The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War is a brand new mobile game that allows us to revisit Middle-earth and wage battle in an all-out war to secure the One Ring. This strategy game takes the Factions and beloved characters from the movies and brings them to life as Commanders, giving you the tools to lead your army to victory. In this guide, we’ll cover some essentials to get you started off right and what to expect.
Prove your strategic skills to conquer new territories
In The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War, claiming land promises additional resources and adds to your Faction’s Ring Power. As you expand your territory, your Ring will get stronger, which in turn makes your armies stronger which feeds back into expanding your territory, and so on. To increase your resources, you need to understand how the colours play a role on the map.
Each controlled tile will have a border of a different colour. Green represents the tiles that you currently occupy, purple belongs to members of your Faction, and red shows you where enemy tiles are. If you see one without a border colour, that is a tile that can be conquered, and you can march your armies there. Before expanding outwards, be sure to focus on the land immediately surrounding your own settlement, as it gets harder the further out you reach.
Your army maintains its position on the tiles you have conquered until you decide to move them, and you can use this to plot further into the enemy’s land. Even when you abandon a tile by moving your army, you’ll still gain resources for yourself as long as you are the owner of that tile. When you’re looking for the best tiles to conquer, you want to see which one generates more ring power per hour. These are harder to claim but are worth the extra effort in the end.
Collecting Resources
Resource tiles are an essential part of your strategy in The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War, so knowing what to claim and how they can help you accomplish your larger goals are a must. When you’re looking at most resource tiles, they simply provide building materials or other resources to reinforce your army. For example, wheat is used to create new units for your army and can be found in farmlands.
There are, however, tiles that provide you with new troop types and tiles that give you shortcuts to move through the winding mountain paths and roaring rivers with ease. Seeking these out and capturing them could mean faster acquisition and give you a leg up on your opponents.
Control points are a region’s city that you can capture, and when you do, you end up controlling that entire region where they reside. If you can manage it, these are some of the best ways to ensure your command of a region is far-reaching.
Fight with friends at your side
If you’re looking to ensure your power is at its strongest, teaming up with other players is a good way to bolster your reach. The Lord of the Rings: Rise to Warbenefits players that form alliances, and you can change your pairings each season. Not only will you be able to gain more resources from this joint effort, but you can also access an Alliance Shop and are able to attack another Faction’s region with no repercussions.
War is tough, and with PVP a constant concern, you can expect to log in often to check to see if you’ve been raided, which can happen at any time. You are able to capture other’s settlements, but the time spent raising an army willing to take on the task typically exceeds the benefits so having a team to help you in your Faction’s acquisition of power will assist in the long run.
Exploring the beauty of Middle-Earth and revisiting its past
There is plenty to explore in The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War as you move your armies across the insanely large and accurate battle map, but one of the highlights is the cities themselves. The kingdoms and realms are insanely detailed and will bring you fond memories of the adventures from the films. If you’re looking to spend more time in the history and lore from The Lord of the Rings, look no further than the Red Book of Westmarch, which can be found in your tavern.
Within its pages are stories of the battles of Middle-earth, and you can revisit these victories by playing through them. Not only will you have something to do while you’re waiting out your timers, but you can also gain additional resources for the effort. None of your actual units will be expended during these mock battles, so there’s nothing to lose. If you keep winning, you’ll be able to continue, but if you lose a battle, you’ll have to wait till the following day to try again.
There are plenty of mechanics and strategies involved in becoming an experienced player but getting a feel for what works for you may be the greatest tool you can utilize. Hopefully, this guide has provided you with a clear path to victory. Good luck, you’re going to need it.
The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War is available to download via Galaxy Store, Google Play and the App Store. It’s a free to play game with in-app purchases.