Help request for Siege of Elensefar

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RobDollar
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Joined: September 25th, 2011, 9:35 pm

Help request for Siege of Elensefar

Post by RobDollar »

I'm at my wits end with this mission! I've tried for a 2 weeks to complete it, searched and tried all the different tactical approaches... but I'm still only just able to kill the Orc boss. I only have 4 lvl 2 people, and 2 of them are mermen.

Should I just start the campaign again and try to get more leveled up characters?

I am willing to "cheat" if there is such a thing to get past this mission so I can keep playing the campaign, I really have lost count as to how many times I've tried this mission and it's starting to drive me a bit crazy.
Velensk
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Re: Help request for Siege of Elensefar

Post by Velensk »

Considering that HttT has been beaten without any recalls at all I'd say it's plenty possible to beat it with what you have. A more important question would be how much gold you have and working on your execution.

That said, restarting the campaign (especially if this is your first time through) will probably make it much easier and certainly is no shame.
"There are two kinds of old men in the world. The kind who didn't go to war and who say that they should have lived fast died young and left a handsome corpse and the old men who did go to war and who say that there is no such thing as a handsome corpse."
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beetlenaut
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Re: Help request for Siege of Elensefar

Post by beetlenaut »

I was in exactly your position once, and restarting made it so much easier. You can probably get back to this level in a few hours in much better condition, now that you know more about the game. It would end up being a lot faster in the long run. (While it is possible to do it with just level-one units, leave that to the expert players for now.) What you want is about eight level-2 units, with Konrad at level 3. (Yes, really! Assuming you're playing at normal difficulty anyway.) An ideal recall list would include two level-2 elvish fighters, two level-2 archers, a white mage, a red mage, and the merman with the storm trident, also at level 2. It's far easier to get close to this list on a second play-through. Another point: You don't have to go back to your keep. After you kill the orc, you can use his keep to get a few more magi for the second half of the mission.

The Siege of Elensefar is twice as hard as the previous missions, so many people get stuck there for a while. You can find many forum threads giving more specific strategy guides for this scenario.
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RobDollar
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Joined: September 25th, 2011, 9:35 pm

Re: Help request for Siege of Elensefar

Post by RobDollar »

Thanks for the friendly replies. I think I might start the campaign again and see how I get on.
monochromatic
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Re: Help request for Siege of Elensefar

Post by monochromatic »

A tactical idea: IMO most people make the mistake of making a defensive line at the river. It might seem to make sense at first since the orcs have 20% defense in water, but actually one's going to suffer for it. Elves in general have very few hitpoints, and 40% defense on flat is not going to help it! Instead, hold them off at the forest closer to where you started. The orcs will venture out of the city by themselves, and it will be much harder for them to hit you with your 60/70% defense in the forest opposed to their 40% on flat. If you had a crapload of level 2's, you might be able to get away with it, but I'd still advise against it.
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pauxlo
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Re: Help request for Siege of Elensefar

Post by pauxlo »

Use some shamans (or their level-ups) to slow the orcs before attacking them with other elves (or horsemen). But don't let them attack your shamans (if not slowed and/or in forest), especially those which already have experience.

Shamans are also surprisingly good against skeletons - only make sure they don't get hit by non-slowed ones when on grass. (Sorceresses have an arcane feary fire attack, which is even better.)
Joram
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Re: Help request for Siege of Elensefar

Post by Joram »

One thing I will add, is that this scenario is MUCH easier if you have a bunch of level 2 units that are only 12-20ish xp away from advancing. That means that you can absorb some damage, then kill a level 2 enemy and be full health and ready for another turn of damage soaking. You thus easily get twice the mileage out of each unit you recall.
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Theolain
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Re: Help request for Siege of Elensefar

Post by Theolain »

After completing it on easy and getting stuck on LoW i have gone back to HttT (Currently stuck on this one but more because im trying to not have too many deaths) on normal to get tactics down and stop wasteing valuable units but i seem to get the important ones die on this senario (eg knights that have just attacked and i thought would survive next turn).

I should have thought about leaving the defense line at the line of trees....now that i look at it, it is such a obvious tactical advantage put on the map.

I tend to find if you keep you horsemen alive (which im not good at doing yet) and attack with them during the day (possibly with a leader nearby) they cut through the grunts easilly. Also i have the white mage, a sorceress, a druid and a couple of mages to easilly deal with the undead.....I just seem to get overwhelmed for not defending right or leaving units too open (hence why doing the first campagn again)
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monochromatic
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Re: Help request for Siege of Elensefar

Post by monochromatic »

Horsemen should NEVER attack melee units. Unless it's the only unit left in an area and if the horseman can easily survive if the enemy hits him with all their strikes. They should only attack support units. Once you get Knights, then they may be able to attack certain melee units.

Also, protip, never charge assassins/slayers. It never works.
Last edited by monochromatic on October 8th, 2011, 7:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Velensk
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Re: Help request for Siege of Elensefar

Post by Velensk »

I'm actually going to disagree with the above. It is in general good guidelines but there are plenty of times when it is worth it to do the things mentioned. This is especially the case when you have plenty of units with slow or when your enemy retaliates with blade/impact and a ToD disadvantage (or all three). The key thing to keep in mind is how much you are risking and remember that even if your enemy is swimming you still might miss twice. If you aren't risking much (and it is very possible to charge without risking much even if you are attacking melee units or assassins) then the high damage is frequently worth the unreliability.
"There are two kinds of old men in the world. The kind who didn't go to war and who say that they should have lived fast died young and left a handsome corpse and the old men who did go to war and who say that there is no such thing as a handsome corpse."
Theolain
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Location: The UK

Re: Help request for Siege of Elensefar

Post by Theolain »

Im still having a problem with this senario.....I can complete it but i feel my losses is too heavy for me to want to go to the next one.

The main problem i have (as always seems to be the case) is the first 5 or so turns. I have tried various tactics but each different way has ended up in failure. My recall list is (excluding lvl 1s with barely any xp) 1 druid, 2 heros, 1 elvish rider, 1 nearly lvled shaman, 1 sorceress, 2 nearly lved footpads, 1 nearly lvled horseman, 2 knights (one of which is loyal), 1 white mage (loyal). Unfortunatly i lost my loyal mage :-(. I also have 313G at the start

First tactic that i tried is holding the orcs at the river. This worked for a while but i wasnt making any usefull progress and eventually started getting losses as i was always stuck south of the river. Also couldnt really get much use from the theves

2nd was to try at the tree line but i ended up with the same prob as the last

3rd was to get across the bridge fast and hold there. I managed to hold off well and kill the leader but i got swarmed by everything else and by that time also but the undead

What am i missing? that i would assume will eventually be obvious when im more experienced with the game
Save a raid....... Hug the wall
Theolain
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Re: Help request for Siege of Elensefar

Post by Theolain »

Dont mean to double post but i have worked out a stratergy that works for me but you need a decent amount of money to start i had 313......Recruit a keep of horsemen (you will lose most of them) followed by usual troops for facing orcs. The horsemen should start battle on the 2nd turn of light and will take much damage but should drasticaly cut the numbers of orcs in the city with the reinforcments easilly finishing before the undead arive (i even got a knight from it). The undead should be easy after if you recruit a few mages...
Save a raid....... Hug the wall
MRDNRA
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Re: Help request for Siege of Elensefar

Post by MRDNRA »

I remember a while ago I was stuck with this very same mission, and had it recommended to me that I should have some marksmen to support as well. I'd advise getting at least 1, possibly 2 marksmen, they have good reliability to attack units particularly on castle hexes, their only weakness being a lack of durability.
ayearhasgone
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Re: Help request for Siege of Elensefar

Post by ayearhasgone »

The orcs are VERY interested in killing Konrad. Send him on a lone expedition to the west island and the enemy will send a wave of troops that way, giving you an opening to break through their lines and start taking villages. You will want the thieves to find a hidden fjord across the lake instead of assisting you after you've secured a village.

The trick is reducing the orc threat before the skellies start arriving, which is soon. Even with excellent tactics, expect to lose a few units, even veterans.
Caphriel
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Re: Help request for Siege of Elensefar

Post by Caphriel »

Theolain wrote:Dont mean to double post but...
There is an edit post button you can use to avoid double posting :eng:
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