Board Thread:Suggestions forum/@comment-31200097-20170602234523/@comment-26298013-20170718165840

I agree that balance ought to receive a quick change. ALL Orcish units should be weaker and cheaper than equivalent Elven units (And more plentiful when naturally spawning), with Men have the spectrum in the middle, with the Rohirrim relying on masses of cavalry and Gondor using a backbone of relatively expensive armored infantry, equal to even Black Uruks.

To go back to the armor complaint, perhaps iron armor could be made weaker in Middle-Earth, so that there is an actual reason to use faction armor. Also, doing so gives a range of armor values that can be applied based on faction---i.e., if iron armor now gives only 10/20 points of armor, then a gambeson can be equal to that, Mordor uruk armor could give 12 points, Gondorian armor 14 points, and Elvish armor 16 points. Or something similar, obviously the values are just roughed out. But in general, the orcs hammered out plentiful amounts of low-grade armor, Gondor crafted fewer suits of excellent armor, and the Elves take the cake at "Really, really, really expensive, but really good". Similar scheme for weapons. Men and other races fall between Gondor and iron armor, generally, with Dunlendings and tribal Southron peoples having really extra crappy armor (Movement and/or visibility bonuses to compensate?) and Dale having armor equal to Gondor's/the Dwarves, on account of the Dwarven smithing that forged them.