A game only really gains serious street cred when a Lord of the Rings mod is released for it, and now it's time for Total War: Attila to join this prestigious group of games. The reason is the recent official release of version 1.0 for The Dawnless Days, a total overhaul mod that transforms Attila into a vast Tolkien-esque battlefield.
Obviously, The Dawnless Days is not the first LOTR mod to be released for a Total War game, as there is also the legendary The Third Age mod for Medieval II, which is considered one of the best and most complete LOTR mods ever created. However, it is true that the environment in Attila offers more or less modernized prospects in terms of gameplay and graphics, compared to Medieval II which was released in 2006.
As one would expect, the mod is set at the end of the Third Age and during the War of the Ring. This determines the available playable factions in the game: Gondor, Rohan, Dale, Woodland Realm, Erebor, Lostladen Tribes (the tribes of Haradrim), Rhurim (Easterlings), Mordor, and Isengard. Each faction has its own unique unit and building tree, as well as a different focus tree that adapts to each faction's specific gameplay. Also, with the release of version 1.0, the factions get their own story/campaign, which are essentially separate special events that match the RP and aspirations of each faction in the context of the War for the Ring.
This last fact influenced what I would say was the element that impressed me most in The Dawnless Days. Each playthrough with a different faction manages to feel like a completely independent and separate experience, and the adventures of each faction seem like a microcosm within the broader War of the Ring. Playing as Gondor, for example, we obviously have the threat of Mordor in the east and the Corsairs in the south, but also special mechanics for Denethor's madness. If, in fact, in the story's special events we decide to approach Aragorn and proclaim him the rightful king at the expense of the Steward's authority, Denethor completely loses it and inflicts heavy penalties on the faction's control and morale.
Similarly, playing as Rohan, we have to deal with Grima's influence over King Theoden, the threat of Isengard in the north, and the Dunlendings in the west. As Erebor, we fight the Orcs of Gundabad and the Misty Mountains, while there are also special "greed" mechanisms that offer various penalties the more we expand our mines. As Mordor, our ultimate goal is obviously to find the One Ring, and if we succeed, Sauron himself appears as a playable unit on the map! Such things exist in every faction, offering variety in every playthrough.
Beyond the above, of course, each faction has one goal: to win the War of the Ring. This is achieved by increasing the Dominance stat, which is determined by two parameters. On one hand, by conquering specific important provinces, unique to each faction, which offer the necessary "Victory points" (such as Mordor, Ithilien, and Umbar for Gondor). On the other hand, by constructing buildings that directly increase our faction's Influence and Dominance in each province.
Of course, although officially in version 1.0, the truth is that in many ways The Dawnless Days still feels like a work in progress. This is evident in things such as text and icons that still appear with the label "placeholder" or "W.I.P." within the game, but also by the fact that the areas of Eriador and generally west of the Misty Mountains are not yet visitable, and obviously the factions based there, such as Bree-land, the Shire, or the dwarves of Ered Luin, are not yet in the game. However, what particularly struck me, not necessarily as a "deal breaker" but more as a "heh, that's a shame," is that many iconic locations in Middle-earth do not have separate battle maps but are still depicted as generic locations from vanilla Attila (vattila?). For example, playing as Gondor, I was attacked by Mordor's armies in Osgiliath, but when I entered to play the siege, I saw that the city is literally just a Roman city from Attila, even featuring the characteristic ruined amphitheater inside.
This is perhaps the main area where The Third Age clearly outperforms The Dawnless Days. However, let's not be too harsh, as this will inevitably be corrected when the game receives updates that will enrich its content. For now, The Dawnless Days may not be in a state that will make it THE ULTIMATE LOTR Total War mod, but it has the potential to get there. And, among other things, it's a great opportunity to reload our beloved Attila, which is a huge perk in itself.
