Today we want to introduce you to a somewhat larger project that we have been working on in recent weeks and months and which will be part of Patch 4.8.4: A new outpost for the dwarves, more precisely the Iron Hills.

The Dorwinian Tidingshall
When we reworked Dale and Laketown in 4.7, the Ered Mithrin Bastion was left mostly untouched. To this day we like the idea of Ered Mithrin as more of a simple defensive option, however it does leave Iron Hills sort of disadvantaged when it comes to outposts. The Bastion offers powerful half-elite units, but the building itself cannot match the economic power of Dale or Laketown. Additionally, the Bastion does not offer a hero, which means Iron Hills is quite a bit lighter in that area considering that they also do not have a scout hero.

As such, we decided to add a new outpost to Iron Hills in the similar style as Dale and Laketown in the form of the Dorwinian Tidingshall.

The Dorwinian Tidingshall grants the Iron Hills access to the Dorwinion subfaction. This includes a hero, Aldron the Grave, two elite units and two standard units. The outpost also has a unique mechanic, like Dale and Laketown, in the form of the Dorwinion Emissary.

The Tidingshall can research the following upgrades, one per level:

• Watchmen's Barracks - Construct the Watchmen's Barracks. Increase HP by 500. Unlocks Loyal Defenders at the Emissary. Prerequisite for the Palace.
• Palace - Requires: Watchmen's Barracks. Construct the Palace. Increase HP by 500. Enable recruitment of Oathsworns and Aldron. Unlocks Quiet Accords at the Emissary.
• Watchtower - Construct a Watchtower. Increase HP by 500. Fires at nearby enemies. Prerequisite for the Bladorthin Memorial
• Bladorthin memorial - Requires: Watchtower. Construct a Bladorthin Memorial. Increase HP by 500. Grants a lingering buff to armor and damage. Unlocks Decree of Chivalric Privilege at the emissary.
• Vinedresser's Union - Construct a Vinedresser's Union. Increase HP by 500. Increases resources produced by Vineyards. Unlocks Establish Vineyard at the Emissary. Prerequisite for the Chamber of Commerce
• Chamber of Commerce - Requires: Vinedresser's Union. Construct a Chamber of Commerce. Increase HP by 500. Unlocks secondary effects on the Emissary's abilities.
• Wine Cellar - Construct a Wine Cellar. Increase HP by 500. Heal nearby allies. Unlocks Wine for Steel at the Emissary. Prerequesite for the Festival Square
• Festival Square - Requires: Wine Cellar. Construct a Festival Square. Increase HP by 500. Increases resources produced by Vineyards

Humble beginnings

Unlike Dale and Laketown, the economical advantage provided by the Tidingshall is not centered on the outpost itself but on the Vineyards. Vineyards are economy buildings that can be constructed in the place of Lumbermills and gain increased production for every Tidingshall with the Festival Square upgrade. Once the Tidingshall reaches level 10 it gains:

• Deep-rooted Influence - The city has become important in the local area and gathers influence much more easily. The cooldowns incurred from casting one of the emissary's ability are reduced by 33%. Passive Ability

The Emissary is a unit that spawns once the Tidingshall has been constructed. It cannot attack, be targeted or move but from its Palantir you can cast powerful map-wide abilities. However, casting any ability will place them all on cooldown, a cooldown which varies depending on the ability cast. The Emissary has access to the following abilities:

• Growing Influence - Through trade and politicking, the Dorwinion outpost grows its influence. This influence can then be expended to cast abilities. Once an ability has been cast all abilities will enter a cooldown that depends on which ability was cast. Passive Ability
• Establish Vineyard - Requires: Vinedresser's Union. After gathering all lumber they desire, the dwarves allow the men of Dorwinion to grow grapevines in the area. Targeted Lumbermill is upgraded to a Vineyard of Dorwinion that produces high resources and can be targeted by Loyal Defenders. Targeted Mineshaft and Travel Camps become Vine-marked and can be targeted by Loyal Defenders. Once the Chamber of Commerce has been researched, targeting a Vineyard will grant it +30% resource production for 60 seconds. Short cooldown. Left-click on icon then left-click on allied Lumbermill, Vineyard, Travel Camp or Mineshaft.
• Loyal Defenders - Requires: Watchmen's Barracks. The Emissary calls the houses of Dorwinion to honour their oath and defend the land. The houses send out their guards, bound by oaths and duty in response. Summon troops at the target Dorwinion Outpost banner, Vineyard, Vine-marked settlement or Aldron. Once the Chamber of Commerce has been researched, more troops are summoned. Short cooldown. Left-click on the icon then left-click near a Dorwinion Outpost banner, Vineyard, Vine-marked settlement or Aldron.
• Decree of Chivalric Privilege - Requires: Bladorthin Memorial. The emissary empowers the envoy of Dorwinion with great political power, granting him the ability to bypass other nobles and attain his goal. Aldron the Grave temporarily grants nearby Dorwinion troops +25% armor and damage. Once Chamber of Commerce has been researched, the ability also refreshes Aldron's cooldowns. Medium cooldown. Left-click to activate
• Wine for Steel - Requires: Wine Cellar. The men of Dorwinion trade their wine for dwarven-made armor. Heal units in the target area for 25% health and grant +25% armour to Dorwinion units for 30 seconds. Once Chamber of Commerce has been researched, the heal and armor is increased. Medium cooldown. Left-icon on the icon then left-click on allied units.
• Quiet Accords - Requires: Palace. The Emissary strikes a bargain with the allies of the enemies of Dorwinion, demanding that they pull their troops away in exchange for riches and vine. Mark the target area as a Peace Zone for 40 seconds. Enemy units in the peace zone lose -40% damage, and summoned units take continuous damage. Once Chamber of Commerce has been researched, the Peace Zone will last longer. Long cooldown. Left-click on the icon then left-click on the target area.

Each of the Emissary's ability is quite powerful within a vacuum, however because casting any of them puts them all on cooldown you have to carefully decide how you will use this advantage. Establish Vineyard is your the economy tool for Dorwinion, it allows you to transform a lumbermill into a vineyard which produces more resource than other economy buildings, and can be further boosted by Festival Squares. Loyal Defenders is your primary method of recruiting more troops as it is the only way to obtain standard troops. This summon respect the command point limit so make sure you have enough room. To compensate for this downside, there are many places this summon can use on map-wide. Decree of Chivalric Privilege is a powerful tool for Aldron as it transforms him into a mobile statue, providing a powerful buff to Dorwinion troops. Wine for Steel is primarily intended to support your Dorwinion troops, however the percentage-based heal also functions quite well with the higher health units of the Iron Hills. Finally, Quiet Accords is the capping stone. This ability creates a killing box that your enemies will be desperate to leave, however they may not always be able to...

A gathering place for all those seeking an audience with the council of Dorwinion

The Emissary provides multiple interesting gameplay possibilities to support your faction. You can decide to focus on the economic aspect, boosting your vineyards with Vinedresser's Union, Chamber of Commerce and Festival Square first. Or you can create an army Dorwinian troops by going for the Barracks, Palace and Chamber of Commerce. You can also decide to support your Dwarven allies by going for Wine Cellar, Palace and Chamber of Commerce. 

Aldron the Grave
Aldron the Grave is a melee hero you can recruit from the outpost once the Palace has been built. He is more expensive than Bard and Brand but packs some extra punch in exchange. Whereas the Emissary represents the political power of Dorwinion, Aldron is its military arm. He has the following abilities:

• General of Dorwinion - Requires: Level 1. Aldron the Grave was sent to oversee the efforts of Dorwinion in these lands and can take command of all its forces if necessary. Aldron can be targeted by Loyal Defenders. Summoned units of Dorwinion in his vicinity can be upgraded with Orders of the General to become permanent units. When Decreee of Chivalric Privilege is active, nearby dorwinion units will gain +25% armor and damage. Passive Ability
• Riposte - Requires: Level 2. Aldron spend much of his youth fighting in duels and tourneys, learning and mastering defensive fighting techniques that kept him alive. For 30 seconds, he gains +50% armor and slows his target. Left-click to activate.
• Blessing of the Vine - Requires: Level 5. Aldron bestows a blessing upon his allies, granting them increased vigor and strength. Allied units in the target area permanently gain +25% health. This bonus does not stack with itself. Does not affect heroes. Left-click on target units
• Fist of Dorwinion - Requires: Level 7. The protection of the interests Dorwinion sometimes requires not just political pressure, but military power. Aldron summons two units of the Purple Guard that are affected by General of Dorwinion. Left-click to activate
• Chivalric Challenge - Requires: Level 10. Aldron challenges all nearby enemies to a duel. Those who refuse and try to escape are punished. Aldron marks the nearby area as an arena. Any enemy trying to enter or leave the area will be knocked back. If Aldron dies the arena is disbanded. Left-click to activate.

General of Dorwinion is a representation of Aldron's mandate. It allows him to make summoned Dorwinion troops permanents. This requires you to pay the cost of that units but it fully replenishes their health and numbers. Permanent units can also purchase upgrades. Riposte is a simple buff primarly intended to synergise with his other abilities. The huge armor bonus allows him to keep his leadership up longer and avoids the arena disbanding. Blessing of the Vine is an unusual supportive ability which permantly makes target units harder to kill and synergises well with the percent based heal from the Emissary. Fist of Dorwinion is a summon which grants Dorwinion access to elite swordsmen that can be made permanent. Unlike Loyal Defenders, these units bypass the command point limit. Chivalric Challenge a play-making ability. It functions like a sort of miniature Huorn summon, preventing units and heroes from escaping. When combined with the Emissary's Quiet Accords it create an unescapable killing box.

Drink reponsibly folks!

Units of Dorwinion
Dorwinion has access to the following units.

• Vineyard Watchmen - Standard 15-men archers. Can temporarily fire tipped arrows to poison and slow their target. Only summonable through Loyal Defenders
• Vintner-court Guards - Standard 15-men swordsmen. Gain movement speed after attacking. Only summonable through Loyal Defenders
• Bladorthin Oathsworn - Elite 10-men pikemen. Can temporarily take up a formation that boosts their defense and nearby unit's attack. Recruitable from the Tidingshall after the Palace has been constructed
• Purple Guard - Elite 10-men swordsmen. Replenish troops while near Aldron. Only summonable from Aldron.

Similarly to the Dale outpost, the outpost offers 2 standard and an elite unit, but an elite pikemen this time. Each of the units have an ability that provides some utility without putting them in a direct competition with the heavy hitting dwarven units.

That's all we have to show for Dorwinion! We hope you've enjoyed this showcase and look forward to your feedback

Your Edain team