The Elves are a playable faction in The Battle for Middle-Earth II and its expansion The Rise of the Witch-King. They are playable in all standard game modes as well as The Battle For Middle-Earth II's Good Campaign and The Rise of the Witch-King's Angmar Campaign Epilogue. This faction represents an amalgam of the elven armies of Middle-Earth, including those of Lorien, Mirkwood and Rivendell.
In The Battle for Middle-Earth, certain elven units were usable by Rohan, and many of those Rohan units were reused in the full Elf faction. This faction has great advantages regarding stealth, archers and natural self-healing, though their roster is generally fragile, and their early game is particularly weak.
Lore[]
See Elves at One Wiki to Rule Them All.
The Elves of Middle-earth's forests have come forth to answer the call to arms against Sauron.
Faction Overview[]
Strengths[]
The Elves have the best set of ranged heroes, with Thranduil, Legolas, and Haldir all capable of wreaking massive damage with their complement of arrow-powered death dealers. As devastating as melee-based heroes of other factions can be, this focus on ranged attacks gives the Elves a decided advantage when facing down masses of foes from afar,
Simply put, the Elves have the best archers in the entire game; the Lorien and Mirkwood varieties are both deadly. Once they've been upgraded with Silverthorn Arrows, they enter another league entirely. Two to three battalions of such upgraded archers make short work of virtually anything, and it's even been observed that three battalions of upgraded Mirkwood Archers can take down the Balrog in record time. Needless to say, build many archers and get those upgraded arrows (courtesy of the Eregion Forge) as soon as possible,
Unlike the Banner Carriers available to other factions, the Elven variety heal their compatriots. This is a tremendous advantage because you can pull back from battle, let your troops heal a bit, then throw them back into the fray. This also slows down their rate of demise, and if you equip friendly units with upgraded armour, your units last under seemingly impossible pressure for a long time.
Strategy[]
The Elves are the most difficult faction to play early on. Though they have their fair share of strengths, they lack a good early game. This forces them to take a defensive stance at the outset. Concentrate on getting a fairly defensible base setup and generating sufficient income.
Once you have sufficient resources, you'll be able to start building the units that the Elves need to really compete: both varieties of archers, Both of these also need to be equipped with Silverthorn Arrows to be anywhere near fully effective. However, getting to the point where you have those arrows set up on Mirkwood Archers takes some very significant resources.
Once they get going, things pick up nicely, with a large complement of heroes. The heroes’ strengths in missile-based attacks make them an excellent candidate for hitting targets from relative safety. The flipside, of course, is that they aren't particularly resilient in their various melee classes. Needless to say, it takes some effort to get proficient at the Elves when you're surrounded by factions that have very decent to fantastic early games.
Units[]
Heroes[]
- Arwen, the daughter of Elrond: Daughter of Elrond, Arwen has the ability to summon the power of nature to assist her in battle.
- Haldir, the agile defender of Lothlorien: A powerful archer and Elven warrior who guards the northern borders of Lothlorien, was the first to greet the Fellowship when they arrived at the Golden Wood.
- Glorfindel, the Elf Lord in silver armour: One of the few Elves powerful enough to ride openly against the Ringwraiths.
- Treebeard, the leader of the Ents: When pressed into action, Treebeard is a relentless fighter. He is also a fine shot with a heavy boulder.
- Elrond, the leader of Rivendell: The Master of Rivendell is a member of the White Council and father to Arwen, He is also a legendary warrior.
- Thranduil, the leader of the Mirkwood Elves: The King of Mirkwood and father of Legolas, Thranduil is both a noble warrior and a master archer.
- Legolas, the Prince of the Mirkwood Elves: Legolas's multiple special attacks and remarkable abilities with the bow can put down a battalion-sized force. He is also effective with his white knives and can train Archers to improve their skills.
- Galadriel, the Storm Queen: When summoned, Galadriel can attack enemies with special powers and wizard blasts.
- Create a Hero: Elven players may choose to bring a player created hero that is either a Dwarf, Elf, Hero of the West, or Wizard.
Workers[]
- Builder: These devoted workers of Lorien construct and repair buildings.
Swordsmen[]
- Peasants (Base Game only): Human peasants, armed with swords and shields, can be a stubborn wall against invaders.
- Hobbits (Rise of the Witch-King only): The halflings of the Shire will stand and fight to protect their homeland, if asked.
- Lorien Warriors: The nimble Lorien Warrior wields sword and shield in battle.
Pikemen[]
- Mithlond Sentries: Guarding the sacred Elven port of Grey Havens, the Mithlond Sentry can stop enemy cavalry and monsters in their tracks.
Archers[]
- Lorien Archers: Lorien Archers can pick off enemy units from a distance. They are a formidable force when combined with Lorien Warriors.
- Mirkwood Archers: These elite Elven archers specialise in stealth and have a devastatingly long firing range.
- Noldor Warriors (Rise of the Witch-king only): The sight of the elite Noldor Warrior strikes fear into the very hearts of his enemies.
Cavalry[]
- Rivendell Lancers: This brave soldier of Rivendell rides on horseback, carrying a mighty lance and trampling enemies when at full speed.
- Lindon Horse Archers (Rise of the Witch-king only): The nimble Lindon Horse Archer can pick off an enemy at a distance astride a horse.
Monsters[]
- Ent: The mighty Ent can crush his enemy with melee attacks or throw boulders from afar.
- Giant Eagle: The noble Giant Eagle attacks from above, grabbing men and horses in its talons.
Ships[]
- Elven Transport: This defenceless transport can convoy units across large bodies of water.
- Elven Storm Ship: This ship can be activated to cause a powerful whirlpool, sucking any enemies nearby to the ocean depths.
- Elven Warship: This ship fires heavy arrows for maximum effectiveness against enemy infantry and ships.
- Elven Bombardment Ship: Equipped with a long range ballista, this ship is perfectly suited for destroying enemy structures.
Structures[]
Buildings[]
- Mallorn Tree: This beautiful tree generates resources for the Elven faction.
- Elven Barracks: The Barracks trains Elven infantry units.
- Green Pasture: The Green Pasture trains Elven cavalry units.
- Ent Moot: The Ent Moot allows the Elves to recruit Ent allies to the battle.
- Heroic Statue: Units rallying near the Heroic Statue receive a boost to their armour and damage output. The Statue also increases your command point limit by 10,
- Battle Tower: The Battle Tower is a defensive structure that can be garrisoned with Elven archers.
- Mirror of Galadriel: The Mirror of Galadriel provides healing bonuses to nearby troops.
- Eregion Forge: The forge enables the research of Elven unit upgrades.
- Wall Hub: Wall Hubs allow you to expand your castle walls.
- Fortress: The Fortress is the centre of an Elven base. Can train builders, and heroes, and can be customised with a variety of upgrades and expansions.
Fortress Expansions[]
- Wall Hub: Wall Hubs allow you to expand your castle walls. Allows for the building of walls from the hub.
- Arrow Tower: Add this Tower to your Fortress to provide a vantage point for shooting arrows at approaching enemy troops. A static defence building that fires an arrow at nearby enemies.
- Vigilant Ent: This Ent protector hurls boulders at nearby enemies. A static defence building that throws Ent boulders at nearby enemy units.
- Floodgate: When opened, the Floodgate spills rushing water that causes damage to enemies and quenches nearby fires.
Upgrades[]
Unit Upgrades[]
- Banner Carrier: The Banner Carrier displays the veterancy of your units and grants all troops in the battalion healing bonuses.
- Elven Armor: This rare form of armour is greatly prized among Elven troops for its superior design and protection on the battlefield.
- Forged Blades: These elegant blades provide the Elven melee units with a boost in damage.
- Silverthorn Arrows: These much-coveted arrows inflict extra damage and are eagerly awaited by master Elven archers.
Fortress Upgrades[]
- Enchanted Anvil: This powerful anvil, much like the one used to reforge Aragorn's sword, Narsil, reduces the cost of Elven unit upgrades.
- Blessed Mist: When Blessed Mist is enabled, a permanent, enshrouding mist envelops your Fortress, camouflaging nearby troops.
- Crystal Moat: This moat surrounds your Fortress, preventing enemies from attacking the Fortress anywhere other than the front gate.
- Mystic Fountains: All units near a Fortress equipped with a Mystic Fountain heal their wounds over time.
- Encasing Vines: These powerful vines wrap around your Fortress and help protect it from damage.
- Eagle's Nest: If you build an Eagle's Nest, one Giant Eagle may make it his home and protect your Fortress from interlopers.
Wall Upgrades[]
- Gate: This primary defensive Gate can be opened and closed for strategic deployment.
- Wall Hub: Wall Hubs allow you to expand your castle walls.
Powers[]
Tier 1 Powers[]
- Rallying Call: Grants an armor and damage boost to selected units.
- Heal: Heals units and replaces one dead man per battalion.
- Farsight: Reveals a large area of the map for a duration. All stealth and camouflaged units become visible.
Tier 2 Powers[]
- Enshrouding Mist: Creates a mist that camouflages any friendly units within.
- Arrow Volley: Launches a volley of arrows anywhere on the map.
- Elven Wood: When a target area is selected, an Elven wood appears. This adds a boost for the forces of good and removes all Leadership bonuses for the forces of evil.
- Summon Tom Bombadil: Summons Tom Bombadil, the mysterious stranger that saved the Hobbits in the Barrow Downs, to the battlefield to surprisingly devastating effect.
Tier 3 Powers[]
- Summon Eagle Allies: Instantly summons Giant Eagles to the battlefield.
- Cloud Break: Bad weather is banished by a burst of sunshine or moon glow that stuns enemies on the battlefield.
- Summon Ent Allies: Instantly summons the Ents to the battlefield.
Tier 4 Powers[]
- Sun Flare: Calls a fiery beam of sunlight that clears the weather and scorches the battlefield.
- Flood: Causes a horse-shaped rush of water that inflicts damage on enemies and extinguishes nearby fires.
Gallery[]
Notes and Trivia[]
- The logo for the Elves is of a vertical Leaf of Lórien. The Leaves were broaches given to the Fellowship of the Ring by the Lothlorien elves at the end of their stay in the forest. They show the new-opened leaves of a beech-tree and are worn with the tip of the leaf pointing to the right of the person wearing it.
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