Board Thread:Suggestions forum/@comment-26149161-20160101033812/@comment-26149161-20160118140558

But, the thing is, there is no balance in LOTR. Middle-Earth will always be lopsided. Good had better soldiers, armor, and weapons than Orcs. Sure, the Black Guard of Barad-Dur could probably kill a Gondor soldier, but a High elf could probably kill him. The disadvantage of good was a lack of troops, disunity, and reluctance. It is said in The Silmarillion that "orcs unaided could not stand against the Eldar." Sure, most of the greatest Eldar were dead. But the point remains that orcs were weak. How else did the Rohirrim kill 200 orcs with 115 men, and lose only 15? The Easterlings and Haradrim are the balancing point in terms of skill. An Easterling or Haradrim would probably lose to a Gondorian, but it would be a near thing. And they also had superior numbers. The thing is, this is how Tolkien intended it, and, at least in my mind, that beats making the game exactly even.

To replicate this, all orcs could be debuffed, but also hiring caps on units implemented. For example, you can only hire 15 High Elves, but you can hire 50 Mordor Orcs. Or 20 Gondorians and 40 Haradrim. Evil would still win these battles, but in a lore-accurate way. Making good stronger (and losing the filthy Warg Bombers) isn't that big a deal as it's made out to be.