BfME2 BT2DC

The newest iteration of the Battle-Test 2:Directors Cut has been finished! Patch 2.4 is another milestone in a long trek to balance the Battle for Middle-Earth 2. Bringing to you this patch is the masters of balancing, Maddox and Rainmaker, who delivered on improved and smoother gameplay. You will find that this version has removed even more bugs and modified key issues, such as Warg Sentries and under-used PowerPoints.


Get the BT2DC 2.4 at the BT2DC Download Topic to play the fastest-paced, most balanced, and most competitive version of the Battle for Middle Earth 2!

BT2DC 2.4 Improvements

Here are all the changes from old BT2DC to the 2.4 patch. Rainmaker was kind enough to detail the modifications.






Changelog:
Black Riders now deal 20% less damage to all structures.


Rainmaker-
Basically a damage reduction for Nazguls against all types of structures. The reduction is now -40% from the -25% from version 2.3.







Changelog:
Other mounted heroes now deal 12.5% less damage to all structures except forts.


Rainmaker:
Same as Nazguls' scalar but not as drastic. Both of these reductions were made so that mounted hero harassment wouldn't be so difficult to deal with.






Changelog:
Sentry Warg now takes 300% (was 200%) from specialist; melee damage now 250 (was 500).


Rainmaker:
Initially the idea was just to fix the sentry bug (read on) but while testing, I managed to get a battalion of Mithlond sentries to die against the wargs. 500 base damage is rather ridiculous anyway. More than 14 times more than one knight deals!


Changelog:
Sentry Warg charge speed fixed.


Rainmaker:
The biggest reason why 2.3 was flawed in its ways. There were many changes on sentries on 2.3. The locomotor (which regulates the units movement) was just left unnoticed and wasn't changed. Basically we took out the walking from wargs so that they ran at all times. Unfortunately we didn't take out their charge ability which allows them to move three times as fast when locked on a target.







Changelog:
Berzerker CP cost now 30 (was 20)


Rainmaker:
Berserkers are supposed to be these crazy one-timers that deal loads of damage and are meant to be the elite swordsman in the game. It doesn't really suit an elite unit to be spammed, which ultimately was a slight problem with the unit.







Changelog:
Summoned Men of Dale lifetime now 2min 15s (was 2m 30s).


Rainmaker:
The duration is still rather long due to how Dwarves don't have early access to archers. It's just not that long anymore. Goblins may be the ones to benefit the most from this one.







Changelog:
Summoned Spiderlings now come with poison sacks
Goblin Summon Spiderlings power now spawns 10 units (was 8).

Rainmaker:
We modified this unused power to give a bit more kick. Couple this with warchant and you might wreak some havoc on the enemy base.







Changelog:
Aragorn Elendil recharge now 80s (was 60s)

Rainmaker:
A small tone down for Aragorn, so he won't be so lonely. Also, units will be able to stand up to him easier.







Changelog:
Sharku health 2000 (was 2250)


Rainmaker:
This was opted instead of changing his armor to a regular mounted one (he currently has regular hero armor). It'll probably make him more of a support hero for wargs than he is at the moment.







Changelog:
Dwarven and MotW summoned towers now take less damage from slash (50% from 75%), uruk (35% from 50%), flame 10% from 33%), hero (20% from 50%), cavalry (25% from 45%) and magic (20% from 50%)


Rainmaker:
Just a power in the need of a buff. It remains to be seen if this actually did anything drastic enough.







Changelog:
Fellbeast claw attack properly fixed against structures


Rainmaker:
When the Fellbeast when swooping down on monster units such as trolls, it would seriously hurt the building next to it. No matter if the building was your own or the enemy's or just a creep lair. You don't want to take down your own fort that you're trying to save, now would you?







Changelog:
Fire drake inferno radius properly 110 (was 100)


Rainmaker:
This change was already written in 2.3. It just wasn't coded in.






Changelog:
Lurtz's carnage exploit properly fixed


Rainmaker:
An exploitable glitch or bug or abuse. If you knew what to do, you could get infinite carnage and splash damage on Lurtz. If you try it now, you'll just set off the timer and get no benefits whatsoever.





Changelog:
Stubborn pride now properly stacks with Mighty Rage

Rainmaker:

On level 7 when Dain had stubborn pride, the units around would be immune to fear. This immunity however was taken off if you cast Mighty Rage on the units. The fix will allow Mighty Rage and fear immunity to work together.



Changelog List:

* Black Riders now deal 20% less damage to all structures
* Other mounted heroes now deal 12.5% less damage to all structures except forts
* Sentry warg now takes 300% (was 200%) from specialist; melee damage now 500 (was 250)
* Berzerker CP cost now 30 (was 20)
* Summoned Men of Dale lifetime now 2min 15s (was 2m 30s)
* Summoned spiderlings now come with poison sacks
* Goblin summon spiderlings power now spawns 10 units (was 8)
* Aragorn Elendil recharge now 80s (was 60s)
* Sharku health 2000 (was 2250)
* Dwarven and MotW summoned towers now take less damage from slash (50% from 75%), uruk (35% from 50%), flame 10% from 33%), hero (20% from 50%), cavalry (25% from 45%) and magic (20% from 50%)

Bugfixes:
=========

* Fellbeast claw attack properly fixed against structures
* Fire drake inferno radius properly 110 (was 100)
* Sentry warg charge speed fixed
* Lurtz's carnage exploit properly fixed
* Stubborn pride now properly stacks with Mighty Rage

Rainmaker and BT2DC Patching

This is a small interview with Rainmaker about his personal experience with the BT2DC patching. This coder does not get enough attention for his effort and has a true servant's heart.


How did you get involved with the BT2DC patch?

I started playing BT2DC because of a mentor/mentee project around two years ago. After that I've become somewhat involved in the code part of our patch. First I started bothering Maddox with bugfixes that were reported on the forums. Just because I was rather interested and because I believed I could save the guy some time.


How did your bug finding career start?
First ever bugfix I figured out was the Spider Rider poison with forged blades. Of course I reported a fix for it, but eventually it was included in 2.3. More than a year later!


What was your hardest fix?
I can't really decide on the hardest bugfix, but the dragon strike getting stuck on forts did take rather long to figure out. I think it's not implemented yet though.


The fix that you felt was the most influential?
As for the best fix, I'd mention Ent eggs... Nothing to add there.


What is your feeling on the community, both past and present.
The community's not the same anymore. If I could choose, I'd go back to the days when I was just resolving bugs for Mad, and how Fabled, Strategy and Child were handling the balance part of the patch.
The future is never certain but as we've been told, there will be patches as long as there is demand for them. So keep on whining!



Rainmaker is currently the Moderator of the Battle for Middle Earth 2 section. He has made vital progression for the BT2DC and also is one of the foremost experts on the code, statistics, and structure of the Battle for Middle Earth 2 game.

BT2DC 2.4 Promotional Video

Verdo has created a gripping promotional video to go along with the release of 2.4. It summarizes not only this edition, but the purpose of the BT2DC. Enjoy!