Gothmog Build and Guide LOTR Rise To War

Gothmog in LOTR Rise To War is a very strong mid-tier Commander with above-average stats for Might and Focus and slightly below average stats Speed. He is a Commander that will be worth your time and effort put into leveling and “grinding” for Respect points. Gothmog is also one of the iconic characters from LOTR lore and folklore and has a history of appearing in the LOTR trilogy as a field Commander of the massive army in the siege of Gondor.

Gothmog is Tier 2 Commander. The first thing that you need to notice and acknowledge is his base trait, “Leader”. “Leader” trait will give Gothmog +5 Command. Gothmog’s highest stat is Focus. Focus reduces the damage that his designated army receives during battle. Whenever your Commander levels up you will have a skill point to spend in their skill tree.

There are four main skills and thus four different focus points in Gothmog’s skill tree build which we will talk about here. Note that each of these three main skills has two additional skills connected to them which you will unlock upon leveling the main skill to level 2. On Commander Respect level 0 you will have two starting main skills.

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Respect level 0 Build

The first one of two starting main skills is “Overlord”. “Overlord” skill when active will give: (1 allied target) Deal one instance of % Physical damage. This skill has 1 round cooldown. Additionally, at the max level of “Overlord” skill, Gothmog will receive a bonus of +15 Focus points. This is a decent skill for damage burst and some defense/mitigation from connecting skills, however, his second main skill is considered to be slightly more viable and more rewarding in the long run.

Note that “Overlord” skill is referenced as a “title” rather than “skill” which essentially means once it’s unlocked and you have a skill point in it, it will act as a passive skill. This skill has 1 round cooldown. As mentioned above upon leveling the “Overlord” skill to level 2 you will unlock its two additional skills which you will be able to level up. These two skills are:

Phalanx: (Melee units) Physical damage received -%.
Fortify: (While defending) [Allied units] Physical damage received -%.

If you need more defense and mitigation for your army, it is worth spending some skill points on these two skills.

Naturally, effect stats % rise as you level up addressed skills.

The second main skill is “Second in Command” which when active will give: (Commander) Focus +amount, (allied melee units) damage dealt during combat. Now this skill is very important and powerful in the early game.

You should max this skill first especially since it relies on Focus which is Gothmog’s highest stat and gives bonus Focus points, on top of it your units will receive bonus damage which makes it well worth it. Note that the “Second in Command” skill is referenced as a “title” rather than “skill” which essentially means once it’s unlocked and you have a skill point in it, it will act as a passive skill.

Additionally, at the max level of the “Second in Command” skill, Gothmog will receive a bonus +15 Focus points. Two additional skills that you will unlock upon leveling “Second in Command” to level 2 are:

Discipline: (Army) Defense +amount.
Anticipation: (Allied units with the lowest Defense) +% chance of avoiding all Damage from the next 4 attacks.

It is highly recommended to max this skill tree in the early game.

Naturally, effect stats % rise as you level up addressed skills.

Respect level 3 Build

Upon reaching Respect level 3 with Gothmog you will be able to unlock and level up his third main skill called “The Crippled” which when active will give: (All allied units) Each attack has a % chance to deal maximum damage, (Commander) Normal attack damage -%.

This skill is a huge buff for your units but also a huge debuff for Commander, however, there are plenty of units with which this skill works wonderfully like Reapers, Alchemists, Snaga Thraks, and Mountain Trolls for example, especially alongside his Respect 5 main skill later in the game and you should focus on maxing this skill in mid/late game. Do not ignore the two connecting skills since they will give your units some healing and sustain which makes it even more worth going for.

Note that “The Crippled” skill is referenced as a “title” rather than “skill” which essentially means once it’s unlocked and you have a skill point in it, it will act as a passive skill. These stats rise as you level up the skill like every other main skill. At the max level of “The Crippled” skill, debuff for Commander will be reduced. Two additional skills that you will unlock upon leveling “The Crippled” to level 2 are:

Open Wound: (Against 1 enemy target) Deals +% Physical damage, cannot recover HP for 2 rounds. This skill has 3 rounds of cooldown.
Resupply: (2 allied units) Recover % HP each round (effect modified by Focus stat).

“Resupply” is an extremely useful skill that you should invest some points on, especially since it’s modified by Focus stat which again, is Gothmog’s highest stat, while “Open Wound” is an insanely good skill for pure Physical damage.

It is highly recommended to drop the “Overlord” tree in case you spent some points in it upon unlocking “The Crippled” and spend points in this tree instead.

Naturally, effect stats % rise as you level up addressed skills.

Respect level 5 Build

And finally upon reaching Respect level 5 with Gothmog you will be able to unlock and level up his fourth main skill called “Morgul Lieutenant” which when active will give: (First 3 rounds) [Orcs and Trolls] Damage dealt +%.

This is your late game focus point and you should max both this skill and “The Crippled” for the best possible build for Gothmog. These two skills will give your units (example being the ones we mentioned above in “The Crippled” skill tree) huge damage buffs. These stats rise as you level up the skill like every other main skill.

At the max level of the “Morgul Lieutenant” skill, the effect extends by one round. Note that “Morgul Lieutenant” skill is referenced as a “title” rather than “skill” which essentially means once it’s unlocked and you have a skill point in it, it will act as a passive skill. Two additional skills that you will unlock upon leveling “Morgul Lieutenant” to level 2 are:

Grond: (Army) Siege +amount.
Orcish Warlord: (Orcs) Speed +amount and damage received -%.

Both of these skills are useful and you might spend some points in “Orcish Warlord” because it works well in sync with “The Crippled/Morgul Lieutenant” main skill.

Naturally, effect stats % rise as you level up addressed skills.