Tactics Against Factions

There are many factions in Middle-Earth, and each have their own method of fighting. This page will help teach you how to fight and defend against the different races one may face in their various realms.

Fighting the Wood-Elves
Though powerful, there are certain tactics that an evil player can use to get the best of this tree-dwelling filth.

The first trick to fighting Wood-Elves is: don't go mounted! I know it'll be tempting to charge in on your pet spider, but save that for Gondor. With Wood Elves, you'll want to be maneuverable, able to squeeze into small spaces, bob and weave. You won't be able to do that with a mount.

The second trick is: raid houses! Wood-Elf Houses are excellent places to hide out, and here's why: There's only ever one, maybe two Elves in there at a time, and it's always got some arrows, so you can restock your bow, and it's single door is a great place for melee defense. Simply take a few steps out of your door, lure some Elves to attack you, and then go back inside. Wait by the door. The moment it opens, beat up whoever opened it with your sword. It works against single, mounted, and multiple enemies. This tactic will keep you alive and swinging for a while.

The third trick is: do not use weapons with high knockback! Seriously, just don't! High knockback weapons will knock the Elves back, and further away from your melee weapons is right where they want to be. They're very good with their Bows, and you want to remain close!

The fourth trick is: take down the towers! If you're smart, this is an easy task. Wood-Elven Towers, while well-guarded, often have their soldiers spread out. A good way to take down a tower is to go down, take the loot chests and the food, then steadily sneak up. Go very slow, and try to lure the enemy down one by one to the level you've already cleared. The Wood-Elf Captain is easy to kill if he has no support.

The fifth trick is: do NOT get caught out in the open! This cannot be stressed enough. Unless you have an army to act as a meat shield, you will most certainly be caught on multiple sides by warriors and archers, who will then proceed to play ping-pong with you as the ball and arrows as the rackets. Only an army, or armor with high levels of projectile protection (e.g. Galvorn Armor) will help against this. You definitely want to stay in an area where you can duck into cover at a moment's notice.

Fighting Dol Guldur
Dol Guldur is a nasty place, full of Dol Guldur Orcs, Mirkwood Spiders, and Mirk-Trolls. However there are certain things you can do to cleanse this land of some of its evil.

The first trick to fighting Dol Guldur is: bring an army! In a fairly open and bumpy area that's crawling with enemies, having some of the brave soldiers of the free peoples help you would be a definite boost. In some cases you may not want to bring a large number of enemy soldiers into another biome for fear of them dying, but in this case you need not worry about that. Rather than strong and low in number like the Elves, these soldiers are merely mediocre and large in number. So you're army's size will protect it.

The second trick is: take advantage of local unrest! If the Orcs are brawling, let them brawl! Don't interfere. By the time it's over, many Orcs will be dead, and many more wounded.

The third trick is: steer clear of those Mirk-Trolls! They are surprisingly fast, and exceptionally dangerous, even if your army has large numbers. The best way to take these guys down is through range.

The fourth trick is: take those Dol Guldur Towers! Though these places have little loot of any value to a good-aligned player, but they're surprisingly low on guards! Kill the Dol Guldur Orc Chieftain, take a position on the roof, and snipe! These towers are slightly lower to the ground than some others, so sniping from this rooftop is easier.

The fifth trick is: Do NOT go into warg pits. Warg pits can be a death trap, because, while the wargs and orcs can be easily taken out, even from on the ground, you can still be overwhelmed. Even worse, archers can gather around the pit and shoot you down as you try to climb up.

Fighting the Uruk-Hai
The Rohan Uruk Highlands are a dangerous place, filled with tough Uruk-Hai armed with various weapons, including the Fire of Orthanc. There are ways, however, to defeat those pesky Uruks...

The first trick to fighting the Uruk-Hai is; make sure that you are well armoured and are carrying a powerful ranged weapon, preferably a Crossbow. Without a ranged weapon, one small group of Uruk-Hai Crossbowers can kill you, even if you are in full armour.

The second trick is: take advantage of local unrest! If the Uruks are brawling, let them brawl! Don't interfere. By the time it's over, many Uruks will be dead, and many more wounded.

The third trick is: go mounted. The Rohan Uruk Highlands is a very open space, and you'll need speed to escape from Warg riders. A Horse of Rohan would be your best bet for getting around the highlands. Don't forget to equip it with armour, as well! You can also use Wood-Elven Scout Armor instead of a mount.

The fourth trick is: make sure you know what Uruk-Hai you're up against. Ordinary Uruk-Hai, Uruk-Hai Chieftains, Wargs, and Uruk-Hai Berserkers can be defeated with melee, but you will need a ranged weapon or Spear to take down Uruk-Hai Crossbowers or Sappers.

The fifth trick is: when fighting a Warg rider, melee attack the Warg if the unit atop the Warg is a melee unit. If the unit atop the Warg is a Crossbower, however, then your best bet is to shoot the crossbower down from a distance while riding (try a hit-and-run tactic) and then take care of the Warg.

The sixth trick is: be extremely careful if you see a Warg Bombardier. A single one of these units can take you (and your entire army) out with a bang.....literally! Some of those Bombardiers carry triple strength Orc Bombs, so even heavily enchanted armour won't save you at point blank range. On top of that, a Warg Bombardier has a long sight and can easily outrun you. The only way to deal with a Bombardier safely is to shoot it down with a ranged weapon.

The seventh trick is: Do NOT go into warg pits. Warg pits can be a death trap, because, while the wargs and orcs can be easily taken out, even from on the ground, you can still be overwhelmed. Even worse, crossbowers can gather around the pit and shoot you down as you try to climb up.

Fighting the Blue Mountains Dwarves
The Dwarves of the Blue Mountains are not a numerous people, and so venturing through their territory is easier than most. But fighting them can be trickier.

The first trick to fighting the Dwarves is: locate their houses. You may want to wait for nightfall, as their houses are easier to see then. The Dwarven houses are fairly common, contain plenty of food and ale for regeneration, and aren't very well guarded. Excellent places to slaughter the virtually defenseless. These are excellent for raising your faction standing with evil.

The second trick is: strongholds are good to attack, but be careful! Make sure you've got good armor and weapons, and that you're fast! An excellent tactic to use is to get to a higher elevation and snipe any Dwarves you see from there, thus thinning their numbers before you enter. Then, approach the main door, taking care of any stragglers that you didn't before. Than, open the front door, get some Dwarves' attention, and then close the door. Smack them repeatedly as they open and close the door trying to get to you. Once you dispatch a few this way, you can move through the rest of the fortress. But be careful, you can get in sticky situations fast.

The third trick is: don't attack the mines! Seriously, unless you've got a good army, you don't want to mess with this. The Dwarves down here are thick in number, and respawn at a decent rate. Before you know it you'll be cornered, being knocked this way and that by Dwarven daggers. On top of that, the tunnels are very small, thus not allowing for mounted or effective ranged combat, nor will you be able to bring mounted or particularly large units.

The fourth trick is: ranged! Though the Dwarves are rarely outside of their houses or strongholds, when they are out in the open you have a golden opportunity. Dwarves, not being the fastest or longest-range species out there, are highly vulnerable to ranged attack. Even their axe-throwers are fairly short ranged, and not as accurate as the Elves.

Fighting Hobbits
The hobbits are a peaceful race of farmers, so they should not be much trouble. For all the weapons they have are substandard. They do not wear armor, they wear beautiful and ineffective hats. Their armaments consist of iron daggers and one of the most pathetic ranged weapon in all of Arda: the sling. All you need to kill them is iron everything and above. Their pitiful corpses often drop things found nowhere else, mostly food and pipes. However, note that having an army will allow for more efficient slaughtering, and more protection for when the Hobbit Shirriffs organize and raid you. Now go and crush the weaklings (if you have evil desires).

Yet it is not the wisest thing to attack hobbits when you are just starting in the Shire. While they are not strong, the Hobbit Shirriffs are extremely numerous, and a band of a few of them would beat an unarmoured wanderer.

Fighting Mordor
The evil creatures of Sauron have spread far and wide from the Black Land (Mordor). If you live near Mordor, with positive Gondor alignment, you will need to know how to deal with these creatures, as you will be dealing with them fairly often. NOTE: this will be focusing on fighting Mordor Orcs in Mordor itself.

The first trick to fighting the Orcs of Mordor is: bring an army! The Orcs of Mordor, though plentiful, are not powerful. Bringing a large army of a good mix of archers and melee soldiers will ensure that you keep fighting for a good while. Try 75% archers and 25% soldiers. Also, throw a dash of Gondorian Tower Guards into the mix, as they combine the best of both.

The second trick is: seek out the camp! These will often contain some semi-useful loot, and a trader who you can kill for easy alignment. Raiding these camps during breaks in the fight will allow you to restock, and give you some cover to regenerate.

The third trick is: be careful when raiding Mordor Towers. These contain good loot, but are festering with Orcs, and it can be hard to hit them from around all those corners. There's not much room for archers either, and your army can have difficulty following you through the towers. Also, they don't have much loot that's useful to good-aligned players. It's better to leave these towers alone altogether. That, or steal an Orc bomb from somewhere and blow it up. If you're bent on taking the tower, take excellent armor, such as Mithril, and plenty of Athelas. You'll need the regeneration. Go solo, an army will only get in your way. The best way to proceed is to run straight up the stairs, knocking off Orcs as you go. Once you get to the top, ignore the Mordor Orc Chieftain, and go straight for the Orc spawner, which is right under the center of the roof. Then, with the respawn rate down, you can take down the rest of the tower easier.

The fourth trick is: avoid Nan Ungol! Seriously, this place is sprawling with Mordor Spiders, spider webs and Orcs as far as the eye can see. This place will take you and your army, rip you to shreds, and send you back to Gondor in an envelope (if their faulty postal service can deliver).

The fifth trick is: keep away from dangerous areas! You may find yourself overwhelmed. At this point retreat would be the best option. However, if you're right by a ledge or lava pit, you'll be screwed. Even water is dangerous, as your slow movement will make it more difficult to avoid the archers.

The sixth trick is: Do NOT go into warg pits. Warg pits can be a death trap, because, while the wargs and orcs can be easily taken out, even from on the ground, you can still be overwhelmed. Even worse, archers can gather around the pit and shoot you down as you try to climb up.

Fighting Rohirrim
The Horse Lords of Rohan are among the most dangerous factions of Middle-Earth. They're powerful, plentiful, and fast. However, there are a few tactics you can use to counter the swift Riders of Rohan.

The first trick to fighting Rohan is: get a Mead Hall! This place is full of Rohirrim who, fortunately, are unmounted and somewhat drunk. This place is also full of food and Mead, so there's plenty of sustenance. Also, most Rohirrim can't get through a door due to the fact that they're mounted. If you simply step outside, lure them over, then start smacking them from the doorway, they'll fall much faster.

The second trick is: Don't underestimate the Rohan Forts! They're not too hard to get into, but the moment you get in you'll be swarmed by Rohirrim. You'll want excellent armor, an army of some sort, and some Orc Draught. However, this Fort has resources, food, and lots of looting opportunity. If you can manage it they make great places to raid, but if you can't, you will get knocked around by the powerful Rohirrim.

The third trick is: Bring a mount! They add extra defense and speed to your arsenal, and if you get into a sticky situation (which will happen very often in Rohan) they will allow you a swift retreat. Go into battle in Rohan without a mount, and death is practically guaranteed.

The fourth trick is: bring lots of Olog-hai, or Mirk-Trolls! They're the most powerful and resistant soldiers evildoers can bring onto the battlefield. They may not survive, but they will fight long enough to allow you a long march through Rohan.

The fifth trick is: rob the barrows! They'll have good loot, often including gold, money, and spare weaponry. These places also offer an excellent place to hide from large numbers of enemies.

Fighting Half-Trolls
The Mighty Brutes of the south are the strongest, tallest and most durable faction in this mod. Here are a few tips and tricks on how to destroy these evil brutes if you happen to stumble upon their homeland or an invasion of their kind.

The first trick to fighting the Half Trolls of Pertorogwaith is: use the Enderman tactic! This is basically hiding under any 2 block high structure (A tree or a cave) with roofs and viciously smacking. But, unlike Endermen, these do not teleport, and have 5 less health, which is 35 health, or around 17.5 hearts. Be wary, though, of their attacks. They hit hard!

The second trick is: bring good armor and weapons! These brutes hit super hard, so bring the big guns! Defense is the key, but dont let too many gang up on you! 5 can overpower you in an instant without good armor.

The third trick is: the tactic of running around. Running around in circles causes them to run in circles after you. You can then hit them into pits of lava, which is common in the volcanic wasteland of Pertorogwaith, or follow them into rivers, in which Pertorogwaith is abundant of.

Fighting Ents
The strong defenders of Fangorn, these powerful tree giants are the worst nightmare of many an evil player. Here are some tricks and tips on how to defend yourself from these shepherds of the forest.

The first trick to fighting the Ents is: do not stay in open place. Be sure to keep moving, because the ents are quite strong, and if they gathered up on you, you will be in big trouble. However, their slowness can allow you to escape from sticky situations if you keep moving.

The second tip is: bring a good ranged weapon like crossbow. Take advantage of your speed and their slowness and use a shoot and run tactic. Also, Ents can't reach very high, so try camping up on a tree. Try to use a weapon with both fire and infinity, as these Ents will take lots of arrows.

The third tip is: Use the Enderman tactic! Like Endermen and Half-Trolls they are big and tall creatures and cant reach you if you are in two block high place. Simply take cover under a tree and whack them to your heart's content.

The fourth tip is: Use an axe or battleaxe!! It deals bonus damage to these shepherds, similar to Huorns.

Fighting Gondor
The soldiers of Gondor are brave, valorous, and well equipped. These men are members of an ancient and noble heritage, and will fight to the death to protect their lands. With these tips, you might be able to make death come sooner than expected.

The first trick to fighting Gondor is: go mounted! In the flat plains of Gondor, the ability to move fast is definitely an advantage, but that's not the only good thing that comes with going mounted. If you've brought your spider from Mirkwood or Mordor, you can use it to climb the walls of fortresses and take the enemy by surprise. If you've brought your pet Rhino, simply point it's nose toward the nearest group of enemies and charge.

The second trick is: raid the blacksmith houses! The blacksmiths are alone and unarmored, and will grant easy alignment. Furthermore, the chests will often have valuable loot. However, don't use it for the lure-and-hit technique you use with Wood Elven Houses and Rohan Mead Halls, as it won't work with a fence gate door.

The third trick is: raid those Fortresses! These fortresses are easier to take than other faction's towers/forts, but only if you have a spider. Use your spider mount, and climb up the walls to the very top. Kill the captain, and use some blocks to seal off the stairway. Then, take out your bow and pick off the soldiers along the bridge and tower. After that, you can hop down onto the bridge and use the lure-and-hit technique to get the soldiers in the main fortress into the doorway. Now they'll be thinned out, and the rest of the fortress can be taken with little difficulty.

The fourth tip is: take refuge in the ruined towers! You might find yourself surrounded by enemy troopers, and you need some cover. Dash for the nearest ruined tower! These places are unoccupied and offer excellent cover. Climb to the top and snipe to your hearts content.

The fifth tip is: Bring a bow! Not as long-ranged or accurate as the Elves, a bow and arrow are great ways to slay Gondorians, and to weaken large groups of them.

The sixth tip is: raid those ruins! The tombs beneath the ruins have excellent loot, often gold, money, and spare weapons. All you have to do is defeat the wraith and the loot is yours.

Fighting The High-Elves
The first trick to fighting Lindon is: make sure that you have a mount of some sort! Most of Lindon consists of an open plain, and speed will be critical to get you out of trouble (which you're almost certain to run into when fighting the High Elves). Try bringing a Rhino. It will barrel through them, and will be a definite boost.

The second trick is: don't get caught in the open fighting the High Elves of Lindon if you can help it! The High Elves are the people who dwell in the last fair realm before the great sea. They are great archers and powerful warriors, and will fight to the death to guard their homeland. Getting caught in the open will result in the Elves starting the game of bow and arrow Ping-Pong that is a favorite of the Elves. Only Galvorn armor or other armor with high levels of projectile protection will help you here. However, with the right tactics, you just might be able to gain the upper hand. Try to stick to the woodlands.

The third trick is: be careful when raiding High Elven Halls! While not overly well guarded, they provide little cover from enemy fire, and stopping in one of these halls can end in your death. Do slay the Captain, however.

The fourth trick is: Have a good bow! Seriously, this is vital. The high Elves are immensely powerful melee and ranged warriors. You'll want to stay a safe distance away, preferably at the outskirts, striking from afar. You might want to steal a Bow of Mirkwood and enchant that, as it's rapid-fire action can help smooth out sticky situations up close as well as from afar.

Fighting Gundabad
Gundabad Orcs are some of the weakest Orcs in the game. With even decent armor and weapons, you should have no trouble at all fighting them. They are made even weaker by the fact that they only spawn at night. If you want extra protection, hire a few Rangers of the North or High Elf Warriors, and you should have no trouble slaying them, provided your armor is iron or stronger. A ranged weapon will make your job even easier.

The first trick for fighting Gundabad is: know how to fight Wargs. Make sure to hit the Warg, not the Orc, when faced with an Orc rider. If the Orc riding the Warg is wielding a Crossbow, however, shoot the crossbowman, and deal with the Warg later.

The second trick is: make sure you know what Orc you're fighting. Most Gundabad Orcs are weak; their mixed armour and weapons, along with poor accuracy, make them relatively easy to defeat, as long as you don't get overrun. However, be extra careful if you see an Orc with a crossbow; those Orcs do more damage than most, and can easily slay an unarmoured player.

The third trick is to lure them to nearby Rangers of the North. Usually, where they spawns also rangers spawns. Rangers of the North are great warriors and they can easily defeat creatures of Gundabad.

Fighting Angmar
Angmar orcs mostly stay to themselves in Angmar or the Ettenmoors, but if you happen to be in their lands or are invaded by them, here are a few tips.

The first trick is: If you can at all, stay away from the warriors. Morgul blade strikes can end your campain very fast. Evading the warriors is easier on a mount. If an utmost necessity, you can built a tower of blocks and snipe them from above.

The second trick is: kill mountain trolls at range. Normal trolls are easy to kill but mountain trolls can be devastating.

The third trick is: Do NOT go into warg pits. Warg pits can be a death trap, because, while the wargs and orcs can be easily taken out, even from on the ground, you can still be overwhelmed. Even worse, archers can gather around the pit and shoot you down as you try to climb up.

Fighting Rangers
The Rangers of the North and of Ithilien are some of the worst possible enemies evil players can get. While they are tricky to fight, they are beatable.

The first trick is: Use projectile-protecting armor! Galvorn armor works in this case.

The second trick is: Get up close and personal! Arrows are more likely to kill you when fighting rangers than daggers are. Iron daggers do little damage, and evil players must take advantage of this.

The third trick is: Stay in the open. Invisible rangers are easier to see in open plains.

The fourth trick is: Avoid Ithilien hideouts! While the above has been for set on both kinds of rangers, this is exclusive to the rangers of Ithilien. Avoid ranger hideouts at all costs. Many rangers are down in the hideouts, and the narrow entrance and exit makes it easy for them to snipe you. If at all necessary, use orc bombs to blast them open before going in to kill the captain.

The fifth trick is: Fight rangers near the border between the shire (or any biome you are friendly with) and Eriador. What this allows you to do is to lure rangers out of their biome and thus makes it easier to fight them when they're not grouped with 3 or 4 other rangers. This tactic is great when farming alliance points with Angmar.

During invasions, the Rangers have large numbers, while they're usually alone or in small groups. The best tactic I have found for invasions is to take cover, behind a natural defense or self-made wall. Then draw one or two to your defense. The rangers are easy to fight close up; they have low level armor and weak weapons. But during an invasion, DON'T go near the epicenter of the invasion unless you have galvorn armor, possibly enchanted. They are superb archers, not to be messed with in groups.

Last trick is: Take over the Ruined Arnor Tower! Climb up and shoot them with arrow.

Fighting Dwarves
The Dwarves of the Iron Hills are not a numerous people, and so venturing through their territory is easier than most. But fighting them can be trickier.

The first trick to fighting the Dwarves is: locate their houses. You may want to wait for nightfall, as their houses are easier to see then. The Dwarven houses are fairly common, contain plenty of food and ale for regeneration, and aren't very well guarded. Excellent places to slaughter the virtually defenseless. These are excellent for raising your faction standing with evil.

The second trick is: towers are good to attack, but be careful! Make sure you've got good armor and weapons, and that you're fast! An excellent tactic to use is to get to a higher elevation and snipe any Dwarves you see from there, thus thinning their numbers before you enter. Then, approach the main door, taking care of any stragglers that you didn't before. Than, open the front door, get some Dwarves' attention, and then close the door. Smack them repeatedly as they open and close the door trying to get to you. Once you dispatch a few this way, you can move through the rest of the fortress. But be careful, you can get in sticky situations fast.

The third trick is: don't attack the mines! Seriously, unless you've got a good army, you don't want to mess with this. The Dwarves down here are thick in number, and respawn at a decent rate. Before you know it you'll be cornered, being knocked this way and that by Dwarven daggers. On top of that, the tunnels are very small, thus not allowing for mounted or effective ranged combat, nor will you be able to bring mounted or particularly large units.

The fourth trick is: ranged! Though the Dwarves are rarely outside of their houses or towers, when they are out in the open you have a golden opportunity. Dwarves, not being the fastest or longest-range species out there, are highly vulnerable to ranged attack. Even their their axe-throwers are fairly short ranged, and not as accurate as the Elves.

The fifth trick is: attack at night! At night in the Iron Hills, Gundabad Orcs spawn, giving you backup to attack the dwaves.

Fighting Dunlendings
The Dunlendings are a rather primitive race of men, but all the same, one should not underestimate them. While Dunlendings should not be a problem at all for well-equipped players, there are still steps to take to defeat them.

The first trick is: Don't drop your weapons! Dunlendings weapons are mediocre at best, but if you drop your enchanted mithril sword, those Dunlendings will use it to cut you into pieces before you can realize what you just did. Take care to not accidentally drop your weapons when maneuvering.

The second trick is: Take a ranged option! Most Dunlendings stick to melee weapons when fighting, so ranged weapons do best.

The third trick is: Be on your guard. Dunlendings can hide surprisingly well in their home. Do not underestimate them.

Fourthly, take over the house and use the tactics same in wood elven house!

Fighting Utumno
Utumno can only be reached by going through the Pits of Forodwaith; simply getting to the Pits is a job in itself. Fighting Utumno is even harder; this dungeon is full of Orcs and far fouler things. However, with the right equipment and the right technique, it is possible to conquer this dungeon.

The first trick to defeating Utumno is: make sure that you are well-prepared before you enter the dungeon. Just before going through the portal, double-check to make sure that you're not missing an important thing. The complete list of recommended items is listed on the Utumno page, but in a nutshell, you'll need strong and well enchanted armour, strong weapons, and a bucket of water. Make sure to bring lots of ammo for your ranged weapon, and enough materials to craft another suit of armour/set of weapons, just in case yours breaks. It is recommended to use Mithril equipment. If you die in Utumno and re-enter the portal, you will most likely never find your items again, because every time you enter Utumno, you spawn in a different place in the dungeon. Remember to bring lots and lots of food, as you're likely to be down there for a while. Also bring some Athelas Brew and some red Ent Draught, as the Athelas will help get you out of sticky situations and the red Ent Draught will give resistance to fire.

The second trick is: don't fall. There are occasionally deep holes in the floor that can go down over 50 blocks. Using Dwarven Tonic can help you see these holes and avoid falling down into them.

The third trick is: know how to fight trolls. In order to defeat trolls successfully, you have two options. You can either snipe them from afar with a ranged weapon, or kill them with a warhammer. Either way will work, although the former is much safer, especially with double-headed trolls.

The fourth trick is: don't get overrun. Because of the high spawn rate of NPC's in this dungeon, getting overrun is a very real threat. A large group of Orcs can easily kill you, especially when they team up with other NPC's, such as Wargs and Trolls.

The fifth trick is: beware of the Balrog! Of all the foes in Utumno, the Balrog is by far the most dangerous. With a massive attack strength, and sometimes a Balrog Whip, this monster is capable of setting the ground alight and killing even an armoured player in a few hits. On top of that, a Balrog heals very rapidly when not in combat. Using a water bucket can help you put out the Balrog's fire; it will also hurt him. Ranged combat is also highly recommended. If you are forced to melee, use a warhammer.

The sixth trick is: find a Melkor Plate and stay by it. When you find a Melkor Plate, stop right there. Your next goal is to kill 15 enemies in its vicinity; as you do this, the plate will slowly rise. When you've slain enough enemies, a beam of bright light will shine in the dungeon. When in danger hop into the beam to be taken back out of Utumno.