RIVENDELL RISES! Third Age Total War: Divide & Conquer 4.5 - High Elves Campaign #1 

*I hope you all enjoy part 1 of my New High Elves lets play for Third Age Total War & Divide and Conquer 4.5! Part 2 will be out Saturday 27th June at 4pm BST! Can we hit 2,000 likes for an Early Hour Special at part 5? Feel Free To Leave A Like If You're Enjoying The Series!*

This is bringing back fond memories of a hot seat campaign I played with one of my best friends in high school. What started as a thematic alliance between Rivendell and Lothlorien ended with Glorfindel wielding the One Ring and leading a genocide of all non pointy-eared peoples.

Just a heads up. A bit into the game it comes SUPER important to have characters in settlements as governors. This is because corruption has been ramped up this update, and I even found myself running negative income settlements when they didn't have governors. Not only that but there's LOTS of new traits, many of which help governors increase Law/Public Order, Income and Growth - but they only get them if they spend a lot of time in settlements, that coupled with their corruption "resistance" mean a settlement can easily make 2 or 3 times as much with a governor in it.

Elrond's unit size will increase if he's left in Rivendell for a while... I think he'll go up to 77 as he's not a cavalry unit... as do the twins. Not sure if this works in other settlements. Only noticed it in Rivendell.

Oh boy I am so excited for this let’s play! A few fun comments if I may as I watched through it: Círdan is indeed the oldest known Elf in Middle-Earth, so much so that he has a beard as proof of his age (which is uncommon among Elves unless they are in their third part of their life) and it is speculated that he is so old that he was among the original 144 Elves who first awoke after the creation of Arda (which would put him at over 10,000 years old). He also was the bearer of Narya, the Ring of Fire forged by Celebrimbor, which he gifted to Gandalf when he first arrived in Middle-Earth. While you may not be that interested in taking on Angmar, it’s interesting to note from a role-playing perspective that Glorfindel destroyed the original Realm of Angmar in the beginning of the third age, it could be interesting for him to battle against them again when he returns. Lastly, some potential ideas for renames of Zagh Kala (if you wanted any) which sounds as ugly as the Goblins that inhabit it, I personally like Fennas Hithaeglir (Gateway of the Misty Mountains in Sindarin) or Ened Hithaeglir (Middle/Centre of the Misty Mountains). Additionally, the Sindarin name for the Undertowers area is Emyn Beraid (Tower Hills) so named after the White Towers constructed by Gil-galad, the westernmost of which was called Elostirion and it held a palantír that could only look west towards Valinor and so was a place of pilgrimage for the Elves. As for Zagh Kala, it’s worth holding onto it as getting the mines there will prove really valuable to support the huge upkeep cost of your army. You should also aim to get generals into your high-earning settlements as they are free upkeep after getting the first tier of the town hall, they boost income and they’re a powerful defensive unit. Really excited for this let’s play and can’t wait for the next episode!

I laughed that one of Cirdan's traits is "Good at Math".

So excited for this. This is the first campaign of yours I’m able to watch “live” all the way through!

Man I remember that Dwarves of Erebor campaign from way back when, and it's awesome to see you keep coming back to DaC. Can't wait for the rest of this series

Hymns of Rivendell 1....... It had been many years since the initial fall of Mordor and Gaerdaer’s life had come a long way since those blood-soaked days of the Third Age. He had managed to not only settle down partially in Rivendell as one of the few surging members of those days but had managed to start a family as well and father a few kids. He enjoyed these days of watching the sun rise and fall on the waters fall near Rivendell and the river that flowed from it. He grew out a small beard, an unusual mass of red hair he kept trimmed well for his lovely wife as he had long since hung up the sapphire cloak and gold armor of his Third Age Warriors attire in order to wear something more becoming of an elven man in this age. And yet now.... the one thing he had feared was here: Mordor was rising again. He looked from a balcony overlooking Rivendell as he looked out towards the sun as he thought on this news that had just come in. He had fought at Barad-dûr and Mount Doom, sacrificing himself so others may live a peaceful life from the tyranny of Sauron... and yet here he stood having to hear orcs and Uruks along with corrupt men were now making moves against the Free People of Middle Earth. He turned from the balcony and walked gracefully down the nearby steps as he walked towards his home when someone appeared nearby. Úthaesbes , the “Lady Lionheart” most joked due to her frequent moments of being vocal in protest, was standing there as gorgeous as the day he had met her from war as she asked, “You’re doing it again.” “Doing what? I simply like the rays of the sun.” Said Gaerdaer as he walked and spoke softly. “Your thinking of Mordor again... has it haunted you enough? Of that accursed ground that claimed so many of our kin?” Asked Úthaesbes. He looked to his wife as her silvery hair draped off her shoulders as he asked her, “What troubles you, my wife? Has something gone amiss?” “Your son is joining...” she told him and Gaerdaer felt a tinge of anger but mainly concern. His son, Berenor, was an ambitious young man even as an elf and an avid defender of Rivendell as part of those who stand watch. “What does our son wish in seeing death and war?” Asked Gaerdaer. Úthaesbes shrugged, an unusual gesture as she then said, “Go speak with him. I have tried but he isn’t listening well as he does to you.” Gaerdaer sighed but he then squared his shoulders and kissed his wife when he passed her as he said, “I’ll talk to him..”

Lionheart get rid of the ships, they will cost a lot per turn and you won't be using them any time soon. The mines in buzra dum are not built, so you will need 4500 to build them. Send some of your armies to imladris for free upkeep and keep pushing with Elrond. If you leave a settlement empty, bandits with take it eventually. Also if the settlement is empty, there is no siege turn, it will occupied directly , you need at least 1 unit for a siege turn. You don't get any garrison units until you build your armory. Level one will give you 75 defenders, level 2 will give you second stack of 75. Hope this helps!

"We're going to be doing the Long campaign" this aged well XD

Gildor Inglorion of the House of Finrod "We are Exiles, and most of our kindred have long departed and we too are only tarrying here a while, ere we return over the Great Sea" His name means "Starlord, son of Inglor" He meets Frodo in the books in the Shire when he is pursued by the Nazghul. Gildor and his company scare away the Nazghul and give the hobbits advice and inform Elrond about their coming. He is one of the elves which actual status is unclear, because his name can mean either that he is the son of Finrod Felagund (who joined Feanors force even if he didnt take the oath) or just a knight of his household. Both would make him an Noldor who lived already in the first age. Even if is not related to Finrod at all (which is possible) he is still one of the few remaining Noldor. At the end of the books he joins with Elrond, Galadriel, Gandalf and Bilbo+Frodo to travel to the West.

*No Greater Fellowship Has Ever Created For Those Who Only Seek Adventures From The Depths Of Their Hearts*

Everyone strap in, it's going to be a long series seeing as we're walking to Mordor, (with a stop to Isenguard on the way) Elves-On-Tour!

Try to hold Zagh Kala if you can, but focus on keeping Imladris under your control. Also the settlement south of mithlond is the dwarves city of bazaar-dum and its mines are very valuable

Goodness gracious, this brings me back to 2013 or so when I'd impatiently wait for your next Harad upload. Nice to see that you're still playing the mod.

Very excited for this series, couple of quick points. I’d recommend stopping the archers in a battle as soon as they are no longer needed, Elven friendly fire is devastating. Also, when all the enemies are routing you could also send your archers in as well (faster than most other units and will still have most of their stamina), I think they might get exp from it. Only suggestions, I’m looking forward to seeing more High Elven aggression :D

Also holing on to Zag Kala is very useful because of the money it can potentially earn , but if Immladris is threatened reinforce it at all costs because if you lose Immladris you also lose the ability of Noldor units

From within the depths of Mordor, the great scourge that was Sauron, quietly bid his time hidden from the world. Spreading out his evil into slowly rising factions of terrible power, and tempting Saruman the White with promises of power, had help hidden his machinations for a war to finally tear all of Middle-Earth asunder. However his plans did not go undetected as elven scouts and spies began to notice the growing hoards of orcs in the mountains, and that the stirrings of the long desolate Angmar. Hearing of this news High Lord Elrond began to wonder if the worries of Mithrandi, know as Gandalf by others, held more merit then he believed. Soon after Saruman pulled himself from the white council and shot himself away deep in the Orthanc. Worried that at the very least the peoples of the north, including themselves, might be in danger Lord Elrond sent emissaries to strike an alliance with the elves of Lindon. Together the two factions choose to act as one while investigating, and if necessary tacking action against the possible rise of evil in the area. This united High Elf faction, may indeed be the very force to threaten all of Sauron's dark ambitions. -The High Elves Arise: The Merging of Imladris and Lindon The goblin filled mountain of Zagh Kala, had been a cause of concern for Elrond. Reports that a massive horde traveling to and from the mountain convinced him to rake action quickly. He set with a personal army that would set siege to the mountain. This was a trap set by the Elven Lord as it drew out not only the defenders of Zagh Kala, but also the roaming war band. The battle left the mountain side covered in the corpses of Goblins and the elves moved to claim the mountain for themselves. However Lord Elrond's worries were only just beginning as new would soon arrive of Isengaurd's attacks against Rohan, and with the forces of a massive Orc army. In the East, the Lindon elves, under the command of Gildor Inglorion, began to make moves to secure vacated lands held by bandits and brigands starting with the famous White Towers, that stood not far form the lands of Bree. Gildor was aware that the new High Elf union already faced a dire problem, being able to supply their people with the arms and armor needed for elven warriors, In order to overcome this issue the acquisition of these new lands was paramount to the elven war effort - The Rising Shadow: The Stirrings of War in Middle-Earth

Yes baby the elven archer spam is going be glorious in this playthrough 😈 Also lionheart I wonder would you be intrested in doing a full archer army not as your first army of course but whenever you get situated and built up

The year long campaign truly something to celebrate

you have inspired me to get the game.I plan to start uploading too. although old this game interest in it is high. That's how good it is. thanks for upload.

Wow what an intro, lets get started!!!!

This campaign looks to be promising since I subbed when you were doing you’re Lorien play through 🤣🤣

I just discovered your video, I like the maturity in your talks during your play. These are great for 2nd screen videos while doin something.

You should take out all the rebel armies... they create devastation in your regions which drops your income. On the east, leave a unit in Zagh Kala and take Bruinost. After that you might go north to take your mission and goblin town. I guess you will be in the red till turn 15 or you will have to loose a lot of troops before that. Keep it coming! A very nice start so far!

It’s really cool seeing someone else playing this mod! Arachir is amazing, and I do enjoy watching his videos, but it’s also refreshing seeing another person!

26:19 "Good luck, dear Elves against the goblin horde." *UGHHHH* 🤣🤣

This will be my first watch through on your channel in terms of a campaign, and I'd like to see how many differences there are between my game and yours

Some advise from my recent high elf campaign: forget zhag khala and focus on goblin town in the north first. It makes more money in the beginning and it stops the goblin attack from the north, making it easier to focus on the south and west. Also you could take undertowers and buzra-dum from the rebels, although the latter is quite the challenge. I further advise for an alliance with enedwaith as it secures the western part of your empire from any threat

Thoroughly enjoyed this episode. Thank you very much for helping spread the word of DaC. :) The only thing I would say is that for someone as experienced as you, I don't think you will find this campaign hard at all. High Elves are so powerful they can walk over anything. I would recommend trying to get to Mordor as early as possible as the late game spam they can create (after Gondor fall) is REALLY boring to deal with. :)

lionheartx10, It is wonderful to see you play elves again! I will be with you all the way, you can count on that. I admit this is late. I apologize, but I will be caught up this week to give you advice whenever you need it. Had an idea for a story, but I am too busy tonight. Will start the story next episode!

That battle with the Moria force outside Zagh Kala was a little rough in terms of casualties, however it was probably the toughest you'll face from them for a while. That army had most of the higher-tier units that they get at game start (that's where all the Heavy Goblin units came from) which they won't be able to produce themselves for a while. So their armies for the next 40 turns or so will be almost entirely low-tier Snaga and Goblins, which your elves will obliterate. I would definitely suggest keeping Zagh Kala, since it's potentially a future money-maker for you and at least denies a major recruitment hub to the enemy. You should probably even think about continuing to push south towards Ost-en-Edhil and Khazad-dum West. Being reasonably aggressive on the strategic level is good; it's just being reckless on the tactical level that can get you into trouble. As for the battles themselves, try to prioritize having your archers shoot enemy units that are especially dangerous and vulnerable to arrow fire. Two units on the top of that list would be Wargs and an infantry unit called Mountain-Orc Hunters (they have a dangerous armor-piercing attack, but virtually no armor). Also, I would strongly recommend to *not use shield wall* for two reasons. First, an elven army will typically have only a few infantry units to protect the front of a lot of archer units, so you don't want to reduce the length of front that each infantry unit can cover. Also, as I mentioned during the Dol Amroth campaign, units in shield wall lose a lot of offensive power. Especially in the early stages of this campaign, the Moria orc units will be so inferior to your infantry that your best defense is simply letting your infantry units kill them as quickly as possible once they reach you, so you don't want to hinder their offense.

Turtleheartx10 - disengaged. (I'm glad, it kind of made the start of the Isengard LP a bit of a slog)

Elrond for win. I think rivendell should have a token garrison to warn off attack the map is very advantageous for archers. I think focusing on getting the mining towns up and running would be great. And selling maps is fine. Haggleheartx10 makes a come back.

You're gonna enjoy how OP this faction is. Their units and eco are superior to pretty much everyone for the entire game and you're unstoppable when barracks event shows up and you get the forge back. I just did a campaign where I just held Imladris for a while and only expanded in the west to race Angmar, Ered Luin and the Dunedain for the land, which was extremely profitable because your western settlements get wealthy very quicky (think Mithlond was making me 9k per turn at one point). I'll be interested to see how rushing the goblins works out but given that you're HE and you're using Elrond it'll probably be fine lol. Good luck!

I’m not a massive fan of dol amroth so I was sad when u did that campaign but when I saw u where gonna do high elves I nearly died

Third age total war is back!

Not sure if anyone has said this and not sure if it is applicable to DAC. But be careful of sacking ost-in-edhil. As in vanilla TATW it destroys the Gwaith-I-Mirdain which is a requirement for the Smith's of erigion. From what I read, once destroyed they can't be rebuilt. So I would just occupy it. Going to love this series. Keep up the awesome work.

After 2 years away from the beginning of this campaign... I now shall return 😍😍😍😍

Thanks for this Lionheart! Looking forward to another great campaign.

I had a whole army of Eldarinwe [Spears, Swords, and Bows] with Elrond at its head in a stock Third Age game. It was a truly glorious sight made even better by one Pre-battle speech of Elrond's when facing an army of Orcs. "My only fear is that they'll run away before we get a chance to send them to Hell!" - Elrond of Imladris

Hello, friend, you make me happy again by taking the High Elves. Yes, there are a lot of changes since you last played them. You already know some of the details, so I will not pose them. You also know of the ar-Adunaim naval invasion script, as I saw in the comments below. One thing I'm not sure is if the ring script for the Dwarves of Ered Luin is present in v4.5- which may be possible. If it does, then watch out of their choices, as you might very well have another horn in your side, and a powerful one. But there's a lot of time till then. Two things for the beginning. First, you amassed a really powerful army in the west with Gildor and I like your plan of taking the mining settlement of the southern Ered Luin. It's Burza-dum, a Dwarven town which, in the new Dwarven script, may be requested from the Dwarves and also host a Balrong. I am not sure how this affects you and in what way, but id Ered Luin turns neutral, then they might come to war with you and one of their premier strikes will be to reclaim Burza-dum. Second. I think that you have to spare a defence force for Imlandris while you take on Goblins of Moria, so as not to leave it unprotected. There's only one way to enter Imlandris, from the south, and if you stand at the edge of this little valley, you'll block any incoming force. Your strategy to smack the Goblins early is a very good approach, but let's not be entirely reckless and risky. I think that a good overall strategy would be to smack down Enedwaith and Dunland alongside with Isenguard, so as to have the 10 minimum regions needed, before taking the long trip to Mordor and kill Sauron. Have a nice time, friend, I'm sure you'll enjoy this campaign.

Geez what a Zerg rush of a campaign already. I respect that.

Just a quick heads up lion later on in the campaign there will be and invasion on mithlod but I'm pretty sure that there will be a warning Nice intro btw

Elves go boom! Super excited for this series.

To battle men! The most inspiring pre battle speech of all time

Wow, turleheartx10 goes full on lionheart! I do normally enjoy the build up and conquer, but also really enjoying this aggressive style. Elves are not going to go out with a whimper!

The units have had an upgrade in visual I see, they look awsome!

YES!

Man, I really want Total War: War of the Ring.

Please remember the island on the northwest, I think there’s a settlement there or something

I like Adrian’s music is used thematically well

These are great. I hope you continue DAC. Especially excited for the planned changes in Version 5

Never ever clicked on a vid so fast

Yes love third age and especially elves although wish it was woodrealm elves and world conquest

HE is back and now without any Cav^^ I think it will be a great campaign..

Lets go you are amazing

I didn’t know they still update this mod haven’t played in a while might definitely come back to this also I wish they made real total war lord of the rings game in the new engine

Hell yea!

Oh my god I have been waiting or this lets play forever!

Dude, you are my hero!!!

Good faction choice (and the one I voted for!) - go for the Goblins first and roll on them hard. They are the ultimate trash faction of the entire game and the High Elves can annihilate virtually everything they can throw at you. They're also defeated by regicide super easily so always go after their leadership when you can. However, peace out with Angmar right at the start - trust me. I did that in my HE campaign and it bought me tons of valuable time to clear out the goblins. Angmar is much scarier, but Ered Luin and the Dunedain will keep them busy.

Elves are always fun! Looking forward to the late tier units!

lionheart, the dunedain wardens are going to be your most useful early on unit for imladris, if you put them in a choke point in their shield wall formation, i have seen them kill 100's of units. so they do extra well while defending the choke point of imladris and zag kala also cycle cavalry charges into tight pact goblin LIGHT infantry will get you 100's of kills if you dont leave them in there too long

Poor Gil-Galad. In the books, he does to Sauron at the Battle of Mount Doom when Sauron... and this is only if I remember it correctly... but he straight up cooks the man on the spot with the heat of his Anger. So it looks like his company is all that remains of him.

So glad this faction is going on ! Go pointy ears go !

Me when i saw the vidéo : "an unexpected journey begins"

Hey lionheart next can u do a Gondor or northern Dunedain campaign next loads of youtubers say they have been done loads of time’s but I have found very few good campaigns and it either will be super entertaining

In my experience, the elven rebels don't do anything, they just stood around the forest for my whole playthrough. Those Dunedain scouts though are amazing at dealing with wargs with their ranged attacks and dealing with archers with charges. I've had Elrond frontline the bottleneck fight at Western Khazad-Dum he's a freakin' melee beast, don't be too afraid of using him!

This is going to be awesome thank you for this great video

Lionheart there is a settlment North of Mithlond on a island just look at the map

Also rebels will probably attack settlments now that they are more aggresive wipe them out.

finally have the chance to play DaC and high elves is my first campaign, gonna grab some pointers from you i think

Heya Lionheart. In order for the armory script to work, there needs to be at least 1 unit in the city/town. Otherwise the enemy will take it without a fight.

Out of 18k views, only 1.2k like it???? Some people are so selfish. Is it too much to show your appreciation? The 2 seconds it takes to click the like button is too much effort??

How to prevent Lionheart from tanking the economy with Shiny Fever...force him to build the economy first.

Yes this will be quality

Hey Lionheart, just a tip from someone who recently played the High Elves: Watchout for the Clans of Enedwaith. They're sort of a wildcard because they start with no allegiance good or evil. I've been attacked by the AI via Harlond and it was very difficult to push them back.

Thank you for the video. Only at the end of the last battle I realise that powerbar has Elvish script on it :) P.S. Not many streams for me this weak (and the next few I fear). Some times I hate my work. :(

Woot! Dem Elves are back! Break out the Lembas Bread!

I have been looking forward to this. I always used to love playing the elves in Battle of Middle Earth 2. Let our Arrows block out the sun! But the big question is, LOTR High elves vs TWW2 High Elves. Who Wins?

Pretty sure the oldest elf in Middle-Earth at the time of LOTR is Galadriel, But I dont know much about Cirdan to be honest. I know Galadriel is one of the few remaining Elves than made the crossing with the original host of elves following Feanor preceeding the first age.

I love the elves

50:40 "To battle lads" I am literally expecting some long speeches from this battle, I guess I was being trolled by the game or the mod itself😅🤣😂

Send the cavalery back to Imladris, they only have to siege for a turn, if there's a unit in the city, otherwise you'll loose it straight away :)

HO. LY. SHIT. I did not think I’d ever watch a third age campaign in 2020. This is gonna be good.

Cirdan is so old, some 10,000 years or such, with all that experience no wonder he costs a fortune! I wonder what his retirement savings looks like.

If you want to get physical models of these Elves, Davale Games have a range that you can buy 😊 something to add to the enjoyment hopefully

Omg the hipe is real so excited

You Got my sub man

You might not get much but I would suggest upping your tax level in Mithlond, as your public order there when you last clicked on it was +150%. Might not get you tonnes but every penny helps to get you back out of the red!

I miss this game so so much

I have started watching. Hope you enjoyed yourself.

Ohhh they are using Spellforce Building pictures for the elves

Elven slaughteeerrrr wooeee!!!

first time watching a total war series, no idea whats going on, still enjoying it though lol

ah yes the calm skillfull elves, master fighters and skilled beyond the scope of men *smash cuts to elven unit models swearing and jerring at the enemy* so magestic

I find it interesting the mod gives up on the elf lord's ages and just says that two of the oldest beings in existence are 32 years old each. Then again the game engine would probably have an aneurysm if Elrond was 4,000+ years old and kill him outright.

Galadriel is one of the oldest. She went to the Middle-Earth from Valinor with Feanor.