Part 2: The Elves

7. Gates of Light

8. Looking for Trade

9. A Brave Scout

All ships move simultaneously - if you see any ships start moving, you know they’re all moving



Ships in motion will neither fight, nor get attacked until they’ve arrived, even when they’re still close to planets

10. Power of Gorgoth

11. The Great Star Traveler

12. The Techulan Core

This is the first scenario of the Elf campaign. The elves generally have stronger ships than the orchs, and they’ve also got access to magic. The mission is pretty basic, there are no new tricks or mechanics here, except for the enemy having access to the Invulnerability Shield. Focus on capturing the center planets, the two larger, outer planets Illiadon and Ûrakian are less relevant due to their distance and the forces on Illiadon being passive in the beginning. Once you’ve captured some planets, the Ethalion on Illiadon will help their allies and attack you. When this happens, focus on wiping the Ethalion out first since they’re stronger and closer.This scenario is comprised of multiple stages. During the first stage, you need to establish your fleet as much as possible before starting the second stage by capturing Ninduri. It is recommended to even capture some or all of the planets starting controlled by the Ethalion before proceeding. Use the nearby Warp Gate to quickly attack their least defended planets.Once Ninduri is under your control, the second stage begins. Now, the Ethalion will receive periodic reinforcements to attempt to reclaim Ninduri. Keep enough forces on Ninduri to defend against these attacks. After enough time, the scenario moves into stage three, where you instead need to defend Seulen. You should try to keep Ninduri under control as well, though. When enough time has passed, you’re instructed to return to Ninduri during stage four. While defending, you need to maintain control of your other planets as well to make sure enough ships are produced for you to hold your defense, which is why it helps to claim them before the reinforcements arrive.The first stage of this scenario is very unique. You need to maneuver a single “Brave Scout” to Caeluath without encountering the Tuvali forces. The recommended path is Kanor - Feramus - Memdar (Firdrim’s moon) - Kormah - Caeluath, although it is possible to skip some planets. Avoid Firdrim and Verean, since they have defense systems or stationary ships which would destroy your Scout. Some tips for avoiding their patrols:Once you arrive at Caeluath (and stay there a short duration without being detected), your reinforcements will arrive and the second stage begins. Now, the game progresses as usual, except the enemy will get strong Ethalion reinforcements at Kanor after a while. If you’re strong enough when this happens, try to defend against the reinforcements at Kanor. If not, try to whittle them down as they go. Prioritize defending your planets over capturing enemy planets here, since your planets generally are stronger (especially Verean) and closer to the Warp Gate.Start by capturing the neutral planets as usual. Although the goal is to capture and destroy the Techulan Temples, it’s easier to do so if you start by capturing some more planets. The Techulan enemy will never attack you in this mission, so abuse that fact by being very aggressive in your attacks. Their fleet is very strong, but slow, meaning you can fake an attack on one planet, then move to another once they take the bait and send most of their fleet to defend.Once you’re strong enough, start destroying the Temples. Capture them one by one, and be sure to move your ships away from them before they explode. Each time a Temple is destroyed, Ethalion reinforcements will arrive behind you at Gilivor and Nata’Huen, so be prepared to defend them. Unlike the Techulan, the Ethalion will attack you, given the chance. Once you’ve destroyed all Temples, capture Gorgoth and clear the system to achieve victory.Your setup in this mission is very important. Capture multiple planets before the elves arrive. Due to the amount of planets available, and their distance from each other, it can however be bad to divide your fleet too much. Since you lose if Usildur is ever captured by the elves, it is your top priority to defend it. However, similar to scenario 8: Looking for Trade, you also need other planets to get the ships needed to defend it. Focus on capturing about half of the outer planets, and take planets close to each other. This gives you a steady ship production while giving you the means to defend them, since they are close enough to each other to allow you to move ships between them efficiently.The Warp Gates are usually more of an advantage for the elves than you, since you don’t need to travel very far it’s rarely worth the investment to defend them. They force you to always keep some defense at all planets at all times. You also need to balance the use of the spells Fire and Stone Shield. When you have the advantage in battles, use Fire to end the battle quickly and free up your ships to move somewhere else. When at a disadvantage, send ships to help and use Stone Shield until they arrive to minimize your casualties.This scenario is divided into two stages. First, you need to capture at least six Techulan Temples to disable the shield they cast on the Techulan Core. Once you’ve disabled the shield and captured the Core you will need to survive strong Ethalion reinforcements. As help, you will get help from one of the clans on your side, which you will be controlling yourself.All capturable objects in this scenario produce ships. However, the Temples produce ships less than the planets, and are more spread out, causing them to be less important to control. There is some value to disrupting the opponent by capturing Temples early, just don’t sacrifice planet control to defend them.Start by capturing the two neutral planets; the sulphuric Elios and the Military Outpost below the Techulan Core. From there, battle the Techulan, ignoring the Core and prioritizing planets over Temples as previously discussed. Be careful of swift enemy attacks using the Warp Gates. Prioritize planets nearby those you already control as discussed in 11. The Great Star Traveler. Once you’ve captured all planets, start capturing the Temples until the Core is unlocked. Capture the Core to start the second stage.The Ethalion will arrive in reinforcements from various directions. When you see them coming, move your ships to meet them before they cause too much trouble. This stage is easier the more control you have before starting it, so if it’s too hard, try gaining a larger advantage before capturing the Core.