DWARVING

A renewed guide to the Dwarf perk in Mordhau. Going over its history, the refined history of our people, and how to best play and spread the word that the Dwarf perk is the greatest thing ever. I am ever-working on this guide and updating it weekly with fresh information.

Dwarf-kind

Dwarves are a species known to some only in myth. To much of the Mord world the Dwarf perk is a meme, and most are too tight-anused or cowardly to discard their plumed helms and heavy plates for glory we achieve every day.
Stick it to the cowards with full heavy armor and some pole which still has their boyfriends DNA on it. We go short and most of the time naked. The Dwarf perk makes you relativley one shot to any attack, but that nerf is what forces Dwari to be stronger and greater than cowards who fear the perk.

Forgive my terminology here for I am a Dwarf, and know not how to fake what I already am. But here below is how to Dwarf-Max. Or make your Dwarf as Tolkien as possible.

Max Fat, Eyebrow #6, Beard is Groomed Longest. And the nose you display to the world should be as big and efficient as possible. Reference WETA workshop for their research done in creating a Dwarven stature- Big boots, broad shoulders, lots of layers.


Advised is the use of the Neck armor slot for fur pelts to give the illusion of a larger beard.
Armor tints in my opinion are whatever fits. But I stick to either Tint #20 for most Dwarves, and those who are to be donned in the finest of mithril mail coats I use Tint #6 or Tint #7. It gives a radiant blue hue to the armor.
Once your Dwarves look straight like Thorin Oakenshield gave birth to them through his Dwarf-Holes, will be compelled to join your rally of bad-ass dwarves (which will likely all get one-shot)




The main Emblem for Dwarves going to war together is that of Erebor. The insignia of a multi-layered cross circling the precious gem known as the Arkenstone.
The Emblem is Jerusalem Cross. And the colors are Black 6 and Light Yellow.

Now I shall depart the lore of our people.
The stigma that Dwarves and Elves have a complicated past is true. In the first age, in the lands of Beleriand, there existed the Elf-Kingdom of the Noldor, ruled by Lord Thingol. And equally, far east clinging to the blue mountains were our ancestors. The Dwarves of the aincent cities Belegost and Nogrod.
There was perhaps a little misunderstanding when the Elf-King Thingol confused Our property as his. So our kin, may the mountain watch over their souls, murdered Thingol and many elves. All those Dwarves who stood their ground were slaughtered in the elven realm spare two. Those two Dwarves returned to Nogrod and told of the slaughter, and from Nogrod the greatest army of Dwarves to ever walk the surface of Middle Earth arose. They destroyed and sacked all of Doriath. In return, Nogrod was than destroyed. All Dwarves of this kingdom are thought to have been slain, though few survived to tell the tale.
This is the grudge many noldor and undying Elves who witnessed this slaughter hold. But in truth all those who were guilty were slain. So the Dwarves of Belegost, who upon the changing of the world fled to Moria, were free of this guilt.
Still, to hell with elves. Mortal enemy.


Much is told in the first and second age, but today we know that any Elves who enter into the Lays of Mordhau do so tethered to their homes in the west. This tether is in the form of a great ugly Plume. Which is the telltale sign. All tall folk bearing plumes are Elves. And enemies of Durinsfolk.





Let the two schools of thought be known below. This is gonna be a culture shock.
In Tolkiens work, there aint no heavy armor. Anywhere. The armor tech tree stops at chain-mail. That's it. Also, leather armor is for fools and was never real.
"But Durin, the Gondorian's have armor in the OG peter jackson movies!"
Suck it. In the books everyone was wearing mail and little bits over em.

My point: You are the artist here, not me. Create what is calling to be made. Be it a tiny viking, or a full heavy armored bastard dwarf.

Erebor and the Ironhills

Of the two great armies spoken of in rune the first is the Dwarves of the Ironhills, a land permanently under Dwarven ownership.




This is the most common among the armored Dwarves you will see in the wild. The best helmet to represent these Dwarves is the Flat Top and all its variants. But of course you do you.
The infamous Moria helmet is everywhere, and not specific to one race of Dwarves. It's been in production since the first age, so its like the Bic Crystal of the Dwarf helmets.

" Erebor remains both the seat of the King Under the
Mountain and the current home of the King of Durin’s
Folk. The Lonely Mountain continues to thrive in the
Fourth Age, helping to rebuild parts of Gondor and the
Hornburg.
East of Erebor, the Iron Hills have long been a refuge for
Dwarves, though not as prosperous as other kingdoms.
The Lords of the Iron Hills are kin with the King Under
the Mountain" - Return to Moria Art-book
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They brandish as much armor as can be carried.

Tolkien's Armor

This is the tricky contradiction, a two sided coin if you will. In all the great works of Tolkien, Dwarves bear very different armor than those seen in the final stages of the now religious film Battle of the Five Armies. In fact, in all of Tolkien's works, which I have perused, there is no mention of the heavy armor we use in game. Simply only chain, iron helmets, and so fourth. The typical Viking armor but four feet tall.


"Gimli needed no coat of rings, even if one had been found to match his stature, for there was no hauberk in the hoards of Edoras of better make than his short corslet forged beneath the Mountain in the North."

"Each one of [the Dwarves of the Iron Hills] was clad in a hauberk of steel mail that hung to his knees, and his legs were covered with hose of a fine and flexible metal mesh, the secret of whose making was possessed by Dain’s people."

"And metal wrought like fishes’ mail,
Buckler and corslet, axe and sword,
And shining spears were laid in hoard."

This faithful version has also been adapted in the Wargaming miniatures. Seperate from the films.


Take this information as you will. I'm certainly keepin my heavy armor on, thank you very much.


An additional source for resources is the Lord of the Rings Wargaming miniatures. Look it up yourself, this is where the true accurate armor comes in. Scale mail that drops to their knees, mail greaves, and no plate armor except their iron caps.

Regal Armories and the Moria Dwarves

Regal Dwarves is a fancy term for your dripped out Dwarves. Clad in Gold and Plumes and the fancy weapon skins. Fancy wear for the extra fat Dwarves, likely little compartments for cakes and meats and snacks because anyone who uses the Gold armor tint is clearly a pious fool. Dragon bait.
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Spoiler alert and horror warning lads, theres pictures of fallen Dwarves of the mass graveyard here.
The long-dead bodies of the Dwarves of Ballin's Tomb are the only sample of the armor Dwarves of Moria bore in their prime. Different from the Erebor and Iron-hilled Dwarves, and more similar to Anglo-Saxon or viking helmets. Id rather dip my pintle in ice water than try to wear a chain-mail coif with a five foot long beard.
This golden sample gives way to your Dwarven-Viking mash up fantasies. Don your familys five thousand year old chainmail hauberk and go get shot by a goblin.

TO WAR: BATTLE TACTICS

Dwarves are a very delicate race. Most are one-shot to any attack at all. So sticking together with your brothers is required for victory and glory of old ages.
Remember, in every close up, Gimli is always looking up.
Additionally, all team players will have either a smoke or fire-bomb ready to use.

SHIELD WALL
Form ranks with fellow Dwarves. The enemies will be forced to clash with the wall. Shield walls work because of target switching. An enemy attacks you, you can block and immediately strike back with a riposte. You should be target switching along with all members of their wall so that the enemy can not get the time necessary to land an attack on any of your Dwarves.
Holding your shields up they passively block throwables and projectiles from Bows and Crossbows, but not Ballistas. Ballistas counter shield walls. Throw smokes at them so they cannot stop your pushing shield wall.
Holding R will put your shield in Alt Mode and automatically block a few attacks.
Rally together, use this Alt Mode together to push on a point and begin the clash.

There should always be a competent Dwarf supervising the wall, as enemies who sneak past will be able to quickly eviscerate your Dwarves.

Remember, shield walls only work if you stay in the wall. Maintain ranks and don't leave the wall to take low-level bait.


PAVIS WALL
The ultimate in Dwarven defense. With the dwarf perk our whole hitbox can be concealed by the Pavise. With a build like the Pikeman you can partner with as little as three Dwarves and create an effective block for any number of enemies. Collect additional pavis shields from an ammo box and plant them in a wall or V-Shaped formation with small gaps in between for you to thrust your spear out of.

A pavis shield can block projectiles and force the enemy to waste attacks demolishing it. They will usually last anywhere from 4-8 strikes depending on the weapon. Hitting E to pick it up and re-place it will reset this health. A person can have a maximum of five pavis shields.
The counter to this tactic is fire bombs. They will break the shields and force you to reform the line further back. If you are quick, you can pick the pavis up before it breaks and reform the line better.
I recommend a few regular shield dwarves hang around your wall to reinforce and push back if any one shield fails, and they can also bring smoke bombs.


ZVITH OBBI
Dwarvish for "Set 'er up"
This is any form of shield wall for defense or offense assisted by one or more engineers. Engineers can work in a variety of ways. Instead of playing the dangerous game of trying to choose a ranged weapon, just bring a toolbox and a weapon that can repair. Behind the shield wall or to the side place a ballista, and hit it with the repair weapon to quickly set it up and begin firing over the heads of your kin to slay the enemy. The stigma around the toolbox is that if you build a ballista you need to fortify yourself and work hard to not get killed. I say spray and pray, your kin need support!

The only weakness is distance plus time. The more ballista dwarves you have, the greater your success will be. For defense, utilize spikes, walls, bear traps, and your fellow Dwarves to create a long barrier between you and your target. It will become increasingly impossible to defeat your throng the more engineer dwarves you have. This is called an 'Engineer carry.'

DOUBLE CRUNCH
The greatest use when you are very short on Dwarves. The double crunch uses no shield, and relies on your strength with two handed weapons and your trust in your kin. Use this against groups by target switching, and for single opponents which are too skilled to be defeated by simple tactics.
Batter them in succession, and force them to riposte-attack you or your kin. Once this attack starts, whoever is not blocking will use the window to cave their skull in.
Two Dwarves and their hammers / axes are pretty unstoppable, and usually meet their end by archers. Bring Pavise shields so your back-side can absorb cowardly pot-shots.


DWARVEN BATTLE STRATEGY TIPS
I, Durin the Deathless, have played with the Dwarf perk exclusivley since the game came out. I would rather die than fight as a biggun, a tall folk, or anything other than my glorious god-given midget form. Here are some tips, some priceless knowledge I've obtained after 1,500 hours of getting killed as a Dwarf.

• The Dwarf perk makes you take more damage and walk slower. But as a slight pro, you are smaller. A round shield and pavis shield will cover your body completley.
  
• Stick together.
  
• Our height gives us great advantages in the smaller targets. Downward attacks we send out will more often than not result in a head-shot. Crouching can often avoid those who attempt head-shots on us.
  
• As the ankle-biters, we will rarely find ourselves ever getting hit in the legs. Really. So never feel the need to commit points into leg armor where points are tight. More often than not I run only level 1 leg armor.
  
• Hold W when on the offensive to bait them into kick-attacking you. When you see the kick animation begin, step back and enjoy your free attack.
  
• Never have a free hand. You need every ounce of fate on your side the Valar can spare. If you use a two-handed weapon, keep a secondary in-case your stamina runs out and the two-handler goes flying. If you use a one-handed weapon, ALWAYS use a shield. It increases your suitability greatly.
  
• When shield-walling, DO NOT BREAK FORMATION. It will mean death for you and your kin. Hold the line and don't advance for extra attacks.

OF ARMS

Dwarven engineering is notorious for its lack of an rounded edges or curves. Everything is straight, sharp, and ornate. Heavy blunt weapons for crunching and smashing. Glaives and spears for thrusting and slashing. And of course, a Dwarf needs his axe!


Spears and Short Spears should have the Dart / Pike spearhead equipped. Axes should be as far from the default as possible.


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Swords such as the Bastard Sword and Falchion / Arming Sword are recommended.

Almost every weapon seen in the hands of a Dwarf in Tolkiens universe is one handed, spare great hammers and axes and pikes used in conventional battle. This is because Dwarves are smart, and SMART LADS USE BLOODY SHIELDS. You want the longest, pointest possible thing in yer grip as you wave a nice shield in the other arm.


ALL A DWARF NEEDS IN TERMS OF A SHIELD GUIDE:

Wee buckler shields only cost you about 2-4 stamina per block while the largest- the round shield- will deduct about 6-8 per block. If your shield walling, kite or round shield. Buckler is basically an infinite stamina glitch.

There's what, five shield types? Just eyeball it you dosey muppet. Make it pointy and square and gray.

Shields

The shield is an incredibly important addition to a Dwarfs arsenal.
Before I list off the shields I myself have made, here is what the Return to Moria artbook lists for its shields in the game. These beautiful shields I cannot help but include in my guide.




THE IRON SHIELD OF EREBOR

GENERIC ROUND SHIELD UNPAINTED
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IRONHILLS SHIELD

This one's a bit of a two-wayer. It's shaped like a heater shield, but comically large. Equal in size to the round shield basically, but still maintaining that rugged Dwarvish shape which rejects all round edges and only uses sharp corners.
This shield through all adaptations, including Return to Moria and The Battle of The Five Armies, include the icon of the Ram of the Ironhills. Here's my attempt at a heater shield and a kite shield. Whatever suits your Dwarf in the grand game of points, use if you enjoy.

Support Dwarves

In this landscape known as Mordhau, Dwarves are most common found looking lost on the fields of Frontline or Invasion. Listen well, there are only two good reasons a Dwarf should suffer those who live above ground and come from their earthen halls.
For Blood or for Gold.

Those seeking battle my be clad in the armors of their people or perhaps heirlooms of their own family, all covered in the appendices above.
Those here only for the making of gold will do so in a few fashions:

Spawn Banners-
Supplies 50 points per spawn or 100 for a double-spawn.
This is peak money printing, on large invasion maps such as Castello it’s possible to get upwards of 15,000 points from simply maintaining a banner. No armor or weapons needed ahead. As a dwarf you trust your blacksmith hammer with your life. Smoke bombs are also of great value. Dwarves of this profession need no armor, and are often seen with grease-stained aprons or bibs.
Sit back and watch the gold flow!



Medic bags
Varying amounts of points depending on the HP restored.
The equivalent of begging for points with a cup on the side of the street. Only allies will give points per use, so don’t drop medic bags carelessly to allow any stank ass enemies to heal using YOUR bag for FREE.

BOMB SALESDWARF
A very uphill battle, sellin bombs of all types. As a salesdwarf you are playing support for your team, but will see barley any gold or points. Sit by the team's spawn with a loadout consiting of nothing but a firebomb, the mule and supplied perk, and whatever else depending on the fashion of the land. Sit by a ammunition crate, fill your inventory with bombs, and keep handing them out to teammates as they spawn.
You can enhance this to print more gold by having a toolbox and maintaining a spawn banner, for fast and friendly transactions. Some for free, some ask for payment. Likley you will get dozens of bandages and throwing knives in trade.
Your attire should be comfortable, but include some black and yellow caution stripes, your carryin bombs.



THE DISHER-OUTER
Often when working to properly arm an army for strategies like shield walls or advanced tactics, it is a challenge for everyone to have the builds ready. My disher-outer is just a build with an inventory full of supplies for your army. Give the wares to your Dwarves, than go off and die quick.
I use this to equip my Dwarves with the properly emblemed shield so our standard can fly true and proper, and also to equip them with Crossbows for funnies.

Let it be known across the mountain that Bear Traps are a goblin invention. There are no bears underground. Nor is much of the landscape bear country. Except Grad.

Rallying

Rallying is the lifeblood of all who walk the mines and tread the stones above the Earth. Purposful or not, you've rallied before.




Due to how soft and mushy Dwarves are THE ENCHANTED WEAPONS OF THE ELVES AND THEIR MISCHIEF ARE IN THE HANDS OF EVERY COMMON FOE, A Dwarf's life is often traded for a single kill. Where tall folk would Rally and go on insane kill streaks, those same folk be humbled by our daily plights when they don the Dwarf perk.
Many times have hosts of Dwarves been cleaved down by a single plume trooper and a maul. For seven trillion lifetimes of men I have walked the Earth in my Dwarven cosplay. And it should be known it is NOT the fate of Dwarves to die meaningless. We actually have an afterlife, humans do not.
It is of the most importance that Dwarves stick together. In large battles, it is an Elven technique to pretend your not actually going to engage in the 1-V-X long enough only to decive the Dwarf so he may behead him from behind. So this advice I impart on you;
Stick together.
Hold the line.
And do not falter.
The survival of our people depends on Teamwork.

The Kingdom of Khazad-Dum and the Sigin-Tarag

This is the meaty bit of the guide. I thought to make a seperate guide, but I personally am sick of going to different links for the same meat. Above I have spoken of the arms of the Erebor and Iron-hills, as have I spoke of the more faithful armors.
First, I'd like to thank you for getting this far in the guide. This is my love letter to Mordhau and Dwarves as a whole. Without the support and other Dwarves in the wild I would not have found the will to unite our people.
I envision a great clan, and wish for all Dwarves in this game to be at last united under one banner. That would be the Kingdom of Khazad-Dum. The Sigin-Tarag, or Longbeards, is my tiny Dwarf clan. These builds are the 'Uniform' colors, which I stole from someones color-scheme they had on a miniature army at a wargaming con. In my vision, Sigin-Tarag wear coats of mithril and bear axes and shields. Only rarley do you see a polearm in the hands of a Dwarf other than the pike or spear.
This follows the lore made in-book. Enjoy. This is my motherload of builds that all above came before.

Additionally, check the links below to join this group. Its not serious at all, its just handy to have Dwarves on hand when we want to do Dwarf events.

Classes

The majority of this guide has gone over many other things, and this one is a new addition as many yearn for uniformity. These are my personal builds and they are each built for specific purposes.

Obviously as I will list the builds and their perks, assume that the Dwarf perk is on each of these. Save us both the time of reading it ten fold. The numbers (x-x-x) refer to levels of armor. x1 is head, x2 is torso, and x3 is legs.

WARRIOR
The basic Khazad infantry. 6-6-3, with Fireproof, Fury, and Mule perks. A round shield and your one-handed weapon of choice. This one uses the Heavy Handaxe, and is equipped with a smoke bomb to pair well with the Mule perk.
Never get caught without smoke bombs in the throng.


GRIM WARRIOR
Warrior with both Axe and Shield and a Battle Axe. Prepared for any fight. 6-6-1 with no perks other than the lovely Dwarf perk. Battle Axe for your main, and the Round Shield and Axe for secondary.
Love me axe.


WARDEN
9-6-3 for maximum durability. War-hammer, Pavis Shield, and Kite shield. When wearing a pavis on your backside rump and equipping a war-hammer and kite, your small stature is very well concealed and protected from any archer pot shots. Rat perk so you can make yourself an even smaller target, fireproof so no god fearing fools may burn your wall, and fury.
You are not a warrior with this build. You are THE WALL.


SLAYER
Do I even need to say anything?
3-Nothing-6. War Axe. Flesh Wound, Fury, Bloodlust, Rush.
Could also do Nothing-Nothing-6, War Axe, two Javelins, and still have Huntsman and Fury. Those who let the slayer mohawk fly free risk a far more crunch-able skull.
Don't forget your helmet lad!


PIKE-MAN
A master of defense. 8-6-3 with a Spear, Pavis, and Bandage. You can trade 3 points of armor for the acrobat perk. The last thing an enemy expects is a jumping dwarf to be stabbing at them as it tries to demolish your pavis blocking their way.
Hold!


QUARRELER
When taking pot-shots as one must do time to time, the crossbow is a Dwarf's best friend. 6-6-1 with the Crossbow, Axe, and Pavis shield. I promise this is the last Pavis. For perks, Mule and Huntsman. Mule allows you to beat the points game and simply pick up a shield of your fallen allies, effortlessly switch from your firearm to axe and shield to join a charge.
Can't not look cool with a crossbow.


ENGINEER
A very broad term. The Dwarf perk plus the toolbox is a heavy cost on your stats. Two types of engineers. Ones who have a stable relationship with the blacksmith hammer and use it to do their killing, and those who need shields. For me, every engineer I make needs either a smoke bomb or medic bag. In the game of points, I recommend not spending them on a shield in this scenario. Find one as you go.
3-3-1 Toolbox, Heavy Hand-axe and Smoke Bomb. Cat perk for Castello defense, any other map I'd swap it for Smith.


HAMMERER / AXE BEARER
The most feared Dwarves are those that bring only death. These units are the greatest in damage output, and as such must be donned in the heaviest of silver mail and steel.
9-9-3 with the Maul and the Fury perk.
This build is identical to the Axe Bearer, which is the same but swaps the Maul for the War Axe. With those six extra points you can add them wherever you wish. Perfect slot for a Medic Bag.



BONUS BUILDS

Thanks for making it this far in the guide.

Thorin Oakenshield
My non Sigin-Tarag engineer build. The uniform one listed above is a broad engineer, this one is focused on support. Based off the chad from the Rankin Bass film, not the movies.
3-3-Nothing with the Toolbox, Heavy Handaxe, and Medic Bag.


Ballin Son of Fundin
A great addition to any throng, this warrior is both a great damage dealer and carries many wares for the army. The bastard sword can indeed contend well. Where Dwarves must hold, this build will keep them alive.
6-6-3 with the Bastard Sword, Medic Bag, and Smoke Bomb.
Perks are supplied, scavenger, fury, fireproof.


Dain Ironfoot
6-9-3 with War Axe, two throwing axes. The mule and huntsman perk.

DURIN'S SCROLL

DURINS SCROLL
Is my collection of Dwarf screenshots in the wild. Like the front page of Brazzers. Prominent Dwarf fashion I encounter in the wild I commit to capturing and posting here. Maybe if your dressed well enough one day you will appear on my scroll.

Links

JOIN THE DURINFOLK, BE SUMMONED AND JOIN FELLOW DWARVES IN RALLY!
STEAM GROUP
https://steamcommunity.com/groups/runkazak
DISCORD
https://discord.gg/N7EvRX2X7D

End Note

Thank you for listening to the King of Dwarves in Mordhau, and leave a comment if you belive I missed something vital to the resurrection of Dwarf-Kind.
Belive me when I say we are in the midst of the first great Dwarven Renissance of Mordhau, and I need every able bodied short king to help me coerce new players into the Dwarven gameplay style which if not for us they would never experience. Together we can re-form the landscape of the community.

Together, we can bring the coming of the greatest Dwarven empire Mordhau will ever see!

Addition: How to make your armor Dwarf

Alot of times on the fields of battle, I see my fellow Dwarves wearing something that looks to be born from a goats arse. Many times when I am called upon to inspect a Dwarves armor, the listed-above philosophy of less plate armor is good usually is my code. Simply put: Dwarves wear simple armor. The idea is late viking to early medieval. Only my full heavy armor builds have plate shoulders AND arms. Here's a few examples of Dwarves I've encountered in the wild, to add to your palette.

[Jimmy]

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[engineer]

ROCK AND STONE!

[AyCabrönJunTres]

i was there

[Carno]

I jerked to this

[Cl44]

Thughunt not included, thumbs down