The Dwarf Holds (TDH) is a mod for The Battle for Middle-Earth. TDH adds a fully-functional Erebor faction, significantly updates the gameplay and artwork of the original four factions, and includes a wide array of maps covering the whole of Middle-earth.
TDH's latest version, 0.75, was released in March 2012, and can be downloaded from our downloads page. For more information, check out our news (below), screenshots on our media page, and information about new content on our about page.
News - July 3rd Update: What To Expect
Posted on July 2, 2012, by _Haldir_. View Comments (39)
Hey there!
It's been quite a while since our last update and the release of the 0.755 patch, which we hope you're all enjoying. But even though things have been fairly quiet here in terms of public updates, don't worry! The team has been hard at work on lots of exciting new things. So in this update, we thought we'd give you a little peek at what's been happening behind the scenes, and what you can expect from the Dwarf Holds over the next while.
For those of you who haven't guessed as much already, i'm pleased to announce that The Dwarf Holds is currently working on adding in two brand new campaigns. Those of you who were savvy enough (or illiterate enough 
) to venture past the "Unavailable" buttons in the mod's campaign section may have even caught a glimpse of the beginnings of a new Living World Map. Well, see below for the nearly-finished result.
Now we don't want to give away too many details, but we can tell you that there will be two Dwarven campaigns. One will follow the story of Balin, and his ill-fated Retaking of Moria. The other will take you through the War in the North, and the Dwarven battles that took place during the War of the Ring.
Each campaign will contain plenty of new maps, new units, and new spellbook powers for you to experience; and we've made sure to include a unique and interesting variety of campaign missions and map objectives for you to play through.
As i said, we wouldn't want to ruin the surprises by showing you too much of the different campaign missions, so updates will probably be fairly scarce from now on. However, we'll certainly try and give you small glimpses when we can, so here's a little sneak peek at the first mission of the Moria campaign, The Eastgate.
Posted on July 2, 2012, by _Haldir_. View Comments (39)
News - The Dwarf Holds 0.75
Posted on March 23, 2012, by Nertea. View Comments (52)
After a lot of work, things thrown at walls and lots of time, we can finally announce that The Dwarf Holds version 0.75 is ready to download. It contains tons of new content, including new units for every faction, new spells, new heroes, new buildings - the works! It also fixes many bugs and makes balancing changes. For the full changelog see here (though it's missing a few maps). You can also have a look though the extensive manual - included with the download or available here.
Note: because we made some changes to the auto-updater, you cannot use it to update to the new version. Unfortunately, you have to download the full installer. Sorry about that!
To download, just head over to our ModDb page. We also have an alternative download on LOTR Files.
If you find and bugs that aren't listed in the manual/changelog, post them in bugs threads here. We'll address them as well as we can.
The TDH team hopes you enjoy the release!
Posted on March 23, 2012, by Nertea. View Comments (52)
News - March 8th Update: Basically Complete
Posted on March 8, 2012, by Nertea. View Comments (67)
Since you've all been so good... I thought I'd let you know I've just finished fixing the major bug that was delaying things. My entire work-time is now dedicated to finishing up the manual, at which point we will release. Look for a new version of The Dwarf Holds by the end of the month, if not earlier!
Posted on March 8, 2012, by Nertea. View Comments (67)
News - June 28th Update: Gondor Unit Roster Changes
Posted on June 28, 2011, by Nertea. View Comments (24)
There are a couple of changes to Gondor's units roster in the new version of TDH:
Firstly, Gondor Soldiers have been replaced with Gondor Spearmen. Functionally, they are practically identical to the old unit, though they have a little more attack range, better armor against cavalry and slightly higher cost revenge damage. They cost a wee bit more too (20).
EA's strange Tower Guard unit is also gone, replaced with Citadel Guard. Again, these are functionally identical and are just a graphical upgrade. The Fountain Court guard remain as rare, powerful units instead of being front-line combatants.
I should also probably mention that we (Matias) have done another reskin/remodel of all the basic Gondor units. No more weird rigging or strange pointy bits!
The most interesting new unit though is the Gondor Captain. Like the Dwarf Captain, he's a powerful single unit that can lead men into battle to improve their performance. The leaders of Gondor are however quite different than their Dwarven counterparts. While the Zirak-Burkûn sported leadership that grew in strength when they leveled, the Gondorian Captains instead unlock powers in a fashion similar to a standard hero. However, all experience is lost when they die, and you can only purchase up to 3 at a time. Captains are trained at a Level 3 Barracks.
You can also choose to specialize your Captains as captains of the City or of the White Tower, representing men that lead Gondor's armies through unfettered heroism or command through cunning and skill. Captains of the City gain bonuses to knockback resistance, health and damage and are overall better fighters - think of Boromir here. Their powers are activated rather than passive - they start with Battle Cry, a triggered buffing power power that improves in range at Ranks 4 and 8. At Rank 5 they gain Hero of Gondor, a passive ability that grants nearby units more damage and speed when the Captain is in combat.
Captains of the White City gain a large spear and some bonuses against cavalry, but it is their various passive leadership abilities that make them most useful. They start with The White Tower's Favour, a bonus that increases defence and experience gain of nearby units. At Rank 4, The Steward's Will is activated, increasing the build speed and experience gain of nearby Archery Ranges, Stables and Barracks. This lets you build your army even faster! At Level 8, they gain Hold Steadfast, which gives additional bonuses to Fear resistance and decreases power recharge times.
That almost concludes our changes to Gondor. Next update will deal with the last set of things - the spellbook.
Posted on June 28, 2011, by Nertea. View Comments (24)
News - May 22nd Update: Aragorn and Boromir
Posted on May 22, 2011, by Nertea. View Comments (32)
Today's update brings you eight new juicy screenshots in a showcase on two of Gondor's most powerful heroes.
Aragorn has been moved over to Gondor, in a new, kingly capacity. He starts at Level 5 and brings a several new and powerful abilities to the Gondor's player's arsenal. Hands of the King is similar to Athelas, but has a much increased range. As always, the trusty Blademaster grants a good offensive and defensive boost when needed. His Leadership provides a hefty bonus to nearby troops' damage and experience gain, making him a good team player. When the King reaches Rank 6, he gains Anduril, the Flame of the West, whose strikes reduce enemy hero armour with every blow. At Rank 7, he mounts his steed, allowing him to ride into battle with Knights of Gondor and Dol Amroth. At Rank 10, he can use his inspiration command of men's hearts to deliver an Oath to Arms. This potent temporary leadership bonus inspires nearby troops to heroic heights, and increases in power when more Gondorian battalions are in the area.
Boromir retains the Horn of Gondor, now available at Rank 3. At Rank 4 he gains his customary Leadership, and Captain of Gondor remains at Rank 6 to fill out his set of vanilla abilities. Two new abilities have been added - at Rank 7 he dons additional amour, increasing defense and health. At Rank 10, he gain For Gondor!, an ability that greatly boosts attack and speed of nearby Gondorian infantry.
Posted on May 22, 2011, by Nertea. View Comments (32)