Epic Battles

Update 12: Helm's Deep introduces a new "game mechanic" -- the Epic Battle. (Also referred to as Big Battles.) The Epic Battles are accessed via the Road to Battle panel or the Instance Finder.

Are Big Battles Tiered like current Skirmishes and Raids?

Main article: Level Scaling

The Battle for Helm’s Deep only has one difficulty tier, however through the new Medals system we are able to judge how well you do at a given objective within the space and modify rewards based on having done better or worse at it. This creates a variable difficulty system the user can control on the fly as they are able to attempt more or less of the scoring criteria. The more of the criteria you do, the higher your reward, but the more difficult it is to succeed.

They have opt in difficulty as you play, allowing you to attempt to try to do more things and spread your resources further apart, with greater reward but greater risk of failure. The intent is that getting platinum on raid objectives is roughly the equivalent of tier 2 challenge from the mid to higher difficulty OD or ToO boss fights.

What are the differences between Epic Battles and Traditional Raids?

Traditional Raids and Instance content focuses on the player and his group versus the boss and enemies. The primary goal and direct focus of both sides is purely to kill the other. In the Battle for Helm’s Deep the enemies goal is to tear down the walls, destroy the fortress, and slaughter everyone within. It is the complete and utter destruction of Rohan. The players are another enemy on the wall that need to be killed along the way, not the primary focus of the enemies efforts.

Within traditional raids all players are focused on the boss and any adds. This typically happens with everyone being bunched up together in the same 20 square meters and the majority of players attacking the same target. The Battle for Helm’s Deep requires groups to work together, communicate and coordinate at a larger strategic and tactical level. To find the greatest success and reward, the group will have to split up and be in several locations across Helm’s Deep dealing with multiple goals and a variety of challenges, yet still all be working together and coordinating on the larger objectives.

How are rewards (loot) distributed?

As players obtain Medals for the various objectives throughout the Battle for Helm’s Deep, they will earn class based rewards. The higher the quality of the medals earned, the better the quality of the rewards earned. Marks and Medallions are also rewarded for each completed quest and at the end of the run.

The overall system keeps track, separately for each quality of medal (bronze, silver, gold, platinum), how many medals you’ve earned, with bonuses being added for earning them in group spaces, earning them on the main objective, and earning them for the first time. Each of those is represented by a bar within the Battle for Helm’s Deep UI. When a bar fills, based on your selection, you will either get a class specific piece of set piece jewellery (of quality relating to the medal quality), or you will get some points towards filling the next quality bar (we refer to that option internally as turning pennies into dollars). The exception to this is Gold to Platinum, where upconverting is not allowed. Platinum rewards must be earned from completing objectives at platinum.

The Mechanics

Battle for Helm's Deep panel

Access to the Road to Battle Panel

The new Battle for Helm’s Deep panel can be accessed from the "^ Start Menu", or by hitting ‘Shift-B’.

• This panel contains 3 tabs, ‘Road to Battle’, ‘Promotions’, and ‘Battle History.’
• Detailed descriptions of each tab can be found at: Road to Battle, Promotions, and Battle History.

The ‘Road to Battle’ is a map of Helm’s Deep, with numbers indicating the steps and phases of the Battle of Helm’s Deep. Once you’ve selected the battle you wish to partake, the right panel will update with the name of the instance, the group sizes available, a description of the encounter, and a visual display of the best medal you have earned on each of the quests and objectives that can be found within.

Selecting Launch will send you into the space immediately, while Queue will enter you into the Instance Finder queue to find a group to play with. All Epic Battles solo spaces allow for two players to play them together, without an increase in the difficulty of the space. We encourage you to find a friend and play together.

You can also find the Battle for Helm’s Deep instances within the panels of the Instance Finder.

The Tutorial

• Before you go begin Epic Battles there are two things you should do to acquaint yourself with the mechanics.

• You will receive a message in your mail: "From Erkenbrand's Messenger: An Epic Battle Awaits". This Messinger asks to meet you near the Boar Fountain in Bree for a Tutorial on the mechanics of Epic Battles.

1- Go to the Boar Fountain in Bree and meet with Erkenbrand's Messenger. He will give you a Tutorial quest for Epic Battles.

This Tutorial is not timed and may be repeated as often as desired.

In this tutorial it explains the 3 professions Engineer, Officer and Vanguard.

It allows you to try out what its like to give orders as an Officer to the Commanders

As an Engineer it allows you to build, aim and fire a ballista and catapult.

The Vanguard though is simply explained as to what its function is.

2- Launch the Solo/Duo version of Helm's Dike.

• 'Before' you click on any npc to begin the battle ''walk around and look!

You will find NPCs explaining a number of different functions of battles.

• One NPC explains how you will be seeing ladders over the course of the night and this is how you deal with them. You can then click on and kick the ladder away.
• There are a number of similar little explanations scattered about, which relate to the "side quests" you will encounter as the battle progresses.

Roles

Main article: Engineer

Main article: Vanguard

Main article: Officer (Helm's Deep)

Merit

Objectives in battle are not simply won or lost. There is value in preventing collateral damage, or sometimes in inflicting it.

A starting (iron) merit bar with 3 possible causes of Merit loss.

The Merit Bar indicates the grade (iron, bronze, silver, gold or platinum) you would earn if the quest were to end and how close you are to the next grade. Quests start with either full, partial or empty merit. The events that give positive merit are listed below your bar in green, with events giving negative merit listed in red. Your current objective completion percentage is listed next to the quest name and is multiplied by how much merit you have.

The better grade you can earn on a quest, the more points towards rewards and promotions you receive. If you're having trouble earning a higher grade, try acquiring more Promotions or changing the Promotions you are currently utilizing. Note, your highest lifetime medal on each quest is added up, with bronze counting for 1 point, silver for 2, gold for 3, and platinum for 4, for a maximum of 216 points.

Strategies

• Epic Battles are "marketed" as available at level 10. This is true. However, the ability to successfully Solo an Epic Battle at level 10 is EXTREMELY difficult.

• For obvious reasons, doing Epic Battles Solo is more difficult than in a Duo, as the instances do not change between Solo and Duo.

(No additional Mobs spawn, Mobs do not gain increased Morale or "to hit" capabilities between Solo and Duo.)

This is true, especially at the beginning when you have no "role" points and don't know the quests or areas.

Simply finding WHERE some side quest is taking place can take a significant amount of time, if you do not know in advance.

Hint: Use the rope near Gamling to descend (and return) to get to the Stables and the Gate.

The differences between a scaled Level 95 and a real level 95 are dramatic. If you wait until you are approximately level 85, then the scaling becomes much more effective.

Minimally, reaching Level 50 and obtaining your Legendary Weapon results in a dramatic difference in virtually all of your offensive and defensive capabilities.

Similarly, at around level 65 you are likely to have your Virtues already at level 14 -- the level to which a level 10 character has their virtues scaled.

• Completing and Epic Battle in a group with two (duo) or more players changes the situation dramatically. However, two level 10s is still problematic.

"Ranking up"

When you begin Epic Battles, you have zero ranks in any "profession" (Engineer, Officer, Vanguard).

Consensus appears to be that you minimally need to be an Rank 3 Engineer.

• 60 points / Rank 3 is the goal

When you first begin as you cannot even place barricades yet

The barricades slow the mobs, so the npcs can kill them.

Unverified statements

• actical Damage Rating (TDR), which you can find on LIs scales, sortof (it scales more to like 85 than 95), but if you don't have LIs it'll only be set to a lvl 50 equivilant, since after lvl 50 LIs are the only way to get TDR (up to level 50 you get 1 TDR every level).

Physical classes don't have this problem as much since DPS is also on regular weapons.

• Short story: Ignore Epic Battles until you're about level 85 (better 95 of course), and if possible try to bring an experienced friend along.

• Helm's Dike is the easiest battle of five solo ones, because you have unlimited time to prepare

• Helm's Dike - Solo/Duo Platinum (How To) - Proudcdn

Promotion Points

Main article: Promotions

Reward Points

• The first time you get a medal in a quest you also get 1 point for the medal and 5 points for your first time. Any other time you get that same medal for that side quest you get only 1 point towards your reward.
• The side quests and main quest reset daily.

I suggest forwarding your points for bronze and silver levels to gold by clicking the --> next to the progression bar. That way you will get only gold or platinum rewards, based on your efforts. Gold unfortunately cannot be forwarded to platinum.