Epic Battle: Helm's Dike

This page is about the epic battle instance. For the area, see The Deeping-coomb. 

Helm's Dike
Level:	10 or higher
Size:	Solo/Duo, Fellowship(6)
Cluster:	Battle for Helm's Deep
Region:	West Rohan
Area:	Helm's Deep

Epic-battle Helm's Dike Promotional Image

Location

Helm's Dike is an Epic Battle instance, introduced in Update 12: Helm's Deep. It must be completed on Solo/Duo mode before other Epic Battles from the Defence of Rohan can be attempted.

Difficulty Level

This is a scaled instance, designed for solo, duo or fellowship (6 players) from level 10 and up.
It is available in the Instance Finder and the Road to Battle panel.
Estimated completion time is between 30-45 minutes.

Quests

Quests can only be completed once per day and can be run Solo, Duo or in a Fellowship [100] Epic Battle: Helm's Dike

Possible side objectives for Helm's Dike.

• [100] A Stone Obstruction
• [100] Flames at the Gate
• [100] Guarding the Watchtower
• [100] Powder at the Gate
• [100] Protect the Horses
• [100] The Statue of Helm Hammerhand

Deeds

Known Deeds for this instance (usually bestowed upon first entrance) include:

NPCs

• Gamling

Creatures

These mobs are encountered within:
Click [+] to expand a list of creatures.

Helm's Dike Mobs

Instance Overview

Helm's Dike forms the first barrier of defence for Rohan's final stand. Saruman's army marches, angry and ready for war. You must hold the Dike against three waves of enemy forces.

Walk-through and Tactics

Basic Strategy (Solo/Duo)

• As the first Epic Battle available, you are given an indefinite amount of time to prepare and set up defences, as the battle does not start until you speak with Gamling. There are four battle lines to defend, each location with two Commanders and at least four Soldiers, however the enemy will only focus on two locations at a time and will rarely attack you, even if you are the main damage or healing source. Naturally, doing this battle with a partner is highly recommended, especially early on when players beginning epic battles will not have a significant amount of Promotions to manage it by themselves. Side objectives will appear somewhat randomly, and in this case, they will usually spawn extra enemies that will draw attention from friendly Soldiers and eventually overwhelm them if not immediately dispatched.

Before You Begin

• There are 4 promotion points to allocate. It is recommended to build Engineer skills initially.
• Even with zero rank, there is a ballista to the west of the walkway. Build, load, and crank it (Note you have to be off horseback for the buttons to appear).
• There is a small catapult on the east side of the walkway, behind the statue. Load and crank that all the way.
• On the first attempt there is little preparation to do; other than ready the existing siege weapons and have a look around to familiarise yourself with the layout and locations around the Dike.

First Wave

• The first cluster of enemies will march towards either the western or eastern end of the Dike, and focus on the two battle lines on that particular side. If you begin on the eastern side, you will have access to a small catapult, which will hit more targets than a small ballista at the cost of a long cranking time. Take the opportunity to eliminate as many enemies as you can as they are marching.

Second Wave

• The second cluster of enemies will march towards the side that they didn't march to on the first wave. Whether you started on the western or eastern side, you will have access to a small ballista to kill at least two enemies a shot. It may not seem significant, but it adds up when you are a non-healing class. At low ranks, AoE and range DPS are probably more effective helping the soldiers than using the ballista.

Final Wave

• The final cluster of enemies will march towards the innermost battle lines, with enemies appearing on both sides of the gate. If soloing at low ranks, go back to the east catapult and take out as many as you can, then go to assist soldiers.

Basic Strategy (Fellowship 6-Player)

• Unlike Solo/Duo, you will not have much time to prepare before the battle begins. A full platinum run will require some organization and communication to ensure side quests are completed properly. It is recommended that fellowships consist of 6 Engineers, or 5 Engineers and an Officer. With properly placed barricades in the battle lines, you will not need to worry about the waves of enemies, allowing you to focus on the side quests. To achieve that, everyone will need to move to build all the barricades as quickly as possible. There are 8 battle lines to defend, 3 west of the gate, 5 east of the gate. Each line should have at least two armed barricades, except for the two eastern most lines which can survive with only one. Optimal barricade placement is to place barricades at the point where the NPC soldiers will begin to attack them. This will maximize the amount of time the NPCs can attack mobs. Even after the first wave begins, continue building every barricade available. Once the barricades are in place in front of the first wave, every engineer should pick up a barricade for use in side quests. With properly placed barricades, NPC soldiers can be in 2-handed stance throughout the battle and will take little damage.
• The first two side quests are determined by whichever side is attacked in the first wave. The third side quest is randomly assigned. A full platinum completion will require everyone understanding their roles in the side quests. See the side quest pages for guides on successful completion.

Rewards

All Epic Battles pull from the same rewards pool see Main article: Epic Battle Rewards
Rewards are based on the Medals achieved during the instance. There are four medals; Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum. Higher medals offer better rewards. Most Epic Battles will have a main objective and several side objectives. Each objective completed will give a medal. Players will receive at least 2 medals per instance (2 pool of rewards) but can earn far more. Larger size Epic Battles have more objectives and reward more medals.

There are five rewards given for each Medal:

• Epic Battle Promotion Points for first time Medals or when a higher level Medal is awarded for an objective already complete
• Epic Battle Reward Points to fill the rewards bar for a Jewellery Reward
•  Mark,  Medallion and  Star of Merit for bartering
• Reward boxes (one for each objective you complete) that include more Jewellery, Marks, Medallions, Stars of Merit, Universal Solvent, Stat Tomes, Supreme Essence, Symbols for crafting Legendary Weapons, Steeds and many more items.

Metals	Side quest	Main quest Battle for Helm's Deep Instances
Gold, Silver and Bronze	Quartermaster's Reward	Gifts of Rohan
Platinum (Rewards Incomparable and Epic)	Quartermaster's Fine Armaments	Treasures of Rohan

Map and Gallery

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Lore

Helm's Dike is an ancient earthen wall and trench which stretched across the entrance to the Deeping-coomb, a quarter mile ('two furlongs') before the Hornburg, with the twenty foot tall rampart serving as the first line of defence for Helm's Deep. On 3 March TA Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli together with King Théoden, Éomer and a band of Rohirrim Riders crossed the dike on their way to the Hornburg. Defence of the trench was led by Gamling, who managed to retreat after the dike was overrun during the early stages of the Battle of the Hornburg.