Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
[[folder:''The Elder Scrolls: Total War'']]
''Franchise/TheElderScrolls: Total War''
* Imperials: ''Balanced/Generalist''. As the most balanced race in Tamriel, the Imperials have a varied unit roster not lacking in any particular regard and actually many of the strongest options. Imperial racial traits for commanders give bonuses to decreasing unrest, using siege equipment in battles and decreasing the costs of units.
** Empire of Tamriel: ''Economist''. You can recruit Imperial Legion units from core Cyrodiilic provinces and weaker auxiliary legion units from far-flung provinces; this presents a challenge because you will likely be attacked from all sides and experience uprisings within your territory too, so you might find yourself holding the line with the local stop-gap troops until TheCavalry arrives from the Cyrodiil heartland. In addition you also have the various Knights of the Nine units, two factional mage units, and the largest and most developed city on the map - the Imperial City. You also control the economically important Rumare Bay area and several vassals across the continent. Basically you are England from ''MTWII: Britannia'' or the Western Roman Empire in ''Atilla'', on paper you're the military and economic superpower but you ''will'' need all that power because everyone else will be gunning for you.
** Kingdom of Colovia/Kingdom of Cyrodiil: Roughly similar roster to the Empire, but you start as their vassal with a smaller territory in western Cyrodiil. This is a double-edged sword, because while the Empire will protect you, it limits your expansion options until they wane sufficiently enough that you can safely betray them. You do also get a unique knightly unit, the Knights of the Hour.
* Nords: ''Balanced/Brute/Two-Handed Infantry Specialist''. The Nords have a fairly good position to start with as they have a collection of fairly developed settlements and a territory protected by vast mountain ranges to the west, east and south. Nords can recruit superior infantry options, with two-handed swordsmen and axemen devastating on the charge with good morale too. You also have the Nine Divines religion, making expansion out of Skyrim proper relatively pain-free. However you pay the price in other areas: the Nords' cavalry selection is limited, they have no native mage units apart from inferior College of Winterhold mages, and their naval power is poor, leaving them vulnerable to a northern seaborne invasion. Nord racial traits for commanders improve command, morale and hitpoints for infantry as well as economic bonuses for mines.
** Haafingar Hold: ''Balanced/Economist''. Haafingar is the hold of the recognised High King of Skyrim, relatively cosmopolitan and civilised, and has Eastmarch as a vassal. You have a strong economic position but watch out for the growing threat of the Reachmen and possibly Orsinium. Also keep in mind Eastmarch will likely not be your willing subjects for long.
** Eastmarch Hold: ''Elitist/Brute''. Eastmarch gets a unique Stormcloak unit roster with a bit more variety, and their position next to Fort Dawnguard allows them to a route to gain powerful vampire hunter infantry and crossbowmen. Your chief threats will be the Dunmer to the east as well as [[spoiler:the possible Akaviri invasions in late-game.]]
* Bretons: ''Spammer/Economist''. The Iliac Bay is one of the most powerful economic regions in the game if unified, many of the towns have a great deal of development and advanced for navy building. Even though their martial units are quite weak by the standards of the races of men, they have a nice selection of factional mages. Many of these petty kingdoms are fairly small and Orsinium presents a serious threat if not handled carefully. Breton racial traits increase the value of trade and farming as well as commanding mage units, but nothing to really help your military units.
** Kingdom of Wayrest: ''Economist/Cavalry Specialist''. Wayrest is relatively rich by the standards of the Breton kingdoms, and has access to powerful heavy cavalry options like the Knights of the Rose -- though their infantry are a bit weak.
** Kingdom of Daggerfall: ''Brute''. Daggerfall has access to powerful infantry and cavalry units, but few elite archers meaning they might struggle against armoured units at range. They have the powerful Knights of the Dragon.
** Kingdom of Shornhelm: ''Elitist''. Focus on elite heavy infantry and missile troops, but limited elite cavalry. They get Rivenspire Vampire Hunters, to help quell potential vampire insurrections in your lands. Unfortunately you also are relatively poor next to the other Breton factions and you're right in Orsinium's firing line at start. This is probably Bretons on hard mode, so have fun.
** Kingdom of Evermore: ''Ranger/Guerrilla''. Evermore borders several threats including the Redguards of Hammerfell and the Reach, giving them a unique perspective on warfare. They forgo the traditional Breton knights and cavalry in favour of lighter skirmish infantry and missile cavalry with javelins.
* Redguards: ''Spammer/Berserker/Ranger''. The Redguards have a focus on lighter units with high attack power but less protection, especially cavalry and archers. Their economy is fairly weak to start with, but you can recruit military units from cities owing to their martial culture and there is room for development. Redguards culturally distrust magic so they have no factional mage units to speak of. Their lands are split between two Clans listed below who vie for control of Hammerfell before turning their gaze outwards. Redguard racial traits increase their cavalry command, trade and piety.
** Clan of Crowns: ''Brute''. Slightly weaker economic position with their lands divided, but stronger unit roster boasting good infantry and the Katafracts cavalry.
** Clan of Forebears: ''Ranger''. Slightly weaker units but a better position. Your lands are located on the Iliac Bay making trade with the Breton realms achievable. You have more unique archers and "medium" cavalry like the Knights of the Moon and the Knights of the Wheel.
* Kingdom of Orsinium: ''Elitist/Horde''. The Orcs are the finest armoursmiths and heavy infantry in Tamriel and it shows in their roster. You have all armour upgrades available immediately, and excellent LightningBruiser infantry along with archers who can deploy stakes -- though no cavalry to speak of and one factional mage unit which isn't really the best. If they lose all their settlements they can become a roving horde until they conquer more; something to keep in mind when under continual crusader attacks from the Breton realms and the Redguard clans (trust me they will be out for your blood). Orsimer racial traits significantly improves their troop's morale, hitpoints, mining, command when fighting Redguards or Bretons, and money gained from looting.
* Dunmer: ''Generalist/Ranger/Technical''. The Dunmer are fairly balanced as races go, mainly focusing on infantry with plenty of unique options for that. Only Morrowind is a crowded land which is often devastated by clan warfare and in the Fourth Era by volcanic eruptions and Argonian invasions, making economic development difficult. Dunmer racial traits improves their command when defending and when using mages, while also increasing value of trade and piety.
** Tribunal Temple/Great House Indoril: ''Elitist''. The Tribunal Temple has three powerful generals who are basically immortal demi-gods, and access to some really powerful special units. But you start in the middle of Morrowind surrounded by hostile neighbours.
** Great House Hlaalu: ''Diplomat''. As one of the less xenophobic Dunmer factions, Hlaalu has strong diplomatic ties to the Empire and a very balanced roster including rare pikemen and horse archers.
** Great House Redoran: ''Brute''. Conflicts with the Nords and the Ashlanders have given House Redoran a strong martial inclination. They have some of the best heavy infantry of all the Dunmer and among the best in the game, with strong cavalry too, but weaker missile troops.
** Great House Telvanni: ''Gimmick/Research''. This is the only Dunmer house with access to a unique factional mage unit, and they get access to mages as a general's bodyguard too. Their infantry selection is also quite good.
** Great House Dres: ''Spammer/Technical''. The weakest roster among the Dunmer, low quality melee infantry but it has Argonian SlaveMooks to bolster their armies, as well as solid cavalry and a mage unit.
** Ashlander Clans: ''Ranger/Technical/Gimmick''. Northern cousins of the Dumner houses with access to strong archers and missile cavalry and large, highly mobile armies. Ashlander racial traits give them large bonus to looting, trade, ambush, piety, command when using cavalry, recruiting units and small bonus to movement points. They are a horde faction who start without a settlement to call home, but they have permanent named forts to act as something of a power base. It also bares noting they do not share their religion with the other Dunmer (worshipping the Daedra rather than the Tribunal), making diplomacy and expansion tricky.
** Great House Dagoth: ''Spammer/Technical/Pariah''. Technically a Dunmer faction but in practice really not. Dagoth has access to many undead and monstrous creatures, with large unit sizes. They have few missiles but the ones they do have are mages. Many of their units are also quite scary, letting them break enemy morale. However they have a fairly bad start, because they follow a different religion from the rest of Morrowind and stand alone against all the other Dunmer factions who hate their guts.
* Black Marsh/Kingdom of Argonia: ''Guerrilla/Turtle/Gimmick''. The Argonians have a roster focusing on light skirmisher and missile infantry which are also fast-moving and amphibious, allowing them to cross the sea via rivers. The Argonians can horde, allowing them to persist after their settlements are taken, a prospect easier said than done given how the terrain favours them strongly. However many of their settlements are poorly developed, their strange culture and religion leave them few prospects for allies outside Black Marsh, and they have a very limited list of cavalry and mages to choose from. Their racial traits give them bonus for ambush, health, and bonus command when fighting the Dunmer.
* Khajiit: ''Balanced/Technical/Economist''. The Khajiit enjoy a relatively safe starting position as the Empire is often otherwise occupied and too busy to help the Wood Elves of Valenwood who will likely be your first victims. Your unit roster has a good variety of lighter infantry and missile troops on foot. You have plentiful access to mercenaries and many kinds of special unit for hire, and cities with the economic development to support them. However you have fractured lands surrounded by rebel settlements to gobble up before you can call Elsweyr properly unified and your access to magic is not great. Khajiit racial traits increases their trade and command when fighting night battles, giving them a useful strategic advantage.
** Kingdom of Pelletine: ''Ranger''. Tend to have lighter strike infantry and archers, with Moon Archers being among the best available to any faction. You also don't start with a large city, the nearest being the rebel-held city of Torval.
** Kingdom of Anequina: ''Elitist''. Generally stronger than Pelletine in regards to infantry and cavalry, with access to unique missile cavalry.
* Kingdom of Valenwood: ''Guerrilla/Ranger''. The Wood Elves are simply put the finest archers in Tamriel, with deadly missile skirmishers as well as fairly strong hybrid bow and sword infantry equally capable in melee or at a distance. They can also potentially revive the Ayleid culture and recruit some really strong units in the old Ayleid-style. Their lands in Valenwood aren't exactly rich but they are easy to defend. However they have no real heavy infantry, no factional mages and very limited cavalry. The Wood Elves get racial bonuses for fighting in stealth, ambushing armies on map, and line of sight, encouraging a "strike 'em hard then run away" playstyle.
* Altmer: ''Elitist/Technical/Magic Specialist''. Because their homeland is an archipelago, the High Elves have a strong trade-based economy supported by the game's strongest starting navy and an easily defendable position. United under a single banner, Summerset has the potential to match or even exceed Cyrodiil in power. They have some of the strongest mage units as well as a good all-rounder unit list, and they can recruit Valenwood's units if allied to Valenwood or if they have conquered it. However their low fertility limit the size of their armies, and their alien Altmer Pantheon religion and racist arrogance does them no favours in diplomacy with other races. Altmer racial bonuses increases their battle surgery, recruitment, tax collection and command when using mages or fighting men.
** High Kingdom of the Summerset Isles: ''Elitist''. Really strong roster boasting top-tier Royal Chosen units, and generally has access to powerful generals with great traits. They also possess Alinor, a powerful city; and Firsthold, a well developed castle. Losing either will set you back greatly as recruitment for Altmer is poor. [[spoiler:You're also right in the path of the Maormer Invasion crisis if that happens, so have fun!]]
** Council of Thalmor: ''Espionage/Gimmick''. You have unique access to Thalmor Justiciars and the Thalmor Guild giving you strong spy units, with the potential to foment uprisings in Summerset and beyond. However you start in a much poorer position than Summerset and everyone hates you.
* Worm Cult: ''Spammer/Berserker/Gimmick''. You are the only faction in the entire game that does not need population to recruit from cities. You have a roster of expendable chaff infantry with unbreakable morale, backed up by powerful mages and some very strong vampire units available in Volkmar and High Rock. You get access to strong starting generals like Harkon and Mannimarco, and some generals already with the vampire and werewolf traits. That being said, your starting economy sucks because your settlements are undeveloped and scattered across the continent and rarely able to help each other besides, and you are locked out of diplomacy with most factions.
* Hordes of Oblivion: ''Elitist/Berserker''. Like Worm Cult but even crazier. You have the absolute best heavy infantry of all factions, strong cavalry and disposable scamp mages providing fire support. Daedroths are monstrous infantry who can outrun all but light cavalry and crush most enemies in close. You have Daedric Princes like Molag Bal and Mehrunes Dagon as your starting generals with stupidly high stats, and you can also recruit vampire units too. But again, you are the invading faction -- it's you vs. everyone, as everyone else on Nirn wants you wiped from the face of it. On top of that, having poor settlement management and religion spread can make it hard to fund and sustain their mighty hordes.
[[/folder]]
''Franchise/TheElderScrolls: Total War''
* Imperials: ''Balanced/Generalist''. As the most balanced race in Tamriel, the Imperials have a varied unit roster not lacking in any particular regard and actually many of the strongest options. Imperial racial traits for commanders give bonuses to decreasing unrest, using siege equipment in battles and decreasing the costs of units.
** Empire of Tamriel: ''Economist''. You can recruit Imperial Legion units from core Cyrodiilic provinces and weaker auxiliary legion units from far-flung provinces; this presents a challenge because you will likely be attacked from all sides and experience uprisings within your territory too, so you might find yourself holding the line with the local stop-gap troops until TheCavalry arrives from the Cyrodiil heartland. In addition you also have the various Knights of the Nine units, two factional mage units, and the largest and most developed city on the map - the Imperial City. You also control the economically important Rumare Bay area and several vassals across the continent. Basically you are England from ''MTWII: Britannia'' or the Western Roman Empire in ''Atilla'', on paper you're the military and economic superpower but you ''will'' need all that power because everyone else will be gunning for you.
** Kingdom of Colovia/Kingdom of Cyrodiil: Roughly similar roster to the Empire, but you start as their vassal with a smaller territory in western Cyrodiil. This is a double-edged sword, because while the Empire will protect you, it limits your expansion options until they wane sufficiently enough that you can safely betray them. You do also get a unique knightly unit, the Knights of the Hour.
* Nords: ''Balanced/Brute/Two-Handed Infantry Specialist''. The Nords have a fairly good position to start with as they have a collection of fairly developed settlements and a territory protected by vast mountain ranges to the west, east and south. Nords can recruit superior infantry options, with two-handed swordsmen and axemen devastating on the charge with good morale too. You also have the Nine Divines religion, making expansion out of Skyrim proper relatively pain-free. However you pay the price in other areas: the Nords' cavalry selection is limited, they have no native mage units apart from inferior College of Winterhold mages, and their naval power is poor, leaving them vulnerable to a northern seaborne invasion. Nord racial traits for commanders improve command, morale and hitpoints for infantry as well as economic bonuses for mines.
** Haafingar Hold: ''Balanced/Economist''. Haafingar is the hold of the recognised High King of Skyrim, relatively cosmopolitan and civilised, and has Eastmarch as a vassal. You have a strong economic position but watch out for the growing threat of the Reachmen and possibly Orsinium. Also keep in mind Eastmarch will likely not be your willing subjects for long.
** Eastmarch Hold: ''Elitist/Brute''. Eastmarch gets a unique Stormcloak unit roster with a bit more variety, and their position next to Fort Dawnguard allows them to a route to gain powerful vampire hunter infantry and crossbowmen. Your chief threats will be the Dunmer to the east as well as [[spoiler:the possible Akaviri invasions in late-game.]]
* Bretons: ''Spammer/Economist''. The Iliac Bay is one of the most powerful economic regions in the game if unified, many of the towns have a great deal of development and advanced for navy building. Even though their martial units are quite weak by the standards of the races of men, they have a nice selection of factional mages. Many of these petty kingdoms are fairly small and Orsinium presents a serious threat if not handled carefully. Breton racial traits increase the value of trade and farming as well as commanding mage units, but nothing to really help your military units.
** Kingdom of Wayrest: ''Economist/Cavalry Specialist''. Wayrest is relatively rich by the standards of the Breton kingdoms, and has access to powerful heavy cavalry options like the Knights of the Rose -- though their infantry are a bit weak.
** Kingdom of Daggerfall: ''Brute''. Daggerfall has access to powerful infantry and cavalry units, but few elite archers meaning they might struggle against armoured units at range. They have the powerful Knights of the Dragon.
** Kingdom of Shornhelm: ''Elitist''. Focus on elite heavy infantry and missile troops, but limited elite cavalry. They get Rivenspire Vampire Hunters, to help quell potential vampire insurrections in your lands. Unfortunately you also are relatively poor next to the other Breton factions and you're right in Orsinium's firing line at start. This is probably Bretons on hard mode, so have fun.
** Kingdom of Evermore: ''Ranger/Guerrilla''. Evermore borders several threats including the Redguards of Hammerfell and the Reach, giving them a unique perspective on warfare. They forgo the traditional Breton knights and cavalry in favour of lighter skirmish infantry and missile cavalry with javelins.
* Redguards: ''Spammer/Berserker/Ranger''. The Redguards have a focus on lighter units with high attack power but less protection, especially cavalry and archers. Their economy is fairly weak to start with, but you can recruit military units from cities owing to their martial culture and there is room for development. Redguards culturally distrust magic so they have no factional mage units to speak of. Their lands are split between two Clans listed below who vie for control of Hammerfell before turning their gaze outwards. Redguard racial traits increase their cavalry command, trade and piety.
** Clan of Crowns: ''Brute''. Slightly weaker economic position with their lands divided, but stronger unit roster boasting good infantry and the Katafracts cavalry.
** Clan of Forebears: ''Ranger''. Slightly weaker units but a better position. Your lands are located on the Iliac Bay making trade with the Breton realms achievable. You have more unique archers and "medium" cavalry like the Knights of the Moon and the Knights of the Wheel.
* Kingdom of Orsinium: ''Elitist/Horde''. The Orcs are the finest armoursmiths and heavy infantry in Tamriel and it shows in their roster. You have all armour upgrades available immediately, and excellent LightningBruiser infantry along with archers who can deploy stakes -- though no cavalry to speak of and one factional mage unit which isn't really the best. If they lose all their settlements they can become a roving horde until they conquer more; something to keep in mind when under continual crusader attacks from the Breton realms and the Redguard clans (trust me they will be out for your blood). Orsimer racial traits significantly improves their troop's morale, hitpoints, mining, command when fighting Redguards or Bretons, and money gained from looting.
* Dunmer: ''Generalist/Ranger/Technical''. The Dunmer are fairly balanced as races go, mainly focusing on infantry with plenty of unique options for that. Only Morrowind is a crowded land which is often devastated by clan warfare and in the Fourth Era by volcanic eruptions and Argonian invasions, making economic development difficult. Dunmer racial traits improves their command when defending and when using mages, while also increasing value of trade and piety.
** Tribunal Temple/Great House Indoril: ''Elitist''. The Tribunal Temple has three powerful generals who are basically immortal demi-gods, and access to some really powerful special units. But you start in the middle of Morrowind surrounded by hostile neighbours.
** Great House Hlaalu: ''Diplomat''. As one of the less xenophobic Dunmer factions, Hlaalu has strong diplomatic ties to the Empire and a very balanced roster including rare pikemen and horse archers.
** Great House Redoran: ''Brute''. Conflicts with the Nords and the Ashlanders have given House Redoran a strong martial inclination. They have some of the best heavy infantry of all the Dunmer and among the best in the game, with strong cavalry too, but weaker missile troops.
** Great House Telvanni: ''Gimmick/Research''. This is the only Dunmer house with access to a unique factional mage unit, and they get access to mages as a general's bodyguard too. Their infantry selection is also quite good.
** Great House Dres: ''Spammer/Technical''. The weakest roster among the Dunmer, low quality melee infantry but it has Argonian SlaveMooks to bolster their armies, as well as solid cavalry and a mage unit.
** Ashlander Clans: ''Ranger/Technical/Gimmick''. Northern cousins of the Dumner houses with access to strong archers and missile cavalry and large, highly mobile armies. Ashlander racial traits give them large bonus to looting, trade, ambush, piety, command when using cavalry, recruiting units and small bonus to movement points. They are a horde faction who start without a settlement to call home, but they have permanent named forts to act as something of a power base. It also bares noting they do not share their religion with the other Dunmer (worshipping the Daedra rather than the Tribunal), making diplomacy and expansion tricky.
** Great House Dagoth: ''Spammer/Technical/Pariah''. Technically a Dunmer faction but in practice really not. Dagoth has access to many undead and monstrous creatures, with large unit sizes. They have few missiles but the ones they do have are mages. Many of their units are also quite scary, letting them break enemy morale. However they have a fairly bad start, because they follow a different religion from the rest of Morrowind and stand alone against all the other Dunmer factions who hate their guts.
* Black Marsh/Kingdom of Argonia: ''Guerrilla/Turtle/Gimmick''. The Argonians have a roster focusing on light skirmisher and missile infantry which are also fast-moving and amphibious, allowing them to cross the sea via rivers. The Argonians can horde, allowing them to persist after their settlements are taken, a prospect easier said than done given how the terrain favours them strongly. However many of their settlements are poorly developed, their strange culture and religion leave them few prospects for allies outside Black Marsh, and they have a very limited list of cavalry and mages to choose from. Their racial traits give them bonus for ambush, health, and bonus command when fighting the Dunmer.
* Khajiit: ''Balanced/Technical/Economist''. The Khajiit enjoy a relatively safe starting position as the Empire is often otherwise occupied and too busy to help the Wood Elves of Valenwood who will likely be your first victims. Your unit roster has a good variety of lighter infantry and missile troops on foot. You have plentiful access to mercenaries and many kinds of special unit for hire, and cities with the economic development to support them. However you have fractured lands surrounded by rebel settlements to gobble up before you can call Elsweyr properly unified and your access to magic is not great. Khajiit racial traits increases their trade and command when fighting night battles, giving them a useful strategic advantage.
** Kingdom of Pelletine: ''Ranger''. Tend to have lighter strike infantry and archers, with Moon Archers being among the best available to any faction. You also don't start with a large city, the nearest being the rebel-held city of Torval.
** Kingdom of Anequina: ''Elitist''. Generally stronger than Pelletine in regards to infantry and cavalry, with access to unique missile cavalry.
* Kingdom of Valenwood: ''Guerrilla/Ranger''. The Wood Elves are simply put the finest archers in Tamriel, with deadly missile skirmishers as well as fairly strong hybrid bow and sword infantry equally capable in melee or at a distance. They can also potentially revive the Ayleid culture and recruit some really strong units in the old Ayleid-style. Their lands in Valenwood aren't exactly rich but they are easy to defend. However they have no real heavy infantry, no factional mages and very limited cavalry. The Wood Elves get racial bonuses for fighting in stealth, ambushing armies on map, and line of sight, encouraging a "strike 'em hard then run away" playstyle.
* Altmer: ''Elitist/Technical/Magic Specialist''. Because their homeland is an archipelago, the High Elves have a strong trade-based economy supported by the game's strongest starting navy and an easily defendable position. United under a single banner, Summerset has the potential to match or even exceed Cyrodiil in power. They have some of the strongest mage units as well as a good all-rounder unit list, and they can recruit Valenwood's units if allied to Valenwood or if they have conquered it. However their low fertility limit the size of their armies, and their alien Altmer Pantheon religion and racist arrogance does them no favours in diplomacy with other races. Altmer racial bonuses increases their battle surgery, recruitment, tax collection and command when using mages or fighting men.
** High Kingdom of the Summerset Isles: ''Elitist''. Really strong roster boasting top-tier Royal Chosen units, and generally has access to powerful generals with great traits. They also possess Alinor, a powerful city; and Firsthold, a well developed castle. Losing either will set you back greatly as recruitment for Altmer is poor. [[spoiler:You're also right in the path of the Maormer Invasion crisis if that happens, so have fun!]]
** Council of Thalmor: ''Espionage/Gimmick''. You have unique access to Thalmor Justiciars and the Thalmor Guild giving you strong spy units, with the potential to foment uprisings in Summerset and beyond. However you start in a much poorer position than Summerset and everyone hates you.
* Worm Cult: ''Spammer/Berserker/Gimmick''. You are the only faction in the entire game that does not need population to recruit from cities. You have a roster of expendable chaff infantry with unbreakable morale, backed up by powerful mages and some very strong vampire units available in Volkmar and High Rock. You get access to strong starting generals like Harkon and Mannimarco, and some generals already with the vampire and werewolf traits. That being said, your starting economy sucks because your settlements are undeveloped and scattered across the continent and rarely able to help each other besides, and you are locked out of diplomacy with most factions.
* Hordes of Oblivion: ''Elitist/Berserker''. Like Worm Cult but even crazier. You have the absolute best heavy infantry of all factions, strong cavalry and disposable scamp mages providing fire support. Daedroths are monstrous infantry who can outrun all but light cavalry and crush most enemies in close. You have Daedric Princes like Molag Bal and Mehrunes Dagon as your starting generals with stupidly high stats, and you can also recruit vampire units too. But again, you are the invading faction -- it's you vs. everyone, as everyone else on Nirn wants you wiped from the face of it. On top of that, having poor settlement management and religion spread can make it hard to fund and sustain their mighty hordes.
[[/folder]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 85 (click to see context) from:
* Mori: Unit Specialist (naval)
to:
* Mori: Unit Specialist (naval)(naval). Superior ships and unique wako pirate infantry. Kind of a pariah as naval advantage does not count for much in this game.
Changed line(s) 89 (click to see context) from:
* Tokugawa: Diplomat/Espionage (metsuke)/Guerrilla (kisho ninja); a pariah faction due to starting position (beginning as a vassal clan) and a lack of any particular military advantages.
to:
* Tokugawa: Diplomat/Espionage (metsuke)/Guerrilla (kisho ninja); a pariah faction due to starting position (beginning as a vassal clan) and a lack of any particular military advantages. Also because of a bug in the base game (that can be fixed with patches and mods), their unique kisho ninja are actually ''worse'' than normal kisho ninja.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 230,234 (click to see context) from:
''[[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Third Age: Total War]]'':
* Gondor: Elitist/Brute. Decent heavy cavalry and infantry with good armour stats, but archers are comparatively weak and units are costly to recruit and maintain.
* Rohan: Balanced. Cavalry are pretty tough, although they lack decent heavy infantry, in the early game at least. This means they dominate in the open fields of their home turf, but fall apart once they hit a solid fortress.
* Dale: Balanced. [[JackOfAllStats Average in all respects]]. Dale's heavy infantry is good but not as good as Gondor's, Dale's cavalry is good but not as good as Rohan's, Dale's longbowmen are good but not as good as the Elves', and Dale's light infantry are good but not as good as Eriador's.
* Eriador: Guerilla/Spammer. Many units are cheap but comparatively weak in straight-up fights, with emphasis on light infantry, militia and rangers, forcing reliance on stealth and/or ZergRush tactics. [[MagikarpPower However...]]
* Gondor: Elitist/Brute. Decent heavy cavalry and infantry with good armour stats, but archers are comparatively weak and units are costly to recruit and maintain.
* Rohan: Balanced. Cavalry are pretty tough, although they lack decent heavy infantry, in the early game at least. This means they dominate in the open fields of their home turf, but fall apart once they hit a solid fortress.
* Dale: Balanced. [[JackOfAllStats Average in all respects]]. Dale's heavy infantry is good but not as good as Gondor's, Dale's cavalry is good but not as good as Rohan's, Dale's longbowmen are good but not as good as the Elves', and Dale's light infantry are good but not as good as Eriador's.
* Eriador: Guerilla/Spammer. Many units are cheap but comparatively weak in straight-up fights, with emphasis on light infantry, militia and rangers, forcing reliance on stealth and/or ZergRush tactics. [[MagikarpPower However...]]
to:
Changed line(s) 236,244 (click to see context) from:
* High Elves: Elitist. Extremely strong units all across the board, but the high cost of units combined with the [[DyingRace standard Elven birth-rate problem]] means that armies will be relatively small.
* Silvan Elves: Elitist/Ranger. Like their High Elf cousins, small, powerful armies of elite units, but with a much greater focus on archers at the expense of cavalry.
* Dwarves: Brute/Unit Specialist. Tons of powerful axe/pike infantry who are [[MightyGlacier extremely dangerous in melee and heavily armoured]], but they have limited options for long-range engagements, and almost no cavalry at all (save for extremely rare Dale mercenary cavalry units). Because of this, Dwarven armies shine in offensive and defensive siege battles, but struggle in open battles.
* Orcs of Gundabad: Spammer/Guerilla. Standard Orc numerical superiority combined with many skirmisher units who are good at hiding.
* Orcs of Misty Mountains: Brute. [[DemonicSpiders Expect to fight Trolls a lot]] when fighting this faction.
* Rhûn: Balanced, although cavalry are Elitist. Basically, Gondor's EvilCounterpart.
* Harad: Balanced/Spammer.
* Isengard: Elitist/Brute. Tough Uruk-hai heavy infantry, Wargs and crossbows.
* Mordor: Spammer/Technical. [[ZergRush Huge hordes of useless Orcs]], supported by extremely powerful and expensive one-of-a-kind units and generals with strange abilities.
* Silvan Elves: Elitist/Ranger. Like their High Elf cousins, small, powerful armies of elite units, but with a much greater focus on archers at the expense of cavalry.
* Dwarves: Brute/Unit Specialist. Tons of powerful axe/pike infantry who are [[MightyGlacier extremely dangerous in melee and heavily armoured]], but they have limited options for long-range engagements, and almost no cavalry at all (save for extremely rare Dale mercenary cavalry units). Because of this, Dwarven armies shine in offensive and defensive siege battles, but struggle in open battles.
* Orcs of Gundabad: Spammer/Guerilla. Standard Orc numerical superiority combined with many skirmisher units who are good at hiding.
* Orcs of Misty Mountains: Brute. [[DemonicSpiders Expect to fight Trolls a lot]] when fighting this faction.
* Rhûn: Balanced, although cavalry are Elitist. Basically, Gondor's EvilCounterpart.
* Harad: Balanced/Spammer.
* Isengard: Elitist/Brute. Tough Uruk-hai heavy infantry, Wargs and crossbows.
* Mordor: Spammer/Technical. [[ZergRush Huge hordes of useless Orcs]], supported by extremely powerful and expensive one-of-a-kind units and generals with strange abilities.
to:
* The sub-mod ''VideoGame/DivideAndConquer'' introduces whole new playable nations and reworks existing ones for a campaign-centric game:
** Angmar: A Balanced faction with a well-rounded roster of medium-quality hillmen and orc infantry units with [[ArmorPiercingAttack armour-piercing]] and Warg riders. You can take Iron Crown battalions which are more elite along with Barrow Wights in regions with barrows.
** Bree-land: A primarily Economist faction with a strong emphasis on trading over martial prowess. Bree's early game is defined by Guerrilla/Spammer play thanks to their unique (and [[LethalJokeCharacter surprisingly good]]) hobbit militia and woodsmen units, but lacking any real heavy-hitters outside of the occasional Dunedain or Greenway unit. After the Barracks Event, Bree-land becomes even more of a Spammer faction as their late game units are among the worst (but cheapest) in the game, but the booming economy hopefully lets you field them in great number in addition to plentiful mercenaries and Dunedain-associated units (depending on whether you took the "Isolationist" or "Friends of the Dunedain" choice). This approach is encapsulated by Bree-land's trademark elite unit, the [[StoneWall Merchant Swordsmen: lavishly equipped, well-armoured and reasonably priced swordsmen with relatively poor offensive stats and melee defence skill to reflect a lack of training]].
** Dale: Dale is the Ranger faction for the Northmen, with many of the best archer units from bottom-to-top tier that aren't Elves. After the Barracks Event, they become a fairly potent Tank faction by adding a solid core of pikemen and armoured polearm infantry, perfect for guarding their powerful archers from cavalry and other threats. However the other parts of the faction's roster are fairly mediocre, with cavalry nothing to write home about. Also might be an Economist, as they can become quite wealthy through connections with the Dwarves of Erebor.
** Dorwinion: Dorwinion is a small, mixed human/elf nation in the east notable for its valuable wine trade, which gives it a booming economy and a strongly Economist flair. The early roster is fairly Spammer with low-cost militia troops, but the Barracks Event presents a tantalizing choice: they can either set their Elven population to work on the economy, freeing up more professional Northmen units into the roster (Balanced); or they can recruit the Elves, giving them fairly powerful Avari missile troops (Ranger/Guerrilla). On top of changing how the army functions, whether your nation takes on more human or Elven influences changes the visual appearance of your units.
** Dwarves: Split into three factions from ''Third Age'', the Dwarves retain their Brute/Turtle options with an Elitist take; simply put, Dwarven units can outfight and outlast practically any non-Elven equivalent. The Dwarves are also Economist, as even the nomadic Khazad-Dûm will be sporting an embarrassment of riches once the mines open up, helping to compensate somewhat for the exorbitant costs of their mighty units. However Dwarven units are very slow-moving and limited to infantry, so unless they bring some human mercenary cavalry then it can be easy to outmaneuver them in the field; though they excel in sieges.
*** Erebor: Takes the Brute approach to the max. When Smaug sacked Erebor, it taught the Dwarves there that a good defense is a strong offense. Their heavy axe-wielding troops will butcher the unfortunates on the business end, especially on the charge. That said, they lack not only cavalry but even missile troops outside of short-ranged throwing axes, leaving them fairly tactically predictable and with few options.
*** Ered Luin: Something of a Technical/Turtle hybrid. Ered Luin's Dwarves are far-removed from warfare and this is reflected in their relatively weak units in direct melee (for Dwarves, mind). The chief weapon of the Dwarves of Ered Luin is the crossbow, supported by pikes. The Dwarves of Ered Luin have the option of [[FaceHeelTurn accepting Sauron's gifts and turning against the Free Peoples]], which let them recruit Grimborn Reavers, menacing falchion-wielding {{Black Knight}}s which bring them more in-line with the Dwarven baseline.
*** Khazad-Dûm: Turtle approach, to the max. Given that the Dwarves will be retaking the Misty Mountains from the Goblins of Moria and fighting in tight corners, the expedition adopts a doctrine of extremely heavy armour and shielding to quite literally push the goblins back and out. They also have nimble archers to shoot into the flanks of their enemies. However they lack the striking power of Erebor's mighty melee units.
** Harad: The Rangers of the Easterlings, with units boasting very high offensive power and mobility but poor protection and vulnerability to missile fire (though they are adept at fighting at range themselves). After the Barracks Event, you will have elite infantry and cavalry with Dunedain-tier fighting ability with Orc and Wild Men-tier durability. The ultimate unit of Harad is the [[WarElephants Mûmakil]], powerful war elephants that literally trample everything underfoot... but can be easily killed by concentrated missile and artillery fire thanks to their massive hitboxes. Mûmakil are strong, but you cannot be careless even with them.
** High Elves: The High Elves are, simply put, the greatest individual warriors in Middle-Earth, Elitist taken to the absolute max, as nearly all of their units are some of the absolute strongest in the entire game for their tier. Take the Lindar Guards for example, their cheap town militia unit with comparable stats to Gondor Infantry sitting a full tier above them (and that's no slight against Gondor, remember that their infantry are very good quality by Mannish standards). Their end game infantry and archers are beyond comparison, apart from ''maybe'' Rohan eclipsing their high-tier heavy cavalry. But this isn't a license to think you can brainlessly steamroll Middle-Earth with a [[BadassArmy Badass]] EliteArmy, as their units are relatively small models-wise and very expensive for what they can do; lesser troops are quite capable of outflanking and overwhelming them. And your powerbase is splintered between two kingdoms on opposite sides of the map, so if Rivendell or Mithlond fall then you might have trouble getting them back.
** Khand: A Central/Far Asian-inspired faction, the Variags of Khand are Rangers with a toolbox for HitAndRunTactics. They have almost unique access to horse archers, which are among the finest missile cavalry in Middle-Earth. However, while Khand's non-mounted roster does include some reasonably hard-hitting units, it has very little tactical variety (to the point where it is bereft of polearm infantry) and simply lacks the sturdiness to be able to hold a line for long; they'll need to ally with the Blue Wizards and the Orocarni Dwarves if they want any infantry that can truly duke it out in an extended slugfest.
** Númenóreans: The four factions in this group are sort of a mix of Generalist and Elitist; their troops generally have well-rounded stats and tend to be better than equivalent units from other Mannish factions, if also more expensive. The Númenórean factions also all have impressive economic capabilities (at least potentially), including far more building/upgrade options than other Mannish factions, making them sort of Economist/Research factions as well.
*** Ar-Adûnâim: Very much the Númenórean Brute, victory will mostly hinge on their infantry's ability to crush their foes in a head-on clash, especially since the Ar-Adûnâim's core roster has zero cavalry until the late game. There's even an element of Spammer to their gameplay, since unlike their nobler kindreds, the lowest tier of the Ar-Adûnâim's core roster includes a few cheap CannonFodder units to support a lineup that is otherwise roughly on par with those of the other Númenorean factions. They can also take a more Balanced approach by recruiting other factions' units through the [[SlaveMooks auxiliary system]] (in particular, it'll be their chief means of getting cavalry).
*** Dol Amroth: Their low/mid-tier roster is probably the most Generalist out of all the Númenóreans, being solid but not particularly spectacular outside of their excellent lancer cavalry. However, Dol Amroth's elite units are a whole 'nother story, with their elite cavalry in particular being the best Mannish horsemen in the entire game.
*** Gondor: Their roster is something of a JackOfAllStats, as they can recruit a wide variety of very good region-exclusive units from their various fiefdoms to supplement a reasonably solid mainline. Gondor's only real weakness is that their cavalry will be outclassed by almost everyone else's (though this is slightly compensated for by being able to train some Amrothian cavalry); as such, Gondorian tactics will often tend towards Turtle tactics, especially since the majority of their most elite units are spear/polearm infantry. To get their best units, you will have to grapple with Mordor to reclaim territories such as Minas Ithil.
*** Northern Dúnedain: They tend to have a very Ranger/Guerilla playstyle in the early/mid-game, with some of the finest non-Elven archers in all of Middle-earth and a core pre-Barracks Event roster well-suited to pulling off devastating hit-and-run tactics in the forests of Eriador. Additionally, they also boast some excellent melee infantry and cavalry which makes them arguably the most tactically diverse of their kin. That said, while the core Dúnedain roster remains Elitist throughout, most of it is only easily recruitable within the former heartlands of Arnor, meaning that if the Northern Dúnedain want to expand beyond Eriador, they'll have to adopt a more Balanced roster made up of whatever local troops they can recruit through the "Beacon of Hope" system, since they need to have a high enough culture in order to recruit Dúnedain units.
** Orcs: The servants of Melkor trend very strongly towards Spammer, with cheap to hire and maintain units boasting large model counts and subpar stats (with one noteworthy exception in Gundabad). The Orcs are not terrible, but they certainly favour quantity and sheer variety over quality.
*** Dol Guldor: Guerilla/Ranger-focused Spammers whose roster is reliant on archers, skirmishers, stealth, and sheer numbers, to the point of being the only orc faction with a "true" Ranger unit. They're also a bit of a Gimmick faction, as a key tactic will be using their poison arrows to break the morale of their foes.
*** Orcs of Gundabad: Despite being orcs, they are the most overall Elitist of the evil factions, with only the Elves and (some) Dwarves able to outmatch them in a direct fight. The Orcs of Gundabad spent generations in exile in the [[GrimUpNorth freezing mountains and wastelands of the north]], [[HadToBeSharp growing quite strong and hardy against the biting winds and cold]]. Tactically, Gundabad has a Brutish roster that is focused around quickly getting into melee with the enemy, being comprised mostly of lightly-armored but hard-hitting infantry. However, they can become more Balanced/Spammy with the "Subjugation" system, which allows them to recruit units from other orc factions (and Angmar) as they expand their territories.
*** Isengard: Fairly unchanged from the original ''Third Age'', Isengard has a Brutish heavy infantry-focused roster. However, even though Uruk-hai units are better than equivalent orc units at each tier, Isengard is still pretty Spammy pre-Barracks Event, with only a few standout units like the half-orcs and the Berserkers. However, once the late game hits, Isengard becomes a lot more Elitist, gaining heavily-armored Uruk-hai who can outmatch even the descendants of Númenor in direct combat.
*** Mordor: If it wasn't for the existence of the Goblins of Moria, Mordor's main roster would be the Spammer par excellence of the entire game, with a relatively Brute-like focus on hordes of cheap-as-chips orc infantry due to their mostly mediocre archery and complete lack of mainline cavalry outside of a few units they can recruit from the Men of the East. However, Mordor's non-Orc elites are on the complete opposite end of the quality-vs-quality scale, being some of Middle-earth's very best. Not to mention you get the Immortal Nazgul and the BigBad Sauron himself, the latter having the [[ImmuneToFlinching Relentless trait]].
*** Goblins of Moria: The Spammiest faction in all of DaC, with their goblin mainstays being even cheaper, weaker, and more cowardly than regular orcs. Even their "elite" general's bodyguard unit are only just about better than low-tier Númenórean infantry. Indeed, their roster generally has the largest unit sizes for each tier in the entire game. Which isn't to say that the goblins are ''all'' about trash CannonFodder; their roster is probably the tactically diverse of the orcs and includes some fairly unique special units.
** Rhûn: Perhaps the most Balanced faction, the Easterlings have a very well-rounded roster that holds up reasonably well in terms of both quality and numbers. Like in vanilla ''Third Age'', Rhûn in the early game is more Ranger-focused with a plethora of ranged units, but becomes more of a Brute/Tank faction once they can start training the heavily-armored Lôke-Khan units. However, while most Rhûnnic units are at least solid for their tier, their roster doesn't particularly excel at anything either, outside of their fire-based Gimmicks.
** Rohan: The Men of the Riddermark are definitely a Ranger-focused faction thanks to their varied and well-rounded plethora of solid-to-excellent cavalry, but this is balanced by the non-mounted part of their roster being fairly mediocre for the most part (being particularly lacking in ranged units), if still better suited for holding a line than Khand's.
** Silvan Elves (Lothlorien, the Woodland Realms): These Elves are masters of the Ranger/Guerrilla approach, with their plethora of excellent longbow archer troops and mastery of forest-based stealth. But they are also no slouch in melee combat either, their rosters compensate for their high cost and low unit sizes by being almost just as Elitist as the High Elves', with their only hole being their relative lack of cavalry. In general, the Woodland Realm's units tend to be more focused on dealing damage, while Lórien's are generally more defensively-oriented.
** Wild Men: In general, Middle-Earth's three most primitive Mannish factions are Guerrilla/Spammers whose greatest strengths are numbers and stealth. Though they may not be quite as quantity-over-quality as the orcs, the Wild Men are definitely solid runner-ups. In particular, they arguably have the worst late-game rosters in all of Middle-earth, since the relative quality of their units starts to really fall behind once the Barracks Event hits.
*** Dunland: Very much a Brute faction that relies on overwhelming the enemy in close combat, Dunland actually has some pretty decent mid-tier melee units (though they still lack any real "elite"-caliber ones). However, their roster has rather pitiful ranged capabilities and is not quite as stealthy as the other Wild Men's, though this can be somewhat compensated for if Dunland manages to complete the "Unite the Clans" script and starts recruiting from Enedwaith's more skirmish-oriented roster.
*** Enedwaith: Victory here will require a Ranger playstyle, since Enedwaith's units will almost always be outclassed in a straight fight. Instead, their primary strength is their skirmishers; any unit -- even the mighty Dwarven and Elven units, that finds itself the recipient of an Enedwaith javelin volley is not going to be existing for much longer. Their weakness in close combat can be somewhat compensated for by completing the "Unite the Clans" script, which allows them to recruit from Dunland's sturdier roster.
*** Vale of Anduin: The "jack-of-all-trades" of the wild men, the Valesmen are something of a Technical/Specialist faction; they can't spam units on the level of the other wild men, and while their roster as a whole is tactically versatile, their units individually tend to be rather specialized to the point where none of them can really fill the role of an all-around mainline unit, making victory particularly reliant on carefully coordinated tactics. That said, if they do have a strength, it would be their archers, who can hold their own even against those of Dale and the Northern Dúnedain, and their Beorning axemen, who can quickly fell even the mightiest of dwarves and elves.
