Royal Barracks

* Level 1
* Level 2
* Level 3

"Then the name of the forest was changed and Mirkwood it was called, for the nightshade lay deep there, and few dared to pass through, save only in the north where Thranduil's people still held the evil at bay."
—Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age, The Silmarillion

As the Silvan Elves were forced into battle with the forces of Dol Guldur, Thranduil knew that a professional army would need to be made. Remembering the deaths at the Battle of Dagorlad, he ensured that all the soldiers in his armies were equipped with the finest equipment for protection. This army was put to the test against the hordes of the Misty Mountains in the Battle of the Five Armies and during the Battle Under the Trees when Dol Guldur launched their assault on the Woodland Realm.

The Royal Barracks is a unit production structure for the Woodland Realm. It allows for recruitment of the faction's elite units.

The Royal Barracks is also available to the Adventure: Battle of the Five Armies subfaction of Erebor, allowing the subfaction access to elite Greenwood units. The structure is renamed as the **Elvenking's Barracks** but otherwise has the same function apart from some modifications in recruitable units.

## Upgrades

**Upgrade Royal Barracks to Level 2 (A)** - Allows training of Cúmaethyr and Tamastirnyr. +10% faster build speed. Cost: 500

*Note: In Adventure: Battle of the Five Armies, this upgrade allows for the recruitment of Hall-watchers/Greenwood Spearmen instead of Guards of the Palace.*

**Upgrade Royal Barracks to Level 3 (A)** - Allows training of Faenrochyn. +25% faster build speed. Cost: 500

*Note: In Adventure: Battle of the Five Armies, this upgrade instead allows for the recruitment of Dismounted Gilded Guard.*

## Function

The Royal Barracks can be used to recruit the following units:

In Adventure: Battle of the Five Armies, the Elvenking's Barracks can instead recruit the following units:

## Strategy

The Royal Barracks is key for Woodland Realm's late game. The units from this structure are slower than the Silvan Elves but have far more armour and health. The Swordsmen and Slayers are both swordsmen with the same price, but the Greenwood Swordsmen are focused on tanking damage and supporting allied elves, while the Slayers are far more aggressive with higher attack speed and splash damage. The Greenwood Archers and Guards of the Palace are powerful replacements for the Silvan Archers and Spearmen, although they are expensive and require a Level 2 Barracks, and so the player is likely to use the Silvan units until late in the game. The Sindar Nobles are a powerful cavalry unit, capable of terrifying and trampling over hordes with ease. The melee units from this structure can be paired with Thranduil who is versatile at supporting them with his leadership, mount and Sindarin Armour. The Archers can work well with Legolas who can help them level up faster and increase their vision range. The Royal Barracks and its units are very expensive and so it is not recommended to use them early in the game. However, use of the Vineyard Wine Bonus can make it easier to transition to these elite units, as well as other economic bonuses such as Elvenking's Decree or the Druids of the Oaken Order.

The Elvenking's Barracks serves a similar function for the Adventure: Battle of the Five Armies subfaction, being used to recruit elite Greenwood units for the lategame, with the main differences being in some of the recruitable units. Hall-watchers replace the Guards of the Palace and have even more health with the same level of armour, but do not provide a passive armor bonus to Thranduil or Legolas to compensate. The Sindarin Nobles are replaced with the Dismounted Gilded Guard, the Heroic unit for the subfaction, who are infantry versions of the Gilded Guard of Lasgalen who can be just as deadly and as valuable as their cavalry counterparts.