Sunday, November 14, 2021

Units and Buildouts for "Good" Commanders in Lord of the Rings: Rise to War

 

Lord of the Rings: Rise to War

How to max out your commander's fighting stats and Army


Lord of the Rings: War Map

Game Mechanics

Before I get ahead of myself let me just say that contrary to popular belief, I don't think there are bad commanders in this game.  Each commander has good and bad things about it and therefore each commander does well with some troops and build sets and worse with others. The same can also be said that the commanders have natural good matchups against other commanders and bad matchups against others.  Think of it like strengths and weaknesses in Pokemon.  

On top of that, Lord of the Rings: War is Risk for Lord of the Rings. Ever reached the end of the board in Risk with a massive army, only to roll bad roll after bad roll and lose your entire army?  LOTR: War relies heavily on chance.  Most of your commanders have stats that are based on a roll of the dice.  If they fall in your favor, your commander will perform much better in battles.

Additionally, there are four other factors that appear to play large factors in battles.  The first is your commanders level.  The higher level, the more troops you have, the more skill points unlocked, the more might, focus, and speed your commander have.  This means that even in bad matchups where your commander might not have as many troops or is against counter troops, you could still win.  The second factor is the size of your army.  If your army is massively larger than the opposing army, you're likely to crush your foe with very few losses, regardless of troop type or opposing commander.  The third factor is your ring.  Your ring type contains different types of bonuses depending on what type of ring you forged.  On top of that, there are four points that are critical battle points in the ring.  Abundant Wisdom, Abundant Dexterity, Abundant Power, and Powerful Sweeping all give your troops 10% bonuses in battle.  That can be a huge boon against a less wise foe. The last factor is troop type.  If you have an army of archers and you face dunedain, you're likely to lose a lot of men.  


Commander Types

If you weren't confused enough about all of this let's add the fact that commanders all have different types like support, balanced, and warriors. Each type has specific skills that will benefit you in battle against different commanders.  For example, support are great at healing.  They can wear down an enemy without taking much damage, so they're especially useful against the dragons and balrogs, but their weakness is fighting warriors because they don't deal a lot of damage.  Warriors are weak against balanced commanders as they can deal and heal, and balanced can be weak or strong against all of them depending on what skills you give them and what army they have.

The last thing to note before we dive into the actual commanders is that your barracks eventually maxes out soldiers, so early on you may want a lot of commanders, but it is almost smarter to have a few strong commanders that you plus out respect for than a lot of commanders. Level 5 respect commanders are always beasts.

T1

T1 commanders are the easiest to get in the game and level up, but they're still quite good, especially if you build up their respect levels.

Haldir

Haldir



Haldir is one of the first starting commanders you get upon starting the game.  You may think that means he's not very good, but that's just not true.  Haldir is a balanced and quite versatile commander.  Most will want to get him to respect level 3 and plus out his Beast Training skill.  With that skill Haldir becomes a formidable foe with eagles and beornings under his command.  That's not all he can do, however.  He can also be a skilled range commander with Forest Agility and Shield Training at respect level 5 plused out.  That gives his ranged units the ability to attack twice per round and increases their defense.  If that wasn't enough Haldir has the ability to both grant avoidance to troops through Marchwarden of Lorien, but also to give pursuit status and cancel out avoidance of enemy troops through Foresight.  And finally, Haldir can heal as well with the Armed Escort ability.  All in all, Haldir is a great commander and one worth building up and making fit your own fighting style.  

Units - Beasts - Eagles & Beornings

Faramir

Faramir



Faramir is one of the worst commanders to start with.  He can be used to do tips and well...that's about it.  It isn't until his respect his 3 that he becomes a pretty reliable commander.  The skill foresight can make or break a battle giving your units pursuit, which cancels avoidance.  This is a huge boon against evil commanders that have a lot of avoidance, and quite good against other support commanders like Gandalf the Grey, who gets some avoidance every round.  Once he gets to respect level 5 though, he really shines.  He gains the skill nobility, which gives all men under his command a huge increase in damage. He also has the Armed Escort ability that causes damage and heals units.

So in short, get him respect and have men under his command.

Units - Men


Hirgon

Hirgon



Many consider Hirgon to be the best T1 in the game.  He is a beast siege commander and can be quite good with almost any troop type.  He has extra speed with Gallant, and at T3 gets healing with Red Arrow and Reinforcement, and at level 5 he even gets avoidance chance, which if you didn't know can make you nigh invincible.

If you want to build him out for siege, give him some dwarves or Beornings and max out his logistics skill.  If you want to build him to be a warrior commander build it around fast melee troops and plus out Phalanx, Warden, and Defensive Stance skills.

Units - All - Best with heavy siege troops though


Boromir

Boromir



Boromir is another commander that many get early on in the game and many pass over because...well he betrayed the little ones. This would be a mistake.  Boromir is a beast.  He needs melee units and many will choose to use just one unit with Boromir.  This is because Boromir lacks a healing ability, but his defense builds for one unit each round until he almost doesn't take any damage in the latter rounds of battle.  That said, I never like to carry one unit in an army.  Why?  Because one unit means extra chances for your only attacking unit to become stunned or to fall into madness, or have their attack or defense modified by the opposing commander.  Yes the defense would build, but for me, completely losing a chance to attack one round is not worth it.  That's why I always bring two or more units. because while 14% less damage per round can really stack, nothing is worse than your army doing 0 damage in a round.  How then should you build Boromir?  Build up Heir, Nobility, and Warden.  They increase damage and defense and grant avoidance for one unit (once again this is an argument for Boromir with one unit, but it's not for me... maybe for you?)

Units - Men Melee Units


Eowyn

Eowyn



Eowyn is easily one of the top commanders of the game, but only when she reaches level 5 respect. Initially she is still a pretty good commander but when she hits level 5, she unlocks healing ability along with extra horsepower.  Her moveset is pretty simple.  Go for men and horses.  Many make the mistake of adding elves or dwarves since they're all cavalry, but her skills are specifically for men at level 5.  If you don't plus out Nobility then it doesn't really matter.  The same can be said about Defensive Stance. If you focus on that skill then once again the better call would be to just equip Eowyn with one unit (Once again, not my favorite idea).

Units - Cavalry and Men (One unit... Maybe)


Dwalin

Dwalin



Dwalin is probably the best starting commander.  His respect levels don't bring much to the table, but his initial skillset of Musician, Level-headed, and Relief make him a powerful commander from the start. One important thing of note is Dwalin doesn't favor any unit except perhaps the eagles as he is one of the few commanders that improves speed, and the eagles' power is based on their speed.

Units - All - with good speed bonus for eagles.


Merry & Pippin

Merry & Pippin



Merry and Pippin are just good support commanders.  If you play as Lothlorien and spawn near the Ents Merry and Pippin are the best units to use, besides that they are the units to use for tips as they can be used as two commanders.  Outside of that, only use them for fighting if you have no other choice.

Units - Ents


Ori

Ori



Ori is a combo between Merry and Pippin and Dwalin.  The initial respect gives him all the same bonuses of Dwalin, but also works well for tips and experience gain.  Later respect equals out with Dwalin, though in the end Dwalin is a better warrior.

Units - All - With good speed bonus for eagles


T2

T2 commanders usually come with bigger and better buffs than their T1 counterparts, but many of the better buffs are still locked until Respect Level 3.

Gimli

Gimli



Gimli is a powerful warrior commander, but he also has a strong healing stat from the get go.  Focus on Lockbearer, Friendly Relations, and Protect Elves.  Then run Guardians to protect two elven units like Bow Knights and Sentinels.  Additionally, he has Open Wound at R5, which prevents healing of one enemy unit during battle.

Units - Dwarves and Elves.  One dwarven melee unit to protect the elves


Legolas

Legolas



Legolas is an absolute beast at level 1 respect, 3, and 5.  At level 1 respect Legolas is great with Elves and range units and gets chance at avoidance.  At level 3 he gains dual blows, which can singlehandedly win battles.  At tier 5, however, Legolas becomes amazing. Add dwarves, to the elves and you have protection and melee attack.  He is hard to beat at any stage.

Units - Elves, extra bonus for ranged elves and at R5 a Dwarf defender unit


Denethor

Denethor



Denethor is a gambling commander.  His big stats revolve around madness and large jumps in damage.  The problem with madness is that sometimes your units will do that extra damage to your own units.  So... Do you like to gamble?  If you're not into that type of chance, he still is a great healing commander, and like Arwen, he only heals two units at a time, so it can be a waste to have more than two units under his command.

Units - Men Melee Units (2 Unit Healing)


Eomer

Eomer



Eomer is one of the strongest defensive commanders from the get go.  His skills make a massive addition to cavalry units' defense, but when he gets to respect level 5 he really shines gaining the heal ability on top of his strong defense.  The only thing to keep in mind with Eomer is that he needs cavalry.

Units - Cavalry


Theoden

Theoden



Theoden is one probably the best cavalry commander because his added healing stats happen at respect 3 instead of 5.  On top of that, at respect level 5 he gains initiative, which is what really makes battles.  Until then stick with healing and mounted units.  He also has the healing bonus of only two units.

Units - Cavalry (2 Unit Healing)


Balin

Balin



Balin is one of the best starting dwarf commanders.  His later respect values don't add as much but his initial skills are amazing.  He only heals one unit, so he is better to use just one dwarven unit with, but his strength is powerful.  He has the power to stun two units for the first four rounds, which is an amazing skill.  And Open Wound prevents healing of a unit in battle.

Units - Dwarves


Arwen

Arwen



Arwen's powers are phenomenal.  She is a healing master at any respect level.  You have to be careful with her skillset though as she doesn't do a lot of physical damage.  She is a great commander against armies that have armies of the dead.  Stack her with elven and men units.  She also has the two unit heal skill, so it is better to staff her with two units.

Units - Elves & Men (2 unit healing)


Gandalf the Grey

Gandalf the Grey



Gandalf is a scary opponent.  His dual blows in the first two rounds is amazing. He also comes with avoidance as an initial skill. Additionally, at respect level 3 he gains the ability to stun, and at level 5 he becomes the commander to take on Isengard and Mordor.

Units - All


Aragorn II

Aragorn II



Aragorn is a strong commander when used correctly, but his units can leave him open to attack.  He does best with men melee units.  His main strengths are his counterattacks and added defense to melees, but at level 5 he gains initiative and becomes a big foe to Mordor and Isengard units.

Units - Men Melee Units


Frodo & Sam

Frodo & Sam



Frodo and Sam are actually very good, but once again, their best use is with Ents.  Even without ents, however, they still gain avoidance and stun ability, and can be great all around commanders.

Units - Ents

T3

T3 commanders are all amazing out of the gate.  They all contain great buffs with initial respect and for later respect as well.  Consider yourself lucky if you pull any of these.  They have a .1% pull rate.


Gil-Galad

Gil-Galad



Gil-Galad becomes brutal from the intial respect level.  He gains stun, extra melee damage, and avoidance. At later levels, he just gets better.  The only to keep in mind with him is he is best used with elves and melee units.

Units - Elves & Melee Units


The King of the Dead

The King of the Dead



All you need to know about the King of the Dead is he stops healing. Full stop.  Enemies cannot heal, imagine bringing a healer and facing the king of the dead.  Battle over. On top of that he has chances of stunning and silencing foes. Besides that, he is the best commander for the army of the dead.  Just naturally, of course.

Units - Undead


Aragorn II King of Men

Aragorn II King of Men



Aragorn is another beastly commander. At Respect level 1 he gets all the healing buffs in the world and gains a sharp buff to allied damage.  His great skill though is the Return of the King, where the last five rounds he continually buffs his own damage to become a lethal weapon.  Once again his healing buffs work with two units and most of his later damage and defense buffs are only for men.

Units - Two units, Men


Gandalf the White

Gandalf the White



Gandalf the white has a weird moveset in my opinion.  While most other T3 commanders get huge buffs right of the get go, Gandalf's wait till he hits respect level 5.  At Respect 1 he does have Wizard which grants stun damage, which is amazing, but not as amazing as some of the other T3 commanders at the initial respect.  At R5 however, Gandalf becomes a versatile beast. He gains damage for cavalry units as well as gets a massive army speed bonus that is great for the eagles.  And finally he gets a healing power.  Once again the healing is only for two units.

Units - Two units, Eagles, or Cavalry


Galadriel

Galadriel



Galadriel is the best healer in the game.  From R1 to R5, she is absolutely incredible at keeping your units alive.  Unlike other healers as well, she does a lot of focus damage and grants additional defense as well.

Units - All (R5 offers healing for one unit, so maybe run one unit)


Elrond

Elrond



Elrond is an amazing all around commander to have.  He has Convener like Gandalf the Grey and can get initiative and attack twice the first two rounds.  On top of that, he gains most of the healing powers of Arwen and gets attack buffs as well.  His best units are for men and elves, but some of the skills only work on elven melee units.

Units - Elves (& Men), Melee


Radaghast the Brown

Radaghast the Brown



Radaghast is probably my biggest pick for your top commander if you start in the middle of the map like Lothlorien.  He is the best commander for the eagles, granting them sizable speed and power bonuses as well as the most healing skills of any commander in the game.  He also increases defense and has Wizard, so also gains the ability to stun like Gandalf.  All-in-all, he's an amazing commander to pull.

Units - Eagles!!!


Thranduil

Thranduil



If you're like me, you start wanting to pull characters by what they are like in the actual books.  So do I want Thranduil? Nah... he's a giant tool in the books, but in the game.... He's pretty formidable.  He grants elven ranged units massive defense bonuses.  Then he has avoidance chances as well as healing after every attack.  And finally at R5 he gets pursuit as well.  He's a tough commander to beat. One of his healing powers heals one random unit, so it might be smart to use one unit, but I honestly don't think it's ever smart to have an army of just archers.

Units - Elves, extra bonus for ranged elves.


Dain Ironfoot

Dain Ironfoot



Dain is another rather standard dwarf commander.  He has massive defense and strength bonuses with no healing.  His big addition though that other dwarf commanders lack, however, is the ability to stun almost on command.  His stun works much more effeciently than other stun percentages in the game.  Additionally, He gets open wound, which defeats healing of a unit in battle (Once again, this is why I don't recommend only bringing one unit)

Units - Melee Dwarves



Hope that helps.  Leave some comments on what builds you prefer or have found to work well.

1 comment:

  1. Love it!! Smart and you made me chuckle a few times too :) Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete