Gondor needs a spear militia

[GondorCaptain]

Otherwise how else are you supposed to hold back hordes of Haradrim Riders, Southron Lancers, etc...

Gondor Spearmen are expensive, and can only be trained at Minath Tirith and Dol Amroth early on... very difficult to get them to the landbridge before your first wave of defenders are overrun.

Better yet does anyone know how to beat back Harad? After all they have only you to contend with, and have vast lands, deep pockets, and innumerable soldiers. I can hold back Mordor with the three cities in the Northeast, but Harad is such a pain...

[sanderman2]

Take the city of Barad harn (i thought anyway it is called so) and from there capture some regions in Harad's Area and then hold these city's until you smashed mordor back. then push back harad more and more. but youre right gondor can use spear militia

[Madari]

Totally agree, a spear militia will add balance to the game and will enrich the Gondorian roster

[Humakty]

If you want an easy start with gondor post your starting army, divided in three groups, at the three river crossings your ennemies are forced to use. Their armies will come to you spot you and regroup in one or two big stacks, which is exactly what you want. You then have to fight some big battles were the AI will amaze you with its river crossing abilities. You then have to choose where you want to expand. Following the good advice up there (to attack Harad) is really icing on the cake.

[el Cid]

If you don't attack Harad earlygame then you'll encounter trouble later on. I for example left them be and just defended from them in Linhir and southern Ithilien. Now, turn 110 when I have defeated Gondor they are wearing down on me and have taken 2 of my settlements and are now at E Osgiliath already.

I do however not agree on the spearmen unit. Gondor spearmen are easy to get to, and if you get Ithilien rangers very fast (practice range in west osgiliath) then one unit deploying stakes in front of the gates does miracles against Haradrim cavalry.

[Agamaran]

A faction without spears is silly. The spear is the world's second-oldest weapon (first is the rock). Every faction with opposable thumbs should have spears.

[Duke_Dutch]

Better yet does anyone know how to beat back Harad? After all they have only you to contend with, and have vast lands, deep pockets, and innumerable soldiers. I can hold back Mordor with the three cities in the Northeast, but Harad is such a pain...

simple, most units of Harad ( especialy the early types) lack armour. A army with many archers wil do great damage on them. When I played the Harad campaign the greates problem I hade with fighting Gondor was there archers. The Southron cavalery is fast and mobile but not every strong.

However I understand your problem. It is very hard to build another army to deal with this new enemy from the south when you have your hand full with holding Mordor at bay. the main problem I hade was the retraining of the units lost in battle. I used many missile troops and allways fougth on high ground so that my archer where able to kill as many enemy soldiers before they come close. Of course you need a bulk of infantery to hold the rest of the enemy army at bay.

[Hermes Trismegistos]

Also remember that Lossarnach axemen have a bonus against cavalry.

[Thorn777]

Also remember that Lossarnach axemen have a bonus against cavalry.

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[trollface]

in 2.1 Harad is very apathetic, they do not take barad harn or tolfalas, basically you get to attack them when you are ready so I don't see the problem. I actually have a hard time making them attack me! Best way is to fortify a large town with militia archers and swordsmen... you don't need a full stack lets say 5 of each type and a general.

As for Mordor...... Take w. osgilliath and cair andros quickly. Block the eastern waterway on your side with a unit, this will make it impossible for Mordor to cross and attack the castle. They will not siege e osgil so again you have all the time in the world to prepare. I would recommend wearing them down in huge bridge battles (the bridge between e and w osgil) and then marching across to conquer.

use faramir for defending a settlement against harad for the stakes. I think gondor needs a medium sword unit much more than an elite spear one from the get go. I hate aor units as I have to re-train them far away... a gondor unit with 12 armour 10 attack to balance the long wait for gondor swordsmen

[Erunion Telcontar]

An AOR early spearman for Gondor would be good, though. Don't add it as militia, make it just-above-militia but AOR only.

[Yarrum]

Yeah, never forget about your AOR's when playing as Gondor. Make sure you keep a decent amount of marines in southern Gondor and it wouldn't hurt to keep some axemen around. Try to get Lamedon to a minor city as soon as possible to get Blackroot Archers since your only other source of professional archers until turn 40 or so is Minas Tirith.

[WinsingtonIII]

Frankly, I would prefer if the Gondor Militia were a spear unit instead of a sword unit. Not only would they be generally more useful this way (most of your early battles are defensive, and guard mode spears are the ultimate defensive infantry), but it also makes a lot of sense from a roleplaying perspective. If Gondor is low on cash and desperate for soldiers early on, then why outfit a militia with expensive (relatively) and difficult to use swords? Spears are much cheaper, and a much easier to use weapon. Since we're dealing with farmers and townsfolk with little/no experience with swords, it only makes sense that they would be outfitted with the easier to use spear instead. There's a reason why most pre-gunpowder militias/levies in actual history used spears/polearms instead of swords.

[Yarrum]

I think the idea of the Gondor militia is that they're more than a few cuts above the average militia. Gondor Spearmen are the first professional troops that Gondor gets access to, so it makes more sense to have Gondor's first-tier unit be swordsmen. Also, swordsmen get combat bonuses on walls, and the only other sword unit Gondor has that isn't AOR is the Gondor Infantry, which requires the first barracks event. If it wouldn't affect the game balance too much, and militia units typically don't, I think a spear militia could be pretty useful.

[TheDarkKnight]

I think the idea of the Gondor militia is that they're more than a few cuts above the average militia. Gondor Spearmen are the first professional troops that Gondor gets access to, so it makes more sense to have Gondor's first-tier unit be swordsmen. Also, swordsmen get combat bonuses on walls, and the only other sword unit Gondor has that isn't AOR is the Gondor Infantry, which requires the first barracks event. If it wouldn't affect the game balance too much, and militia units typically don't, I think a spear militia could be pretty useful.

Especially since Arnor gets one, if I remember correctly.

[Russian Gondor]

No need for Spears. Gondor can get some Armored Spear Men by turn 5 from Minas Tirith if you upgrade the barracks once.

[brapollo]

You have Gondor spearmen from essentially the beginning of the game, Ithilien rangers from about turn 10, and (most importantly) massed general's bodyguards. Even your Gondor militia cavalry is good against Harad. If anything, Harad needs better anti-Gondor units, not the other way around. Especially in the early-going when their cities are so poorly developed.

I can run over Harad in 50 turns as Gondor but I can't do the opposite playing Harad fighting Gondor, even with Mordor's help.

[KnightsTemplar]

I think the Citadel Guard could be changed to a sword unit or add a new one as a 'elite' swordman.
This will be quite good, as two Gondor's best man is both spearman, the Citadels' and the Fountains'.

[brapollo]

The Fountain Guard aren't spearmen. They are armed with halberd-style weapons.

[TheDarkKnight]

The Fountain Guard aren't spearmen. They are armed with halberd-style weapons.

Look more like spears to me.