High Elf complete strategy: start to finish. For airborne guy

[3MKA]

I'd just like to note that the dwarves are not impossible to beat with the high elves. They just take more time and a lot more arrows (and troops) than you would need for other factions. Using the same hit and run strategy works well it just takes longer. Also in RC/RR I think they are more vulnerable to cav charges. Also in my experience you should be hitting their anti-cav such as halberds and pikedwarves and soften them up even more for your cavalry. Just never ever engage them in a siege, it wastes too much troops and too much time.

Going to war with the dwarves as HE is also almost inevitable in vanilla tatw if you are unable to secure an alliance or you decide to favor the Silvans whom they almost always choose to wage war against. It just happens much later in the campaign and by then you should have the resources to defend yourself from them.

BTW how do you take on Mumakil once you reach Harad? Most of the time I rely on siege weapons but that really messes with my armies' mobility. I also don't use Ents.

[Colorlessgreen]

I think i've lost this campaign now at round 87. Rohan has vanished under the forces of mordor/isengard, and Gondor, with three western settlements, is getting fingerbanged into oblivion by Harad. Dale and Eriador are doing good, Dwarfs and Silvan elves are completely passive (mostly dwarves though, these seem really bugged, having not moved much around on their forces).

I got massacred at Imladris at round 14 by an army of OoTMM where the banner was 80% full. I had Elrond, three basic archer units and 1 unit of those pesky peasents with swords. I legged it of course.. to the south-west, to my coastal cities (where i had moved my capital). At round 50 i had all the coastal regions except the Gondorian one down south. Also had Talris and Tharbad. Eriador was doing well. From 50-80 i fought of Isengard in my former rohan regions, also gave them back a Fort (they only had Aldburg and another minor region left). About the same time i got me hands on Thorins hall and bought that city just north of Mithlond. So i had a good economy at this time with good governes.

Never got other units than those i started with. at round 85 i hit the 12000 mark in Mithlond.
- Is there any way to raise the population % other than building crops? Human factions can build chicken/sheep/pig farms and crop rotation. Elves only get crops? What is this mischief?

Oh well, those 90 turns only took a day.. bah!

[Ramesses II The Great]

I just downloaded the game and started reading your guide, I have a few questions...
1) barracks are ruled by events now?!!
2) are their merchants for all the resources around the map?
3) what are the hidden resources that I need? It seems that every troop type has a hidden resource
requirement.
4) how do I build up my economy in comparison to ME2tw
5) I still have a general "what da F is goin on" feel about this game so any help or pointers would b appreciated.
Thank u

[smthhappy]

Well i noticed that 1 unit of "Dalesman" can destroy 1 unit of "Dwarven Noblesman".. it's imbalanced..

[Fingolfin89]

I have just a question for you guys: I'v been playing with HE for almos 120+ turns, and still I can't recruit HE elite units, because even if I've reached the tecnology level required, I just can't build advanced barracks.
So, do I simply have to wait a little longer, or I do have a problem?
Oh, almost forgot, I'm playing with TATW 1.4.1, no sub mods.

[Alex-ander]

I have just a question for you guys: I'v been playing with HE for almos 120+ turns, and still I can't recruit HE elite units, because even if I've reached the tecnology level required, I just can't build advanced barracks.
So, do I simply have to wait a little longer, or I do have a problem?
Oh, almost forgot, I'm playing with TATW 1.4.1, no sub mods.

I can recruit the elite units playing as the HE and i am turn 200. So if your culture is high enough Its probably because your cities are not yet big enough.

I am playing 1.4 so don't know if that makes a difference.

[Fingolfin89]

I just don't get it...Imladris and Mithlond are both Large Towns, so why I can't recruit Eldar Archers and Swordsman? The game doesn't allow me to build the last level for barracks and ranges, yet I have the last level for stables.

[Sunstorm]

I just don't get it...Imladris and Mithlond are both Large Towns, so why I can't recruit Eldar Archers and Swordsman? The game doesn't allow me to build the last level for barracks and ranges, yet I have the last level for stables.

I know this is a little late, but I believe you need to have level 4 barracks (for swordsmen) and level 3 archery/marksman buildings (for Eldar archers) which require a large city/castle before you can build.

[Gugarion]

Thank you Kilt! Extremely useful guide.

[SeekerAfterTruth]

I would also like to add my thanks for this brilliant guide

[Narf]

I read it all... And it was worth it.

[Josh Knight]

Nice guide dude.

[ealfing]

I just got TATW and am really enjoying.
Loved archers so I started at the HE
Thanks for the tips.

I am a little slow in my campaign right now. turn 70 with enlarged coast and taking out MMOrcs

[Lagbug]

Its been almost a year since my VH/VH HE campaign concluded. But basically most of what you have said here is true. Archers are by far the backbone of the army. When I played it, in the middle game all of Rohan and all of east Gondor was taken by Insengard and Mordor respectively.

The Misty mountain territories are key to make any significant progress in the campaign downward. In short Isengard's empire gone, Rohan gone, Gondor a slice of its glory, a march through the black gate and Minas Morgul to the heart of Mordor until the campaign is won. I see no reason why this guide wont work VH/VH.

[Barsoom]

Great guide, thanks.

Just a couple of points, mostly additions due to OOMM having been split into two factions. In general, I think it's better now to defeat OOMM north to south rather than the other way round.
- HE and Dwarves don't work together against the same enemy anymore. You start at war with OOMM, the Dwarves with OOG. Don't count on your ally to help you out, they'll be too busy elsewhere.
- On the other hand, OOG is unlikely to help OOMM for the same reason. As long as you don't attack them, you can limit the number of fronts you're fighting, especially around Imladris.
- It is possible to launch a very early strike on the northernmost OOMM settlement in the Misty Mountains (I think it's called Orc Outpost). Your starting army from Imladris can beat the garrison there and still move south quick enough afterwards to cut off a retaliatory strike from High Pass.
- If you're really good at battles, and have some luck with mission rewards (setting your capital to Imladris whenever you receive troops as a reward), you may be able to conquer High Pass in the same offensive. I managed it by turn 13. There's a garrison script you need to overcome but it's well worth it. Taking out these two OOMM settlements early has several advantages:
* It splits OOMM into two distant parts which will have trouble reinforcing each other.
* It cripples OOMM economically, not just due to the loss of revenues from these cities but also because High Pass is their best capital.
* It removes one front so you only have to defend against attacks from the south. You can leave the northern settlements (Dain's Halls and Gramsburg) to the Dwarves and the Silvan Elves. OOMM will rarely launch offensives from that direction.
* Alternatively, you can push on east from High Pass and sell your conquests if you need the money. If OOMM has taken Beorn's Halls, as they sometimes do, it is best to take this at least. Just don't try to hold on to anything east of the mountains. Also, you will need to build a new army at Imladris if your first army moves east of the mountains, so this is quite expensive. If you don't conquer quickly, it probably isn't worth it.
- Due to the distance from their capital, the Dwarves are usually keen on trading their western settlements against your conquests in the Misty Mountain region. I traded Orc Outpost (which I didn't want to garrison as I needed troops against High Pass) for Thorin's Halls without side payments. Use this to expand your tax base. Thorin's Halls is a good moneymaker and close to your capital.

Mostly unrelated, but still useful, I think:
- Your starting troops in the west can form two small armies if you leave your towns without garrisons for a few turns. This allows you to push for Lunelaith and Allimir at the same time.
- For your northwestern army: After you take Lunelaith, leave one garrison unit in the town. Send another one north to Thorin's Halls if you plan to trade for it. You can push for Nenuial if you want, but you'll probably be beaten by either Dwarves or Eriador. If you do make it there first, sell the place, preferably to the Dwarves. You don't need another front with OOG this early and you don't want to keep an army there. Instead, march your army straight through Eriador to Imladris. It should be just in time to form the basis of a defense force while your first Imladris army goes off conquering.
- For your southwestern army: Ship troops from Forlond and Harlond to Elostirion, it's quicker than walking. Try for Allimir first, in order to beat Eriador to the punch. You'll have Eryn Vorn anyway, Allimir only if you race for it. Isengard is sometimes slow to take Argond or Lond Daer but rarely both; you need a spy here to see which one is still available, if any. Don't get into conflict with Isengard just yet, you need your resources for OOMM first.
- If you intend to do some coastal raiding later, the island in the mouth of Anduin is a good base of operations. It's owned by rebels and rarely attacked by other factions. It's really undeveloped too, and stays that way as long as rebels own it. If you want to use it, take it early and invest. Mind you, this isn't economically profitable, it's useful for retraining and so on but only after a long time and only if you intend to go raiding later. What I did, was to send my starting fleet south to Eryn Vorn, pick up the southwestern army right after it bumped up against Isengard's boundaries and take it to the island. You only need the army there for initial conquest, so you can ship everything back except one garrison unit after you take the town. It's a long journey but you should have plenty of time before you need your army at Eryn Vorn again, as Isengard is distracted in the beginning.

Sorry for the wall of text. I hope these additions are worth it.

[delra]

I think you should push for cities north of Mithlond regardless of culture, they aren't much but they are close to the capital and they weaken your allies over time. I wouldn't hesitate to send Spies to the Dwarves in the mountains either. Their city rebels, you take it and no longer have border with traitorous bastards. In general every rebel city in range is fair game, giving up on anything makes no sense since Ai won't win the game for you.

In the long run you want to be in Rohan having Fangorn and Isengard as strong recruitment center that'll allow to churn out enough units to stop Mordor at this line. You also want Arnor to fail, get conquered by Orcs so you can reconquer it for yourself and create an actual connected empire with large profit and many highly populated cities.

[Barsoom]

@Delra: I agree, it is best if Eriador fails. Bree is probably the best location for your capital. My ideal High Elves empire includes everything west of and along the Misty Mountains and down to the Isen river. I also agree that Isengard is an ideal recruitment centers for a defense against Mordor. After taking out OOMM, it is best to go for Isengard next, take that juicy citadel in time to build improvements and convert it to your culture. Fringe benefit is that you buy Rohan some time while you wait for Eriador to fail and/or fight OOG for the remains. Fangorn isn't as important. You can hire Ents without owning the city, so it's main practical purpose is only to retrain them. You want this when you fight Mordor but you don't need it while you build up your position.

However, this is purely from a game perspective. Lorewise, I'll try to help Eriador if I can although I prioritize fighting OOMM (a necessity) and Isengard. In past games, Eriador was happy to trade for settlements along the Anduin, which have the Northmen culture, so it's probably possible to trade those for their remaining settlements in Eriador once OOG starts beating them. I've traded some but I haven't gotten far enough to be sure the strategy works for all Eriador settlements. In my first HE game I actually conquered Eriador after they attacked me, felt bad about it afterwards. Also, this trade is only possible if SE fail against Mordor and only after you start your war against Mordor, so it takes a long time.

Where I disagree, is that I think it's not useful to take all rebel settlements for yourself. I don't want to provoke OOG into a war when they aren't already at Eriador's throat, so I don't want long borders with them. I also trade less useful settlements for better ones, like with Orc Outpost, which the Dwarves like because it's closer to their capital while I get Thorin's Halls. Lorewise, I don't want to use sneaky tactics against good peoples like you suggest. I'll punish the Dwarves if they betray me, sure, but I'm not going to send in spies while they're my allies.

[Lemoniser]

Great guide +rep.

I'm part way through my first proper campaign and its HE on VH/VH and I like to think that I'm doing pretty well but this guide has shown me what I should have done. Also I'd suggest saying something about upgrading your settlements quickly as (probably just because I'm more of a general than a governor) I largely jsut left them and put tax rate as high as I could (which is now the bane of my existence because of the incredibly low populations).

Also this guide is now a bit outdated (although by no means badly) because of the OOTMM/OOG split. I never played anything before 2.1 but I imagine that one larger faction would have made things easier (at least for the good side ) Most things in this are still totally accurate though and (although I haven't tried it out) seem pretty sound, no matter the version or difficulty youre playing on.

[Barsoom]

Also this guide is now a bit outdated (although by no means badly) because of the OOTMM/OOG split.

Three posts above yours. Sorry for the self-advertisement but this was sort of the point of my post.

[cahaya]

Interesting read, with some nice tips. Also some of the replies have some good tips of their own.

I'm in the midst of a HE campaign now, on about turn 50. I opted to go for the west coast first, recruiting about 8 units and a vessel and moved them down the coast to take all of the coastal settlements south of Mithlond (where I moved the capital). I later reinforced them with another 8 units or so with a second vessel. Isengard beat me to one of these settlements, but I went ahead and took it, as the strategy was to move inland from the coast, whittling away at Isengard. Like you, I ignored the village north of Mithlond, mainly because it is not that valuable and it costs a lot of time to take and then return to the coast to sail. Meanwhile, Imladris is in defensive mode with just enough recruitment, roughly 6-8 units, to take out the smaller OoM forces wandering around near Imladris and eventually holding Imladris at the bridge when the larger OoM near-full stack shows up. Only on about turn 40, when an invasion is declared against Edoras does Rohan go to war against Isengard, as the HE forces have taken most of the settlements that Isengard and Rohan would contend for. By close to turn 50, Isengard is down to 2 settlements, Orthanc and Tharbad (which is about to fall in seige to HE forces) and it's a matter of a few turns before Isengard falls entirely.

With the entire coast secured and HE's back covered with allies (Dwarves, Eriador, Rohan), the plan from here is to take out OoMM and what might remain of the OoG (Eriador and the Dwarves are kicking their butt) to secure the mountains and forward recruiting locations (such as Moria) before going into the final campaign against Mordor. The plan is to hit Mordor from two sides -- 1) from the north, east of the MM, into Mirkwood to take Dol Guldur area settlements with existing forces bolstered with new recruits and 2) -- if HE can afford it by then -- from the west by recruiting and sailing an army group out of the HE west coastal regions for an amphibious invasion on Mordor settlements near Gondor.

Your guide took a slightly different route, but I think one nice thing about the HE faction is the number of viable strategic options open to them, without any one of these options necessarily being 'correct' (although one option or the other may lead to a faster win).