Here at Gaming Haven’s we often get e-mails asking for help with various elements of the Lord of the Rings Video Games. This is one such e-mail from Haveneer Joe asks us “Just how do you kill that darn Balrog!?!”

Dear Havens:
    I have gotten all the way to the section where Gandalf fights the Balrog.  Nothing I tried seems to work, so I checked in the book I mentioned, and they suggest hitting the Balrog a number of times with a lightning blast (not a fiery blast) and/or a staff strike; then, while the Balrog is stunned, I stab it with Glamdring (as the game itself instructs).  It immediately gets up, and I have to start the whole process over again.  I’ve done this up to ten or twelve times.  According to the Prima Official (?) Strategy Guide, the Balrog should weaken and fall off the path; but this never seems to happen.  Aragorn makes a comment “Gandalf, take this”–but I have no idea what “this” is, and when I bring Gandalf to Aragorn on the other side of the bridge, I cannot approach him and get nothing from him.  I must be missing something here, since I’ve got the rhythm of restoring spirit, keeping health above fifty percent at least, casting a spell, stabbing the Balrog, backing away, and casting another spell.  But the thing just won’t weaken and fall off that bridge.
    Comments?  Suggestions?  I have spent literally two hours at least on just this one part of the game.  Even following suggestions in the guide (and I have not had to do that since your comment on how to handle Old Man Tree), I get nowhere.
    Thanks in advance!
        Joe

Well Joe, I feel this is the second most aggravating part of the game [next to the Old Man Willow], personally I feel he shoots his fireball too soon… doesn’t give you time to heal. When Aragorn is saying “Take this” he is giving you Miruvar, the drink that gives Gandalf more magic juice, so every time you’re low on magic juice he fills you up.

The trick is to get close and staff strike, then hit him three or four times with Glamdring and run like hell. He will then shoot in a pattern of left to right. Approach and repeat about 15 times [preferably without dying]. It’s an aggravating part of the game but thats the trick, dodge… dodge… staff strike… slash slash… run… repeat. Hope this helped.

Are you stuck? Need some help? Then drop us a line here at Gaming Havens and we’ll find your answer, just drop your question into an e-mail and shoot it off to Havens@TheOneRing.net.