Is There a Balrog in LOTR Return to Moria?

For any die-hard fan of LOTR world, the first thing that comes to mind when Balrog is mentioned is the monster’s legendary battle against Gandalf. That’s why one of the main questions about the survival co-op game The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is whether this demonic monster is a part of it.

Related: How to Heal HP When Outside Base in Lord of the Rings Return to Moria?

Does Barlog Appear in Return to Moria?

Unfortunately, the Balrog is not in this game. Given that the story is set in the Fourth Age of Tolkien’s world, there was a question from the beginning as to whether there would be a place for the Balrog. The intention of the developers was to create a world in the game that is faithful to Tolkien’s vision, so they’ve decided not to include Balrog in the game.

Game director Jon-Paul Dumont emphasized in an interview that the dev team was focused on preserving authenticity. That’s why the game focuses on the Dwarves and their struggle to reclaim Moria. But don’t despair, because while you won’t encounter a Balrog, you will find plenty of other creatures to fight in Middle-Earth.

Balrog in a DLC?

The developer’s decision not to include the Balrog in the game certainly disappointed some of the audience, but it should be taken into account that they did not rule out the possibility of a return to the past in future expansions.

To be fair, there weren’t many Balrogs in total in the Middle-Earth. Tolkien himself once said that there were probably at most seven of them.

“There should not be supposed more than say 3 or at most 7 ever existed”, a quote from Tolkiens’ book “Morgoth’s Ring” said.

According to lore, the last Balrog was slain during the Third Age by Gandalf. Obviously, the game was set long after that era, so accordingly, the creators decided to stick to the lore and create an authentic world and story, the way Tolkien would surely have wanted.

We hope our article was helpful. For more The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria content on Gamer Journalist, see How to Find Ihraz Granite In LOTR Return To Moria.