Cirith Ungol

Objective: Find and kill the Hobbits.

Bonus: Feed Orcs to Shelob. Free 10 Uruks.

Build a troll cage, Orc pit, and Uruk pit at your start location. Available units are priced differently for the mission (Orcs aren’t free for instance). Trolls offer the best bang for the buck; use collected resources to mass an army of trolls with some support from Orcs and Uruks. Send your initial Orcs and the hero Gollum south and collect the treasures.

Train trolls at the cage and send them to your main force.

Continue west into Shelob’s chamber. She’s indiscriminate in her attacks; counter Shelob with a horde of Orc to "feed" her and complete a bonus objective. Feeding Shelob tasty Orc also rewards you with control over the giant spider. Add Shelob to your battle group and search the chamber for treasures and webbed Uruk units. Attack the webs to free the Uruks. Add the units to your battle group as you continue to explore Shelob’s lair. As trolls exit the cage, add them to your battle group; set the structure’s rally point toward your primary force.

Search northwest from the chamber fore more treasure and Uruks. Continue through the northeast tunnel. Spot the Hobbits in the next chamber; several Gondor guards block the route. Battle the guards with the troll (or trolls), Shelob, rescued forces, and other units. Ascend the adjacent tunnel to uncover more treasure.

Continue northwest to encounter additional guards. Battle the Gondor guards with trolls at the front line and support with other troops. Follow the tunnel along the northern edge to find plentiful treasure at a dead-end.

Sam and Frodo can’t hide for long against your horde of trolls, troops, and Shelob.

Search the tunnels for treasure and webbed troops as you proceed southwest. Take time to gather trolls as they’re built and maneuver through the lair as a collected group. The southwestern corner contains many troops protecting the Hobbits. Crush the Gondor defenders with your trolls, Shelob, and other forces. Slaughter Sam and Frodo to complete the mission successfully.

Minas Tirith

Objective: Destroy Minas Tirith.

Bonus: Kill all heroes.

This mission recreates one of the most exciting sequences in The Return of the King. Your forces begin in the southeastern corner outside the Gondor city of Minas Tirith. The heavily defended city lies to the northwest. There are two camps near your start position and a third settlement just to the north. Construct two camps and the outpost.

Among the camps, build furnaces, a couple siege works, multiple pits (Orc and Haradrim depending on unit preference), and a mumakil pen and/or a troll cage. Either of these units will become valuable during the Rohan reinforcement stage of the mission. Erect defensive structures to protect your bases during the inevitable counter assault.

You start the mission with a large force and three Nazgul at your disposal (the Witch-King and two other Nazgul). Arrange your forces into melee, ranged, siege, and hero groups. Place mumakil and trolls in their own group. You’ll primarily use these against the Rohan Rohirrim later in the mission.

The Nazgul are excellent at destroying the trebuchets that line of the walls of Minas Tirith. You can also use the screech ability to disrupt enemy unit lines. The Nazgul will suffer damage from enemy archer fire; retreat them away from Minas Tirith and back toward your base to mend wounds.

Send the Balrog into Minas Tirith to cause serious damage.

Construct some catapults and save 10 command points for the Grond siege unit to use against the Minas Tirith gate. Crush the farms along the outskirts of Minas Tirith with your catapults. A couple cavalry groups eventually exit Minas Tirith to harass your forces. Annihilate them with the Nazgul or just wait near your base defenses to engage.

You can also move the catapults closer to Minas Tirith to start clearing archers along the city walls. The catapults can also knock out trebuchets in a couple hits; however, the Gondor defensive emplacements can fire on the catapults so you will start losing catapults. Just replace them at the siege works. To keep the Grond healthy, clear out the archers and trebuchets within range of the Minas Tirith gate.

Escort the Grond to the gate and start the siege. This action seems to trigger the countdown for Rohan reinforcements. In three minutes a huge force of Rohirrim enters from the north. The Grond makes quick work of the gate. You can flood the city with your melee and ranged units and start the destruction or hold off until the Rohirrim arrive, repel their attack, and then reorganize your forces for the push against Minas Tirith.

Important tips for repelling the Rohirrim include: fighting near your base defenses, using one ring powers such as Darkness or Balrog, and keeping your Nazgul in the battle to screech or attack the Rohirrim line. You can also bombard Rohirrim groups with catapults but expect quick counterattack. Utilize your mumakil and trolls against the Rohirrim while your ranged units pepper the enemy forces from longer range. Rebuild and regroup as necessary after holding off the Rohirrim.

Crush Minas Tirith with everything at your disposal. Aid your ground forces with Nazgul and the Balrog.

Start a push against Minas Tirith. The Balrog can be used against the city, though he can’t spawn inside the city. Activate the Balrog just outside the city and use his wings ability to move him inside the city walls. Tear down structure after structure until the Balrog disappears. Flood the city with your Orcs and Haradrim and use the Nazgul to screech and assist in the attack.

Further into the battle, an "Umber" reinforcement countdown begins. These reinforcements appear in the western village. Unfortunately these are more reinforcements for Minas Tirith--it’s Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli escorting the Oathbreakers (the army of the dead) into the battle! The Oathbreakers are on a time limit so even if they start destroying your units and bases, the Oathbreakers will disappear eventually. It’s wise to counter the Oathbreakers with the Balrog if available. Hold off the army of the dead and crush the three heroes to begin the mission’s last stage.

All that remains is maneuvering your troops through Minas Tirith and to the citadel on the upper level. Focus attacks on units and unit-producing structures, aid the attack with the Nazgul, and bring in the Balrog each time it’s available. Crush the Minas Tirith citadel to complete the mission and the campaign.