About the Game
Nordhold is a tower defense game for strategy enthusiasts who crave high replayability through endless combinations. Build and manage a cozy medieval Nordic village while enjoying deep tactical gameplay that doesn't require extensive learning.

With over 20 buildings offering diverse strategic development options through unique upgrades and meta-progression, find the balance between economic growth and defending Nordhold.

9 towers with unique abilities offer numerous customization options. Fine-tune your tactics to protect Nordhold effectively.

100+ custom upgrades offer versatile customization options, providing strategic depth and countless combinations.

Which general should defend Nordhold? Choose from hundreds of hero combinations! Relics grant you bonuses across the board, whether for your economy or defense. The oracle always gives you a different choice, for example: 5 waves of stronger enemies, which also offer higher rewards, or 5 waves of cheaper tower construction?

The snowball effect becomes reality. Smart decisions create synergies that let you conquer ever-stronger waves of enemies and bosses in a firework of effects.

Compete globally or with friends in our ranking system. Can you reach the Valhalla rank?
Screenshots
14 images
Version Information
Steam Patch Notes
Official update history
Patch 1.1.21
Thanks to everyone who has been sharing feedback, it has been incredible to read! For this patch we are keeping things focused: less about big sweeping changes, more about polish and tweaks so the experience feels consistently better across every mode. The goal right now is to steadily bring Nordhold into its fully polished form.
✨ NEW / Changes
New Season:Season 5 has officially kicked off! Good luck on the leaderboards! 🏆
5 New Relics!
⚖️ Adjustments
Undead Magician
The Undead Magician's healing aura has been a long-standing pain point. Bringing down both the barrier and the regen.
Magic Barrier Health: 50,000 → 35,000
Barrier & Life Regeneration Aura Range: 13 → 12
Elite Life Regeneration Bonus: 100% → 75%
Orc Witcher
The Witcher's healing was stacking too aggressively in groups. Toning down both the heal per second and the aura size.
Life Regeneration per Second: 75 → 60
Life Regeneration Aura Range: 6 → 5
Wave Curve
Smoothed out HP spikes from Wave 38 through Wave 49 so the progression feels more consistent with the waves around them. Waves 38 and 39 also had their Barrier HP brought down.
Tower Buffs
A small damage bump for some of the core towers that were lagging behind.
Arrow Tower: Damage 100 → 110
Frost Tower: Damage 85 → 95
Tornado Tower: Damage 50 → 55
Relic Adjustments
Crossbow Precision (Rare): 25 → 30
Trophy Phial (Rare): 50 → 75
Aurum Trove (Legendary): 120 → 150
Greedgem (Rare): 200% → 300%
Fusion Banner Buffs
Scorching (Fusion Banner): 30 → 35 | New Upgrade Values: Common +10, Rare +13, Legendary +23
Fire Arrows (Fusion Banner): 75 → 85 | New Upgrade Values: Common +25, Rare +33, Legendary +58
Building Upgrades
Gold Manager (Guild Hall Upgrade): 10 → 25 Gold Rate
🔧 Improvements & Fixes
Bug Fixes
Fixed old saves (pre-Chaos Reaper) not being able to end properly
Fixed Meta Mode's Raven Tower bonus damage being added incorrectly
Fixed Rune Forge unlock being lost if unlocked during the last wave before death
Fixed the Path of Innovation Oracle option failing to properly complete the current research
Fixed Chaos Reaper not double and triple shooting when its fire rate was high
Fixed workers vanishing after a mission ends
Fixed Runestone and Raven Tower continuing to shoot while locked
Got ideas, questions, or just want to hang out? Join our Discord and be part of the community.
Major 1.1.1 Patch
Balancing / New Relics & Specialisation / QOL & more
New Season: Season 4 starts with todays Patch! Good luck on the leaderboards!
New Meta Perk: Unlocked in the Lighthouse – now lets you see upcoming enemy types for the next wave
New Specialization: Added specialization options for the Houses
Meta+ Layout System: You can now save and manage different node layouts in Meta+ Mode!
New Items: Added 5 New Relics to the pool
Honor Update
The Double Honor Event has ended, but we have permanently increased base Honor gains across the board!
Waves 1–10: 4 → 10
Waves 11–20: 8 → 15
Waves 21–30: 12 → 20
Waves 31–40: 20 → 30
Waves 41–50: 30 → 40
Waves 51–60: 30 → 50
Waves 61–70: 30 → 70
Waves 71–100: 30 → 100
Fusion Banner Changes (Buffs)
We have significantly increased the damage/scaling values for several Fusions!
Chaos Bolts (Arrow x Reaper):
Initial 50 → 66 | Common 15 → 20 | Rare 20 → 27 | Leg. 35 → 47Charged Arrows (Arrow x Arc):
Initial 110 → 125 | Common 5 → 7 | Rare 7 → 10 | Leg. 10 → 15Branding (Runestone x Mortar):
Initial 400 → 450 | Common 120 → 135 | Rare 160 → 180 | Leg. 260 → 315Destructive Strike (Mortar x Arc):
Initial 10 → 12 | Common 3 → 4 | Rare 4 → 5 | Leg. 7 → 9Shockwave (Mortar x Arc):
Initial 150 → 170 | Common 21 → 30 | Rare 28 → 40 | Leg. 50 → 70Critical Breach (Frost x Arc):
Initial 200 → 220 | Common 60 → 70 | Rare 80 → 90 | Leg. 140 → 160Unchained Rage (Shadow x Raven):
Initial 30 → 40 | Common 9 → 12 | Rare 12 → 16 | Leg. 21 → 28Clinking Mastery (Frost x Raven):
Initial 300 → 330 | Common 90 → 100 | Rare 120 → 130 | Leg. 210 → 230Critical Impact (Raven x Tornado):
Initial 50 → 60 | Common 15 → 18 | Rare 20 → 24 | Leg. 35 → 42Double Nova (Frost x Reaper):
Initial 40 → 50 | Common 12 → 15 | Rare 16 → 20 | Leg. 30 → 35
Gameplay Tweaks
Seal of Constancy (Relic):
Damage bonus increased 10% → 15%End of Wave Order:
Resolution order optimized to benefit the player (Boss → Hero/Upgrade → Mission Return → Market → Oracle → Mission → Banner)Darkness:
The Shadow Tower Banner "Darkness" is now auto-banished from the pool upon reaching 100%Quadruplicity:
This Meta+ Perk now correctly applies to Hydra (Runestone x Mortar Fusion)Hero Level Up:
"Height Chance" and "Extra Resources" are now auto-banished from the pool in the late gameSpell Damage:
Hero Level Up upgrade buffed significantly: 20% → 50%Lightstorm:
The Arc x Runestone Fusion no longer scales with the Weakness applied by Nightburst (Mortar x Shadow)
Improvements & Fixes
Added the ability to reject Fusions
Text and translation polish
Various UI improvements (especially in Meta+ Mode)
Event Wheel now displays exactly when Workers will return
Optimized Save System stability
Improved handling of Gold Skins (Supporter Pack) & Bug Report tool
Removed legacy Demo code
Bug Fixes
Fixed infinite loading screen when pressing "Play Again" in the Meta Mode end screen
Fixed "Clearing Master" tooltip
Fixed trigger behavior for Reaper's unique spells
Hero Gazebo:
Tavern specialization + Arcane Rift Research spell multiplier now stack correctlyHealing Logic:
Fixed health regen reduction to apply to total scaled healing and corrected percentage calculationsElite Undead Magicians:
Now correctly apply their healing aura to other enemies, not just themselvesAudio/Video:
Fixed resolution/window UI bugs + Intro sound now correctly respects volume settingsFixed an issue with loading Season Badges
Fixed Spell Energy UI bug after obtaining the Druid Wand
Exploits Fixed:
Fixed Honor gain on wave restart, Infinite Oracle Reroll, and Spell Energy target mode exploitEndless Mode:
Fixed damage scaling calculation for Raven's Doom Blast and Reaper's Meta+ Chaos BlastFixed spell targeting issues where spells could hit multiple times through barriers
Season 4 starts
NEW SEASON: A new season has begun and the following badges are awarded for the previous season:
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45063720/75f7a1a0ace095c95a3408f56635f1bb2c2d8ce2.png"]
Steam Trading Cards
COLLECT NOW: We added multiple Nordhold Trading Cards to Nordhold, have fun collecting them and earninig some unique Emojis and Badges for your Steam Account!
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45063720/ab4bad89a3f5852cd05a37ccf1d7c89747e504e6.png"]
Thank you for all the incredible feedback across Discord, Steam reviews, YouTube, and the forums! We read every message, and the beta feedback in particular was invaluable.
Got ideas or questions (or just want to hang out)? Join our Discord and be part of the community!
We have a packed update for you today regarding the current event, the upcoming patch, and the Steam Awards.
Double Honor Event Ending & Permanent Buff!
First up, this is your last call for the current event! The Double Honor Event will end within the next few days. If you still have meta-upgrades to unlock or want to stockpile resources, jump in now and maximize those final runs!However, don't worry! We’ve seen how much you enjoyed the faster progression. While the double bonus is ending, we are happy to announce that we are permanently increasing the base Honor gain across the board. The grind will remain smoother than it was before the event started!
Patch 1.1.1 Incoming
As the event concludes later this week, it will be immediately replaced by Patch 1.1.1.Just to manage expectations: Patch 1.1.1 brings a fresh batch of nice new features, quality-of-life improvements, and necessary fixes to keep the gameplay fresh. Furthermore, we are kicking off a new season: Season 4!
Keep an eye out for the full changelog dropping very soon with the coming Patch this week!
Steam Awards Nomination
Finally, the annual Steam Awards have begun!We are incredibly proud of the community that has grown around NORDHOLD since release. We’ve poured our hearts into creating a challenging, strategic, and rewarding roguelite tower defense experience.
If you have been enjoying the game and think our take on the genre is worthy, we would be absolutely thrilled if you would nominate us for a Steam Award.
We think the "Innovative Gameplay" category might fit best, but please choose whichever category you feel is right! Your support really means the world to our team.
(You can vote via the box above or on the store page if you wish!)
Thank you for playing and good luck on the battlefield!
Basti & Nando
Join our Discord community
Fixes
- Fixed Meta+ exploit
- Fixed an issue where Tornadoes could incorrectly trigger Wrath Scattering
- Meta+ bonus “Free Raven Banner” now works with the starter bonus “Free banner for the tower type of the first built tower”
Patch 1.1.04
New / Changes
Honor gain per wave slightly increased
Temporary Extra Honor Event: earn double Honor for now — enjoy!
Minor color tweaks added to fusion animations
Fixes
Fixed bug where the Lighthouse persisted after a Meta reset
Fixed Tower Focus Priorities incorrectly transferring to other tower types/groups
Fixed rare issue where trees could spawn on seals (symbols) in later biomes
Fixed issue where tower SFX could be lost
Fixed older saves sometimes not ending a run correctly
Fixed occasional incorrect buff-arrow indicators from auras (Runestone / Reaper)
Fixed case where Multitude (Generalist Banner) could offer 0 banners
Fixed Tornado-family spells sometimes disappearing in front of barriered enemies (they now shatter correctly)
Adjustments
Bloody Chain (Arc x Arrow Fusion) no longer requires Barbed Arrows to propagate Bleed
Fusions can no longer be skipped by leaving the game
Starting a new Meta+ run no longer removes the Wave 10 starter bonus
Tutorial refined for clarity and safety
Blood Whip statistics accounting adjusted
Jump behavior adjusted for Celestial Jumps (Runestone x Arc Fusion) and Charged Arrows (Arc x Arrow Fusion)
Changed key bindings are now shown for the spell in the Statistics view
Improvements
Non-essential Lighthouse upgrade tile choices are no longer offered when all options would be identical at the end of the path
Doom Cold (Raven x Frost Fusion) is no longer overwritten by weaker Frost effects
Duplicate items can no longer appear in queues (e.g., Lighthouse & Market) → prevents empty offers
Meta+ mode node display improved
Minor UI tweaks
Further tuning of tower animations
Got ideas, questions, or just want to hang out? Join our Discord and be part of the community.
Version 1.1
Wings of Chaos
The 9th tower has arrived: Chaos Reaper
A ferocious close-range powerhouse that shreds clustered enemies and breaks barriers. Comes with fresh Fusions and new synergies to explore:
[dynamiclink href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs_h52mK4eE"]
New / Changes
NEW Tower (+4 Fusions)
NEW Skin Shop (no real money – Honor only)
NEW Season (including new leaderboards)
NEW Fusions (two more are coming soon; for now there will be only one banner choice in two spots)
NEW Spells
NEW Relics
2 replaced Oracle paths
2 replaced starter bonuses
1 replaced and 1 new hero attribute
Overhauled UI
Adjustments
Arrow Tower range: 3 → 4
Bosses can no longer perform the same boss skill multiple times in Meta Mode or Ascensions
Honor is now awarded after Wave 40 in addition to Elite/Boss kills
Wave 50: barrier health reduced
Relic Changes
Coinfall: 2 → 4
Magic Contract: 10% → 15%
Scope Lens: 15 → 25
Necrotic Curse: 80% → 75%
Golden Incentive: 3 → 5
Timber Stockpile: waves 10 → 20
Elixir of Aleboost: 20% → 30%
Burden Cart: 3 → 2 affected Outposts
Distant Wing: -0.8 → -0.6
Fractured Arrow: 3% → 5%
Frost Cube: 120 → 125%
Galdra Earrings: 10% → 15%
Rikur’s Axe: 10% → 15%
Building Changes
University – Best Selection: 10× → 6×
Hero Tower Specializations: share of original spell damage increased 70% → 80%
Banner Changes
Ring of Death now executes enemies under 15% (was 10%) health
Darkness: 3/4/7% → 6/8/14%
Doom Scattering – Base: 160 → 250%; Upgrades: 18/23/42 → 45/60/105%
Skyfall Arrows: +20% → +50% arrow damage
Glacial Nova: 5 → 10% chance
Bloody Chain (Arrow x Arc Fusion): Base 15 → 10%; Upgrades 5/7/11 → 3/4/7%
Meta+ Nodes
Small extra-shot (Arrow) nodes: 1% → 2%
Mortar Meta+ AoE: 1% → 2%
Slow amount reduced: 7% → 5%
Hero Changes
Resources on map: 10% → 15%
Spell damage upgrades: +20% → +50% spell damage
Beer productivity: 10% → 25%
Stone/Wood/Gold per worker (respective buildings): +2/2/1 → +4/4/2
Gold per worker per wave: 1 → 4
Rare banner chance: 7% → 10%
Power Spike (Spell): +4% → +3% spell damage
Fixes
Fixed Tornado “Endless Enemy Defense” bug (now interacts correctly with barriers)
Fixed a bug that could skip waves
Fixed excessive bonus from Plate Crusher (Rare Relic) when combined with Basic Training (University)
Weakness is now applied correctly during Jumps in Endless Mode
Fixed slow calculation on higher waves (enemies could exceed the intended slow cap)
Improvements
Fixed UI glitch in Discoveries when displaying perks
Better price refresh rates for tower unlock costs
Minor scaling optimizations for higher Endless waves
Higher Bleed stack amounts now possible (previously stacks could disappear at very high values)
Season 3 starts
NEW SEASON: A new season has begun and the following badges are awarded for the previous season:
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45063720/c34825d78c28ae72fe02eee9d4970cbc3d4d17d3.png"]
Roadmap Update: v1.1 Delivered
Version 1.1 is out, which means the roadmap beats shown in the image are now shipped:
Q1 Launch ✔️
Q2 Core Expansion ✔️
Q3 Major Update 1.1 ✔️
Looking Ahead: we’ll continue with steady, incremental updates as they make sense; shaped by your feedback and our still-not-empty backlog. 😄
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45063720/4b369f6cd55a51ac09d6995c5c62a6b256372475.png"]
Thank you for all the incredible feedback across Discord, Steam reviews, YouTube, and the forums! We read every message, and the beta feedback in particular was invaluable.
Got ideas or questions (or just want to hang out)? Join our Discord and be part of the community!
Version 1.1
Wings of Chaos
The 9th tower has arrived: Chaos Reaper
A ferocious close-range powerhouse that shreds clustered enemies and breaks barriers. Comes with fresh Fusions and new synergies to explore:
[dynamiclink href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs_h52mK4eE"]
New / Changes
NEW Tower (+4 Fusions)
NEW Skin Shop (no real money – Honor only)
NEW Season (including new leaderboards)
NEW Fusions (two more are coming soon; for now there will be only one banner choice in two spots)
NEW Spells
NEW Relics
2 replaced Oracle paths
2 replaced starter bonuses
1 replaced and 1 new hero attribute
Overhauled UI
Adjustments
Arrow Tower range: 3 → 4
Bosses can no longer perform the same boss skill multiple times in Meta Mode or Ascensions
Honor is now awarded after Wave 40 in addition to Elite/Boss kills
Wave 50: barrier health reduced
Relic Changes
Coinfall: 2 → 4
Magic Contract: 10% → 15%
Scope Lens: 15 → 25
Necrotic Curse: 80% → 75%
Golden Incentive: 3 → 5
Timber Stockpile: waves 10 → 20
Elixir of Aleboost: 20% → 30%
Burden Cart: 3 → 2 affected Outposts
Distant Wing: -0.8 → -0.6
Fractured Arrow: 3% → 5%
Frost Cube: 120 → 125%
Galdra Earrings: 10% → 15%
Rikur’s Axe: 10% → 15%
Building Changes
University – Best Selection: 10× → 6×
Hero Tower Specializations: share of original spell damage increased 70% → 80%
Banner Changes
Ring of Death now executes enemies under 15% (was 10%) health
Darkness: 3/4/7% → 6/8/14%
Doom Scattering – Base: 160 → 250%; Upgrades: 18/23/42 → 45/60/105%
Skyfall Arrows: +20% → +50% arrow damage
Glacial Nova: 5 → 10% chance
Bloody Chain (Arrow x Arc Fusion): Base 15 → 10%; Upgrades 5/7/11 → 3/4/7%
Meta+ Nodes
Small extra-shot (Arrow) nodes: 1% → 2%
Mortar Meta+ AoE: 1% → 2%
Slow amount reduced: 7% → 5%
Hero Changes
Resources on map: 10% → 15%
Spell damage upgrades: +20% → +50% spell damage
Beer productivity: 10% → 25%
Stone/Wood/Gold per worker (respective buildings): +2/2/1 → +4/4/2
Gold per worker per wave: 1 → 4
Rare banner chance: 7% → 10%
Power Spike (Spell): +4% → +3% spell damage
Fixes
Fixed Tornado “Endless Enemy Defense” bug (now interacts correctly with barriers)
Fixed a bug that could skip waves
Fixed excessive bonus from Plate Crusher (Rare Relic) when combined with Basic Training (University)
Weakness is now applied correctly during Jumps in Endless Mode
Fixed slow calculation on higher waves (enemies could exceed the intended slow cap)
Improvements
Fixed UI glitch in Discoveries when displaying perks
Better price refresh rates for tower unlock costs
Minor scaling optimizations for higher Endless waves
Higher Bleed stack amounts now possible (previously stacks could disappear at very high values)
Season 3 starts
NEW SEASON: A new season has begun and the following badges are awarded for the previous season:
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45063720/c34825d78c28ae72fe02eee9d4970cbc3d4d17d3.png"]
Roadmap Update: v1.1 Delivered
Version 1.1 is out, which means the roadmap beats shown in the image are now shipped:
Q1 Launch ✔️
Q2 Core Expansion ✔️
Q3 Major Update 1.1 ✔️
Looking Ahead: we’ll continue with steady, incremental updates as they make sense; shaped by your feedback and our still-not-empty backlog. 😄
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45063720/4b369f6cd55a51ac09d6995c5c62a6b256372475.png"]
Thank you for all the incredible feedback across Discord, Steam reviews, YouTube, and the forums! We read every message, and the beta feedback in particular was invaluable.
Got ideas or questions (or just want to hang out)? Join our Discord and be part of the community!
New / Changes
- Added a "Next Wave" button (bottom right) when only one path is selectable
Fixes
- Fixed glitch in lighthouse missions related to worker count and banners
- Fixed issue where exploring could result in an empty tile
- Fixed Arc SFX bug
- Adjusted Tornado travel time so its flight duration now matches the intended value and is no longer affected by crossed hex tiles
Adjustments
- Arcane Fragments (Rare Spell Damage Relic) can no longer be obtained until Wave 5 is completed
Improvements
- Improved overall game stability
- Optimized behavior when all banners of a tower have been banished
- Optimized save process
- Text improvements and refinements
- Herbal Potion (Druid House Upgrade) is now locked on higher Ascensions when starting with full HP for that Ascension
- Various UI improvements for ultra-wide screens
- Optimized calculation for the Mystic Fury achievement
- Fixed error in game mode descriptions
Current Release
Not available
System Requirements
How to Install
setup.exe
Troubleshooting tips
• Run Redist/_CommonRedist installers if game won't start
• Add folder to Windows Defender exclusions
• Run as administrator
Download
Direct link available
626 MB
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