Unit strengths and weaknesses form a sort of rock-paper-scissors system.
Keeping with the trends of contemporary RTS titles, basic units operate in groups, significant characters are represented by 'hero units', and the destruction of units gathers points for the purchase of special abilities.
The Forces of Darkness are the fighting Uruk-hai of Isengard, and Mordor's orc hordes, bolstered by Haradrim, Mûmakil and Trolls. Four factions on two sides wage the War of the Ring: Representing the Free Peoples are the horse-lords of Rohan, and Gondor with its forges and battlements. The only resource are the nebulous 'resources,' which are produced inexhaustibly in dedicated buildings. Plots range from farmhouses to full-fledged castles, with different slot arrangements and available buildings, and plots can be purchased when they're in the sole presence of a side's forces. In The Battle for Middle-earth, buildings may only be constructed on the building slots of predefined plots. Warring factions gather resources, then use them to construct military bases and armies on-site. The Battle for Middle-earth is a real-time strategy game.
