Posted December 11, 2018
Every couple of years I manage to get sucked back into this game and I constantly find myself re-evaluating unit quality - when different soldiers are worth building and why. As a result I'm offering this list as a guide, to an extent, but also hoping I'll be corrected so that my own knowledge of the game increases.
Peasant: 1/5 stars. Generally not worth getting. They're way too weak to be of any value. They really have two uses: As a meat shield for Archers if you're desperate and don't have anything better to put there, and filling in the moat of a castle that doesn't have any ranged defenders. Otherwise they're better off staying in your county to work.
Macemen: 3.5/5 stars: Macemen are the Zerglings of LotR. They're cheap, allowing you to get large numbers of them quickly, they're fast, they hit very hard, and they die very quickly. They are incredibly strong early game and spending your starting gold on Maces can allow you to blitz a few counties or even an enemy county, but I find their usefulness rapidly falls off as the game goes on. This makes them hard to rate because they're kind of a 5/5 early game 3/5 mid game 1/5 late game unit.
Archers: 4.5/5 stars. Archers excel in both field battles and sieges, and their rapid rate of fire allows them to shred oncoming armies. Many battles boil down to whoever has the most Archers as having the stronger Archer force effectively allows you to set the terms of the engagement. These guys are likely to be the backbone of your armies for most of the game. Their one weakness is that they struggle against heavily armoured enemies: Pikemen, Swordsmen, and Knights. Knights in particular are the bane of Archers everywhere (except for the ones on castle walls, of course).
Pikemen: 4/5 stars. The opposite of Macemen, Pikes are slow moving, low damage units with a ton of armour. This makes them ideal for taking a spot and holding it, because even a superior enemy will take a long time to break through them. They're excellent for keeping enemy melee units off your Archers and holding gates, breaches, and siege towers in a siege. Their high armour also means they're probably the best choice for moat digging. Pikes and Archers is a potent combination that you can use to easily win most games.
Swordsmen: 2/5 stars. Swordsmen occupy the spot in between Macemen and Pikemen, but that's of questionable value. It's very rare that I find a situation where these guys are useful, and their equipment is just too expensive for what they bring to the table. I generally don't use them at all aside from any I get from starting weapons and if they pop up as mercs and I'm desperate. They aren't *bad,* they just aren't good, and you're almost always better off producing a different weapon.
Crossbowmen: 3/5 stars: A very niche unit. Compared to Archers, Xbows have much less range and a much slower rate of fire, but they punch through armour like nobody's business. Unlike Archers, Xbows excel against Pikemen, Swordsmen, and Knights, but struggle against Maces and Archers. Even Peasants can pose a problem for these guys. As a result, they tend to be most effective late game, when the enemies (especially the Baron) are fielding large swathes of high-end units. I find it sometimes worthwhile to mix a few in with a standard Pike/Archer formation.
Knights: 3/5 stars: Think of a slightly stronger, much faster Swordsman. They aren't very cost-efficient and lose a lot of their edge in sieges, but man for man they're very strong. Having them circle around and crush Archers can be very effective. It's just a shame they cost so much relative to what you get.
Incidentally, most of these apply to LotR 1, as well.
Peasant: 1/5 stars. Generally not worth getting. They're way too weak to be of any value. They really have two uses: As a meat shield for Archers if you're desperate and don't have anything better to put there, and filling in the moat of a castle that doesn't have any ranged defenders. Otherwise they're better off staying in your county to work.
Macemen: 3.5/5 stars: Macemen are the Zerglings of LotR. They're cheap, allowing you to get large numbers of them quickly, they're fast, they hit very hard, and they die very quickly. They are incredibly strong early game and spending your starting gold on Maces can allow you to blitz a few counties or even an enemy county, but I find their usefulness rapidly falls off as the game goes on. This makes them hard to rate because they're kind of a 5/5 early game 3/5 mid game 1/5 late game unit.
Archers: 4.5/5 stars. Archers excel in both field battles and sieges, and their rapid rate of fire allows them to shred oncoming armies. Many battles boil down to whoever has the most Archers as having the stronger Archer force effectively allows you to set the terms of the engagement. These guys are likely to be the backbone of your armies for most of the game. Their one weakness is that they struggle against heavily armoured enemies: Pikemen, Swordsmen, and Knights. Knights in particular are the bane of Archers everywhere (except for the ones on castle walls, of course).
Pikemen: 4/5 stars. The opposite of Macemen, Pikes are slow moving, low damage units with a ton of armour. This makes them ideal for taking a spot and holding it, because even a superior enemy will take a long time to break through them. They're excellent for keeping enemy melee units off your Archers and holding gates, breaches, and siege towers in a siege. Their high armour also means they're probably the best choice for moat digging. Pikes and Archers is a potent combination that you can use to easily win most games.
Swordsmen: 2/5 stars. Swordsmen occupy the spot in between Macemen and Pikemen, but that's of questionable value. It's very rare that I find a situation where these guys are useful, and their equipment is just too expensive for what they bring to the table. I generally don't use them at all aside from any I get from starting weapons and if they pop up as mercs and I'm desperate. They aren't *bad,* they just aren't good, and you're almost always better off producing a different weapon.
Crossbowmen: 3/5 stars: A very niche unit. Compared to Archers, Xbows have much less range and a much slower rate of fire, but they punch through armour like nobody's business. Unlike Archers, Xbows excel against Pikemen, Swordsmen, and Knights, but struggle against Maces and Archers. Even Peasants can pose a problem for these guys. As a result, they tend to be most effective late game, when the enemies (especially the Baron) are fielding large swathes of high-end units. I find it sometimes worthwhile to mix a few in with a standard Pike/Archer formation.
Knights: 3/5 stars: Think of a slightly stronger, much faster Swordsman. They aren't very cost-efficient and lose a lot of their edge in sieges, but man for man they're very strong. Having them circle around and crush Archers can be very effective. It's just a shame they cost so much relative to what you get.
Incidentally, most of these apply to LotR 1, as well.