LOTR The Third Age Boss/Tough Enemy FAQ __________________________ ?--------Contents--------? I. Version History II. About This Guide III. Info on Characters IV. Boss Fights V. Other Difficult Fights VI. Miscellaneous Stuff VII. Updates VIII. Contacting Me IX. Credits _________________________ ?----Version History----? Version 0.96 Just finished the first draft Version 0.97 Just tweaked a few of the strategies to make them more feasible Corrected a few errors Version 0.98 (2) Added the suggestion for alternate Witch King tactics Updated contributor profiles Added Boss HP for some bosses Version 0.99 Added boss HP for all bosses Added boss AP Added boss Immunities, Vulnerabilities and Strengths Fixed up the Flying Nazgul section Fixed Character Profiles Version 1.00 Done! Fixed a few spelling errors Added The Eye of Sauron guide Added two more contributors' contributions Version 1.01 Added another contributor Version 1.02 Added another contributor Fixed up the Character section to add a little note on Morwen, Strength, Armor, and HP/AP Version 1.05 Added two more contributors Made the "Miscellaneous" Section, for pieces of info other people send me that don't fit anywhere else Corrected a bit of grammar and some spacing errors 1.10 Changed "Eye of Sauron" to correct name "The Dark Lord Sauron" and added stats and everything for him Added alternate strategies for The Watcher in the Water, The Witch-King, Flying Nazgul in Osgiliath MY WARNING 1.20 Ok, now I've stopped getting annoying fix my bug emails the warning section can be gotten rid of, so Removed MY WARNING Added two more contributions in the Miscellaneous Section Updated the "About" section FINAL This is my last version of this guide for a while. I just added some more contributions and fixed some sp, etc. __________________________ ?---------About----------? This is only my second guide ever, but I hope it is good. I want to write this to all the people out there like me who have bought this game and need some reference to a certain boss or difficult fight. I was stuck many times on this game myself and I found it frustrating there were no guides like this one out there. A lot of people send me emails saying they like my guide. If there are any other games you would like a guide written for, just ask. If I get a few asks for a guide, I will write it. Thank you for your support! _________________________ ?------Characters-------? Berethor: Character Type: Human Weapon Type: Longsword Specialty: Doing LOTS of damage Support Ability: Boosting company ability Damage: Very High Armor: Medium HP: High AP: Low Berethor is the former captain of the Citadel Guard of Minas Tirith, and a great soldier. He is sent by Denethor to find Boromir, but is attacked by Ringwraiths in Eregion. Berethor then meets Idrial, who together set out in the game. Berethor can do the most damage in the game because he has the most powerful weapons and highest strength-boosting items. His Gondor Rampage skill (Sword Craft Tree) is the most damaging move in the game. His Leadership skill is useful for anything from boosting company stats, damage or armor to healing. Idrial: Character Type: Elf Weapon Type: Smaller Elven Blade Specialty: Healing Support Ability: Small Amounts of Damage Damage: Low Armor: Very High HP: Medium AP: Very High Idrial is a servant of Galadriel, Lady of Lothlorien. She rescues Berethor from The grip of the Ringwraiths and leads him on her quest to warn the Lady about the dangers currently encircling Middle-Earth. Idrial is the best healer, hands-down. Her move, Aura of the Valar, is a candidate for the best move in the game, acting as and auto-cast revival and immediate turn upon death. In addition to this she can heal individuals (and later, the entire party at once) and can revive dead people that have slipped through Aura. Her Elven magic allows her to haste party members, giving them more turns, and trade in her turn for theirs. Idrial's weakness, however, is her damage: her Sword Craft Tree is pitiful, and her one good damage move which is the most powerful until Rohan, roughly 30 percent through the game, is never followed up by a better one. Elegost: Character Type: Ranger/Bowman Weapon Type: Bow Specialty: Damage Support Ability: Effects Damage: Medium Armor: Low HP: Low AP: High Elegost was attacked by goblins one night and had his truest companion torn away from him and his most prized possession. He has vowed to get revenge and agrees to join with Idrial and Berethor to get it. Elegost is pretty much just direct damage, with a bit else thrown in. His final Bow Craft move, which can be obtained quite quickly, is stunning: it is about 20,000 damage with no heed to armor, and this is an amazing move even at the end of the game. The downside is, that's it. All. He doesn't get any better. Elegost's slight support skill is the ability to stun, reduce the attack rate or damage of, put to sleep or immobilize foes with his moves. His Arrows of Sleep are particularly potent when upgraded: All foes put to sleep for the duration of the battle. Again (Did you guess this is going to be bad?) these have a downside. By the time you reach 50 percent through the game, most funs are immune to all these status changes. Hadhod: Character Type: Dwarf Weapon Type: Axe Specialty: Damage Support Ability: Shielding Damage: High Armor: Medium HP: Very High AP: Low Elegost's most loyal companion. He joins up with Elegost just before they reach Moria, and helps Elegost, Idrial and Berethor find their way around. Throughout Moria he becomes an important figure as he explains the role of certain dead Dwarves in Moria's Past. Hadhod is excellent at dealing lots of damage to many enemies, or concentrating his damage around one target with a powerful Axe Craft blow. Although his fire spirit attacks are very weak in Moria, since goblins have high fire armor, he is excellent later as he learns the massively damaging Dragon Calling and the moderate Flames of Ruin. Hadhod's support ability is unique, he has two different types of shields: your regular shield, and a reflecting shield, which reflects some of the damage back. These shields can be researched in two forms, on for one person, and after this has been researched, for a significantly larger AP investment, for the whole party. Morwen: Character Type: Human Weapon Type: Double Axes Specialty: Combo Damage Support Ability: Stealth Damage: High Armor: Very Low HP: Low AP: Medium Morwen was a warrior of Gondor who was thrown out when she did not marry the man she was supposed to. She fled to Rohan with her family. Now, Saruman's Uruk-Hai have destroyed her village and she joins the others to help look for her family and warn Theoden of Saruman's intent. Morwen's best damage comes from her combo attacks, although she does not have as powerful weapons as the others, and poor armor, she can strike 6 times with paired axes. Despite this, with all due respect, let's put it this way: Morwen's the last person you want fighting for you. Not only does she so incredibly poor armor that never really improves so you get killed in one hit, her attacks don't really become good for a while. Her second tree isn't much better, stealing skill points, attribute points and items is fun and all, but do you really want to do that in the middle of the big Witch-King fight? In fact, one of Morwen's last stealth skills is probably the best-- hide (and please never come back). Case Closed. Note: Some people have complained to me that I am too quick to criticize Morwen. I just find that she is too hard to get good by just going through the natural course of the game. In short, to make Morwen as good as the other characters, you'll have to work on her a lot harder. Eaoden: Character Type: Human Weapon Type: Spear Specialty: Damage Support Ability: Healing Damage: High Armor: Low HP: Medium AP: High Eaoden meets up with the group as an outrider of the Rohirrim force and is persuaded to go with them to Helm's Deep. Eaoden is really the only one who can get near Berethor in terms of damage. However, he is still left around 10,000+ damage behind, so near is not really that close. However, you may opt for him in Berethor's stead because his second tree slightly outbids Berethor's, although if you are using Idrial there shouldn't be a need for healing. I would strongly suggest going with him as a third character to Berethor and Idrial, if fighting at all. His healing is OK, anyway. Instead of Idrial's nasty Valar stuff and Gifts, you can suck out health, AP and transfer them to a comrade. This is a bit of old- fashioned style of healing, no? If you are going to seriously use Eaoden as a healer, you need to give him the Elfstone of Pure Light (found later on in the game), which allows him to learn Power of the Valar (revival) and Gift of Galadriel (direct healing). _________________________ ?------Boss Fights------? A little note on Bosses: No boss is truly "difficult" but you may find some hard and need a good strategy The Watcher in the Water: Where: End of Eregion Suggested Characters: Elegost, Hadhod, Idrial Difficulty: ** (out of *****) HP: 3,112 AP: 242 Vulnerable: Fire Strong: Water Immune: Melee Bind, Sleep Since you can only hit this boss at range, Berethor is of no use to you. Instead, go with the above. There are two approaches you can take. One is to heal every droplet with Idrial's Gift of Galadriel, but this may take a while, as Idrial is the one you really need attacking. In another scenario, keep blasting Flaming Fury, Loudwater Fury, and Creature Bane at it. You will just outlast it. If you have got it, cast Haste of the Elves on yourself with Idrial, which will greatly speed up your attacks, and you have the most powerful attack. This tactic was suggested by karatecolton@cableone.net: Use Berethor and cast Company Might. Use Aimed Shot on Elegost's turn. When it is Berethor's turn again, switch him for Hadhod and use Flaming Fury. Then repeat a few times and he should die. The Balrog of Morgoth: Where: End of East Moria (Right after you fight the troll with the weird drums hanging off him) Suggested Characters: Berethor, Idrial, Hadhod, (Gandalf the Grey) Difficulty: ***1/2 HP: 72,317 AP: 4335 Vulnerable: Water, Light Strong: N/A Immune: Stun, Root, Sleep, Melee Bind, Ranged Bind, Spirit Bind, Slow Start out by casting Aura of the Valar on everyone (concentrate on Gandalf last, since he has more HP) with Idrial and Stone Shield on everyone (Mountain Shield if you have it) with Hadhod. Have Gandalf keep using Bolt of the Valar and Berethor Citadel Rage (or Ecthelion Wrath if you have it). Your main objective is just to keep those two alive to kill him by using Aura of the Valar and shields. Alternate #1: Just let everyone die except Gandalf and Idrial. Have Idrial keep casting Aura of the Valar and Gandalf keep using Bolt of the Valar. If Gandalf runs out of AP, have him use Wizard's Drain. This tactic is SIMPLER but take LONGER. This tactic was suggested by alex_7942@yahoo.com: Use Walnut of Anor on Gandalf, giving him infinite AP. At this point you can just let all other characters die. Just keep using Bolt of the Valar or Kingsfoil when you need to heal. This tactic was suggested by jasonf932005@yahoo.com: With Idrial cast Loudwater Fury, and use Stone Shield on Gandalf with Hadhod. When necessary use Gift of Elrond on him. Grima Wormtongue: Location: Edoras Great Hall (Rohan) Suggested Characters: Elegost/Berethor, Idrial, Any Difficulty: *** HP: 14,927 AP: 2003 Vulnerable: Light Heroic: Shadow Immune: Stun, Root, Sleep, Melee Bind, Ranged Bind, Spirit Bind, Slow Start off by casting Aura of the Valar on everyone with Idrial. If your third character (which should be your best other character) is Hadhod, cast Flames of Ruin on his first turn, then Mountain Shield on the party on the second. Finally, cast Haste of the Elves on your damage character (there are really only two at this point: Elegost and Berethor). If you choose Berethor, use Ecthelion Wrath whenever possible on Grima. When using Elegost use Frenzy, then True Shot 2x on him. After Hadhod has cast both Mountain Shield and Flames of Ruin, use flaming fury to help finish off the other Uruk-Hai. If you choose Morwen in this spot, do the same. (Work on finishing off the Uruks). DO NOT ATTACK THE URUKS WITH BERETHOR/ELEGOST. Grima has A LOT of health (get used to it) and requires your full attention, and his multiple target Black Speech is annoying. BE READY TO FIGHT SHARKU AFTER YOU SEE A CAVE Sharku, Warg Rider Captain: Location: Near end of Rohan Suggested Characters: Idrial, Any, Any Difficulty: * HP: 18,696 AP: 627 Vulnerable: Water, Blunt Strong: Slash Immune: Stun, Root, Sleep, Melee Bind, Ranged Bind, Spirit Bind, Slow Sharku is really not that hard of a boss, although he has quite a hefty amount of health. You'll know you're about to face him when there is a cut scene with Morwen and her dead family. Start off as normal with Idrial, casting Aura of the Valar on everyone. Once this has been done, just use Valarous Haste to give your turn to the most damaging character in your party, as Idrial won't make a real impact otherwise. If you are using Berethor, repeat using Ecthelion Wrath. If you are using Hadhod, cast Flames of Ruin the first turn and then go to your most powerful Axe Craft skill for the duration of the battle. Eventually he will fall and you will be left to go to another guide for the endless, difficult Helm's Deep. (No bosses.) P.S. Prepare for some really crappy romance with clipping issues Gothmog, Orc Army Commander: Location: Osgiliath (When you meet Faramir) Suggested Characters: Berethor, Idrial, Any, (Faramir) Difficulty: **1/2 HP: 60,589 AP: 60,593 Vulnerable: Fire, Light Strong: Blunt, Slash, Pierce Immune: Root, Sleep, Melee Bind, Ranged Bind, Spirit Bind The first Gothmog battle is very simple, mainly because he can't get more men. Immediately start out with the Idrial routine, using Frenzy (You did get it, didn't you?) and Aura of the Valar on all, concentrating most on herself and Berethor and Faramir last. On your first turn with Faramir, use Volley of Arrows. Then on your next turn, use it again, and the orcs should be down to sufficient health to be killed by anyone (you don't want Berethor bothering with them) On Berethor's turn use Double Attack, then Gondor Rampage on Gothmog. Keep repeating this until he is dead. Meanwhile, as you are finishing off Gothmog, use Faramir's Steward's Armor so everyone takes less damage from Barad-Dur Curse, and heave your third character take out the now half-health orcs. IT SHOULD BE NOTED AT THIS POINT YOU WILL FIND POLISHED ELFSTONE OF SPIRIT ENHANCEMENT. IT IS LOCATED IN A CHEST SOMEWHERE BEFORE THE OSGILIATH, PLAZA SAVE POINT. THIS IS THE MOST POWERFUL ELFSTONE YOU WILL EVER FIND, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE ONES IN EVIL MODE AT THE END. - What it does: Reduces AP, HP, increases SPIRIT POWER damage. THIS INCREASES IT BY A LOT. HADHOD'S FLAMES OF RUIN, NORMALLY DOIN AROUND 2k DAMAGE, DOES 17k! - Since only Hadhod and Idrial have Spirit Powers, equip it on one of them - If Idrial is your healer, I wouldn't recommend her, as you'll be healing with her most of the time (although Osgiliath's first part is a bit of a breather) - And, Hadhod has more powerful Spirit Powers to begin with This was contributed by djruffian@gmail.com: The Polished Elfstone of Action Enhancement can be given to Eaoden also. His Health Drain jumps to around 15k-22k with this equipped. Gothmog (Second Battle): Where: The Bridge (Near Osgilath Plaza save point, you will see him on the bridge as you climb the rubble) Suggested Characters: Idrial, Hadhod (Equipped with Spirit Enhancement Elfstone), Berethor, (Faramir) Difficulty: **** HP, AP, Vulnerabilities/Weaknesses: See first Gothmog battle This is the most difficult boss fight yet, and one of the most difficult in the game. It should be said here that when two of Gothmog's helper-orcs are killed, he uses Black Gate to call more. If one is killed nothing happens though. The first character to go (unless it's Idrial) should use Morgul Decay item on Gothmog, entirely removing his armor. I will now describe what each character should do on his turn (after this). Idrial: Use Frenzy/Aura of the Valar to cover everyone, then when some die, repeat on them. If you get an extra turn, use Valarous Haste to Berethor. Hadhod: On first turn, cast Flames of Ruin, this will kill almost all the orcs but the point is to get Gothmog to take some lasting damage. After this use Flaming Fury on Gothmog or Stone Shield on anyone who is severely injured but not covered by Aura. Berethor: Just KEEP AT IT. Use Double Attack then Gondor Rampage twice on Gothmog. Faramir: Faramir is the useless one. I would suggest just doing whatever you like with him, but maybe using Steward's Armor once, it wouldn't make much difference. Eventually he will go down. Well Done. Be sure to save after this. A note on all bosses with Fear (except Sauron) suggested by LoonDogIV@aol.com: Use Taunt with Berethor. Berethor is immune to fear From a Passive Skill, so any time the enemy uses an attack that focuses on person (i.e. Fear) Berethor will be targeted and should be able to withstand the attack. This is even more useful when he has a health-draining weapon combined with Counter Attack. If he gets into really bad shape, just heal him with Idrial or by some other means. The Witch King of Angmar: Where: Osgiliath Island Suggested Characters: N/A Difficulty: * to ***1/2 HP: 70,089 AP: 60,047 Vulnerable: N/A Strong: N/A Immune: Stun, Root, Sleep, Melee Bind, Ranged Bind, Spirit Bind, Slow The difficulty of this battle varies a huge amount depending on how much you've worked on the two characters you can use (Idrial and Berethor). As you first go in to fight the Witch King, just try to spend as little AP as possible and let it be his turn as soon as it can be. (No, I'm not mad.) As soon as it is his turn, there will be a cut scene involving Berethor pulling a knife out from in him. (If it became Berethor's turn, you would have noticed that he was immune to Berethor's attacks) and Berethor will now be able to fight again. Since Berethor is immune to Fear, try to get Frenzy/Aura of the Valar down before TWKA uses Fear on Idrial. After that, you're basically invincible if you know how to do it right. Start attacking him like mad with Berethor's strongest attack (Preferably Gondor Rampage, but you might not have learned that if you haven't been using him) At the worst, you should have Citadel Rage for this battle, and it takes about 10 times as long but it's OK. If Idrial gets another turn before fear she gets 'Feared' use Frenzy (AP is really no object since you won't have a turn with her soon enough until she dies) then Haste of the Elves on Berethor and finally Valarous Haste for Berethor. If Idrial is killed first (If you are good enough, no-one should die) us Frenzy, recast Aura of the Valar on herself, then Valarous Haste if Berethor is not going next, and if he is, use Haste of the Elves on him if you haven't done so already. Otherwise, you have a free move to bust. Keep attacking him with Berethor and eventually (or soon) he'll die. This tactic was suggested by jasonf932005@yahoo.com: Use Morgul Decay on the Witch King, using Double Attack and Ecthelion Wrath (Gondor Rampage). Also, use Gift of Galadriel on Berethor with Idrial when necessary and Aura of the Valar. The Witch King of Angmar (Second Battle): Where: Near end of Minas Tirith Suggested Characters: Idrial, Any, Any (Gandalf the White) Difficulty: *1/2 HP, AP, Vulnerabilities/Weaknesses: See First Witch King Battle Really really easy, but still a boss. Immediately with Idrial (Surprise) cast Haste of the Elves on Gandalf. On consecutive turns, cast Aura of the Valar on everyone. Just keep attacking with Gandalf for an easy victory with a little aid from your other two characters. (Just use Valarous Haste with Idrial whenever there is a turn you cannot use) The Witch-King: Where: Pelennor Fields, just after you fight the Mumakil Suggested Characters: Idrial, 2 most damaging characters, (Eowyn) Difficulty: ***** HP: 300,652 AP: 59,058 Vulnerable: Light, Blunt, Pierce Strong: N/A Immune: Stun, Root, Sleep, Melee Bind, Ranged Bind, Spirit Bind In my opinion the Witch King (For real, now) is the hardest battle you will ever fight. Now, off his Fell Beast, he has tons of armor, can counter any attack, tons and tons of health, resistance to all effects, and very high damage. Start off with your first character (if not Idrial) use Morgul Decay, removing the Witch King's VERY HIGH armor. If it's Idrial's turn, use Frenzy, Aura of the Valar x2. This will be a nonstop job for her throughout the battle. In this battle, for starters, you will have to worry about Fear, so I suggest including Berethor in your party. Note Fear will wear off if your character dies or after a few turns. With your two highest damage givers, start attacking the Witch King as quickly as possible with the strongest attacks and using Frenzy or Double Attack. Eowyn is basically useless until you use Morgul Decay, which should be immediately. At the start she can do MAX 2k damage, afterwards a minimum of 20k so she can actually make an impact on the battle. Just try to keep everyone covered by Aura and keep attacking and eventually he will go down. BTW, if you have any lasting damage attacks that are decent (i.e. Flames of Ruin with Elfstone of Spirit Enhancement- equipped Hadhod) use those on your first turn. This tactic was suggested by Devilish32@yahoo.com: Just thought I'd comment on that fight with the Witch King in Pelennor Fields, you could use Elegost's Crippling Shot over and over again and the Witch King can never attack. Therefore, use Berethor's Targeted Strike and Idrial's Loudwater Fury over and over, refilling AP when needed using items or Lightcraft. This tactic was suggested by alex_7942@yahoo.com: Use Malar Embers to add Light Spirit to Berethor's sword attacks. Since he is weak against Light attacks, this will double his damage for every hit. Also works on the Eye of Sauron. This tactic suggested by Littlegibby22@aol.com: Use Morgul Decay with your first character, and with Hadhod cast Mountain Shield. The Dark Lord Sauron (Note: Info for this section suggested by co2thelepricaun@hotmail.com) Where: After you fight with Aragorn on Pelennor Fields Suggested Characters: Idrial, Any, Any Difficulty: ** HP: 322,347 AP: 65,000 Vulnerable: Light, Pierce Very Strong: Shadow Immune: Stun, Root, Sleep, Melee Bind, Ranged Bind, Spirit Bind, Slow This battle is really a blow. There is nothing really that difficult about him. And if you're reading this section, you're probably thinking, this ending sucks! On your first turn with your third character, (it should be someone who does your second best damage) use Morgul Decay. Then, with just cast Frenzy and Aura of the Valar on everyone with Idrial, and keep using your strongest combo attacks with everyone else. He will die soon enough. This tactic was suggested by alex_7942@yahoo.com: Use Malar Embers to add Light Spirit to Berethor's sword attacks. Since he is weak against Light attacks, this will double his damage for every hit. Also works on the Eye of Sauron. __________________________ ?---Other Hard Battles---? Note on this section: This section will start with some key non-boss battles, but WILL RELY MAINLY ON YOUR QUESTIONS. Anyone who needs help with a specific battle can find me at the contact information at the bottom of this guide. I will reply directly to you with an answer, then will post the solution to that battle on the guide. Another note: the ratings here are on the same scale as the bosses, so they may all look easy but some parts are actually quiet tough. Goblin Drummer: Where: East Moria (near the Balrog Altar) Suggested Characters: Berethor, Idrial, Elegost Difficulty: *1/2 This fight can give some quiet a bit of trouble, especially since you need to attack the Drummer from range and he is immune to fire magic. I would suggest going about however you want to kill the 3 goblins that initially appear in the foreground (you can't attack the Drummer until you've cleared these). After they're dead, you've got two attacks to put some damage on him, then he uses Black Gate, calling up three fresh goblins, and the process repeats. I found that if you were still having trouble, try being in Perfect Mode for when you first kill the first set of goblins, then use Volley of Arrows. Note: for some reason, Volley of Arrows WILL NOT kill the Drummer if he is not alone. Otherwise, it is a one-hit kill. Helm's Deep Battles: Location: N/A (All Helm's Deep battles) Suggested Characters: Idrial, 2 most damaging characters, (4th character) Difficulty: Less then * to **** There is a very simple formula for all Helm's Deep battles: Lots of Damage + Aura of the Valar + Patience = Victory The easiest way to win is just keep casting Aura of the Valar with Idrial, and doing lots of damage with your two most damaging characters and the Fellowship character (in some battles) combined with patience. The enemies keep coming, but eventually fewer come, then fewer, then fewer, etc. until they are gone and you win, meaning many of these battles can take up to 30 minutes, so have a good block of time set out to finish Helm's Deep. In addition, some of these grueling battles are continuous, meaning you may have to be playing for at least 1r hrs at one go. (Is it just me, or can I not concentrate after that long?) Not to worry. If you are feeling tired or your hands/eyes are hurting, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE get up and drink a soda, take a brake, go to sleep, do whatever it takes. However, these battles can be overcome with the right formula. Flying Nazgul: Where: Osgiliath, Minas Tirith, Pelennor Fields Suggested Characters: Berethor, 2 other most damaging characters Difficulty: *1/2 to ****1/2 In Osgiliath: The difficulty varies here depending on how well you can survive without Idrial. (In other words, how good are your other characters). This part is REALLY hard if only one of your characters can do above 7 or 8k damage. Start off by using Berethor's Double Attack and Gondor Rampage two times. If you are using Hadhod immediately cast Flames of Ruin. If you are using Elegost use Frenzy, then True Shot twice. With Eaoden, use Rampage of Helm if you have it, or Pierce Armor/Wrath of Edoras. With Morwen use the best attack possible. If you execute your damage quickly enough, you should have not trouble. Be wary of Fear. This tactic was suggested by thevanguardbandit@yahoo.com: Have Berethor learn Haste of the Elves, Gift of Galadriel and Drain Spirit from Elfstone of Pure Light. As long as you've used Hadhod and Eaoden at least a little, they should be able to survive the first volley. With Berethor's first turn, use Shield of Courage to prevent Fear and begin attacking with the others. With Eaoden being able to heal, transfer health, and transfer spirit, and with Berethor able to cast Haste of the Elves on everyone, you should mow through beasts without doing much of anything. Not sure if Crippling Smash works on them or not, but given the fact you have Overwhelming Axes, it still does a decent amount of damage to try. This tactic was suggested by matt4d@hotmail.com: Use Crippling Smash with Hadhod, and use Crippling Shot with Elegost This tactic was suggested by gllovell@charter.net: Have Berethor equip the 2nd Age Longsword of the Accursed, found in Helm's Deep during Evil Mode. By equipping this item, Berethor should heal all damage done to him every time he attacks. Every time you attack just use your sword to heal/damage him. In Minas Tirith/Pelennor Fields: Really shouldn't be much trouble. You might not even need Idrial against them at this point. Just get some good damage down and have Idrial use Gift of Grey Haven if necessary. _______________________ ?----Miscellaneous----? This section is for bits of information that don't fit anywhere else Contributed by Jkool702@hotmail.com: Here is a tactic that will kill anything: 1. You need to have Idrial learn Aura of the Valar, Frenzy, another high damage move, and at least have 300 AP (more is better) 2. Have everyone die except Idrial, so only Idrial is alive 3. At the beginning of your turn use Frenzy 4. As your first move, use Aura of the Valar, then attack 5. Keep fighting until you die, then (after you are regenerated) repeat If you do this you will kill anyone, although it may take a while Contributed by karatecolton@cableone.net, a way to get good EXP: When you beat East Emnet Gullies, beat the Plains of Rohan then travel back to the previous chapter. Forage around and you should find tow battles with three Nazgul. By fighting these you can level up your characters twice on each battle. Contributed by g.simpson82@gmail.com: Learn New Skills, The Quick Way! Once Elegost has used Arrows of Sleep, use this attack then slay enemies left over who are still awake (This works best when Elegost has learned Sleep Volley and Lingering Sleep). Whilst your opponent snoozes, take the time to gain some extra skill points without waking the sleeping foe. This works best by repeatedly using the following attacks: Berethor - Leadership - Company Might Hadhod - Spirit Powers - Stone Shield Idrial - Spirit Powers - Haste of the Elves or Gift of Elrond Elegost - Ranger Craft - Kingsfoil Grace Morwen - Dual Axe Craft - Battle Haste Eaoden - Spirit Powers - Tap Reserve Before long you'll have top level attacks in these areas and you'll find it much easier to beat tough bosses. If you're training a particular character then it helps to retreat the other two. It's best to exercise this near a save point so you don't have to use items to restore HP/AP. Contributed by brassdragon@gmail.com, a good way to learn Lightcraft, Item Craft, or Shadowcraft, etc: Find an Orc Shadow Captain. They exist in Eregion, East Emnet Gullies, and Rohan. Kill off the other enemies, and then use Idrial's Drain Inspiration and/or Eaoden's Drain Spirit to take away the entire captain's AP. He can't do anything at all without it. The AP never regenerates, either, so you can use Dispel from Shadowcrafting, Gift of Galadriel from Lightcrafting, and whatever else all you want that doesn't do damage all you want. __________________________ ?--------Updates---------? This is basically the FINAL version of this guide, so I won't be updating it very much in the foreseeable future _________________________ ?-----Contacting Me-----? Please contact me at Willkillsbro@gmail.com for questions, comments or suggestions ALSO, IF SOME-ONE CAN TEACH ME HOW TO DO ASCII TEXT ART THAT WOULD HELP SO MUCH! JUST THE BASICS, i.e. what characters to use etc. My name on GameFAQS is Iam77 Anyone who contacts me for a valid suggestion will be incorporated into this guide by their name and will receive a FREE Gmail account with 1000mb of storage NO CHARGE EVER, and plus 6 others to give out to your friends! _________________________ ?--------Credits--------? Thank you to GameFAQs for publishing this guide! Thank you to EA for making this game! Thank you to any and all contributors! Thank you to everyone who has read this guide, 1000 or more of you are lucky! Contributors: Devilish32@yahoo.com: Witch King Fight Alternate Strategy thevanguardbandit@yahoo.com: Flying Nazgul Supplement LoonDogIV@aol.com: Fear Strategy Matt4d@hotmail.com: Flying Nazgul Alternate Strategy Alex_7942@yahoo.com: Alternate strategies for Balrog, Witch-King and Sauron; Morwen complaint Jasonf2005@yahoo.com: Witch King of Angmar (1) Alternate Strategy, Balrog Alternate Strategy Jkool702@hotmail.com: Way to kill anything djruffian@gmail.com: Eaoden Life Drain Tactic co2thelepricaun@hotmail.com: Dark Lord Sauron Stats Littlegibby22@aol.com: Witch King Alternate Strategy gllovell@charter.net: Flying Nazgul.AGAIN! karatecolton@cableone.net: Watcher in the Water Alternate Strategy, Extra EXP Tactic g.simpson82@gmail.com: Quick Skill Learning brassdragon@gmail.com: Quick way to learn Lightcraft and Shadowcraft