Orc Strategies
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Thrawn
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Orc Strategies
POst them here, I don't know ordcs asw ell as elves...
In general
*All northerners are cheap, and have excellent hill movement, unlike most other races.
*Orcs consist of trolls, goblins, and Orcs. Orcs are strong, and somewhat tough, though not as tough as trolls. Goblins are their scouts, and the PIkeman.
*Trolls have good hp, okay strength, and regenerate. Until they level up, though, the whelps are not much good.
*Goblins are weak and not-tough, but they are cheap, and level up quickly. They make good shields and distractions, although they do not exert ZoC when Lvl. 0
*The archers are unique, because they have a non-magic fire attack. This makes them good against things not affected by normal archers. They also have more HP than human and elven archers.
*Assassins rock. They are elusive, have a poison attack, and good movement. They lack HP, though, and have an iffy melee attack.
*Nagas are water-based units, though in a pinch you can use them on land. They have a good melee attack, and are hard to hit in water. They are really scary leveled up.
against Elves
*Elves are hard to beat, so make sure to think about what you are doing.
*Grunts are better than fighters, especially during night. They also cost less, making them good shock troops.
*Wolfriders can travel over mountain, unlike most other units, and faster than elvish scouts. They also gain a fire wielding unit, which is passable against most units, but really good against woses.
*Trolls make good shields. They have decent hp, and regenerate. They also exert ZoC, unlike the gobbos. Use them to block your wounded troops, and to cause your enemy to mass in one place, if they want to kill it. Try to keep them on hills and mountains.
*DO NOT FIGHT IN WOODS IF YOU CAN HELP IT. unless you are using assassins, or crossbowmen at night, the woods are the elves friend.
To Be Continued, but it's a start.
Against Dwarves
*Dwarves are strong and have good resistances. Their mainweaknesses are their low movement and poor defence on terrains.
*Becasue of their good resistances, especially the Guard, use assassins--poison still takes 8 HP away each turn.
*Although thunderers appear scary, trolls are resistant to their ranged attack, and as they heal, they are good counters to thunderers.
*Trolls are also the best defence against Gyphons, the scout of the dwarves, due to resistances, regeneration, and HP.
*Gryphons are really expensive, more so than horsemen even, and dwarves in general are costly, so mobbing them with the less expensive by far Grunts works as well.
*Ulfserkers are still scary, so be careful. Although a grunts and trolls can beat them, they will be "hurt seriously." So use archers to wound the ulfs, making them less valuable.
*The outcasts thet come along witrh the dwarvews are cheap, and chaotic, making them somewhat of a problem, butare really weak for the most part, so just don't let them outnumber you.
*And speaking of chaotic, dwarves aren't meaning they do not suffer the -25% during day, but you do, so make sure to factor that in to how you engage them.
UNITS TO WATCH OUT FOR
*ulfserkers
*Gryphon Riders
Against Loyalists
* Humans are very balanced and their greatest strenght is their versatility, they have something to counter all your troops.
* Retreat at day, they will slaughter you
* You should use archers and gobbos against their cavalry, they have no ranged and less than average HP.
* Use troll whelps and archers against spearmen-trolls regenerate and are strong to their attacks, and spearmen sadly lack in range.
* Mages are sitting ducks for wolves and grunts, jut make sure that they are killable that turn, and unable to be properly reinforced.
* Grunts are good arains all of their foot units exept Heavy Infantrymen, due to their powerful melee attack, and their cheap cost. They die, but make good storm troops.
* Against heavy infatry, only thing that can hurt enough to kill, is archers' fire attack. So you're pretty much dead against a lot of them. Make sure to whittle them down at night, and stay on the proper terrain. They are slow and costly, so if that is all they recruit you can village grab and then swarm them. Use trolls to slow them down. The fights will take a long time...as trolls regenerate. Usea rchers to poison them as well, they will still take 8 damage from poison.
* Bowmen can easyly be killed with whelps and grunts--they have a pitiful melee attack.
* Stick to hills and attack at night
UNITS TO WATCH OUT FOR:
*mages
*Heavy infantry
*the sun+any unit
Against undead
*Luckily, the undead require the most skill to play, and although they are even nastier at night than orcs, they have exploitable weaknesses.
*Undead are chaotic, with poisoning, backstab, flying, magic, and cheap troops, however, they all are weak if played wrong.
*Don't worry about attacking during the day--you'll be more effective than the undead will, even though both suffer -25%. It evens out.
*Use trolls against skeletons, they have the right resistances and attacks, and although no range, they regenerate the little damage they recieve.
*Ghosts are possibly the most annoying units to fight against, as they are hard to hit, have good resistaces, and a drain melee attack. Use archers, because they have a fire attack, and ghosts range is weaker than it's melee.
*Use archers against the ghouls as well, as they have a poisonous melee attack. Necrophages also fully heal as an AMLA, so beware.
*Assassis are nigh useless. They are weak to the attacks of the undea, thay do no damage, and poison only affects two units, the ghoul and adept. as the adept has a magical ranged attack, don't do it--use melee fighters instead, as the Adept has no melee attack.
*Bats are easy to kill, don't worry about them.
*Walking Corpses are really cheap, and can swarm strong units--try to pick them off with ranged units on your turn, because their only strength is in numbers.
*Seperate the groups, as to maximize there weaknesses (e.g., get the adepts away from the skeltons, and slaughter them with melee fighters. The tactics used to do this are up to you.
UNITS TO WATCH OUT FOR:
*nothing special, but at night, look out for all of them
Thanks to:Martenzo (nice formatting, but not enough edge), Toms, jg
In general
*All northerners are cheap, and have excellent hill movement, unlike most other races.
*Orcs consist of trolls, goblins, and Orcs. Orcs are strong, and somewhat tough, though not as tough as trolls. Goblins are their scouts, and the PIkeman.
*Trolls have good hp, okay strength, and regenerate. Until they level up, though, the whelps are not much good.
*Goblins are weak and not-tough, but they are cheap, and level up quickly. They make good shields and distractions, although they do not exert ZoC when Lvl. 0
*The archers are unique, because they have a non-magic fire attack. This makes them good against things not affected by normal archers. They also have more HP than human and elven archers.
*Assassins rock. They are elusive, have a poison attack, and good movement. They lack HP, though, and have an iffy melee attack.
*Nagas are water-based units, though in a pinch you can use them on land. They have a good melee attack, and are hard to hit in water. They are really scary leveled up.
against Elves
*Elves are hard to beat, so make sure to think about what you are doing.
*Grunts are better than fighters, especially during night. They also cost less, making them good shock troops.
*Wolfriders can travel over mountain, unlike most other units, and faster than elvish scouts. They also gain a fire wielding unit, which is passable against most units, but really good against woses.
*Trolls make good shields. They have decent hp, and regenerate. They also exert ZoC, unlike the gobbos. Use them to block your wounded troops, and to cause your enemy to mass in one place, if they want to kill it. Try to keep them on hills and mountains.
*DO NOT FIGHT IN WOODS IF YOU CAN HELP IT. unless you are using assassins, or crossbowmen at night, the woods are the elves friend.
To Be Continued, but it's a start.
Against Dwarves
*Dwarves are strong and have good resistances. Their mainweaknesses are their low movement and poor defence on terrains.
*Becasue of their good resistances, especially the Guard, use assassins--poison still takes 8 HP away each turn.
*Although thunderers appear scary, trolls are resistant to their ranged attack, and as they heal, they are good counters to thunderers.
*Trolls are also the best defence against Gyphons, the scout of the dwarves, due to resistances, regeneration, and HP.
*Gryphons are really expensive, more so than horsemen even, and dwarves in general are costly, so mobbing them with the less expensive by far Grunts works as well.
*Ulfserkers are still scary, so be careful. Although a grunts and trolls can beat them, they will be "hurt seriously." So use archers to wound the ulfs, making them less valuable.
*The outcasts thet come along witrh the dwarvews are cheap, and chaotic, making them somewhat of a problem, butare really weak for the most part, so just don't let them outnumber you.
*And speaking of chaotic, dwarves aren't meaning they do not suffer the -25% during day, but you do, so make sure to factor that in to how you engage them.
UNITS TO WATCH OUT FOR
*ulfserkers
*Gryphon Riders
Against Loyalists
* Humans are very balanced and their greatest strenght is their versatility, they have something to counter all your troops.
* Retreat at day, they will slaughter you
* You should use archers and gobbos against their cavalry, they have no ranged and less than average HP.
* Use troll whelps and archers against spearmen-trolls regenerate and are strong to their attacks, and spearmen sadly lack in range.
* Mages are sitting ducks for wolves and grunts, jut make sure that they are killable that turn, and unable to be properly reinforced.
* Grunts are good arains all of their foot units exept Heavy Infantrymen, due to their powerful melee attack, and their cheap cost. They die, but make good storm troops.
* Against heavy infatry, only thing that can hurt enough to kill, is archers' fire attack. So you're pretty much dead against a lot of them. Make sure to whittle them down at night, and stay on the proper terrain. They are slow and costly, so if that is all they recruit you can village grab and then swarm them. Use trolls to slow them down. The fights will take a long time...as trolls regenerate. Usea rchers to poison them as well, they will still take 8 damage from poison.
* Bowmen can easyly be killed with whelps and grunts--they have a pitiful melee attack.
* Stick to hills and attack at night
UNITS TO WATCH OUT FOR:
*mages
*Heavy infantry
*the sun+any unit
Against undead
*Luckily, the undead require the most skill to play, and although they are even nastier at night than orcs, they have exploitable weaknesses.
*Undead are chaotic, with poisoning, backstab, flying, magic, and cheap troops, however, they all are weak if played wrong.
*Don't worry about attacking during the day--you'll be more effective than the undead will, even though both suffer -25%. It evens out.
*Use trolls against skeletons, they have the right resistances and attacks, and although no range, they regenerate the little damage they recieve.
*Ghosts are possibly the most annoying units to fight against, as they are hard to hit, have good resistaces, and a drain melee attack. Use archers, because they have a fire attack, and ghosts range is weaker than it's melee.
*Use archers against the ghouls as well, as they have a poisonous melee attack. Necrophages also fully heal as an AMLA, so beware.
*Assassis are nigh useless. They are weak to the attacks of the undea, thay do no damage, and poison only affects two units, the ghoul and adept. as the adept has a magical ranged attack, don't do it--use melee fighters instead, as the Adept has no melee attack.
*Bats are easy to kill, don't worry about them.
*Walking Corpses are really cheap, and can swarm strong units--try to pick them off with ranged units on your turn, because their only strength is in numbers.
*Seperate the groups, as to maximize there weaknesses (e.g., get the adepts away from the skeltons, and slaughter them with melee fighters. The tactics used to do this are up to you.
UNITS TO WATCH OUT FOR:
*nothing special, but at night, look out for all of them
Thanks to:Martenzo (nice formatting, but not enough edge), Toms, jg
Last edited by Thrawn on March 21st, 2006, 10:51 pm, edited 4 times in total.
...please remember that "IT'S" ALWAYS MEANS "IT IS" and "ITS" IS WHAT YOU USE TO INDICATE POSSESSION BY "IT".--scott
this goes for they're/their/there as well
this goes for they're/their/there as well
May I join? 
Dwarves:
The greatest Problem is their resistance. Especially guards. My advice is to use Orcish assassins against them.
The ulfserkers could also cause troubles. Troll whelps and grunts could beat them, but they will be hurt seriously.
Dwarvish fighters are quite easy to kill with some troll whelps and assassins. (troll whelps, grunts and assassins are my favorites)
You can resist the thunderers with troll whelps because they have resistance against pierce and regenerate much of the lost hp back. Also their attack can do some damage.
The Dwarves are very expensive. The best strategy, IMO, is to outnumber them with your cheap troll whelps and grunts.
If the outlaws are part of them, also do so because they are also cheap and you shouldn´t let you outnumber by them.
And the gryphon can also hurt. On small maps, spread a lot of troll whelps around. You should be able to attac each gryphon who moves in your terretory with two whelps. Then you will beat some of them, and the opponent loses 24 gold per killed gryphon.
Dwarves:
The greatest Problem is their resistance. Especially guards. My advice is to use Orcish assassins against them.
The ulfserkers could also cause troubles. Troll whelps and grunts could beat them, but they will be hurt seriously.
Dwarvish fighters are quite easy to kill with some troll whelps and assassins. (troll whelps, grunts and assassins are my favorites)
You can resist the thunderers with troll whelps because they have resistance against pierce and regenerate much of the lost hp back. Also their attack can do some damage.
The Dwarves are very expensive. The best strategy, IMO, is to outnumber them with your cheap troll whelps and grunts.
If the outlaws are part of them, also do so because they are also cheap and you shouldn´t let you outnumber by them.
And the gryphon can also hurt. On small maps, spread a lot of troll whelps around. You should be able to attac each gryphon who moves in your terretory with two whelps. Then you will beat some of them, and the opponent loses 24 gold per killed gryphon.
First read, then think. Read again, think again. And then post!
Against Loyalists
* Humans are good and their greatest strenght is their versatility, they have something to counter all your troops.
* Retreat at day, they will slaughter you
* You should use archers and gobbos against their cavalry
* Use troll whelps and archers against spearmen
* Mages are sitting ducks for wolves and grunts
* Grunts are good arains all of their foot units exept Heavy Infantrymen
* Against heavy infatry, only thing that can hurt enough to kill, is archers' fire attack. So you're pretty much dead against a lot of them.
* Bowmen can easyly be killed with whelps and grunts
* Stick to hills
* Hope I haven't left anything out
* Humans are good and their greatest strenght is their versatility, they have something to counter all your troops.
* Retreat at day, they will slaughter you
* You should use archers and gobbos against their cavalry
* Use troll whelps and archers against spearmen
* Mages are sitting ducks for wolves and grunts
* Grunts are good arains all of their foot units exept Heavy Infantrymen
* Against heavy infatry, only thing that can hurt enough to kill, is archers' fire attack. So you're pretty much dead against a lot of them.
* Bowmen can easyly be killed with whelps and grunts
* Stick to hills
* Hope I haven't left anything out
me: Welcome to the real world. If everyone says your art and opinions suck, it's because they DO suck. Even if you're too damned proud/stupid/both to realize it.
danny_california: yep keep telling fairy tales.
danny_california: yep keep telling fairy tales.
Heavvy infantery can also be killed easily by troll whelps at night, or even better with an orcish assassin and a troll whelp waiting until the infantery is ready to be killed.
You could add to general things:
All orcs are quick in hills.
Also they are very cheap.
You could add to general things:
All orcs are quick in hills.
Also they are very cheap.
First read, then think. Read again, think again. And then post!
Can I have a go at it too?
Against undead:
- use your troll whelps to kill the skeletons, they have impact damage so are a real threat to them (skeletons have negative resistance against impact)
- use archers (the fire arrow) against the ghosts, they are not really vunerable to anything else than fire and holy
- use archers against the ghouls
-use the orcish assasins only for units that you can poison (ghoul and dark adept I think)
- Dark adepts are waiting for the Grunts to come and kill them
I'll add anything that comes to my mind...
Against undead:
- use your troll whelps to kill the skeletons, they have impact damage so are a real threat to them (skeletons have negative resistance against impact)
- use archers (the fire arrow) against the ghosts, they are not really vunerable to anything else than fire and holy
- use archers against the ghouls
-use the orcish assasins only for units that you can poison (ghoul and dark adept I think)
- Dark adepts are waiting for the Grunts to come and kill them
I'll add anything that comes to my mind...
The only use I've found for assassins against undead is to hold villages. The assassin dodges well, heals quickly, and dark apepts will think twice about ranging him. Still, he's not worth 17 gold for this purpose alone.
http://www.wesnoth.org/wiki/User:Sapient... "Looks like your skills saved us again. Uh, well at least, they saved Soarin's apple pie."
trolls? Nope. Goblin spearmen are great against drakes, but you will need the archers to assist them. Assassins are also useful-- for the same reasons as usual.
http://www.wesnoth.org/wiki/User:Sapient... "Looks like your skills saved us again. Uh, well at least, they saved Soarin's apple pie."
Stop a moment here.
Drakes have low defense everywhere and no specials except first strike for the slasher.
They are heavy armored, I mean, good physical resistance, except for pierce. There also comes that you really can´t hurt them with fire.
You have the privilege that you will outnumber them because drakes cost definitely much and orcs not.
In general, you should use some spearmen and try to get impalers. Archers are useful, but be aware that they don´t get killed by some burners.(wich you should beat with spearmen)
To kill the clashers, take an assassin, and get him away in the turn after attacking.
Troll whelps: This creatures can´t fail completely somewhere, IMO. You can use them mostly against the burners, because they don´t get far with melee because of their resistance. Also they can be a good barrier. (not so much against drakes, I know)
Grunts are also useful as a cheap strong melee fighter.
For both grunts and troll whelps counts: If you manage to advance one, the enemy has a problem.
Spearmen: They are cheap and have no upkeep cost. And they are not weak. If you have a couple of them around, they can be very useful. And if you advance one, he becomes a quite good fighter.
Assassins: Make his traits to your definitive advantage. Keep them in difficult terrain, use their speed and with troll whelps, you can make an evil poison-and-retreat tactic. Two of them should be enough, and more will eat your starting gold.
Drakes have low defense everywhere and no specials except first strike for the slasher.
They are heavy armored, I mean, good physical resistance, except for pierce. There also comes that you really can´t hurt them with fire.
You have the privilege that you will outnumber them because drakes cost definitely much and orcs not.
In general, you should use some spearmen and try to get impalers. Archers are useful, but be aware that they don´t get killed by some burners.(wich you should beat with spearmen)
To kill the clashers, take an assassin, and get him away in the turn after attacking.
Troll whelps: This creatures can´t fail completely somewhere, IMO. You can use them mostly against the burners, because they don´t get far with melee because of their resistance. Also they can be a good barrier. (not so much against drakes, I know)
Grunts are also useful as a cheap strong melee fighter.
For both grunts and troll whelps counts: If you manage to advance one, the enemy has a problem.
Spearmen: They are cheap and have no upkeep cost. And they are not weak. If you have a couple of them around, they can be very useful. And if you advance one, he becomes a quite good fighter.
Assassins: Make his traits to your definitive advantage. Keep them in difficult terrain, use their speed and with troll whelps, you can make an evil poison-and-retreat tactic. Two of them should be enough, and more will eat your starting gold.
First read, then think. Read again, think again. And then post!
I think the whole idea of the Northerners is that you can't just compare units one on one with other factions (at least you can't do it and look good!). You need to use pack tactics.
Your units are cheaper - so you need to use more of them! The trick is to use combinations of different types in one pack and plan in advance, because most northerner units move quite slowly through a lot of terrain and can be cut off. Trolls and goblins move slowly so you need to send them where you need them!
Also you have to be careful that you're not sacrificing your units as XP fodder to the enemy. Not sending enough reinforcements can mean that you give your opposition a grand chance to level up, repeatedly. This is especially true for level 0's who are - in a lot of cases - a lot weaker than your normal unit. Knowing how to use those level 0's properly is very essential for the northerners. Goblins are pretty good as level 0's because they have a ranged attack and that's helpful in a lot of cases (mounted units, drakes). They just don't pack a lot of punch, so need to be accompanied by heavier hitters and meat shields and of course, some units providing ZOC for ordered retreats, protecting flanks and blocking tight spots.
The good part about northerner units is that you don't have any units that particularly stand out as vulnerable or valuable per se. So I disagree with all that's been said about the ulfserker - the northerners are probably least endangered by it. Sure in daylight they get some easy kills, but you can afford the loss and the rest of the pack will wipe the ulf up easily. Of course good pack tactics mean you position your units that YOU choose which one is most vulnerable to attack and which ones are left to retaliate, and that they remain able to do so.
Orcish Grunts are a pretty good addition to any pack because they have a blade attack that's useful in the greatest number of different circumstances. If you don't know what you're up against, get an Orcish Grunt or two. At night they do ferocious damage and can be quite good to use against high defense units, because you get a kill with fewer hits.
Trolls of course are the perfect meat shield. They just don't do a lot of damage, except when facing units that are vulnerable to impact.
When I can afford it, I sometimes even get an Orcish Assassin just for it's evasive defense. They can be good to hold villages or easily defensible spots against quite a few units. This is a sacrificial tactic, but sometimes can buy you the time needed to escape daylight or gather your packs elsewhere.
Did I say daylight? Day and night cycle are hugely important to the northerners - if your units are already weak compared one on one, it's not going to get better if you fight at the wrong time of day. Really consider just standing next to your enemy, shuffling around your positions, doing anything but attack. The end turn button never looked more attractive.
Wolf riders are good not only as scouts but because their advancements are among the most useful units. Unlike other factions, your scouts are actually expensive and shouldn't be thrown away to the enemy. Sadly they are fairly easy to kill if your opponent knows what they're doing.
Enough has been said about the archer, it's another standard unit you often can't afford not to recruit. I personally don't use the Naga a lot, it's not up to par against mermen in water but can hold some border terrain and gets some great advancements.
Your units are cheaper - so you need to use more of them! The trick is to use combinations of different types in one pack and plan in advance, because most northerner units move quite slowly through a lot of terrain and can be cut off. Trolls and goblins move slowly so you need to send them where you need them!
Also you have to be careful that you're not sacrificing your units as XP fodder to the enemy. Not sending enough reinforcements can mean that you give your opposition a grand chance to level up, repeatedly. This is especially true for level 0's who are - in a lot of cases - a lot weaker than your normal unit. Knowing how to use those level 0's properly is very essential for the northerners. Goblins are pretty good as level 0's because they have a ranged attack and that's helpful in a lot of cases (mounted units, drakes). They just don't pack a lot of punch, so need to be accompanied by heavier hitters and meat shields and of course, some units providing ZOC for ordered retreats, protecting flanks and blocking tight spots.
The good part about northerner units is that you don't have any units that particularly stand out as vulnerable or valuable per se. So I disagree with all that's been said about the ulfserker - the northerners are probably least endangered by it. Sure in daylight they get some easy kills, but you can afford the loss and the rest of the pack will wipe the ulf up easily. Of course good pack tactics mean you position your units that YOU choose which one is most vulnerable to attack and which ones are left to retaliate, and that they remain able to do so.
Orcish Grunts are a pretty good addition to any pack because they have a blade attack that's useful in the greatest number of different circumstances. If you don't know what you're up against, get an Orcish Grunt or two. At night they do ferocious damage and can be quite good to use against high defense units, because you get a kill with fewer hits.
Trolls of course are the perfect meat shield. They just don't do a lot of damage, except when facing units that are vulnerable to impact.
When I can afford it, I sometimes even get an Orcish Assassin just for it's evasive defense. They can be good to hold villages or easily defensible spots against quite a few units. This is a sacrificial tactic, but sometimes can buy you the time needed to escape daylight or gather your packs elsewhere.
Did I say daylight? Day and night cycle are hugely important to the northerners - if your units are already weak compared one on one, it's not going to get better if you fight at the wrong time of day. Really consider just standing next to your enemy, shuffling around your positions, doing anything but attack. The end turn button never looked more attractive.
Wolf riders are good not only as scouts but because their advancements are among the most useful units. Unlike other factions, your scouts are actually expensive and shouldn't be thrown away to the enemy. Sadly they are fairly easy to kill if your opponent knows what they're doing.
Enough has been said about the archer, it's another standard unit you often can't afford not to recruit. I personally don't use the Naga a lot, it's not up to par against mermen in water but can hold some border terrain and gets some great advancements.
Try some Multiplayer Scenarios / Campaigns