Factions breakdown for new(ish) player

[zorphon]

Hey all, I was basically wondering the title.

I've only been playing TATW for a matter of days, but do have some experience with Total War games. (Rome, Medieval 2, Empire, Napoleon, Shogun 2).

Basically I was wondering if somebody more experienced, or maybe even a few people, could break down the factions for me.

In terms of both difficulty, and perhaps pro's and con's if you're feel super nice .

I've started a High Elves campaign until about 20 because I heard they were the easiest, or at least one of the easiest, but I find the distance of everything kind of boring.

I've also heard to try Rhun, but I am more of a good-faction kind of guy.

Thanks in advance all!

[francis86]

Play Gondor or Rohan for maximum action,it is more difficult but you can just lower difficulty to easy,not a problem and you will have planty of nice fight

[zorphon]

Play Gondor or Rohan for maximum action,it is more difficult but you can just lower difficulty to easy,not a problem and you will have planty of nice fight

Interesting. Any other input?

[Pyres Δt Varanasi]

Interesting. Any other input?

You could try Dale you start in a great position but you will soon find Rhun and Mordor if they focus on the north raining all over you

[zorphon]

Well I really enjoy the lore/position of the Silvan Elves, and I extremely favor bows over other types of units (I like cav too, not a fan for just throwing melee at each other and crossing your fingers), but I was getting destroyed as Silvan by like turn 20ish.

Not sure. How are Dale with archers?

[Garriath]

How are Dale with archers?

I believe they have the best archers of the non-elf factions, actually. However, I've always found Dale games very frustrating, and very difficult. Your primary enemy is the Easterlings of Rhun, who are very large and field very powerful armies. Your troops, on the other hand, are really quite poor. Your archers do their job, but your infantry dies a lot, and I really feel like Dale suffers from having the worst general unit of any faction. You'll likely have a difficult time expanding, and defeating the Easterlings will be quite a challenge. On the other hand, I've heard a handful of people really like playing them, so perhaps it's just my playstyle that doesn't mesh.

Anyhow, you asked for a rundown of the factions, so here's my $.02:

Gondor: great units all around, but incredibly challenging campaign.
Rohan: Superb cavalry, of course. Actually very good economically. Isengard doesn't present nearly the challenge that it does. If you like using cavalry, this is actually one of the easier campaigns, especially if you're able to go on the offensive quickly.
Eriador: Generally poor units (until you form Arnor) but you have a lot of allied help with your starting enemies. Good generals. I've actually found them to be a great faction for new players.
Dale: Explained above.
High Elves: Incredibly powerful units, but very sluggish economically, and, as you observed, their campaign takes a while to get started. Not very challenging, however.
Silvan Elves: More of a challenging start, where you'll be expanding slower. Your units are a little bit worse as well, but still very powerful. No major immediate threats from other factions. Honestly, from what you've said, this sounds like the best faction for you.
Dwarves: Brilliant infantry, awful everything else. I've never been a big fan, but others swear by them. Mainly fighting Easterlings and OotMM, but you get help on both fronts.
Mordor: Probably the easiest of the Orc factions. Cheap units, and your generals supply a reliable body of high quality infantry. Nazgul are very powerful. Still, you're up against some challenging enemies in the early game.
Isengard: Very weak, surprisingly. Your economy's in the toilet, and it takes quite a few turns before you're able to field enough troops to counter your opponent's crushing cavalry advantage. You're also surrounded by enemies, and your only nearby ally (OotMM) is unlikely to help you.
Gundabad/Misty Mountains: Both orc factions are currently very weak. With either faction, you're likely to be butting heads with the High Elves, the Silvan Elves, Eriador, and the Dwarves, and you're fielding the game's worst infantry. Not to say it's not fun (I've had a really enjoyable campaign as Gundabad) but it's a real challenge.
Harad: A very easy and engaging campaign, actually, good for beginners. Your only enemy is Gondor, and Mordor helps out a lot. You have a strong economy, and lots of decent troops. Very good generals. Your ships also give you lots of options as to where you want to fight your battles.
Rhun: Also a very good campaign for beginners. You're facing off Dale and the Dwarves without a lot of outside help, but you have some very rich cities and some very good units, so it's totally doable. Your early-tier clansmen have javelins, and can absolutely rip apart most enemies in an ambush. Your generals are also some of the very best cavalry in the game.

Hope this helps out.

[Keyser_Soze]

Well I really enjoy the lore/position of the Silvan Elves, and I extremely favor bows over other types of units (I like cav too, not a fan for just throwing melee at each other and crossing your fingers), but I was getting destroyed as Silvan by like turn 20ish.

Not sure. How are Dale with archers?

If you like archers and cavalry, High elves are a better bet. Silvans have great archers, but only one cavalry unit, a cavalry archer unit, which while good, is a cavalry archer.
High Elves also have excellent archers, but in addition, excellent infantry (eldar swordsmen are the best infantry unit in the game, as tested by me, not counting the unplayable dismounted black numenoreans who are ridiculously overpowered), and several excellent cavalry units. High Elves are only at a disadvantage in being in a boring position (OOTMM and OOG are boring enemies to fight, only isengard is interesting in their area), and having a poor economy in part due to their spread out area. I personally prefer silvans, however.

I like eriador due to their relative easiness, and the ability to turn into Arnor, who are like Gondor, but perhaps a little more powerful (some of the best cavalry in game, excellent archers close to rivalling some elven archers, and generally good infantry). Same can't be said for most Eriador units (few good high-tier ones), but it's an enjoyable transition.

For a peaceful campaign, high elves or Dale are probably easiest. Dale also have excellent archers, and good cavalry.

Least suited to your style would probably be Dwarves. No cavalry (some dale mercenaries), and only 1 archer, which isn't really, as it's crossbow.

[zorphon]

If you like archers and cavalry, High elves are a better bet. Silvans have great archers, but only one cavalry unit, a cavalry archer unit, which while good, is a cavalry archer.
High Elves also have excellent archers, but in addition, excellent infantry (eldar swordsmen are the best infantry unit in the game, as tested by me, not counting the unplayable dismounted black numenoreans who are ridiculously overpowered), and several excellent cavalry units. High Elves are only at a disadvantage in being in a boring position (OOTMM and OOG are boring enemies to fight, only isengard is interesting in their area), and having a poor economy in part due to their spread out area. I personally prefer silvans, however.

I like eriador due to their relative easiness, and the ability to turn into Arnor, who are like Gondor, but perhaps a little more powerful (some of the best cavalry in game, excellent archers close to rivalling some elven archers, and generally good infantry). Same can't be said for most Eriador units (few good high-tier ones), but it's an enjoyable transition.

For a peaceful campaign, high elves or Dale are probably easiest. Dale also have excellent archers, and good cavalry.

Least suited to your style would probably be Dwarves. No cavalry (some dale mercenaries), and only 1 archer, which isn't really, as it's crossbow.

Hmm. If the Silvan Elves had just a tiny bit of Cav (non missile) I'd choose them for sure. I really don't like how separated the HE are from everything .

Dale seem cool, but I can't help but feel their archers aren't as good as the elves, and their early infantry sucks.

Ugh. Just don't know.

Regarding sending spies to see what the settlement has, that doesn't apply for this game because of the massive garrison script. You won't know what the city has until you literally siege it. I was trying a HE campaign and had a full stack of troops and attacked an army near Moria, and the troops in Moria came out as reinforcements. There was 90 people left that went back into Moria, but when I attacked it, there were 1200 troops that just spawned ONLY when I sieged it. That's a bit ridiculous, and of course I lost that battle and ultimately campaign as I lost so much money and troops.

Hmph.

[Bob Doad]

well personally i like gondor cause if u rally their units and attack mordor through minas morgul i find it pretty easy BUT action packed like they said and your right high elves are boring mainly cause you will find you encounter no real challenge until u attack the unending stacks or Moria(the settlement) or idk isengard(?) although i found them fairly easy...elven archers are just...

[dannyalex]

If you like to test your strategy and military skills i suggest to start a campaign with Eriador.

From a personal point of view,i ll tell you that a long campaign with them maybe its not the better solution ,cause for that you will need ,40 regions and destroy both of the Orcish faction,north and north east from your capital of Bree,the only bad thing is with those actions is to desplease the Dwarves or even go in war vs them for the simple reason they target all the mountain regions and OOTMM,i personally believe that Eriador is wrong to target Orcs of the Misty mounatins and will be better if you select short campaign and target OOG and Isengard its more appropiate,

anyway the serious problem with them is their territory ,cause they suround from allies High Elves to the west,Dwarves in the North and Rohan to the south,the nice thing is that the High Elves are generally stupid due the lack of reunite their kingdom from mainland they target specific path from Lindon to Land daer and some times they claim Argond fortress,that leaves you only the narrow gap to expand from Tharbad and Argond if u are really fast,targeting ,

to recapture certain settlements that they are lost from rohan and now part of isengard is pretty good thought cause you as Eriador and Rohan (along with Dale) you have the same Northmen culture,in previous versions of the game this path was generally nice due to the fat that isen overhelm the settlements of rohan nowdays with 3.1 Rohan can defeat and hold much better,that is bad for you cause they block your plans of Conquer...or you just attack them...

Another great thing with them ,is they can advance at a more all -around army and state by reforging the old North Kingdom,Arnor.then your culture leaves Northmen and become dunedain which is the same with Gondor,by that turns 150-160 you will have to use Rohan as a shield targeting north and other expand from their settlements to dagorland and etc or recapture some of Harad coastal regions,Gondor is weak vs the Coast,i have never see Gondor expand along the coastal line,i mean Umbar and etc ,a great front base is tolfalas the island and thenm the other island across Umbar ,from there you can targeting to help Gondor and eliminate the threat of Umbar,but then u surely have to face Mumakils (omg) with simple Eriadorian army u are dead,,thats why u need Arnor to fight Mordor and Harad...

dannyalex

[zorphon]

Thanks for all the replies thus far, super helpful!

[Nemesis_GR]

Ok here is my point of view:
Gondor-very good economy/3 rich cities.Two front war/harad-mordor.All around roster-some of the best heavy infantry units.

Rohan-average economy.Starting with one front war-isengard but it will eventually turn into a two front war when mordor attacks u.Great cavalry,average inf/archers but good aor ones.(helmingas,riddermark axemen are elite).

Dale-good economy.Two front war with rhun and possibly mordor will join the action at some point.A good starting strategy is essential.Great archers,average inf-cavalry but great aor units.

Eriador-average economy.You dont start at war with anyone but you ll fight oog soonen or later.Getting to war with isengard/ootm is an option-generally they wont attack u since they are busy.They have the weakest human roster until they reform arnor with the exception of dunedain units.

Silvan Elves-average economy.Two front war against ootm and mordor.A good starting strategy is very important(for example blitzing dol guldur).Best archers in the game and excellent infantry(especially spearmen) but no heavy cavalry-only HA.

High Elves-good economy(but corruption ruins it-changing your capital to mithlond/elostrion is a must).Really safe starting position-you ll surely fight ootm and maybe oog/isengard if u choose so.Best late roster in the game.Excellent archers(but silvans get more men per unit),Excellent inf/cavalry,uber aor units.

Dwarves-good economy(but corruption and starting position ruin it).You ll certainly fight oog/ootm and probably rhun-this can lead to a three front war.Excellent infantry,two good misille units axemen throwers/crossbowmen,best artillery and no cavalry.(except mercs).

High elves are the easiest faction and thats why many people recommend them for a first playthrough.But they are a bit far from the real action.
Imo from the easiest to the hardest: h.elves/dwarves/silvan elves/rohan/dale/gondor.(for new players)

ps.the units info are with RC.

[zorphon]

Ok here is my point of view:
Gondor-very good economy/3 rich cities.Two front war/harad-mordor.All around roster-some of the best heavy infantry units.

Rohan-average economy.Starting with one front war-isengard but it will eventually turn into a two front war when mordor attacks u.Great cavalry,average inf/archers but good aor ones.(helmingas,riddermark axemen are elite).

Dale-good economy.Two front war with rhun and possibly mordor will join the action at some point.A good starting strategy is essential.Great archers,average inf-cavalry but great aor units.

Eriador-average economy.You dont start at war with anyone but you ll fight oog soonen or later.Getting to war with isengard/ootm is an option-generally they wont attack u since they are busy.They have the weakest human roster until they reform arnor with the exception of dunedain units.

Silvan Elves-average economy.Two front war against ootm and mordor.A good starting strategy is very important(for example blitzing dol guldur).Best archers in the game and excellent infantry(especially spearmen) but no heavy cavalry-only HA.

High Elves-good economy(but corruption ruins it-changing your capital to mithlond/elostrion is a must).Really safe starting position-you ll surely fight ootm and maybe oog/isengard if u choose so.Best late roster in the game.Excellent archers(but silvans get more men per unit),Excellent inf/cavalry,uber aor units.

Dwarves-good economy(but corruption and starting position ruin it).You ll certainly fight oog/ootm and probably rhun-this can lead to a three front war.Excellent infantry,two good misille units axemen throwers/crossbowmen,best artillery and no cavalry.(except mercs).

High elves are the easiest faction and thats why many people recommend them for a first playthrough.But they are a bit far from the real action.
Imo from the easiest to the hardest: h.elves/dwarves/silvan elves/rohan/dale/gondor.(for new players)

ps.the units info are with RC.

Thanks for the input! Really helpful indeed. What exactly does RC do (I mean I know it re-balances combat/units), but what does it do in terms of balancing units of the factions compared to Vanilla/BSC unit balancing?

Also, I started a Silvan Campaign but got to about turn 40 and realized I completely and utterly am helpless. I have like a three front war going on and the whole extreme garrison thing that the factions do when I attack their cities makes it so my one army had to be rebuilt almost completely every time I get into a battle. Extremely bogging on my economy. I would play with no garrison script in BSC but I feel like that's cheating in a way. . I didn't know how to keep my towns fortified from the onslaught of the ootmm and also have an army for taking rebels/ootmm villages. Hmph.

Also I was playing High Elves and my economy just completely got destroyed. I didn't know how to expand, because when I move my main army with Elrond into the Misty Mountains to take some towns/villages there, the garrison script and heavy reinforcements completely decimate my army, and I don't know how to rebuild it without destroying my economy at the same time.

I see all these factions expanding rapidly around me, but I don't understand how they're doing it. I'm not being dumb with my moves, but just don't know how to be everywhere at once. I'm not bad at the game by any means since I've played many Total War games, but I just can't find a way to start as any faction...

Anywho, I do LOVE archers, so I'm thinking the two Elven factions would suit me best. Plus, I like starting with less regions so I don't have the impression of feeling overwhelmed from the get-go.

Honestly in terms of units/lore/starting position, Silvan Elves interests me the most but I just don't know how to be everywhere on both offense and defense while not going in the red.

Thanks in advance all!

[Bob Doad]

PLAN YOUR BATTLES SAAAAAAAN i had 3000 elves fight at moria against four stacks of baddies with those huge balrogs on medium and i won and most of my army wasnt eldarwe you need to come in strategically by sending spys to know wat is waiting and look at the terrain and let them attack you on a good position...in the woods i imagine ambushes work well and in the mountains take the higher part of the pass(there always is one)

[k/t]

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=308845

[War&Politics]

Avoid Gondor for now. Gondor can be seriously difficult for new players.

ther eis only one tip for playing gondor on vh/vh. go to the white city and burn yourself on top of it.

[Bastard King]

Try playing without the garrison script just to learn the ropes. Than use the garrison script once you're confident enough or want a challenge.

[Keyser_Soze]

Try playing without the garrison script just to learn the ropes. Than use the garrison script once you're confident enough or want a challenge.

Only relevant to baron's mod, which is on a build which is to many people, unstable, and which is not being worked on right now.

Essentially, if it's a major city in LOTR, there'll be a garrison script. That's a general rule. you learn which are eventually.

As high elves, you really need to try and hit Isengard primarily. OOTMM, while boring and unit to unit, very weak, are numerous and in that, defensively formidable. the mountain terrain doesn't help at all.
Also, hitting Isengard allows you to better reunite your kingdom.

Additionally, play defensively in battles with High Elves. With an excellent range, most enemies die before they reach you, and those that survive are weakened. Also, Elven archers are very powerful, moreso than many militia units in other factions, and while not very numerous, they can definitely hold their own against a superior force to a degree. Killing 2000 with 800 or so is easy. i've known people kill 5000 with 2000.

Isengard will be enjoyable to fight and offer some challenge. Where with the OOTMM, their units are mostly weak snagas who'll die after 2 or 3 arrows meaning that battles are winnable as long as you have the archers, Isengard is almost all heavily armoured infantry who'll take many arrows before dying (unless you use fire- This does work better against armoured units. I can guarantee this. The difference is visible.), meaning there's more of a challenge in your fight. You shouldn't get any garrison scripts there until Isengard either.

Here's an (incomplete) guide to settlements with garrison scripts:
-Moria
-Rivendell
-Carn Dum
-Gram
-Gundabad
-Bree (?)
-Isengard
-Hornburg
-Foldburg
-Edoras
-West osgiliath
-Minas Tirith
-Erebor
-Black Gate
-Minas Morgul
-Cirith Ungol
-Barad Dur
-Caras Galadhon
-Cerin Amroth
-Dol Guldur
-Dale
-Mistrand
-Umbar
-Woldberg (?)
-Thranduil's halls
-Anzulzibar-Dum

This is an incomplete list, and I'm not sure all settlements here give garrison scripts. Remember that garrison scripts only fire once (I'm pretty sure of this, they don't seem to start after the first attack.

[zorphon]

Only relevant to baron's mod, which is on a build which is to many people, unstable, and which is not being worked on right now.

Essentially, if it's a major city in LOTR, there'll be a garrison script. That's a general rule. you learn which are eventually.

As high elves, you really need to try and hit Isengard primarily. OOTMM, while boring and unit to unit, very weak, are numerous and in that, defensively formidable. the mountain terrain doesn't help at all.
Also, hitting Isengard allows you to better reunite your kingdom.

Additionally, play defensively in battles with High Elves. With an excellent range, most enemies die before they reach you, and those that survive are weakened. Also, Elven archers are very powerful, moreso than many militia units in other factions, and while not very numerous, they can definitely hold their own against a superior force to a degree. Killing 2000 with 800 or so is easy. i've known people kill 5000 with 2000.

Isengard will be enjoyable to fight and offer some challenge. You shouldn't get any garrison scripts there.

Here's an (incomplete) guide to settlements with garrison scripts:
-Moria
-Rivendell
-Carn Dum
-Gram
-Gundabad
-Bree (?)
-Isengard
-Hornburg
-Foldburg
-Edoras
-West osgiliath
-Minas Tirith
-Erebor
-Black Gate
-Minas Morgul
-Cirith Ungol
-Barad Dur
-Caras Galadhon
-Cerin Amroth
-Dol Guldur
-Dale
-Mistrand
-Umbar
-Woldberg (?)
-Thranduil's halls
-Anzulzibar-Dum

This is an incomplete list, and I'm not sure all settlements here give garrison scripts. Remember that garrison scripts only fire once (I'm pretty sure of this, they don't seem to start after the first attack.

Interesting. I am using Baron's mod currently, and while I have heard it's somewhat unstable I'm using a modified script by Emperor of Hell that is supposedly fixing the main CTD causing issue. Also, it just gives so many features I want (like Total Recruitment!) that allow me to have more than just militia for the first 100 turns. Idk, it just has so many gameplay enhancing things.

[Nemesis_GR]

Real Combat rebalances units stats to make them as realistic as possible.Give it try you ll never play anything without it!(where is k/t to back me up?).
Btw i made a version for BS but i havent updated the latest version for BS since i dont play with it anymore.Too many CTD reports-turns take too long etc.

Anyway since u want to play the elves here are some fast tips.

High Elves:
1.Move your Capital to Elostrion.Set taxes to low everywhere and build farms/road/markets and maybe the town hall line in imladris until u get a stable economy.Maybe also build an archery range in Imladris to get Homeguard Warriors.And ofcource always build an art gallery first in the settlements u conquer.
2.Gather your forces on the West and conquer rebel settlements.(get Lunelaith and then head south along the coast).
3.Elrond and a small-free upkeep garrison can protect imladris so dont build an army there.Only recruit Homeguard warriors and send them to your main army.
4.When u are finished with the rebel settlements attack Isengard or OOtm.
5.Maybe you should improve your combat skills and especially learn to abuse archers.You can take all rebel settlements with zero casualties if u know what u are doing.

Imo play a full High elves campaign to learn the game.Silvans can be a bit harder.

ps.I never played with total recruitment since i find it too much arcade/unrealistic for my taste.I prefer the RR style recruitment KK made.I suggest u play without it until u get better.I guess it makes the game faster and maybe u arent ready for this.Btw doesnt the AI stack-spam become even worse with it?And with higher quality units...