How does Eriador manage Harad?

[BoPoMoFo]

As Eriador, I have expanded enough that I am now facing Harad. My archer+cavalry approach that worked well against the heavy infantry based factions. But Harad seems to have quite different roster. So how best to defeat Harad as Eriador?

[LordBlades]

first suggestion would be turning into Arnor. As Eriador it's going to be hard, because your best unit have an AOR that's rather far away from the front lines.

[ShockBlast]

first suggestion would be turning into Arnor. As Eriador it's going to be hard, because your best unit have an AOR that's rather far away from the front lines.

Arnor doesn't have an AP unit but Eriador has.

Eriador is not that bad but as you said you will have to keep the flow of AOR units.

[Nastrael]

Harad consists of mainly cav, light infantry and spearmen, so a good balance of archers cav and heavy infantry is best. i typicly go for 5 archers 7 infantry and 4 cav plus a general. it works pretty well especially if you have gandalf as a general, his special works really well if you use it in sync with a cav charge. and Aragorn is good to have too. when i play as them i ususally keep my cav in the back with gandalf, ara behind the archers, and archers behind the infantry. this leaves room for your cav to react to any flanking oppertunities and they can easily counter any attempts to attack your archers. and the infantry are basicly meatshields for your archers and can pin the enemy down long enough for your cav to swoop in from the rear of their formation. dont use artilery in your army because itll slow your troops down and theyre pretty useless against harad unles they have mumakil which can easily be taken down with some elite archers concentrating fire on them.

[Mikail Mengsk]

Harad is lightly armoured, so go for archers.

Not too much archers or it will be too easy.

Buy some javelin just in case of Mumakil.

[Beregond]

Buy some javelin just in case of Mumakil.

and how much sense does it make considering he asks about Eriador? Mass-produced Lumbermen should do the trick instead

[eugenioso]

harad likes to mix it up a lot: they have a lot of light and medium infantry as well as a very good mix of light, medium and heavy cavalry. the best units to bring for the fight are a solid core of spearmen to fight off those cavalry attacks, a small core of archers and a lot of medium cavalry. battles against harad usually degenerate into attrition battles, with every battle always costing you some men, and with nearly no ability to resupply men. your best bet would be to land Harad´s coastal cities and capture them. if they are about to be retaken dont be shy about destroying everything inside the settlement, unless ofc you plan on using it as a supply point. attack the cities if possible, instead of going off to fight every small army that harad sends your way. siege cities and take them.

as for those damn mumakil, the very best answer for them are not in fact javelins, its ballistas. i learned the hard was as gondor that invading harad means mumakil, and mumakil mean lots of armies dead with nearly no losses to them. ballistas are cheap, and usually one flaming shot is enough to make the enemy elephants run amok or make them flee. ballistas ignore hit points and armor, and they are excellent weapons of death. always carry at least one, 2 to be safe, ballista groups with you. javelinmen are not horribly bad against them, but in order for them to be efficient they have to get close, something you dont want to do.

[Ngugi]

In case of Mûmakil, please access nearest catapult

[Vasterion]

I disagree with not taking war machines. If you have gold chevron ballista, then you are more than capable of dealing with harad. As ever, bridge crossings are the path to victory against monstrous armies. Flaming shots will panick the elephants; if they're in a tight area, then they will begin to trample their own units. Also I find its worth taking along 3 ballistas or so to make short work of raids.

The light horse you have access to are capable of taking on the enemy spears.

On the campaign map, make heavy use of spies and watchtowers so you know what you're up against, and you can pick your fights as well as having a couple of units within easy reach to provide reinforcements, as well as an army about 5 squares away with a number of replacement troops (namely spears and archers).

And obviously, get arnor. The heavy infantry are astoundingly powerful against the light harad units, even serpent guard don't stand a chance.

[Nastrael]

if you have artillery you saccrifice meneuverability for firepower. unless your defending the whole game youll take 3 turns to move the equivilent thatHarad armies with no arty can move in 1. if you MUST have arty keep them in a seperate group away from the bulk of your army (in a safe possition if possible so they dont get attacked by Harad) so that your main force can fight them as your arty steadilly moves along. if you find yourself up against mumakil with nothing to kill them with (javelins and arty arethe best counters but concentrated archer fire works just as well) pull back and group up with the artillery unit you have in reserve.

[Nastrael]

also if you didnt notice the Haradrim army is a light one, meaning they are a much more mobile and flexible force. so you need to match their speed or risk getting outmeneuvered or cut off.

[Vasterion]

also if you didnt notice the Haradrim army is a light one, meaning they are a much more mobile and flexible force. so you need to match their speed or risk getting outmeneuvered or cut off.

The ai is far too predictable. Also, I said use scouts. This could be actual scouts, or light horse. Also at the end of the day, unless you go all cav, then harad will still outmaneuvre you. Taking artillery is far easier to counter elephants and half trolls than your distinctly poorcavalry or hard to retrain elite aor units. You may move slower, but you have less to fear, and with proper scouting you can avoid most enemies, doubly so if you can force 2 fronts (say linhir and osgiliath).

[Mikail Mengsk]

Well, it's hard to be outmanoeuvered by the AI...

[TheCobra]

OP, is King Aragorn still alive? if so, you might have a chance at becoming Arnor, and therefore getting extremely good heavy infantry and cavalry, while keeping almost all Eriador Units.

[PierreBezuhoff]

Harad is very mobile and cavalry driven. Go heavy on the spears and protect your archers. That should be your basic strategy. For mumakils, have one or two catapults on hand in order to frenzy them.