Need help against Harad as Silvan elves

**method341** · November 21, 2009, 10:59 PM

So I'm in middle stage of the game as SE, but harad just keeps pumping out elephants and invading through Linhir (I control most of Gondor). I've got my hands tied up with dale attacking me in the east, and I've just settled a dispute with eriador. Luckily mordor is tied up with dale at the moment, and rhun has been wiped out.

What are some good tactics to keep Harad at bay? I've recruited ents but soon found out you can only recruit them once -_-.

A tactic I've been using against harad is using a lot of archers + fire with spearmen keeping the serpent guard at bay but they are too strong. Most of the time, my spearmen get routed and the archers are exposed to the enemy's infantry.

Help!!!!

**Jacobi19** · November 21, 2009, 11:04 PM

I think you'd be better off using regular arrows with your archers vs infantry, they fire faster, and with Elven accuracy, become a lot more lethal.

**method341** · November 21, 2009, 11:14 PM

I use fire arrows against the elephants to make them go berserk. That's the only way to beat them imo, unless you want to get your infantry squashed.

Ahh I just realised- how about catapults?

**Seleukos_I.** · November 22, 2009, 05:45 AM

Catapults work fine, but I prefer Trebuchets against Mumakil. Once you hit one of them, they'll all run amok. Though I'm not sure if Silvan Elves got them.

**stocker** · November 22, 2009, 09:05 AM

easy dude, just get one or two ballista missiles, and let them fire at the mumakil, as soon as one hits one of them, they go berserk, and hopefully wipe out quite a large chunk of the enemy army.

For the troops, just get loads and loads of archers, maybe have 4 SWORDSMEN (not spears) and just use archers, horse archers too, and ents

**Maxamus** · November 22, 2009, 10:07 PM

Ents on a bridge makes me rofl try it just run up and down bridge hehehe

**method341** · November 23, 2009, 12:42 AM

Hey thanks for the advice.

Is there a reason why you say swordsmen rather than spearmen? I guess spears are more oriented to fighting against cav, am I right?

**Outlawstar15a2** · November 23, 2009, 12:31 PM

Originally Posted by method341

Hey thanks for the advice.

Is there a reason why you say swordsmen rather than spearmen? I guess spears are more oriented to fighting against cav, am I right?

Sword wielding units get a hardcoded bonus when fighting against non-assault infantry (spears, pikes) and since most of Harad's units are light spearmen their lack of armor makes this fact even more dramatic.

**Misha97** · November 23, 2009, 03:03 PM

BRING IN THE SIEGE WEAPONS!!!!!!!!!!

**stocker** · November 23, 2009, 03:58 PM

Originally Posted by Misha97

BRING IN THE SIEGE WEAPONS!!!!!!!!!!

enough said.

If I had to go up agaisnt a full stack of Harad including mumakill, i would go for something like

2x ballista (maybe 3)
4 heavy infantry
4 horse archers
1 ent unit
Rest heavy archers

but obviously it depends on your fighting style

**Point Blank** · November 23, 2009, 05:33 PM

pikemen + raider cavalry

**newt** · November 23, 2009, 07:21 PM

I was just looking at export_descr_unit.txt, and Elves have bonus VS elephants.

All archers are +3
all swordsmen +2
spears no bonus or minus
horses -4
Silvan horse archers -4 (I don't know if it's when they charge or what-doesn't say)
Ents no bonus or minus

**Myshkin** · November 23, 2009, 08:39 PM

Originally Posted by method341

What are some good tactics to keep Harad at bay? I've recruited ents but soon found out you can only recruit them once -_-.

Never played as Silvan elves on campaign. At least can you "retrain" them? Can you recruit them again if they die?

**Vifarc** · November 25, 2009, 04:00 AM

Originally Posted by Myshkin

Never played as Silvan elves on campaign. At least can you "retrain" Ents? Can you recruit them again if they die?

You can recruit Ents as mercenaries in Fangorn lands, or as regular unit in Fangorn settlement.
Regular ones are as other normal units: you can complete the Ent unit, however it takes time. What is very good: Ent units have no upkeep cost!
For the mercs, I don't know. I didn't try them.

**Myshkin** · November 25, 2009, 05:42 AM

Thanks!

But you can't have two units of ents at a time? Is that right?

**Hermes Trismegistos** · November 25, 2009, 05:48 AM

In vanilla you can only get them as mercs - I guess Vifarc is talking about RR/RC. The mercs however have no upkeep cost, too.

I don't know about RR/RC but in vanilla you can get one unit every 33 turns - so if you keep them alive long enough (which shouldn't be too hard - they are ents after all) you can have several units of ents. Oh and as you were referring to the Sylvans, High Elves can get them too.