Just finished my first campaign as Dale; some reflections
Dang, that was a whole lot of fun. I cheated and was playing a short vanilla campaign on med/med to see how quickly I could end it, but I still ended at 218. Some things I noticed:
1. I never unlocked the Aiwothiutha Horseguards (or however you spell it). My Rhovanion cities/castles never got big enough to make them, even by turn 218 and after making Uldonovan my capital. Is this normal? It feels almost too late to matter since I had basically won and was still nowhere close to unlocking them. Perhaps long campaigns give you enough time to recruit them, but this is my first run as Dale.
2. I was making buckets of money by the end of the campaign, producing troops/buildings endlessly and still making profit. The Rhun Sea area is loaded and its crazy how quickly I could support my armies. I found that after establishing a strong early foothold and economy, finishing Rhun was simply a formality. Lack of revenge stacks is sure nice, I see why they need them on VH/VH.
3. After Rhun, I had enough money to keep Harad and the Dwarves-Silvan Elves at a ceasefire (I didn't need to be dragged into a war by Esgaroth and Dale, risking two big cities). This let me focus exlusively on Mordor and I ended the game with Minas Morgul as my last territory, wiping them out. Very satisfying to say the least
4. It is cool to see how Dale's army progression evolved over time. I liked that I didn't rely on just 3 units at the start of the game like the dwarf/elf factions and made full use of the varied infantry. Rivermen were really cool, I wish there had been a higher level version of them. I ended up swapping them and the Hearthmen for Swordsmen and Gaughdraughts, leaning towards a heavy infantry build (especially with Bardian Marksmen as generals units, I recruited few archer units in comparison to my infantry). The Barding Hird, Swordmasters, and Earls coming out of Esgaroth solidified the elite infantry with Mounted Earl and Dale Cavalry support. Sadly, I never got the culture high enough in Barad Dur or The Black Gate to recruit more (but I will if I keep playing).
5. Even on short and med/med this campaign was pretty epic. The Dwarves annihilated the OotMM pretty early (which is why they kept fighting the Silvan Elves) but never conquered Moria. That means the Balrog never got released to my pleasure, but I wanted to see the Kazad Dum guard. I'm not sure why the Dwarves kept fighting the elves, though, as even with a reuinfied Arnor the OoG still held Gundabad and parts of the northern mountains. Of the remaining evil factions, only Harad had any real presence. OoG and Isenguard were both alive, though pretty contained. I only think they held their own because attacks on their capitals gave them free stacks. King Bard was slain after a revenge stack re-took the Black Gate and set me back a few turns in conquering Moria. Lord Bain was slain by a surprise force from Harad attacking him in Rhun, so sadly neither of my starting family tree got to see the game to its end. Instead, Hawain the Fat and his son Hawar the Cuckold ended up conquering Mordor
Definitely a fun campaign though, I loved it.
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But Dale is probably one of the most satisfying campaigns I've ever had. I think they're the most balanced faction in terms of difficulty and roster.....unless you play MOS of course 
Originally Posted by LuckyPistol
I usually get my generals killed when they get the Cuckold trait, or a similarly embarrassing trait. Were they all round awful generals or just have a few bad qualities that stuck out? Some screenshots of their traits might be amusing.
) You lose a lot of the edge your archers have in Vanilla. It becomes a more rushed campaign, as you want to get rid of Rhun before Mordor finishes off Gondor and comes for you. 
to install but it is most definitely worth it.
