Strength of Sauron and use of Past Ages Power in Mordor gameplay

[lotr_fanman]

I have been playing as mordor recently, and I had gotten the ring and Sauron at level 10. I was noticing that his health was brought down very quickly by heroes like Haldir and Thranduil. I think this is because Sauron has a very slow attack speed, but the damage is not enough to compensate. For example, a level 10 Aragorn has the same melee damage as a level 10 Sauron with the ring but an attack speed that is twice as fast. I think that if Power of Past Ages is used on Sauron while he has the ring, similar to in Edain 3.8, that Sauron should gain new powers and possibly get his melee damage moved up to around a 1000. Otherwise, Power of Past Ages is useless if you have the ring, as it doesn't change any stats. If the higher melee damage seems op, then maybe Sauron should get a power in his ring hero form that does high damage to a single unit or to heroes. While Sauron is quite powerful, it also seems like all high amounts of money and time taken to get him to level 10 do not pay off so much. He gets some new and neat abilities, but nothing in my opinion(besides Tol In Guarhoth) that really pays of dramatically later. Maybe he should get a leadership ability? Also, Sauron's main weakness is his extremely slow speed. It would make sense to balance it out with higher damage. Any suggestions?

[The_Necromancer0]

To put it bluntly: I disagree. While your concerns are legitimate and I would love to see Mordor improved Sauron is not the place to look for those improvement. Sauron's role as a ring hero is mass slayer not hero killer. What Sauron does get is a heal and a black vortex that will immobilize the enemy units. As for a leadership he has Lord of Mordor which, while not actually providing a boost, replaces fallen units constantly throughout the game. While his damage is not the highest his attack can decimate several dozens of troops if they are clumped up. It's all about micromanaging: if you see a hero get close to sauron, retreat and have your other heroes move in for the kill while he is stuck in the black vortex. I do, however, admit that I would love to see Power of the Past Ages imporved.

[lotr_fanman]

You bring up some good points, and I guess making him too strong takes the fun out of the game. I also agree that there should be some change in Power of Past Ages to benefit mordor or Sauron in the later game.

[Odysseus]

I disagree as well. Mordor does not need to be buffed in any way. They are already contending for the strongest late game faction and arguably the strongest faction overall. They have ample options to deal with their enemies. They have the best siege in the game, a ton of heroes that scale in power with Sauron, their basic units are free, they have a spell that can make the recruitment time of orcs near instant allowing the replacement of lost orc hordes, Sauron's Past Ages Power turns him into a combat-ready hero, with his blade of destiny making him arguably into another hero killer. He can also become a mass slayer with light siege attributes by becoming lord of the Werewolves. He can become Annatar, lord of gifts to deceive your opponents and punish defensive play and he can turn into a vampire, leeching health from troops in the long run and giving it to himself. There is so much versatility in this guy, it's crazy. In the right hands, he can almost become a one man army. He can't even die normally, you purchase him only once. Does he really need anymore?
Furthermore, remember that any buff you give to Sauron also (partially) transitions to the Nazgûl and the Mouth of Sauron, buffing all of them as well, since they are tied to each other.
The combination of army supporter and mass slayer is rare and probably the best in the game. I don't remember who, but someone said on the forums: Surrounds him by orcs, and he is invincible. The only reliable way to beat Sauron is with a hero killer, but what are hero killers weak to? Exactly, regular troops. With them, you can make Sauron temporarily have no weaknesses. Only advantages.

Finally, Mordor doesn't really have any apparent weakness like Lothlorien or Isengard, in my opinion. They can keep up with Rohan early game, which is arguably the best at the moment due to peasants and their late game is arguably the strongest due to their ability to endure via numbers and their large amount of heroes. I think Mordor will stay the best faction in the game, if not, one of the best until perhaps Misty Mountains are released, which share a similar nature. Massive and unending hordes.

Kind regards.

[The_Necromancer0]

I'd like to add that it's kind of hypocritical of me to disagree since I made a post on it myself but since then I've come to realize that there truly is no real weakness to Mordor and if my word isn't enough just know that without much effort I can pit mordor against any 2 AI on brutal and win by simply spamming orcs and slowly advancing in strength not taking any particular risks or requiring any particularly attentive micro managing.

[Elite KryPtik]

I disagree as well. Mordor does not need to be buffed in any way. They are already contending for the strongest late game faction and arguably the strongest faction overall. They have ample options to deal with their enemies. They have the best siege in the game, a ton of heroes that scale in power with Sauron, their basic units are free, they have a spell that can make the recruitment time of orcs near instant allowing the replacement of lost orc hordes, Sauron's Past Ages Power turns him into a combat-ready hero, with his blade of destiny making him arguably into another hero killer. He can also become a mass slayer with light siege attributes by becoming lord of the Werewolves. He can become Annatar, lord of gifts to deceive your opponents and punish defensive play and he can turn into a vampire, leeching health from troops in the long run and giving it to himself. There is so much versatility in this guy, it's crazy. In the right hands, he can almost become a one man army. He can't even die normally, you purchase him only once. Does he really need anymore?
Furthermore, remember that any buff you give to Sauron also (partially) transitions to the Nazgûl and the Mouth of Sauron, buffing all of them as well, since they are tied to each other.
The combination of army supporter and mass slayer is rare and probably the best in the game. I don't remember who, but someone said on the forums: Surrounds him by orcs, and he is invincible. The only reliable way to beat Sauron is with a hero killer, but what are hero killers weak to? Exactly, regular troops. With them, you can make Sauron temporarily have no weaknesses. Only advantages.

Finally, Mordor doesn't really have any apparent weakness like Lothlorien or Isengard, in my opinion. They can keep up with Rohan early game, which is arguably the best at the moment due to peasants and their late game is arguably the strongest due to their ability to endure via numbers and their large amount of heroes. I think Mordor will stay the best faction in the game, if not, one of the best until perhaps Misty Mountains are released, which share a similar nature. Massive and unending hordes.

Kind regards.

^ This. All of this. Mordor doesn't need anything else.

[Odysseus]

Oh, I forgot to mention, they even have troops that do not cost any popcap and a Pike unit that is also able to counter swords.