Ambush in Ithilien

* Loading Screen
* Map Layout

"He woke, thinking that he had heard horns blowing. He sat up. It was now high noon. The guards stood alert and tense in the shadow of the trees. Suddenly the horns rang out louder and beyond mistake from above, over the top of the slope. Sam thought that he heard cries and wild shouting also, but the sound was faint, as if it came out of some distant cave. Then presently the noise of fighting broke out near at hand, just above their hiding-place. He could hear plainly the ringing grate of steel on steel, the clang of sword on iron cap, the dull beat of blade on shield; men were yelling and screaming, and one clear loud voice was calling Gondor! Gondor!"
—The Two Towers, Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit

Frodo and Sam's journey leads them into the lands of Gondor and the forest of Ithilien, a key strategic point which lies between Minas Tirith and Minas Morgul. These lands are marred by conflict between the Rangers of Ithilien and the forces of Mordor roaming the woods. The noble captain of Gondor, Faramir, and his men ambush the Orcs desecrating the forests as well as the Southron forces moving north to join Sauron's army. Frodo and Sam witness Faramir's attack on the Haradrim convoy before they too are captured by the Gondorians and taken to Henneth Annûn for questioning.

Ambush in Ithilien is the fifteenth mission of the Lord of the Rings Campaign. The player controls Faramir throughout the mission and are joined by Madril, Damrod, Anborn and Mablung at various points as the mission progresses. If any of these heroes die, the mission is failed.

## Guide

**New Objective - Eliminate all Mordor patrols before they reach the Forbidden Pool**

Gondor's scouts report that Orcs and Southrons are marshalling in Ithilien in preparation for their assault upon Gondor; Faramir and his Rangers are dispatched to delay the forces of Mordor and prevent the discovery of Henneth Annûn, their secret refuge. The player is given control of Faramir and three Ithilien Ranger battalions, several Orc and Haradrim hordes patrol the woods and must be killed to complete the objective. Rangers are vulnerable to melee attacks and can be overwhelmed by greater numbers and so it is recommended to deal with the enemy hordes one by one and avoid detection where possible: use trees to remain stealthed and lure enemies away from each other using Faramir's **Lure** ability. Enemy units take increased damage when attacked from the sides and back, use this to your advantage by positioning your Rangers at various points surrounding a target horde whilst retreating Ranger battalions if enemy units get too close - the remaining Rangers and Faramir can continue attacking whilst the retreating battalion draws the enemy horde's aggro.

**Bonus Objective - Destroy all orc scout teams without any escaping**

Two Orc scouts are discovered whilst clearing out the Mordor patrols, they stand still unless they discover the player's units when they will quickly flee off the map to call for reinforcements consisting of Mountain-trolls and Orc Archers with fire arrows to burn the Rangers' cover. This can be prevented if the scouts are quickly killed before they can discover the Rangers or before they escape the map. Various scouts are encountered through the mission: they can be killed by focusing all units on a scout one at a time and using **You Can Go No Further**, or later in the mission with Madril's **Master of Ambush**, to stun fleeing scouts.

Once the Orcs and Haradrim patrolling nearby Henneth Annûn are destroyed, the player is prompted to reunite with Damrod, Madril and their scouting party. They inform Faramir of an incoming Haradrim convoy that will arrive shortly, as well as the presence of an Orc camp within the forest that acts as a staging post for Mordor's assaults upon Gondor. Throughout Ithilien, Lumber Mills despoil the forest and put the Rangers at risk of being forced to fight on a barren field - they must be destroyed along with the Orc camp and approaching Haradrim.

**New Objective - Make contact with Anborn's rangers**

**New Objective - Make contact with Damrod's rangers**

**New Objective - Destroy all lumber camps to preserve tree cover**

**Bonus Objective - Find at least 12 teams of rangers**

This section of the mission is non-linear, players can approach the objectives in any order: they can immediately search for Anborn and Mablung (whose locations are marked by spotlights on the map) to bolster their forces or they can choose to destroy Lumber Mills and patrolling enemies as they make their way to the ranger captains before destroying any remaining Mills with their fully reinforced army. There is the option of splitting Ranger forces up so that some solely attack Lumber Mills whilst others search for reinforcements, this approach covers more ground and saves time but is initially riskier due to the player's divided forces being more vulnerable to attacks. Faramir and the other ranger heroes can all use **Lure** not only to attract enemy units but also to call out to Ithilien Rangers and Ithilien Sentinels hidden throughout the map, which will call back to notify the player of their location; they will join the player's army when discovered. These discovered troops vary from single units to full battalions. Alternatively, the player can keep their units and heroes together so that whilst they move across the map and complete objectives more slowly, they have a greater number of units to deal with Mordor patrols and units guarding the Lumber Mills. More Orc scouts are encountered throughout the forest, they can either simply be avoided or killed before they can call for reinforcements.

There are six Lumber Camps to destroy in order to complete the objective. They are protected by a variety of units, such as Orc Warriors and Archers, Haradrim Archers and Haradrim Raiders - it may be useful to avoid camps defended by Raiders until some Ithilien Sentinels have been discovered because Ithilien Rangers are vulnerable to cavalry. Faramir's and the spellbook power Hidden Volley can both be used to instantly kill a group of enemies patrolling or defending to minimise friendly casualties; the player is not able to recruit any units during this stage of the mission and so are reliant on the units they have and any units they discover throughout the map. Lumber Mills can quickly be destroyed by toggling Rangers to swords and using abilities such as Damrod's **Quick Dispatch** which increases his attack speed by 25%. Orc Labourers working at these Mills must also be killed. Once again, it is useful to plan out an attack before striking by positioning Rangers in position to allow flanking attacks on enemy guards and keeping units mobile to avoid them taking too much damage. Be wary, as Mountain-trolls can be encountered whilst moving across the map between Lumber Camps; these are best dealt with using Faramir's Wounding Arrow and Madril's Master of Ambush to deal significant damage immediately before stunning the Troll long enough for it to be killed.

Anborn's forces are located in the centre of the map, whilst Mablung can be found at the south border - both ranger camps are highlighted to the player via spotlights. Upon reaching a camp, the discovered hero and their rangers will join the player's army and their respective objective is complete. When Anborn is discovered, the player is introduced to a new bonus objective: the creature Gollum has been spotted roaming Ithilien; he can be tracked and captured by Anborn.

**Bonus Objective - Use Anborn to track and capture Gollum**

Clues of Gollum's location can be discovered in the northeast portion of the map, close to the Lumber Mill next to the currently inaccessible Mordor camp. Anborn is able to reveal a trail of footprints which lead directly to Gollum. Orc scouts lurk nearby the path to Gollum and so it may be useful to send at least a few units or heroes to accompany Anborn as he tracks the footprints. Upon discovering Gollum, the player must defeat him in a short fight before he surrenders and is captured by Anborn. Gollum will now follow Anborn, who can return to Henneth Annûn where Gollum will be taken for questioning. The player is rewarded for retrieving Gollum by unlocking Bodkin Arrows and Forged Blades for their units to research. The player can afford these upgrades by discovering treasure chests scattered across the map and by using the **Hidden Cache** spellbook power.

**New Objective - Destroy the orc camp in the northeast and reduce Mordor's foothold in Ithilien**

Once all six Lumber Mills have been destroyed and both ranger captains are discovered, the player is now able to access the Mordor camp which must be destroyed. Direct assault on the camp is difficult: Orc Archers with fire arrows bombard the two entrances and ignite the area, so that trying to move through these passes results in heavy losses. It is possible to sneak past the camp's guards using the north cliff to loop around the camp and attack from the flank - this route is guarded by the aforementioned scouts discovered when tracking Gollum - they should be killed undetected when flanking the camp if they were not already killed when tracking Gollum. In order to destroy the camp, all of the defenders must be killed and all structures, such as tents and Gorgoroth Armories, destroyed. During combat, make use of Mablung's **Lethal Aim** to increase archers' effectiveness against target enemy units. Mountain-trolls within the camp should be dealt with via Faramir's Wounding Arrow and focusing all Rangers' fire onto the Troll before it can inflict too much damage.

**New Objective - Ambush and destroy the Haradrim caravan**

**Bonus Objective - Cover all positions along the southern pass before the convoy arrives**

The camp is destroyed as dawn breaks. The Haradrim convoy has almost arrived and the player must set up an ambush along the road by positioning their units and heroes at various strategic points on the ridges overlooking the road. The player can build an Ithilien Tent, which recruits Rangers and Sentinels to bolster their forces. For easier micro-management, heroes can be kept together to avoid a hero getting cut off from the rest of the player's forces and killed, which would result in mission failure. After 3 minutes of preparation time, the Haradrim caravan arrives at the south border and marches along the road - once the ambush starts, the Haradrim will send units to attack the hidden Rangers. It is important to have a varied army composition: station 1-2 Sentinel battalions at locations where Haradrim will try to reach the Rangers on the ridge; this will lock the Haradrim in combat so that the Rangers can continue shooting at them from a safe distance. Make use of spellbook powers such as **There Is Always Hope**, **Take Refuge!** and **Hide!** to buff friendly units whilst debuffing the enemy to gain the edge in combat. Several Mûmakil arrive as part of the convoy, Bodkin Arrows and Faramir's Wounding Arrow are particularly effective against them and so it is recommended to try to capture Gollum earlier in the mission so that the Rangers can use Bodkin Arrows. Continue recruiting units from the Ithilien Tent as the ambush progresses to maintain numbers and to reinforce the heroes if the Haradrim start to get close. Faramir's **Captain of Ithilien** can temporarily summon a stationary battalion of Ithilien Rangers to further bolster the player's forces. Once the Haradrim caravan is destroyed, a cinematic plays showing Faramir and his men discovering and capturing Frodo and Sam. The mission is then complete.