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Frequently Asked Questions

Table of Contents

What is BFME2?
What is RotWK?
Is there a demo?
What are the minimum system requirements?
Is BFME2 compatible with Windows Vista?
What are the races in the game?
What is this War of the Ring Mode you've mentioned?
You also mentioned Create-a-Hero. What's that?
After I play for a few minutes, all of my units and buildings explode and I lose!
When I try to load a skirmish map, the game crashes to desktop and displays a game.dat error.
Where do I put the replays I downloaded from the downloads section?
What about maps? Where do I put them?
When I try to download from your site, I am asked for a username and password. My forum username & password didn't work. What is the username and password?
There's an unkillable unit! What do I do?
What if I have a question that isn't answered here?

What is BFME2?

The Battle for Middle Earth 2 (BFME2) is a Real Time Strategy (RTS) game from Electronic Arts set in J.R.R. Tolkien's world of Middle Earth. Featuring six races (Elves, Dwarves, Men of the West, Isengard, Mordor, and the Goblins), BFME2 offers numerous features to allow players to explore Middle Earth like never before. These include single player campaigns for both the Forces of Good and the Forces of Evil, the War of the Ring Mode, Create-a-Hero options, and many maps for single player skirmishes and multiplayer games online or over LAN.

What is RotWK?

RotWK (Rise of the Witch-King) is the official expansion pack for BFME2. In addition to adding a new race Angmar, the expansion adds a number of new units, heroes, skirmish maps, and enhanced features for the War of the Ring and Create-a-Hero sections of the game.

Is there a demo?

There sure is. You can find it here!

What are the minimum system requirements?

Microsoft® Windows® XP
PC with 1.6 Ghz equivalent or higher processor
256 MB of system RAM
512 MB of system RAM for online play with 3 or more players
5.5 GB available hard disk space
16x speed or faster CD-ROM drive
64 MB GeForce3-class video card. (The GeForce 4 MX series is not supported)
Sound card with speakers or headphones.
Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device.
56.6 Kbps or better modem for 1v1 online play.
Broadband connection for online play with 3 or more players.
DirectX 9.0c or above.

To see if your computer can handle the game, go here.

Is BFME2 compatible with Windows Vista?

Somewhat. For some users, it works perfectly, but others have trouble. For those that do, the following may help.

1. BFME2 installs as a normal program and is not set by default to run under administrator privileges. You should turn this on, to prevent it freezing when it attempts to go online with the message 'You need to download the update'. Right click on the shortcut to BFME2, click properties, view the security tab and select "Run as administrator".

2. If you still run into troubles, you may wish to activate Run under compatibility mode for Windows XP + SP2 in the same properties dialog.

3. Unstable graphics drivers can cause BFME2 to crash (e.g. the latest 100.xx nVidia drivers have this problem), so you may need to update them to the latest versions again.

What are the races in the game?

The factions in the game are Elves, Dwarves, Men of the West, Isengard, Mordor, and the Goblins. For a fuller look at them, check out our factions pages.

What is this War of the Ring Mode you've mentioned?

The War of the Ring mode is a Risk-like mode of play in BFME2 and RotWK. Middle Earth is divided into territories and players can build their empires by constructing buildings, training units, invading enemy territories, and defending their own on a grand scale. Individual battles can either be auto-resolved or played as a regular skirmish battle.

You also mentioned Create-a-Hero. What's that?

Create-a-Hero is a special feature of the game that allows you to build your own custom hero. There are a variety of choices for race, armor, and weapons as well as statistics and powers. Your heroes can even earn various medals! For more information, you can look here for more information.

After I play for a few minutes, all of my units and buildings explode and I lose!

This is an anti-piracy measure installed by EA. If you have a pirated copy of the game, you got what you deserve. If you have a legal copy of the game, simply reinstalling it should solve the problem.

When I try to load a skirmish map, the game crashes to desktop and displays a game.dat error.

There can be a number of reasons. Make sure that your computer is up to the minimum specs (see above) and that you are running the latest version of DirectX.

Where do I put the replays I downloaded from the downloads section?

You have to put them in the Replays folder, which is usually found at C:\Documents and Settings\your username\Application Data\My Battle for Middle Earth 2 files\Replays. If your computer is running Windows Vista, look at C:\users\your username\AppData\Roaming\My Battle for Middle Earth 2 files\Replays.

What about maps? Where do I put them?

They go in the Maps folder, typically found at C:\Documents and Settings\your username\Application Data\My Battle for Middle Earth 2 files\Maps. For computers with Vista, try C:\users\your username\AppData\Roaming\My Battle for Middle Earth 2 files\Maps. Simply drag or copy and paste the file you downloaded to this folder.

When I try to download from your site, I am asked for a username and password. My forum username & password didn't work. What is the username and password?

You don't need a username and password to download from our site. This is normally caused by a program called Download Accelerator. If you disable it by exiting out of the program, you will be able to download the files.

There's an unkillable unit! What do I do?

This bug has been around for quite a while, but it still has yet to be fixed. There really isn't anything that you can do other than try to avoid the unkillable unit.

What if I have a question that isn't answered here?

You can either email one of the moderators, who would be more than happy to help you, or you can post in our general discussions forum.