Part 15

After Shelob is killed, explore her cave to collect all loot and any captured soldiers. Ensure you acquire more than 10,000 resources.

Proceed to Cirith Ungol.

Right before the bridge to Cirith Ungol, there is an orc outpost. Attack this outpost with your soldiers.

Destroy the lumber camp and gather additional loot.

Build your own outpost, including a blacksmith, barracks, and an archery range.

Train 5 soldiers and 5 archers.

Upgrade these units with all available upgrades, including waiting for the blacksmith to reach level 2.

Defend the bridge from incoming orc incursions while waiting for upgrades.

Create 5 soldier-archer battalions and upgrade them fully.

Use these battalions to clear the rest of the fortress. Sam can accompany you but should not be on the front lines.

The mission concludes once everything in the fortress is destroyed.

You must survive for 25 minutes until the Rohans arrive, followed by another 10 minutes until Aragorn and his army of the dead appear, totaling 35 minutes of defense against orc hordes.

Decide on your base building strategy: either place blacksmiths on the ground level with production buildings above, or vice versa. The former allows for easier retreat and preservation of upgrades if the ground level becomes overwhelmed.

Prioritize summoning allied abilities, specifically the Rohans and the Eagles, if you can only choose two. Eagles are effective against Nazguls, while archers handle ground threats. Gandalf's Istari Light can also be used.

Construct trebuchets surrounding your city walls to deal with enemy siege units and trolls from a distance. Rebuild destroyed mounted trebuchets if affordable, especially if the 'grond' (a large siege engine) appears. Trebuchets also prevent enemies from building near your walls. Do not attempt to defend farms outside the walls due to resource limitations.

Position archer units along the walls, focusing on the main gates where enemy convergence is highest.

Assign Boromir to guard one side and Faramir to the other, protecting archers from siege tower units.

Have heroes deal with siege tower units swiftly, as they can distract archers by boarding the walls.

Utilize Gandalf liberally at critical points. Pippin can also assist on the walls with his hero damage against siege towers.

Station tower guards behind the gates. They can engage the 'grond' if it attacks the gates, with Gandalf providing spell support.

Keep Gandalf alive at all costs; mount him for mobility but dismount him when he is at the main gate walls to save space and ease movement through crowds.

When Nazguls appear, summon giant eagles if available to engage them while archers focus on ground assaults. Alternatively, use Gandalf's Istari Light for an instant Nazgul kill, or have Faramir use his wounding shot while archers focus fire on the Nazgul. Nazguls often target trebuchets, allowing you to focus forces on them if ground troops are not actively attacking.

Once Rohan arrives, if possible, have Gandalf and surviving knights join the Rohirrim to attack the first enemy camp. Be cautious, as Mordor forces may then focus on the Rohans, potentially leading to their loss.

Deploy horse archers to reinforce wall archers and keep them safe, as they are essential for taking down mumakils.

Send Merry to the walls to join Pippin or guard the opposite end. Eowyn's smite and Eomer's spear strike can be used against the Witch King, with horse archers also contributing damage.

If the enemy's unit deployment lessens, consider a risky maneuver: group all remaining archers outside the castle walls and assault the second enemy camp. Save your game before attempting this due to incoming enemy reinforcements. This strategy maintains pressure and prevents the enemy from breaching the castle.