LORDS OF MIDNIGHT: THE CITADEL HINTS

RESCUING PRISONERS

Rescuing prisoners should be a high priority in the game. Without the prisoners of the realms at your side, your quest for the Blood March will be your last quest! Rescued prisoners are initially under your command but do not owe you allegiance since they have not been recruited to join your Alliance. While their allegiance is to their home realm, rescued prisoners will be under your command in battle against the Wolfheart. Rescued characters are quite important due to the fact that they are able to recruit from all the Castles and Citadels that carry  their realms standard.

SMART RESCUING

First and Foremost, leave Coreleth of Corelay and Arin Lord Blood in the Dark Citadel of Maranor until all the prisoners are rescued. If you rescue the characters early in the game, they will no longer be able to re-enter the dungeons and rescue characters. Early in the game  it is best to take direct control of one of the characters and lead them through the Dark Citadel. Since the AI will randomly pick routes through the Dungeon intersection and will many times completely miss a prisoner. The dungeon has a main route that can easily be identified by it's similarly textured ceiling, floor, and walls. Searching all corridors that branch from the main route is the best way to locate prisoners. You need to be methodical in your search, as finding prisoners isn't the easiest of tasks. A good idea might be to draw a dungeon map to aid you in a through search of the Dark Citadel.

RECRUITING SYSTEM

Recruiting works on a point based system, based on the recruiter and Non-Player Character's (NPC's) personality attributes. There are 64 personality attributes within the game, 32 good, 32 bad. For every attribute that the recruiter and the NPC have in common, such as Loyal vs. Loyal, 1 point is added towards the total. For every attribute that is in opposite, such as Brave vs. Cowardly, 1 point is subtracted from the total. Attributes that have nothing in common with will be counted as no points.
The recruiter must have 2 points in his or her favour to bring the NPC around to his or her cause. If the prisoner from the NPC's realm has already been rescued from the Dark Citadel, you will only need 1 point in order to recruit that character. However, if the total amounts to 0 points, the NPC will refuse to be recruited. If at the end of the point calculation, the total is negative (-1 or lower), the NPC will be offended, and will attack the recruiter. If an NPC you are trying to recruit is being difficult, you may have to find another NPC that you are able to recruit. This other recruit may be able to recruit the original NPC you wanted. Who you recruit into your Alliance is a large part of the game's strategy and may ultimately determine your success or failure in the game.

SMART RECRUITING

The smart thing to do is look at the personalities of the recruiter and the possible prospect for your cause. Add the points up, (remember to factor in the status of the prisoners) and you will safely be able to see what the probable outcome of your recruit attempt.

Your first selection for recruiting should be the lords of the Citadels in the realms surrounding your start position. This will gain you an instant flow of troops since Citadels attract troops  at double the rate of Castles.

COMBAT

Intelligent combat is the key to victory in warfare. If your character or fellowship's army outmatches that of an enemy NPC and your are not skilled in manual combat, then the best strategy is to set the game to Time Race On. The computer AI will then go through a series of combat routines that will often achieve victory for your army. Your chances for success are greater if your have a large army. Even if victorious, you must expect your army to take casualties. If your army is smaller (or if you are skilled in manual combat) then manual combat is the best strategy. In manual combat you control the actions of your character, swinging your sword and parrying attacks. Often, manual combat results in your army taking less casualties than when you allow the AI to direct your army's attacks. Additional factors into your success in combat are Artefacts, Castles and Citadels and Character Personalities.
Artefacts can add or subtract bonuses to combat, depending on the time that is being wielded and who is wielding it.
Castles and Citadels add bonuses to defence while troops occupy them. Castles and Citadels either triple or quadruple, respectively, the amount of troops garrisoned within them (e.g. The Citadel of Beomir has 500 troops within it's walls. If the Citadel is attacked the troops will defend as if they were 2,000 troops).
Character personalities play a part in combat also. A hero on a whole is more combat orientated than a warrior. A character that has Mighty Warrior as a personality attribute fights with the combat strength of 100 troops. However, if a character has Feeble Warrior as a personality attribute, they fight with the strength of 25 troops. All other characters fight with the strength of 50 troops in combat.

SMART COMBAT

Learning manual combat should be one of your first goals. In the long run, it will save you troops and make combat easier throughout the game. If you outnumber an enemy by 3 to 1, odds
are that the AI will win the battle for you. When dealing with the defence of Keeps and Boroth the Wolfheart, the best tactic is to withdraw all troops garrisoned within a Keep before Boroth and his army. Better to retreat and return to fight another day than to die in vain against unbeatable enemies.

PATHS TO POWER AND GLORY

Here are some proven victory strategies

THE DOUBLE PLAY

Have a character with a large amount of troops take over the surrounding Castles and Citadels. As time goes on the Castles and Citadels that the character has taken over will begin to attract troops to your standard. Have another character of your alliance follow in your wake, stopping at each Castle and Citadel, recruiting all the troops garrisoned there. This tactic will steadily increase the size of your character's armies.

CAT AND MOUSE

Boroth the Wolfheart will systematically take over every Castle and Citadel within a realm. He will only leave to rage across another realm when he has secured his holdings. Once way to keep him occupied is to gather a force large enough and follow Boroth the Wolfheart through his rampage. As he seizes a Keep and moves on towards another, you recapture it. In this way you can keep Boroth in one realm while your Alliance travels across the Blood March recruiting enough troops to remove the blight of Boroth from the land.

TAKING THE THRONE

Attacking Boroth the Wolfheart in the Blood March will cost you many needless losses since Boroth is returned as a wraith in the Dark Citadel and is once again defended by a horde of troops with the defence bonus of Citadels. Your best tactic is to march with 35,000+ troops, all the artefacts, and a Mighty Warrior as your Fellowship Leader to the Dark Citadel of Maranor and seize it. Once you seize the Dakr Citadel, garrison it with Alliance troops. Boroth the Wolfheart will then return to reclaim his lost Citadel. In the ensuing combat your Alliance army will receive the defence bonus for the Dark Citadel of Maranor and should be able to defeat Boroth.

Well that is it ...
Good luck in your quests!

Tips: Nathan Caroland - Domark Testing Department