Bill Ferny

* Portrait
* Ingame

* Melee

"'And there are some folk in Bree who are not to be trusted,' he went on. 'Bill Ferny, for instance. He has an evil name in the Bree-land, and queer folk call at his house. You must have noticed him among the company: a swarthy sneering fellow.'"
—Aragorn, The Fellowship of the Ring, "Strider"

Bill Ferny is a filthy spy and brigand from Bree in the employ of the wizard Saruman. He is one of the two rogues of Isengard's heroes, meant for espionage, scouting, and vandalism, rather than for combat. As this implies, he isn't really good at combat, but he has some good abilities that can really help the faction in the early game, that he will earn if you pay him gold, eventually taking matters into his own hands and becoming a good fighter for a short period of time.

## Abilities

 **Level 1: Bribing -** Bill Ferny bribes the workers of the target enemy resource building, which causes them to spy for him and reveal the nearby area for 90 seconds. They will also give a small amount of resources to Bill Ferny. Left click on the icon then left click on the target building.

 **Level 1: Disguise -** Bill disguises himself as the target unit so that he may spy on the enemy. Bill can be revealed through enemies' reveal abilities, if he attacks, or if he uses abilities. Left click on the icon then left click on the target hero or unit.

 **Saboteur Services: Disinformation -** Bill sends false information to an enemy hero or building. The target hero or building loses its vision for 30 seconds. Left click on the icon then left click on the target hero or building.

 **Information Services: Snitch -** The spy of Isengard has snitches everywhere and therefore knows many of his foe's secrets. For a short amount of time, the closest enemy hero will be revealed. Left click on the icon to activate.

 **Offer Head Money: Cutpurse -** Bill Ferny is a trained thief and pickpocket. For 30 seconds, Bill Ferny deals +35% damage, has +50% armor, +20% movement speed and steals 40 resources with every hit on a hero or unit. Left click on the icon to activate.

## Upgrades

Bill Ferny can purchase 3 upgrades which each increase his level by 3 and unlocks a new ability:

* **Saboteur Services** - Bribe Bill to sabotage enemy buildings. Bill Ferny reaches level 3 and unlocks the ability *Disinformation*. **Cost: 100**
* **Information Services** - Bribe Bill so he dilvuges the whereabouts of enemy heroes. Bill Ferny reaches level 6 and unlock the ability *Snitch*. **Cost: 200**
* **Offer Head Money** - For the right sum, Bill will take matters into his own hands. Bill Ferny reaches level 10 and unlocks the ability *Cutpurse*. **Cost: 300**

## Strategy

Bill Ferny is one of the first choices among the hero units of Isengard when the game begins, as his role is a combination of rogue and raid leader. While he is the weakest hero of Isengard combat-wise, he shows his strength most in the early game as you continue to pay him to unlock his new abilities. In total, it will cost you 600 resources to bump Bill up to snuff, since he actually gains experience points quite slowly.

This hero is more or less useful for spying on the enemy, and becomes increasingly effective at his job as he levels up. He can bribe enemy resource buildings, such as their lone outposts, disguise himself as nearly anything to move undetected through enemy territory, and can even shut down a building's line of sight to allow your forces to pass through undetected. At his maximum level, Bill Ferny gains a useful ability that makes him much better at fighting enemy units when he gets cornered, and it also allows him to earn you a lot of resources as he fights, improving the wages trickling into your coffers.

While his services are invaluable in the early game when you're strapping for resources, his strength comparatively weans as time goes on, when you have access to stronger heroes and have to fight against stronger enemies. In the mid-to-late game, Bill Ferny becomes expendable, as his ability to disrupt enemy infrastructure pales in comparison to the building-destroyers such as Wulfgar or any of your siege weapons.

## Trivia

* Bill Ferny is able to disguise himself into quite a few units, even some that may surprise you. In an earlier iteration of the mod, a accidental oversight had left him able to disguise himself as Vingilot, one of the old Tier 4 powers of Lothlorien.