Mordor VH/VH 3.2 guide

[Alaeron]

Mordor guide for TATW 3.2, VH/VH
"We've destroyed the enemy!"

There is no guide for this version, so I decided to make one. It will very much be a work in progress as I will add more content in the future. If I make any mistakes, I will be happy to correct them as soon as I can. I intend also to add pictures in the future.

About Mordor

You have a pretty hard to attack homeland, but you can't stay in there forever and must go out and fight. Doubly so because of your less-than-stellar economy and limited building capabilities in certain regards (you can't build ports and can only make the most basic roads). Your armies are more on the quantity than the quality side, so make your numbers count in battle and don't be afraid of losses. Not too much anyway. And forget about cavalry, if you want it look elsewhere horse-boy.

Also, always remember that you have the most glorious of victory conditions: the complete annihilation of all who oppose you, Men, Elves and Dwarves alike. You will not stop until everyone either acknowledges you as their God-King, or lies broken under your black boot. Against the power of Mordor, there can be no victory. And there shall not be.

General opening strategy

Building orders: prioritize economy structures, and of those build the quickest ones to make first. The one exception is mines, build them ASAP. Lower taxes everywhere to promote growth. You start with a decently-sized force so you can wait to upgrade unit recruitment buildings, so you will have to rely mostly on "rabble" units in the opening stages. But it will be worth it, with a good economy will come a good military. I usually give the Black Gate and Minas Morgul a military focus, as troops built there will be able to be quickly deployed as needed.

Attack plans: at the beginning, get everyone out of Mordor. Leave one general and a few units at the Black Gate and Minas Morgul just in case, and get everyone else outside to start conquering. Make 3-4 armies of one general, 3-4 melee units and 1-2 missile units and send:

• one to the southwest to conquer Emyn Arnen

• one to the west towards Henneth Annun (wait for Gondor to fail capturing it, then siege them out, Gondor may attack you in the meanwhile so make sure you're prepared but they're usually small armies without a general), and remember this will be Gondor's butchery if you put your troops on the slope near the main square and have a Nazgul at the head of your army

• one to the north to take Thoronburg

• a few units to reinforce East Osgiliath in case Gondor gets funny ideas. Just leave one Orc Band in every other settlement you have, they will be safe. Siege the rebels out, you should not be bothered.

Also, there are a few factors that would make expanding a bit methodically rather than rampaging more desirable. First, your enemy is going to get more time to build things like paved roads and ports, second you are going to incur in pretty hefty losses (at least at the beginning) unless you overwhelm or mass-rout the enemy, and finally culture (but you can think ahead and have reinforcements ready en route to your latest conquests).

Agents: you start with two spies. Make the one near Dol Guldur keep an eye on the Silvans (they should not come too soon as rebel settlements divide your two realms, I suggest staying inside Dol Guldur as it is pretty good to defend, it may be a waste of troops and money to try to take the other little towns around it) and use the other in the Osgiliath-Cair Andros area to keep an eye on Gondor.

When you can recruit a diplomat, send him out to get at least Trade Rights from every other evil faction (except Harad and Rhun, you already have Trade Rights, Alliance and mutual Military Access). You can also take a throwaway settlement (like a village) and gift it to the Silvan Elves for peace while you focus your efforts elsewhere.

Battle strategy

To make your numbers count, try to surround the enemy with your troops as much as you can. Keep moving and don't wait for the enemy to come to you. Use and abuse your generals' special skills, like the Nazgul's scream and other orc generals' Orc Draught. They can really turn the tide of battle.

Your archers are never going to be that great, use them against the enemy's least-armored or shieldless units (like the Axemen of Lossarnach), shoot the enemy in the sides or back everytime you can do it safely, and use fire arrows when they're tightly packed so you miss less. Fight offensively, exploit every advantage you can take. Don't be afraid to recruit more troops, you will need them.

You also have no cavalry, save for Nazgul bodyguards (Black Numenoreans), all the more reason to take the initiative in battle and not sit there getting shot up and charged.

Have a Nazgul lead your most critical armies, they will send the enemy running for the hills if they have just a captain, even on VH.

After battle, there's no reason not to execute all prisoners. You've got to get some fresh meat from time to time. Unless you desperately need money and the enemy will pay you. And if they don't pay, off with their heads! You win either way.

As for army composition, make sure your stacks are quite large. You can't send small commandos on a mission like you can with other factions more on the quality end of the spectrum. You'll need the cannon fodder. I prefer to keep AP units (which also happen to have no shields) as settlement garrisons (if the excellent Morannon Guards aren't available), behind the walls and safe from horses and arrows.

Also, sieges basically nullify your cavalry handicap and allow you to fully leverage your numerically superior, mostly infantry army. So avoiding field battles with cavalry-heavy armies is a good idea if it can be helped.

After that

After building up a bit more, you should consider taking Cair Andros, I usually choose to siege them out. After you take it, reinforce it and consolidate a bit more. The armory messages should come soon, and then you can start making some good troops and think of going for Minas Tirith, through West Osgiliath. "Crossing the Anduin", if you will.

Emyn Arnen will come under attack from Rohan, sometimes immediately and sometimes after tens of turns. Either fight for it with tooth and nail, or just give it up. No reason to get a good general killed for that. Who cares, it's a small castle anyway, good to have but not critical by any means.

Gondor is your first real test, but after you conquer it Middle Earth's fate would be pretty much sealed for all the money you'll be making. Rohan should be easier if you keep besieging them. The Elves are going to give you hell with their arrows and I'd save them for last and recommend using catapults to crush as many of them as you can, especially their archers. All of this will be covered in the future.

Unit guide

Orc Band: the lowest rung, but plentiful. They will carry you at the beginning, try not to use them in a "straight fight" but give them advantages like elevation, chokepoints, etc. In the right situations they too can shine and can be a godsend when nothing else is available yet.

Orc Raiders: a slight defensive upgrade over the Band, they are great wall fighters both in attack and defense because of their sheer numbers. At least during the early game.

Orc Maulers: don't use these guys as front-line troops as they are not that resilient and vulnerable to missiles and charges (they have no shield), but make them support your lines or make flanking attacks should the enemy have any unit that is too tough for your other troops as they are armor-piercing. The enemy is sending his general at you? Introduce him to your Maulers, who are also effective against cavalry.

Morannon Guard: ah, now we're talking. My favorite early-mid troops. Good attack, really nice defense, big numbers, pretty cheap. Try getting them as soon as possible in your most vulnerable settlements (like Dol Guldur), they are excellent in defense but they are also pretty solid troops all-round.

Uruks: the mainstay of later armies, let them assault the best enemy cities. Not as plentiful as the previous units, but generally of better quality. Don't go overboard with them when you first unlock them as they are a step up in upkeep cost too.

Uruk Halberds: an upgrade from Maulers, and like them they are both armor-piercing and effective against cavalry. They can form a phalanx too. Best used in siege defenses, they can nonetheless be useful to have on the field to cut down enemy generals.

Scouts: bad archers at first glance, but they're better than nothing. They can cause some decent damage en masse, if shooting vulnerable targets or big blobs of enemies with fire arrows. If nothing else, let them rain arrows on enemy missile units as you have no "official" cavalry to mow them down.

Orc Archers: a slight upgrade from Scouts, not much to see here. Your archers are never going to be great, but in numbers they can still be reasonably useful. As with all of your archers, use them against the most vulnerable targets.

Uruk Archers: one more step up from regular Archers, yet still pretty mediocre at range. They are better armored though.

Mountain Trolls: these and their better-equipped brothers can't be kept as a free upkeep unit, so if you recruit them don't have them sit around and do nothing. They scare enemy troops and are good as shock units, but their numbers are low. That means don't let them get surrounded and bogged down or they will run out of HP and start falling. Don't think they are immortal because they aren't. Use them to turn the tide, not as your main striking force. Also, never ever send them against armor-piercing units to get slaughtered.

Olog-Hai: like the other Trolls, but with better stats. Similar use. They count as infantry so they can man (troll?) siege engines, and thus also scale walls. Yes, that's pretty hilarious to watch.

Ballista: better used on the field against massed enemies. They do allow you to assault settlements immediately, but they're often not enough to make a hole in the defenses so don't rely too much on them.

Catapult: the bread-and-butter of siege engines, good against both walls and troops. Try to have at least two of them in an army, one isn't going to do much. They can also be surprisingly effective in flaming mode, deployed in the main square a little distance behind your troops if the enemy greatly outnumbers you if you're defending a settlement. Turn it towards the street where the approaching enemy is clumped up and let it rip! Don't make them fire at units that are too close to your own orcs, for obvious reasons. Nicely roasted meat, hm hm.

Troll Catapult: a bigger, badder Catapult, guarded by Trolls in case the enemy decides to do something funny. Still, they're not immortal so don't let them get swarmed. Generally better, use it if you can afford it.

Black Numenoreans: absolutely fantastic cavalry. Not much for charging but to scare enemies and put up a pretty impressive fight. They chop down most units at an alarming rate and are extremely resilient. I've never seen a Nazgul general die on me. Don't send them alone to fight an army, though. Always try to have a Nazgul at the head of your most important armies, whether on the field or in sieges. Use them for hammer-and-anvil strikes, and when the enemy starts wavering, scream! That should be enough to send some units routing, if not almost all the army if they have merely a captain. If the enemy general gets isolated or decides to jump into the fray, send them to kill him! As a bonus, they replenish too between battles. I cannot stress enough how crucial they are to your success, they are the cornerstone of your armies, that one little detail that makes all the difference.

So folks, stay tuned for more. Pretty much every section will be expanded, more will be added and things will be made tidier and prettier.

[The Norseman]

Ah a fine tutorial indeed! +rep to you my friend! Do you have any screenshots to add?

[Alaeron]

Thanks!

Well, I don't know if I'll be doing a step-by-step guide that will warrant screenshots (like your excellent Dale guide), I just want to give a list of general advice, strategies and answers to common questions. Maybe in the future, in Mordor's case there's very few rebel lands to grab and you'll be fighting Gondor from the beginning so things can get pretty unpredictable as the turns go.

What I want to do now is to flesh things out more, and add a few images for the unit guide if I find a place that has them (or I'll just make my own if I can't).

[The Norseman]

Just use the Palantiri unit guide! you must ask him for permission first though!

[Alaeron]

I actually asked honga if I could use a few images from his Academy site, but so far no reply. I'll try the Palantiri in the meanwhile, thanks for the info.

EDIT: added a first draft of the unit guide, any feedback is appreciated.

[The Norseman]

Very good, very good indeed! The readers will take good use of advices regarding the usage of the various units the faction can recruit! +rep!

[Alaeron]

Thanks a lot, though your guides remain the best! I wish I had the patience to make them like you do.

[The Norseman]

I just listen to LOTR music whilst writing the guide. That way I wont get bored.

[Alaeron]

I listen to Summoning instead. Great "Tolkien metal" to listen to, especially while playing evil factions. Rhun, Baugilr, Where Hope and Daylight Die, Mirdautas Vras, all great stuff to go with this amazing mod.

Next up, besides the usual updates and polish, the One Ring section!

[liron99]

Great guide, I was wondering how to utilize mordor forces as their economy is pretty hard on the start and the AI armies tend to wipe out huge number of orcs...

I'll try that one now.
Thanks again.

[Malig]

I have 3.2 with MOS 1.5 installed and with taking everyone out of mordor except a few units to garrison I am losing around 3k per turn due to upkeep and wages, does that sound right? I don't see how sustainable it can be even with conquering cities/castles nearby.

[Flinn]

I have 3.2 with MOS 1.5 installed and with taking everyone out of mordor except a few units to garrison I am losing around 3k per turn due to upkeep and wages, does that sound right? I don't see how sustainable it can be even with conquering cities/castles nearby.

hard to say from what it depends, some ideas:

- check how many generals you have, remeber that in MOS you have all the 9 nazguls that costs you a lot already in terms of upkeep, so do not recruit more orc generals until you can really afford it. if it comes out that you have say 6-8 orc generals just keep the 2-3 best among them, send the rest alltogether in a stack attacking/harassing Gondor and use them for something good

- at which turn you are? at any rate the first turns for Mordor are quite hard on economic issues, you'll need to invest on the few improvements you can do (mostly mines)

- do not waste money in getting small villages, spare troops and Nazguls to crush Gondor and take their rich cities; for the rebels, look north-east between you and Ruhn, there are some towns there that might be worth to be conquered, but to turn your tide you need Gondor money, really.

- do not build any tanner or blacksmith, they are waste of money at this stage

can't say more now, perhaps if you let me know more I can help you better

[Malig]

hard to say from what it depends, some ideas:

- check how many generals you have, remeber that in MOS you have all the 9 nazguls that costs you a lot already in terms of upkeep, so do not recruit more orc generals until you can really afford it. if it comes out that you have say 6-8 orc generals just keep the 2-3 best among them, send the rest alltogether in a stack attacking/harassing Gondor and use them for something good

- at which turn you are? at any rate the first turns for Mordor are quite hard on economic issues, you'll need to invest on the few improvements you can do (mostly mines)

- do not waste money in getting small villages, spare troops and Nazguls to crush Gondor and take their rich cities; for the rebels, look north-east between you and Ruhn, there are some towns there that might be worth to be conquered, but to turn your tide you need Gondor money, really.

- do not build any tanner or blacksmith, they are waste of money at this stage

can't say more now, perhaps if you let me know more I can help you better

Yeah thanks, I had replied earlier but apparently it got lost. Once I managed to take a few gondor cities I was able to maintain a positive balance although I did end around -3000g before I was able to start earning money each turn.

[Flinn]

Yeah thanks, ....

[Wolfeson]

Great guide, exactly the format I prefer. I've never been a huge fan of the guides that want to micromanage your first 5-10 turns for you (no offense to those who write them, just not my particular cup of tea), and this one does a nice job of being helpful while still being relatively general. Good unit synopses, overview of early game economic and military goals, and general faction strengths/weaknesses.