Faction difficulties - your thoughts
So, i've played most of the factions now for at least 40-60 turns, and several campaigns on over turn 200, so i think i have a pretty good feel for how the factions stand up. And of course, many of you regulars have much more experience than me. Also, i play on M/M, and so far still not using any mods, so my feelings on faction strengths may be different from yours.Originally Posted by Macilrille
But i've been thinking about how the factions compare to each other based on economy, unit strengths/weaknesses, starting regions, expansion possibilities, etc.
So, here is my list (easiest to hardest), let me have yours or your thoughts (please specify your regular playing difficulty and mods you use though).
1) High Elves
Early Enemies/Starting position: Pretty awesome. You only have one region which is really at risk (Imladris/Rivendell) so you can either focus your attention here and look to grab Ost-in-Edil early to work towards those rather nice Eregion Smiths, or gift it to Eriador leaving you nice and secure in the west while you build up. Good for turtling. If you stick it out, you will soon be facing orcs from the north and east, but usually not too much harassment as the orcs also have other enemies to be dealing with.
Economy: Pretty decent, especially as you have many coastal regions - secure those trade agreements with as many factions as possible!
Units: Small unit sizes and early units a little squish, but the archers rock, Cavalry Generals... mmmm, yes please! And later Archers who are pretty solid in melee. Sure, it gets expensive, but you should have the cash. One of the best unit rosters in the game.
Expansion: Some easy regions to take early in the west with no real conflict with enemies. Main thing is to grab them before Eriador. You may get a border with Isengard as you expand south, and can make them your primary target to help out Rohan. Or push north and help Eriador take on the OoG. I'd probably not invade the Misty Mountains as your Economy isn't going to be too good in those regions, although battles can easily be won if you grab the high ground in mountain regions. Final option, hole up and send stacks down to take out Umbar by ship thereby massively helping Gondor.
Overall: Easy peasy.
2) Harad
Early Enemies/Starting position: Another good turtling faction. Gondor is your only real concern, and you can let Mordor take the brunt of that. Gondor units are pretty solid but as your only bordering enemy you can focus your attentions on them and customize your armies to defeat them.
Economy: Solid as a rock. If you are losing money as Harad you are doing something wrong.
Units: Fairly good roster and later you can get Troll Men and Mumakils both of which are pretty awesome. Cavalry Generals are icing on the cake. With this roster you can form armies to take on anyone if you plan well.
Expansion: Easy and safe expansion options, you'll want to grab the two southern islands as well. Pick your borders on the east of the Anduin and you shouldn't have too much issue with Gondor.
Overall: Economic powerhouse, fairly safe, free to play a variety of strategies. It almost got number one position.
3) Dwarves
Early Enemies/Starting position: Regions are split so can be problematic, although your western territories are fairly safe. You can take the rebel territory to the east of Kibil Dum and gift it to Eariador giving you a buffer there. My preference though is to expand east from the west and west from your eastern territories and wipe out of the OoG in the process (thereby helping out Eriador massively), and then when the two sides join, move down into the Misty Mountains and end up controlling the whole northern range. The risk here is Dale is probably going to get squished, but that's ok, they will delay Rhun and Rhun won't bother you much until Dale is gone. Let them have their fun.
Economy: Mines. Lovely mines. Great for generating tons of cash and trade. Its why its good to focus on the mountain regions.
Units: Its a double edged sword. The lack of cavalry means you are vulnerable to archers. Nothing more annoying than running around the map in circles trying to take down the final units of archers when the rest of the enemy is destroyed. Always a nice idea to keep some ballista or crossbowmen in your stacks for this reason. But their main selling point is their insane armour and decent damage of most units, and their roster is what makes me put Dwarves at number 3. Full stack vs full stack when playing as Dwarves - you have no excuse for losing any battle.
Expansion: Covered above. Limited options if you want a good economy and you're going to run into enemy factions fairly quickly. You're also a bit pinned in the north. Later on, your probably going to have to deal with Rhun on the plains, and Dwarves don't do so well there. Focus on town battles and avoid open land battles and you'll be golden.
Overall: Its the units that do it for me. Just rock hard units that can take a beating with good morale.
4) Rohan
Early Enemies/Starting position: On first impressions it looks a little nasty. Orcs to the north, Isengard to the west, and Mordor rapidly expands north causing you a border in the east, leaving only the south free. Also Rhun may creep in from the east as well. However, don't bother Mordor and it will not bother you much and actually will buffer you from Rhun taking an interest. Orcs have other problems, so Isengard is really your only problem. Its possible to take Isengard (region) very early, by turn 6 if you play your cards right. Its also one settlement where you can actually effectively use your cavalry within the city itself, so don't be afraid of taking cav to this siege. This will hurt Isengard badly and take some pressure off Eriador.
Economy: Those grasslands are good for generating income and borders with Eriador (later), Gondor, and Silvans can generate you some nice trade. You can also grab Lond Dor(?) for port and open up some sea trade with High Elves and Gondor... and maybe even Harad if you remain friendly with them.
Units: Sweet sweet cavalry. Horse archers as well. Not the answer to everything of course, and you want to avoid town battles (better to siege the enemies out), but on the plains you will rule. Some may advocate still having a fairly balanced army. I say screw that. Even a half-stack of Rohan cavalry can turn a full stack of Isengard orcs into a panicking mob after some charges, leading to some nice heroic victories. I do take some melee units with me, but mainly just as cannon fodder to pin down the enemy allowing me to circle round and charge the enemy from the rear.
Expansion: Plenty of early regions to grab and Isengard regions can be a good priorty to take. Once Isengard is dealt with you can look to the east and help out Gondor who may be starting to feel the pressure from Mordor/Harad.
Overall: Pretty good in all aspects, lots of options, and some nice battles to be had (if you avoid town battles - kind of opposite of Dwarves really). Also, watch out for Invasions. Rohan is the number one target for the Dark Lord's invasions. Be prepared.
5) Rhun
Early Enemies/Starting position: Safe to the south, nothing to the east, Mordor will quickly expand north protecting your western border, leaving only the north to worry about. Dwarves sometimes will try and expand east, and they can be a problem, otherwise its just you and Dale baby! Woo hoo! Early on Dale isn't really a match for Rhun, especially on the grasslands, so go get 'em!
Economy: One of the best. Lots of money should flow into your coffers, so spend like crazy.
Units: All round decent roster which you can customize to meet the enemies you will face. Not the best in most areas, although your Cavalry rank quite well, and the Bacloth Tribesmen are nice early and cheap AP units. You should have no problems in field or town battles.
Expansion: North and west plenty of opportunity with safe borders elsewhere. Just don't upset Harad and find yourself in a war with them (i've seen the AI do it much to my amusement).
Overall: I know, some people will put Rhun much higher on the list. Definitely one of the best, but i just think the others have the edge. Easy faction to play.
The top 5 are probably the easiest, now we move onto the tricker ones...
6) Dale - (Disclaimer, not played yet)
Early Enemies/Starting position: The AI always tends to get shafted playing as Dale, which shouldn't happen to you. You are protected in the west and north and your enemy to the south and east, at least early on is going to be just Rhun. So focus on making armies designed to deal with them.
Economy: Fairly decent, although smallish regions which don't always give too much money at the start but it can improve as you take larger regions to the east and south, especially those bordering the inland sea. However, you're not going to be able to maintain trade agreements with Rhun for long (you want their regions!) so be prepared for an economic hit when at war with them until you get their regions for yourself.
Units: A bit of a mixed bag. Cavalry and Archers should be the focus of your armies. Archer generals are nice, keeps them fairly safe, but keep some melee units between them and the enemy. Still, if they get into combat they have decent armour, so don't be too scared if this happens.
Expansion: Once the early regions are taken youre blocked quite quickly, so into Rhun's regions is probably your best bet unless you want to tackle Mordor in the south, but thats going to stretch you and make you have long borders with Rhun. So your options are pretty limited.
Overall: Facing Rhun can be a challenge, they like their cavalry, so be prepared for that. Limited choices in expansion (unless you want to expand into Mirkwood which will limit the Silvans and mean you have to think about your southern border more). Probably not a hard faction to play, but some challenges in playing them.
7) Eriador (Arnor)
Early Enemies/Starting position: Not great, but not terrible. Plenty of rebel territories around to start with but pretty soon you're going to be up against the OoG who are your main enemy, but depending on how things go you can also find yourself up against OotMM and Isengard. Not a terrible position, but not the easiest.
Economy: Pretty decent, but lacking in coastal territories and mountains so the real money spinners are missing. Your borders with HE and Dwarves can generate a little trade. Good luck trying to maintain trade rights with the orcs though.
Units: Fairly decent at the start as Eriador, and if you can reunite Arnor you have even better. Pretty decent all round as Eriador but a bit lacking in armour.
Expansion: Land on all sides gives plenty of expansion opportunities and you are pretty secure in the west, but quickly you are going to find yourself bumping up against enemies. If you leave it too long you can find yourself fighting on 3 fronts (OoG in North, OotMM in east, Isengard in south), so best to focus on securing a border first. OoG are the most natural to go for as securing the north gives you a border without enemies as its the top of the map, leaving you free to focus on the south and east.
Overall: While a decent faction in terms of units and flexible armies the potential to be facing 3 enemies at once later in the game can make this not the easiest faction to play. At the same time you're most likely trying to get Arnor rebuilt leaving Aragorn (one of your best generals) sitting in Annuminas to boost the pop growth there and also making sure he doesn't die. Still, a fun faction to play being balanced between easy and hard with plenty of things to do and good unit selection. Take care with your economy though.
8) OoG
Early Enemies/Starting position: When the AI plays the Dwarves, its often a bit crappy in the west, sometimes even loosing regions to rebels, so they usually are not a problem. In the east the OotMM provide a nice barrier and distract the Dwarves in the east, so its basically you and Eriador. Fun fun fun.... Later though, watch out for the HE and Dwarves.
Economy: Not great. While orc units are cheap, your going to churn through a lot of them quickly so you need a decent economy to support this. However, the northern regions that don't have mountains are not too good for income. Best get south and east as quick as possible to get some nice income from those regions. Because of unit churn, you're going to be spending turns transporting new units down from your unit production settlements, this is going to cost you in time and upkeep.
Units: Generally weak, but make up for it in numbers, this is the trademark of orc factions. But come the barracks events and you can start getting trolls, and the OoG have two varieties so its pretty nice, the Snow Trolls being especially good. Just watch your spending. Wargs are good shock troops but squishy, so hit and run is the name of the game. Don't disregard them though, they can be devastating.
Expansion: Dwarves are nasty against orcs, so unless you plan on blitzing them in the west and ignoring Eriador at the start (which then puts you bordering the elves... also nasty) its probably best to focus on straight south and deal with Eriador.
Overall: Who doesn't like playing a horde faction? Its fun for all the family!
9) Silvan Elves
Early Enemies/Starting position: A bit of a nasty one here as you can find yourself fighting on just about every front. From the start you have the OotMM in the west and Mordor coming up from the south. Pretty soon Rhun may be knocking on your eastern door (as Dale does its usual implosion) and later the OotMM may also come from the north, or just possibly the OoG. Having a split kingdom at the start also increases the challenge.
Economy: So-so. Trade is possible with Rohan and as long as you don't lose territories in the north-east then Dale (poor poor Dale) and Dwarves. You'll not be mega rich with your forest territories, but its enough as long as you don't spend like crazy.
Units: Pretty nice, comparable with HE. Your archers are a little better but your melee are a little weaker, but its minor. Horse archers are nice, not to mention Ents as merc units, which are really desirable and one of the few merc units i really want to have in my armies. Silvans lack a bit in the heavy hitting department, and ents are a good counter to the horde factions and trolls. Archer heavy armies are definitely the way to go though using hit and run to whittle down your enemies. Still, later archers are no slouches in melee if its required having decent armour.
Expansion: Choices choices. Joining your split kingdom is important. Also kicking Mordor out of Dol Guldur is a good idea, the woods are yours! There are not many options though for reducing your hostile border size and you have to focus quickly on securing once side or another. Gifting regions to Dale is not always a good idea. It can work taking some eastern plains settlements and then letting Dale deal with Rhun, but sometimes Dale just get their ass kicked. And with at least 3 passes from which the OotMM can come through to attack you in the west you have to be vigilant.
Overall: A tricky faction. Good units but a tricky position on the map make this one of the more interesting but difficult factions to play. Still, like HEs, you shouldn't be losing many battles. Bleed the enemy from a distance and make them run until they drop. Its more the campaign side that adds the challenge here.
10) Mordor
Early Enemies/Starting position:Highly defensibe starting position and only one natural enemy, at least in the south. Dol Guldur is a tricky one. Its a good position from which to harass the SE and provides additional income. The AI likes to expand north and connect the territories but this puts you with Rohan in the east and also the SE. It also blocks Rohan from harassing the west a bit. Gondor is your natural enemy which you can focus on, but it can be fun to let Harad take the brunt there.
Economy: Basically it sucks. Turtling with Mordor is a bad idea (TM) - unless you are an experienced player. Mountains are all well and good, but most of your starting regions are castles, not towns, so don't bring in the same income and the farming is pretty poor. You have to get out there and get some good income regions. Pro-tip: Watch for the region that borders Harad/Rhun in the east going rebel. Seems to happen a lot. If you can, grab it when it does and it will provide a nice income. Travel distance is the problem, so a general in Nurmen and a couple of spare units, maybe with luck recruit some mercs on the way, and you may just be able to grab it before Harad/Rhun grab it back.
Units: Horde faction so you know what this involves. However, the saving grace are Olog-Hai and Mountain Trolls later. But the big deal of course are your Nazgul, who simply speaking rock. Love them, use them.
Expansion: Well, its either into Gondor you go, or up north. Gondor is a tough nut, but why should Harad get those nice territories? I prefer to deal with Gondor, perhaps gifting Dol Guldur to an ally. Maybe you can convince Rhun or Harad to give you an eastern territory in return for Dol Guldur and Magabalung (damn, can't remember is name.. the one in the marshes).
Overall: Economy is the hardest thing about playing Mordor, followed by having to deal with Gondor's tough units and their defensible position. On the flip side, Harad can keep Gondor occupied. Certainly far from the easiest campaign.
11) Isengard
Early Enemies/Starting position: Not the best. A few regions and you can quickly find yourself being bordered by SE/Rohan/Eriador/HE. The only ally being OotMM, and they have their own problems, plus, that border is around the mountains... don't expect the OotMM to be providing your enemies with distractions. Still, plenty of rebel settlements to grab at the start. Be prepared for the inevitable onslaught from the AI Rohan. Keep Isengard defended, its a primary target.
Economy: Not bad, some nice regions, and grab the sea regions and get trade going with Harad. Also Isengard is a mountain region, so some good cash to be made there. Still far from the best though.
Units: One of the best horde factions in terms of units. Uurk-hai, crossbowmen, and your Wargs are slightly better than other orc faction wargs.
Expansion: The river in the west provides a natural defensive choke point to protect you against Eriador and HE. It can be a wise point to stay on your side of the river allowing you to focus on Rohan and keeping SE at bay. Gondor shouldn't bother you too much, but watch for them sneaking a stack up from their western territory.
Overall: A fun orc faction, but surrounded by enemies making it a tricky game. You need to protect every side.
12) OotMM (Disclaimer, not played yet)
Early Enemies/Starting position: Let's be honest, its not good. Limited movement due to mountains, your territories are strung out meaning they are all vulnerable to attack from the east and west. You can soon find yourself facing Eriador (although they usually have better things to do), HE, and SE.
Economy: Not sure, but i guess its ok due to mountains. Get the mines up and you should be swimming in money.
Units: Horde faction with little going for it except trolls (Cave and Mountain IIRC). At the start its basically going to be a game of swarming your enemies. Big long lines and encircle your foes, or just force them to run into the middle of their units disrupting their formations. Yeah, losses galore, but plenty more where they came from!
Expansion: What to do really? Its not great choices. Fight the SE in the forests? Ouch! Dwarves? Ouch! HE? Ouch! Eriador? A bit far to start with... but they may come close soon enough. You go in one direction, your other side is going to be vulnerable. A good move could be to get rid of the HEs out of Imladris as a priority. This effectively removes the HE presence in the middle of the map meaning less enemies to worry about. Then its either go against SE and help Mordor keep its northern territories, east and south to harrass Rohan which will help Isengard, or west and join up with your OoG cousins. All are pretty viable i think.
Overall: Far from the best in terms of units and nasty position on the map, means i rate them quite high up on the difficulty scale. One for the masochists.
And finally, last place, the hardest....
13) Gondor
Early Enemies/Starting position: Your starting regions are quite good, and defensible, with some nice expansion options, but you are facing two enemies which want your blood. Not to mention Corsair raids (and further nasties if you are using certain mods). If you don't deal with one faction or the other soon, then you'll find yourself facing full stacks of nastiness, which even though you have good units, can be a bit of a handful. On the off-chance that Isengard doesn't get crushed by the good guys in the north, you could find them harassing your western regions as well (although i've never really seen this happen).
Economy: Pretty good, but your units are expensive. One tends to offset the other. Also you are going to have to go on the offence quickly to deal with one of the factions opposing you, and at the same time defend against the other who will be sending plenty of stacks your way. That good economy is going to get used to the max.
Units: A very nice unit roster and highly flexible. You can counter just about anything you have to face, as long as you are prepared. Good armour and upgrades from blacksmiths make them very tough. Swan Knights charging a pack of orcs are a wonder to behold. But its all rather expensive. Of course, icing on the cake is your generals, mainly cavalry, but some of your starting generals have archers. Use them all in combat, they are worth it.
Expansion: It goes without saying, the western territories are good for getting asap and provide additional income without problem. But then where? East or South-East are the only real options. If you stay on the west of the Anduin you basically secede the territories over the river to Mordor/Harad which is going to give them an advantage. Best option is probably to try and bottle up Mordor and then go bananas on Harad, with Umbar a priority to stop the Corsair raids. Also the two islands are nice little income generators. Take Harad, and the rest of the game is easy.
Overall: If played right, Gondor can be fairly easy, but any mistakes/setbacks and you will pay badly. If you allow Mordor or Harad to develop and get a foothold, then you can be facing some really nasty stacks along with Nazgul and Mumakils and trolls and stacks from both sides. Its a campaign which you can win or lose early. Maybe i'm doing it an injustice by putting it as the hardest...
Well, actually that turned out more like a guide than an opinion, but took me enough time, so ill let it be.
Feel free to contradict my opinions!
Reply With Quote
Through that you can take whole Harad in 30 turns even on VH. When Harad is gone, Mordor is also no big deal anymore.
