FAQ Q: When will you port to .90x?
A: Working on it. For more information (usually out of date): http://mbx.streetofeyes.com/index.php/topic,926.0.html.
Q: Where is the movie plate armor?
A: This is a book mod and there is no reference to medieval plate armor in the book.
Q: Lag! Laggy Lag Lag!?!? Motherlagger!!!
A: Two solutions. Lower your desktop resolution (m&b uses this. try 1024) and/or lower the texture resolution in the m&b options menu. Ill put out a low-res texture pack at some point and link it here. I dont know if this will be any different than lowering it with the menu. Might be for the initial load-up at least though I dont know. (orc head texture reduction: http://mbx.streetofeyes.com/index.php?topic=916.0). The next version (2.5) will use some of the LOD techniques from m&b .890 which should greatly improve performance.
Q: Elf towns cause my computer to lag or crash, what to do?
A: Dont visit them. 
They were made too large (tree-wise) for some computers to handle. In future Ill shrink them but for now you'd best just avoid them if you have trouble.
Q: I want/need/require sieges!
A: Sieges are coming to mount and blade, which has been clear for for some time now. Almost every mod will have sieges in future as Armagan is going to hand it to us. I dont see a reason to even bother with something that Armagan will provide more support for both at the .exe level and the scripting level. It will then be easy to make riffs on Armagan's system after I get a look at it and see if sieges will fit into a new war system
Q: Why is it so difficult to play the elven faction compared to rohan or gondor?
A: Its not fully developed yet and will just be a more difficult faction to play for now.
Q: Why are the orcs so powerful?
A: Just my call for balance purposes. If you disagree with my choices there are options with the old man to change the weapon skill levels and powerstrike/toughness of orcs or other troops. You'll find a wide range of options there to balance the mod to suit your tastes.
Q: I'd like to help. What can I do?
A: The number one need is for modellers, texturers and or voice work. There are some organizational things that could be done as well. We are chronically short-handed, like most mods, so volunteer away if you think there is something you can do. Check this thread for ideas: http://mbx.streetofeyes.com/index.php?topic=107.0
Victory Conditions:Gondor: Isengard, Easterlings, Corsairs, Dunlendings, Haradrim, Dol Guldur and Moria fallen. Morder spent and wavering
Rohan: Isengard, Easterlings, Corsairs, Dunlendings, Haradrim, Dol Guldur and Moria fallen. Morder spent and wavering
Mordor: Rohan, Gondor, Isengard, Dunlendings and all elven factions fallen.
Isengard: Rohan, Gondor, Easterlings, Corsairs, Haradrim, Dol Guldur and all elven factions fallen. Morder spent and wavering
--total military victory against mordor can only be achieved when all 4 mordor legions are activated in the options menu at the brigand fort. All 4 legions must be destroyed before mordor can fall. The total victory message will then be available when all other conditions are met. Dol Guldur must fall before Mordor as well.
General troop information:Gondor: Excellent infantry, some cavalry, good archers.
Rohan: Excellent cavalry, some infantry.
Lothlorien: Medium infantry and excellent archers.
Mirkwood: Light infantry and excellent archers.
Rivendell: Elven heavy infantry doubling as archers, various dunedain units.
Mordor: All infantry and poor archers.
Haradrim: Good light cavalry, very good archers and some horse archers
Corsairs: Light infantry, crossbow troops, very small cavalry branch
Easterlings: Poor light cav, Good heavy cav, throwing missiles only
Isengard: Mostly infantry, decent archers, some pikes and warg riders.
Dunlendings: Mostly infantry, no missiles, decent horse branch
Dol Guldur: Mordor Infantry, Olog-hai trolls
Moria: Disorganized infantry, cave trolls, warg riders.
Troop tier information:--Tiers are upgrade levels. So tier-1 is lowest gondor youth and tier-6 would be a tower knight of minas tirith.
--Orcs start at tier-2 and move up to tier-5
--Normal men start at tier-1 and move up to tier-5
--Gondor/Rohan men start at tier-1 and move up to tier-6
--Gondorian feudal types start at tier-3 and move up to tier-5
--Dunedain start at tier-3 and move up to tier-7
--Elven units start at tier-3 and move up to tier-8
Upgrade Trees: 
Color key: Yellow = Melee infantry line.
Light Blue = Melee infantry with chance of some missiles.
Blue = Missile infantry line. (rangers, assassins, pit fighters and orc trackers are better at melee than missile)
Dark Blue = Dedicated missile line. Increased archery, poor melee, knife armed. (mirkwood archer, harad foot archer, blackroot vale)
Gray = Mounted units.
Green = Melee elites with light armor. 20 point melee bonus and athletics bonus.*
Red = Melee elites with no armor. 40 point melee bonus and athletics, iron_skin bonus**
* Some light and unarmored elite infantry move faster on the worldmap. (Rangers, some Uruk-hai).
** Some red elites (variag gladiators, pitfighters, berserkers, wolf-warriors) have battle-fury which affords limited regeneration.
I havent updated the troop trees in some time so heres a quick list of troops that have additional abilities.
Flexible troops (can change weapons via dialogue with "change tactics"): Brego Guard (?)
Knights of the Tower Guard
Knights of Arnor (?)
Rangers of Ithilien
Dunedain Rangers
Possibly some of the elves
Stealth capable troops (can pursue infiltration missions): Rangers of Ithilien
Dunedain Rangers
All Elven units
Frealaf Raiders (rohan)
Uruk Scouts
Orc Trackers
Corsair Raiders
Corsair Assassins
Scouting specialized troops: (Add to players tracking/spotting/pathfinding skills. Larger numbers net larger bonuses) Rangers of Ithilien
Dunedain Rangers
Lothlorien Wardens
Orc Trackers
Uruk Scouts (maybe, I cant remember)
Disciplined troops: (Can use formations (press I to cycle formations, tab to select)) All Gondorian and Rohirrim infantry above youth
All Elven infantry (possibly dunedain infantry too, iirc)
Uruk-hai pike
Dunnish pike
Corsair pike
Black Numernorian infantry
Black Uruk of Barad-dur (iirc...)
Formation basics: "Form the Line" orders your disciplined infantry into a long line, where they will hold.
"Form Ranks" orders your disciplined infantry into a box formation, where they will hold.
"Fall Back" order will work with all units and sends them back to your baggage/flag.
"Break Ranks" cancels all formations.
Formations require that the units being ordered be given only the standard "charge" order. If you give them standard hold or follow orders they will ignore the modded formation orders. They are for melee infantry only though archers without ammunition and dismounted cavalry will obey a "fall back" order.
Miscellaneous tips: --The old man at the brigand fort will let you change many game options for the first day only. This includes strategy script changes and npc hero wound/death chances, troop skill modification and other gameplay modifications.
--Faction strength has the following ratings:
--Unmatched (mordor start)
--Very Strong (isengard start)
--Strong (default start for the rest)
--Weakened (rivendell and moria start)
--Spent and Wavering
--Fallen or Withdrawn
--The war will begin before you hit level 10, its based on level and will be adjustable from v2.2.1 foward.
--Check the state of the war and the health of various factions by talking to the lords.
--Once you have a faction down to spent and wavering, eliminate their largest units. They should fall.
--Factions can recover over time or rally if the enemy is dealt a serious blow.
--Mordor cannot be reduced beyond spent and wavering. Getting them to that level is one of the conditions for victory for the free peoples or Isengard.
--The starting position for a faction is their strongest position and is the most difficult one to reduce.
--You can modify the starting strengths by talking to the old man at the brigand fort on the first day.
--There is no recovery from fallen/withdrawn but an occasional (rare) remant army may spawn.
--Orders to allied armies last 24 hours, except 'travel to' which lasts for 48 or until they arrive at their destination.
--You can only have one set of a given order active at a time. One follow, one travel_to, one hold.
--Orders to your own heroes dont count toward your orders limit but you can only have one "travel to" order for a hero active at at time.
--uruk archers of isengard are better than orc archers of mordor. As in the book, the uruk-hai use man-sized bows. The orcs dont get better than short bows.
--Neither orcs nor uruks are captured. They are assumed to be finished off after the battle.
--gondor feudal units start at tier-3 but only advance to tier-5. They have light armor and are experienced filler units in general.
--elven units can only be recruited with faction influence points from the elven leaders.
--elven units cannot be captured. They are assumed to be finished off after the battle. Elven leaders can be captured though.
--elven units can become the most powerful troops in the game (tier-8/level 40+) if you can keep them alive
--trolls can only be recruited with faction influence points from the leaders of dol guldur (olog_hai) or moria (cave trolls)
--trolls cannot be captured. They are assumed to be finished off after the battle.
--some armies of dol guldur and moria contain a few trolls. Mordor's southern armies dont have them at the moment.
--warg riders can be upgraded into from isengard or moria units. You can only purchase wargs to ride at moria at the moment.
--Active items will only grant abilities when wielded on the worldmap. Passive items will grant abilities when you own them and enter the worldmap (might need to move around a bit for it to kick in).
--Enchanted weapons that affect the same attributes will only allow one of that type to provide a benefit at a time.
--Enchanted weapons or equipable items will only give/take abilities when wielded or put away on the worldmap. Once in combat those abilities wont change even if you put the items into your storage box. After combat it will update again.
--There are two hero npcs in each capital. You can recruit one at the start, you get the other later. You can also recruit one hero in the allied capital.
--All of the lords of towns and camps (cept the 4 faction "leaders") are also recruitable heroes, they are very powerful but require spending faction points. You cant hire them or see the option until you have enough points.
--Heroes can become wounded if you get ko'd in combat (its an additional penalty)
--All wounds heal over time. Its pretty random when but the rate can be accelerated by visiting the healer at Morannon, Edoras, Isengard or Minas Tirith.
--Once wounded in combat (with a major wound) it becomes possible for an npc hero to die in combat. More wounds=greater chance.
--You can change the wound chances, healing chances and turn on/off the chance of death at the old man at the brigand fort.
-- You can ask your heroes how they are feeling when you talk to them and they will notify you of any wounds. There are healers in the "capitals" that will accelerate healing a bit but it can still take a while if you are unlucky. If your heroes get badly wounded they can get killed in combat, even if in the rear at the moment. Best to get them healed at the healer or rest at an inn for awhile.
--Until you hit captain rank, you can only visit the healer once a week. More visits will cost faction points. The healer heals all standard damage for your company as well.
--Orcs, Uruk, Uruk-hai, Trolls, Elves, Goblins and Tribal orcs cannot be taken prisoner. They are finished off after a battle. Some elven leaders may be captured though.
Mini mods and optimization: Low-Res Orc Pack 1.0A low-res orc texture pack for Stefano's TLD orcs. For TLD v2.4 but should work with any 2.4.x version. Might improve your performance if you have a lower-end rig.
User made guides: There are several guides floating around the back pages of this forum.
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