Amon Hen

Objective: Kill all the heroes and the Hobbits.

Bonus: Find secret allies. Level up Lurtz to rank two.

You begin Amon Hen with the Uruk hero Lurtz and a couple squads of Uruk-hai and crossbowmen. Train more crossbowmen from your Uruk pit before moving to the south. Organize your army into melee and ranged groups and proceed south to battle the Elven archers in the woods. Continue to push south and locate more archers, including the Fellowship hero Legolas. Ensure Lurtz participates in all battles. You can toggle Lurtz’s weaponry; he can use a bow or a sword. One of the mission’s bonus objectives is to level Lurtz to rank two. Add him to a separate group so you can ensure he’s close to the action at all times. Focus your attack (especially Lurtz’s) on Legolas to eliminate the enemy hero.

Objective: Take control of the summit of Amon Hen.

Surround the summit of Amon Hen and eliminate the Fellowship heroes.

Surround and slaughter the enemies on the summit of Amon Hen. The adversaries include the hero Gimli. Focus Lurtz’s attack and cripple ability on Gimli. Continue to reinforce your army with additional units trained from the pit at the start position. Set the rally point toward your mobile force to usher new troops quickly into the battle area.

One of the mission’s bonus objectives is to seek secret allies. Locate a cave in the southwest corner to add cave trolls to your army. Place the trolls in their own battle group and focus their attack on heroes and tougher enemies. Support these durable melee beasts with your plentiful crossbowmen.

Proceed east and spot the Hobbits Sam and Frodo fleeing the area. Your own reinforcements appear in the area but the Rohan make quick work of your allied troops. Use the Uruk pit to train Uruk pikemen to counter the Rohan cavalry much more effectively. Regroup your army before advancing to the north. Add the pikemen to their own battle group and focus their attack on any cavalry in sight.

To the north you’ll encounter Boromir, Merry, and Pippin with Elven warrior support. The hero Aragorn also joins the fray. Obliterate the heroes with the help of Lurtz, the cave trolls, and your plentiful crossbowmen. Continue to train new troops from the Uruk pit to replace any of your slain warriors. Defeat all heroes, including Merry and Pippin, to complete the level successfully.

Edoras

Objective: Conquer any Rohan camps that protect Edoras. Destroy every Rohan building in the city.

Bonus: Loot the treasures of the dead Rohan kings. Kill the Lady Eowyn.

Edoras is an impressive Rohan stronghold on the northeastern side of the map. Before mounting an assault on Edoras, you’ll need to conquer the two Rohan camps along Edoras’ perimeter. Build an outpost at your start location and construct buildings based on need (depending on the makeup of your army). You’ll certainly need furnaces or slaughterhouses to begin resource collection.

You may want to focus primarily on resources if your initial army is strong enough to take over one of the two Rohan camps that protect Edoras. Once you conquer one of the camps, you can build structures there to focus on reinforcing and enhancing your army. However if you need additional warriors, construct a Uruk and/or a warg pit to bolster your forces before advancing to one of the Rohan camps. Erect defenses so you can retreat to the safety of additional firepower if necessary.

Destroy the Rohan camps along the outskirts of Edoras before mounting an assault on the Rohan city.

Defeat the southern Rohan camp and counter the Rohirrim counterassault. Construct your new camp and add more structures. You certainly want an armory and siege works if you haven’t built them at the previous camp (or you can wait until you conquer the next Rohan camp). Research upgrades and enhance any of your current or future troops as resources permit.

Eliminate the northern Rohan camp and prepare for any counterassault by keeping your force together and fighting incoming enemies as a group. Spend time reinforcing your army to fill your command limit. Add siege units to your arsenal to help in the attack against Edoras. Siege ladders can escort crossbowmen onto Edoras’ walls while the battering ram can crush the Edoras gate.

Demolish the Edoras gate with battering rams and flood the city with your hordes.

Conquering Edoras can require patience. Clear out defending archers with your own crossbowmen. Keep your Uruk pits training more crossbowmen and set the rally points to your gathered force just outside Edoras. Use siege ladders to place crossbowmen on walls and fire on the units below. Break open the Edoras gate with battering rams. Once inside the city, focus the battering rams on unit producing structures. Select your melee and ranged units and focus their attacks on defending units before assaulting the buildings. Gather treasure left behind upon destroying certain structures. Use the resources to fund any additional upgrades or new reinforcements.

Fulfill a couple bonus objectives by killing Eowyn (a hero aiding in Edoras’ defense) and collecting the treasure in the southeastern area of the map. Once you’ve gained the upper hand in Edoras, be sure you’ve filled your command limit and upgraded all unit hordes before completing the level successfully and advancing to the next battle.