Board Thread:Suggestions forum/@comment-35882411-20181213215227

Being Sauron on a server, I have noticed that Mordor has significant drawbacks to playstyle, world generation, native NPCs, and buildings. I am going to proceed to list the current problems I see and potential solutions. (Notice - these suggestions are extensive)

Playstyle:

1. Mordor can (arguably) have the biggest builds and fortresses of any faction (save Gondor and the dwarves). However, Mordor players have to spend eons mining out the materials needed to craft bricks, which gets expensive really fast. Most other factions avoid this by having stonemasons, but Mordor and other orcish factions do not have stonemasons. A potential fix for this is easy: add orcish stonemasons.

2. Mordor players need to leave to get silver, iron, gunpowder, and many other necessary items. My suggestion for this is simple: add Mordor variants of certain ores important to Mordor faction, such as sulfur, niter, iron, and silver. This may also be fixed by world generation suggestion #2.

World Generation:

1. Way too much lava. The only place where lave is justified is Gorgoroth, and even there lava spawns at a much larger rate than anywhere else in Mordor. My suggestion is that the spawn rate of lava is reduced to that of a normal vanilla world in all Mordor sub-biomes other than Gorgoroth, where the spawn rate should only be increased by about 30% from a vanilla world.

2. The land of Shadow isn't all black. My suggestion for this is that the generation of Mordor rock should be changed to be similar to Gondor and Rohan stone within all biomes except Gorgoroth, which would remain the same (as a sub-suggestion, make Gondor, Rohhric, and Mordor bricks craftable from normal stone). I would also recommend that grass spawn in patches in Udun and Mordor proper, mixed with Barren dirt, stone, Mordor rock, Mordor dirt, Mordor gravel, and normal gravel. The grass color would be as brown or slightly darker than the current Nurn grass color. Nurn would remain the same, except for the grass color being made a more vibrant green (Nurn looks more dead the Brown Lands as it currently stands). Also make the waters of nurn slightly bluer, and the waters of Mordor slightly browner.

3. Add the Morgai as its own biome, with slightly more life than the rest of Mordor, such as stunted trees that are not scorched, shrubs, and bushes. Add some scattered low life to Udun and the rest of Mordor, such as pricking ferns, low grasses, and dead bushes, along with the current scorched trees and pricking thorns. Nurn make like a corrupted Dorwinion, with some rare, small flowers, tall grassland areas, thick forests, and major slave farms (like large vineyards). Make the suggested Mordor mobs spawn here more commonly.

4. Improve the terrain generation of Mordor. Make Udun less hilly, and more of a flat plain, and make Gorgoroth similar to a steppe in terrain generation.

5. This may be a bit of a stretch, but it should be cool. Add a frozen North area of Mordor, surrounding the Seregost waypoint, with glacier fields, a new type of tree called Mordor pines and snow fields. This would be the home of Black Uruks, some fur-clad Lugburz hunters, Graugs (extremely low spawn rate) and Caragaths (see Native NPCs).

Native NPCs:

1. Make more subfactions and subfaction-specific armors. This would be similar to the Harad subfactions, with perhaps the Mordor subfactions being Morgulduin orcs, Ungolian orcs, Lugburz orcs, Eastern orcs, Black Uruks, and Nurnen orcs. Each subfaction would have its own gear, crafting table, banner, and unique troops and gear aesthetics, as well as some unique troops and abilities, and variance in the design of the orc. Most of these are self-explanatory in terms of location, but to clarify: Morgulduin - Morgul Vale; Ungolian - Nan Ungol; Lugburz - current Mordor orcs, anywhere in Mordor; Eastern - Eastern Desolation; Nurnen - Nurn; Black Uruks - small groups all around Mordor, main spawn area in Frozen Wastes.

2. Make life in Mordor more prominent. Not prominent, just more so than it is now. Add the Morgai flies, perhaps add some less than loreful creatures (Caragors, Caragaths, Graugs) to provide some danger to players within Mordor(yes, I'm aware that those mobs are from the Middle-Earth: Shadow games). Even the next safest biomes, the Elven biomes, must always be ready to defend against the deadly swan.

3. Add Back Numenoreans. These would be extremely rare and powerful men-folk, clad in Mordor Numenorean armor (a style mix of Mordor armors and Black Numenorean armor, made to fit mannish eyes. These would be hired in a similar way to Gondor renegades, by killing large numbers of men of Numenorean descent (Rangers, Gondorians).

Buildings:

1. Improve Orc towers. They are seriously outdated, as they have not been improved since the Beta they were added. Perhaps change the banners to be subfaction-specific, and add detail on the interior and exterior. These would be for the subfactions of Black Uruk, Lugburz, and Morgulduin.

2. Add orc hovels. These would be warrens of tunnels that lead underground in a similar generation pattern to a cave system. There would be specific rooms, such as armories, treasure rooms, barracks, and a feasting room. These would be for the subfactions Ungolian, Eastern, Lugburz.

3. Remove slaver towers in favor of a slaver hold, similar to Harnedrim, Rohhric, and Ranger settlements. These would be for the subfactions Nurnen and Lugburz.

4. Add Mannish settlements. These would be built by the few evil men that server Sauron, yet are unaffiliated with any other faction. They would be technically affiliated with the Lugburz subfaction.

As I said, my ideas for improvements are extensive, but Mordor hasn't been touched since the Morgul Vale was added, and as all the other factions recieve improvement, Mordor should as well. Any opinions, as well as further suggestions, are welcome. 