Quest:Epic Battle: Helm's Dike

Epic Battle: Helm's Dike
Level	100
Type	Solo
Repeatable	Yes
Starts with	Landscape
Starts at	Helm's Dike
Start Region	West Rohan
Quest Group	Helm's Dike

Quest Chain
[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

Walkthrough & Notes

Walkthrough Main article: Epic Battle: Helm's Dike 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. 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. Final Wave The final cluster of enemies will march towards the innermost battle lines, with enemies appearing on both sides of the gate. 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. Notes It's extremely easy to lose merit in this epic battle, the first time a mob hits something like the Statue or the Gate, they will probably do enough damage to make you lose merit, so the best plan is to keep them far away from the targets and defeat them before they even get there. Meaning, place barricades in the valleys where mobs run up, not all around the Statue of Helm Hammerhand, and so on. Almost nobody has a disarm capability fast enough to disarm bombs so the best plan is to not let goblins near the gate in the first place. Buff the soldiers as often as you can. And healers can direct heal injured soldiers much faster than the heal function of their captain. If there are archers in any phase of the battle, one person must stay with each archer and keep them going, bringing them arrows or clicking them when they stop, fighting off any mobs that appear, even if that means 5 people are doing nothing but that. The fellowship leader might use the following short sentences in fellowship chat at the start of Helm's Dike: DO NOT talk to Gamling, I will do that when ready. Helm's Dike is not a speed run, we will lose points if we rush. Upgrade and move barricades on east and west sides of the gate. Upgrade the soldiers for two handed weapons and focus on the sappers. One person east, one west. One officer. I'm setting up at the gate / horses. Two people set up for Statue of Helm Hammerhand. If anyone has extra time, buff soldiers, move barricades to a center location from edges. When I'm done at gate, I'll set up catapult and ask if everyone's ready, then run around for ready check. Then we start. Remember you can direct-heal soldiers, equipment and the stationary barricades at the gate. Good luck everyone. Note that the gate itself can't be direct-healed due to no line of sight (this is probably a bug since it's obviously visible), but it can be repaired and extinguished if it's on fire. Order of Quests If the battle starts West: A Stone Obstruction Statue of Helm Hammerhand Third side quest is random Either Powder or Flames at the Gate If the battle starts East: Guarding the Watchtower Protect the Horses Same, third side quest is random Either Powder or Flames at the Gate

Rewards
Legendary Item Experience Steed Experience Epic Battle Promotion Points Epic Battle Reward Points  Gifts of Rohan for Bronze, Silver or Gold completion  Treasures of Rohan for Platinum completion

Quest Text

Background Helm's Dike forms the first barrier of defence for Rohan's final stand. Saruman's army marches, angry and ready for war. Objective 1 Speaking to Gamling when you are ready to begin Gamling must survive Objective 2 Defend the Dike and buy the primary defence time Gamling must survive The defenders of the Hornburg are busy preparing for the onslaught that will soon begin. Those left at the Dike must buy them as much time as possible. Merit Rating This quest starts with Full Rating Merit. Major Merit Loss Soldier defeated Moderate Merit Loss Commander defeated Banner burned

Main Quest and Objectives, can only be completed once per day.