Bard

* Portrait
* In Game

* Longbow
* Shortbow

"But there was still a company of archers that held their ground among the burning houses. Their captain was Bard, grim-voiced and grim-faced, whose friends had accused him of prophesying floods and poisoned fish, though they knew his worth and courage. He was a descendant in long line of Girion, Lord of Dale, whose wife and child had escaped down the Running River from the ruin long ago. Now he shot with a great yew bow, till all his arrows but one were spent."
—The Hobbit, "Fire and Water"

Recruit Bard, the archer that killed Smaug and became King of Dale, father of Bain, grandfather of Brand, and member of the line of Girion of Dale.

Bard can be recruited from the Town Hall once the Militia House has been built.

## Abilities

 **Level 1: Bard's Thrush -** Bard's thrush rises into the air to scout enemy territory. You can control the Trush. Hidden units near the Trush will be revealed and nearby monsters lose -25% damage and armor. Left click on the icon to activate.

/ **Level 3: Toggle Weapon -** Toggle between Longbow/Shortbow. The **Longbow** has a greater ranger and the **Shortbow** has a faster attack rate. Left click on the icon to activate.

 **Level 5: Girion's Heir -** Changing leadership. Bard is the heir of Girion, and as thus he inspires nearby men with his heroism. Nearby men of Lake-Town gain double experience and +25% damage in a medium range. Can be toggled to have larger range at the cost of experience gain. Left click on the icon to activate.

 **Level 7: Smuggler -** Bard is able to hide allies and smuggle them behind enemy lines. Allies in the target area are stealthed for 30 seconds.

 **Level 10: Black Arrow -** Bard fires his Black Arrow at the target, dealing massive damage and **double** that to **monsters and dragons**. After firing the arrow, Bard must retrieve it off the ground where he fired it at to use it again. Left click on the icon then left click on the target unit.

## Strategy

Sniper: The Black Arrow power (Unlocked at Level 10), is particularly effective against popular large Evil units (like trolls or mumakil). It can even be used against heroes to do good damage against them. Once it's unlocked, camping defensively near the Fortress to protect it from attacks by these is recommended.

In order to gain experience, he has Scouting and Toggle Weapons, which makes him versatile against a variety of units. The Shortbow should be used against fast moving units or against units lots of HP that need to be dealt as much damage as possible (such as anything larger than a troll, really). The Longbow is perfect for slowly picking off units in marching battalions that aren't too threatening, and matches with the Scout ability to hunt down small threats and eliminate them. Running Bard around the map and using Bard's Thrush to scout can also be an effective way to search for the One Ring.

Smuggler: Bard's Level 7 Smuggler ability is quicker to unlock than Black Arrow, and creates a similar opportunity for surprise attacks, much like Dwarven Mineshafts. Bringing in units with Bard behind enemy lines can open up new fronts to the battlefield entirely if any of the smuggled units are men from Lake-town, which he can grant extra experience and damage to.

In either strategy for Bard, he isn't the strongest defensive unit and shouldn't be used to tank areas that need to withstand constant assault. If you know that a particular structure or approaching monster represents the last wave of a storm or a particular important breaking point that will allow you to change the overall balance the battle, Bard can deliver a burst of damage at just the right time and place.