The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age is a turn-based strategy game for the Game Boy Advance. It was released in 2004 by EA Games. It should not be confused with the RPG of the same name, The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age, released at the same time for GameCube, PS2, and Xbox.
Good commanders
At the start of the game you can choose between these heroes and the Evil ones.
Aragorn - High HP, perfect Morale, Great CP, high Attack, average Range, high SP. Aragorn specializes in destroying the enemy personally, using Sweep Attack and Arms Mastery to slay any creature of Mordor or Isengard that he sees. His Curse of the Dead enables him to cripple foes on his particular flank, making it easier to eliminate the enemy, whether he does it or someone else does. He also has great natural leadership, with an extremely high 1-4 CP per turn, and Inspire to add more CP to those numbers. With 29 HP, great melee capabilities, and high leadership, Aragorn is a great leader and fearsome warrior to behold on the battlefield. Woodsmen resemble Aragorn's range attack.
Appears in: Darkness Upon Bree, Flight From Moria, Balin's Tomb, Amon Hen, The Ride To Helm's Deep, Helm Deep Breach, Forth Eorlingas, Pelennor Fields, The Black Gate Opens,Balin's Tomb.
Skills
- Sweep Attack
- Arms Mastery
- Inspire
- Curse of the Dead
Gandalf - Low HP, perfect Morale, Average CP, good Attack, bad ranged attack, great SP. Gandalf is another great leader for the forces of Good. Like Aragorn, he has leadership potential with Inspire, even though 1-3 CP is not as great as Aragorn's. Gandalf's Stealth and Blinding Light skills are particularly useful, since Stealth makes him a great decoy without him being damaged by range, and Blinding Light can ruin an enemy flank position instantly. His ranged attack, while bad at first, significantly improves after Glamdring is purchased, even though Glamdring is only supposed to benefit melee. Oddly, he shares no resemblance to any other character.
Appears in: Attack on Fangorn, Forth Eorlingas, The Black Gate Opens, Walls of Minith Tirith, Siege of Minith Tirith.
Skills
- Evasion
- Stealth
- Inspire
- Blinding Light
Elrond - Low HP, perfect Morale, Average CP, good attack, and good range(that can be improved with Keen Eyes),very good SP. Elrond specializes mainly in both destroying his enemies and keeping his own forces intact. Hold Fast! and Keen Eyes allow him and his units to survive and beat down enemy forces in melee or range, while Defensive Stances and the Elven Blade allow Elrond himself to take down one enemy unit after another, or weaken powerful enemies like trolls and heroes. Elven Duress removes CP from his enemy flank AND increases chances of enemy Disorder, an anti-Inspire on the enemy. Overall, Elrond is a pretty good leader. Wood elves have Elrond's range motion and high elves have his hand-to-hand attack.
Appears in: Mission From Rivendell
Skills
- Hold Fast!
- Defensive Stance
- Keen Eyes
- Elven Duress
Evil commanders
At the start of the game you can choose between these heroes and Good ones.
Witch-king- Very High HP, perfect Morale, Average CP, good attack, no range, average SP. With his upgrades, skills and items, he can easily kill almost anything (Except Ents, of course). His major weakness is that he is not as good of a leader as the other commanders; most of his skills affect only him. The Witch-king also has no resemblance to other characters though orc brutes have a similar attack.
Appears in: Darkness Upon Bree
Skills
- Terror
- Flurry
- Rage
- Invulnerability
Saruman - Pathetic HP, average Morale, CP and Attack, good Ranged attack, and good SP. He is frail, but he doesn't need to fight in melee; his lightning ranged attack takes care of enemies. With his upgrades and skills, his soldiers will do all the killing. Swarm of Crebain is also very useful. With Rage, he will be able to wreck almost anything from a distance. Like Gandalf, he has no resemblance to other characters.
Appears in: Attack on Fangorn, Fall of Isengard
Skills
- On Your Feet!
- Rage (works with ranged attacks)
- Curse of Orthanc
- Swarm of Crebain
Mouth of Sauron - Low HP, average Morale and CP, good attack and no Range, great SP. Like Saruman, his soldiers do most of the killing, but he is more resistant. Intimidate helps his soldiers to keep moving. With his upgrades, the Mouth of Sauron himself can do some serious damage (10 base total) on the battlefield, though he is not as resistant as the Witch-King. He attacks like Sauron.
Appears in: Conquest of Osgiliath, Fall of Osgiliath, The Black Gate Opens
Skills
- Strength of Mordor
- Rage
- Intimidate
- Eye of Sauron
Good heroes
On almost every mission, you can choose Secondary Heroes to help you. They are Theoden, Eomer, Eowyn, Gimli, Legolas, Boromir, Faramir and Haldir.
Theoden -Low HP, good Morale, average CP, average attack and no Range, average SP. Without his upgrades, he is weak, but with them, and his Double Move Talent, he can be an excellent front line fighter. Gondor horsemen resemble him.
Appears in: The Ride To Helm's Deep, Helm's Deep Breach, Forth Eorlingas
Skill: Inspire
Eomer - Good HP and morale, ordinary CP, good attack and no Range, low SP. Stronger than his uncle, his upgrades make him a great Hit-and-Run fighter. Rohimr riders resemble him.
Appears in: Crossing of the Ford, Edge of Fangorn, Forth Eorlingas
Skill: Arms Mastery
Eowyn- Low HP, good morale and average CP, good attack, no range, great SP. While she is not very strong, she is good to get SP, and to kill enemy Heroes. Theodred and Rohan warriors resemble her.
Appears in: The Ride To Helm's Deep, Scourging of the Villages,Peleonor Fields
Skills: Hold Fast!, Stealth (with Armor of Rohan)
Gimli - Good HP and morale, ordinary CP, good attack and good ranged attack, low SP. He can deal a lot of damage with his upgrades, items and skills (he can get 14 attack), but is also very slow. He has no resemblance to other characters.
Appears in: Flight From Moria, Amon Hen, Balin's Tomb, Helm's Deep Breach, The Black Gate Opens
Skill: Arms Mastery
Legolas- Pathetic HP, good morale and average CP, low attack, but wonderful Range, average SP. Frail, but with Sweep Attack and Galadrim Bow, he can easily be one of the best attackers in the game. He has no resemblance to other characters but Gondor archers have two daggers as well.
Appears in: Balin's Tomb, Amon Hen, Helm's Deep Breach, The Ride To Helm's Deep, The Black Gate Opens,Walls of Minith Tirith
Skill: Sweep Attack
Boromir - Low HP, good morale and great CP, good attack, average range, and low SP. He should be used when you need CP, and if you need someone to take damage and deal. Shares no resemblance to anyone.
Appears in: Conquest of Osgiliath, Balin's Tomb, Flight From Moria, Amon Hen
Skills: Defensive Stance, Horn of Gondor
Faramir - Low HP, good morale and average CP, good attack, great range and good SP. One of the best archers because of his Sharpshooter Talent. Shares no resemblance to anyone.
Appears in: Conquest of Osgiliath, Fall of Osgiliath, Ambush at Ithilien
Skill: Evasion
Haldir (must be unlocked) - Average HP, good morale and average CP, good attack and great range, average SP. A great reward for beating the game. Along with other elves, he is even better, because of Keen Eyes. High elves attack the same way as does Elrond.
Skill: Keen Eyes
Evil Heroes
On most missions, you can choose Secondary Heroes to help you. They are Gothmog, Gorbag, Lurtz, Gríma, Ugluk, Sharku, Grishnakh and Shagrat.
Gothmog - Low HP, average morale and CP, good attack but no range, good SP. A great leader, since he can increase the CP with Intimidate. Ringwraiths attack like him.
Appears in: Fall of Osgiliath
Skill: Intimidate
Gorbag - Low HP, good morale and average CP, good attack and medium range, low SP. Not a very good choice, but he can be quite useful with Udûn Sword + Armor Spikes + Rage + Shelob Poison, giving him 14 attack. Orc chiefs resemble him.
Appears in: Conquest of Osgiliath, Flight From Moria
Skill: Rage
Lurtz - Average HP, good morale and average CP, good attack and great range, average SP. A good hero, with Flurry, he can be a major headache. Orc commanders resemble him.
Appears in: Amon Hen
Skill: Flurry
Gríma Wormtongue - Abysmal HP and morale, great CP, low attack and no range, average SP. The only purpose to use him is to get the 2-3 CP he gives. And, with Vial of Poison, he can deal great damage on his first strike. But, if there are archers, he will die fast. Very fast. Original compared to others.
Appears in: Attack on Fangorn, Fall of Isengard
Skill: Curse of Orthanc
Ugluk- Good HP and morale, ordinary CP, very high attack but no range, good SP. One of the strongest attackers in the game, he is a wonderful front line attacker. Orc leaders resemble him.
Appears in: Edge of Fangorn
Skill: On Your Feet!
Sharku - Good HP, average morale, ordinary CP, average attack, good range, and abysmal SP. A great choice if you need something to die. With Double Move and ranged attacks, he can annoy anyone without Stealth. Should only be used in conjunction with a hero with great SP. Warg-riders resemble him.
Appears in: The Ride To Helm's Deep
Skill: Strength of Mordor
Grishnakh - Low HP, abysmal morale, ordinary CP, average attack and range, low SP. A coward, but he can deal good damage on his first strike (9 attack). Orc captains resemble him.
Appears in: Edge of Fangorn
Skill: Take Cover!
Shagrat (must be unlocked) - Low HP, good morale and average CP, good attack and strong ranged attack, average SP. A great reward. He can deal good damage ranged or mêlée. His sword also provides +10% Onslaught. Mordor orcs attack in a similar manner and resemble him.
Appears in: The Black Gate Opens
Skill: Rage
Additional Heroes
Besides these secondary heroes, the player will fight against or fight alongside certain heroes already placed on the battlefield.
Good Additional Heroes
Theodred - Low HP, average morale, average attack, no range, average SP, average CP. Theodred only appears in one battle, Crossing of the Ford. He isn't that great of a hero in himself, but the extra SP, CP, and the "Hold Fast!" will definitely help if he survives. He does better staying far in the back and letting his soldiers do the work, helping them out with a "Hold Fast" when necessary. Rohan warriors resemble him and he attacks like Eowyn.
Skill: Hold Fast!
Captain - Low HP, high morale, high attack, no range, poor SP, average CP. The player will only get to use them once in Ambush of Ithilien for the Good campaign, but must fight them many times in the Evil campaign. These heroes do decently well up in the front ranks, but their health will run out faster than you think. When used correctly, their Arms Mastery skill can make them a major nuisance for Evil. Take after Isildor.
Skill: Arms Mastery
Treebeard - Very High HP, average CP, average SP, good range, fearless morale, very high attack. Treebeard appears in two levels, At the River Isen and Fall of Isengard. He is a very powerful hero, especially when surrounded by his Ents. Keen Eyes allows him to shoot far in the enemy ranks with devastating power, while Defensive Stance helps him survive. Overall, a great hero for battle. Ents resemble him.
Skills: Keen Eyes, Defensive Stance
Isildur - Very High HP, good SP, average CP, fearless morale, no range, high attack. Isildur appears in the tutorials and "Sauron Comes". He is basically an alternate version of Aragorn, only slightly weaker and with no range. Also, his four skills, which solely benefit him, can make him a powerful warrior on the battlefield. Captains take after him.
Skills: Arms Mastery, Sweep Attack, Stealth, Defensive Stance
Evil Additional Heroes
Orc Chief - Low HP, average SP, average CP, low morale, average attack, average range. The Orc Chief, as a warrior, is rather low-quality. He does not have much power, and will die rather quickly. However, he is only one of two heroes that have the "Take Cover!" skill, particularly useful against archers like Legolas. Also, with Rage, he can deal powerful damage in melee or range. He looks like a yellow version of Gorbag.
Skills: Take Cover, Rage
Orc Captain - Average-Low HP, average SP, average CP, average Morale, high attack, high range. The player does not get to use Orc Captains often, but will fight them many times. The Orc Captain is a fairly good warrior, with a damaging 6 ATK and Strength of Mordor/On Your Feet! to boost their effectiveness. The CP they provide isn't too bad either. The player should know when to pull them back and when to use them to their fullest extent, or they will die quicker than expected. He takes on the same appearance as Grishnakh.
Skills: On Your Feet!, Strength of Mordor
Chieftain - Low HP, average SP, ordinary CP, average Morale, average attack, no range. Arguably, the Chieftains of Dunland are the worst Evil heroes in the whole game. They serve little use as warriors, apart from using Flurry to browbeat various enemies. These heroes should stay as far away from the real fighting as possible, using their leadership and SP to benefit their troops, and occasionally placing a Curse of Orthanc to weaken heroes or strong units. Wildmen resemble him.
Skills: Flurry, Curse of Orthanc
Uruk-hai Lieutenant - Average HP, average SP, average CP, average Morale, high attack, high range. The Uruk-hai Lieutenant, with Rage activated, can be a deadly shooter. He is decent in the fields of leadership and damage, and can hit a nice chunk of the enemy, if used correctly, before he is finally slain. He looks like a blue version of Lurtz.
Skills: Rage, On Your Feet!
Uruk-hai Captain - Average HP, average SP, average CP, average Morale, high attack, no range. The Uruk-hai Captain is a rather damaging warrior on the battlefield, with base 7 attack and Flurry to kill or at least strike three units at once with powerful effect. His true speciality, however, is Terror, which can delay or even completely ruin an enemy position, giving time for the forces of Evil to mobilize, leaving Good powerless to move until it is FAR too late. He should not be the only hero on the battlefield, or else it will take a long time to develop Terror. He takes on the same appearance as Ugluk.
Skills: Flurry, Terror
Sauron - Very high HP, Very high SP, Great CP, Perfect morale, Extremely high attack, two range. Sauron was a mighty warrior in the books and movies, and is just as powerful in this game too. He is a combination of the Witch-King and the Mouth of Sauron, with the high damage capabilities and endurance of the Witch-King, but also the high skill and leadership of the Mouth. With these qualities, and with adequate protection, Sauron can demolish countless enemy units and make even the best heroes falter and wither away. The mouth of Sauron resemble him in combat.
Skills: Intimidate, Strength of Mordor, Flurry, Invulnerability
The Fellowship of the Ring:Chapter 1/3
Mission from Rivendell
The days had grown long and the nights cold, and still there was no sign of Aragorn in Rivendell.
"He has not been seen for some months now," Elrond admitted to his friends. "We must scour the outlying lands in search of some sign that he lives yet."
The Bridge Defense
A simple mission, where Good need to cross the Bridge and Evil to kill Good's heroes. Good has the advantage in this battle, since they have High Elf Swordsman. OBS: In Multiplayer, Evil gets Warg Riders.
Darkness upon Bree
The icy needles of the Nazgul screams pierced heads and hearts. The citizens of Bree, driven indoors by the relentless pounding of rain, trembled with anxiety within their darkened houses.
But a few townsfolk and warriors rose to the challenge... these undead kings of old had no business in the west.
Hard times to Good, that needs to fight the Nazgul. There are actually only 4 of them (5 if you use the Witch-King), but Good have a lot of peasants and 6 woodsmen, that need to be used with intelligence, because the Nazgul are very powerful. Watch out for the Dark Riders, with their Double Move.
Attack on Fangorn
At the foot of Fangorn Saruman surveyed the progress of his growing war machine. An eager Orc approached.
"The roots are deep my Lord."
The White Wizard grimaced. This forest could grow angry if pushed, yet he felt his own will was stronger.
The powerful Ent
"Cut them down."
In this battle, Good has a powerful ally: An Ent. Ents can deal a lot of damage even when they are far, and are some of the hardest units in the game. This is true in levels like Fall of Isengard. Evil will gain 2 points in the first turn by burning a tree. Good defenses and use of ranged attack is essential in this battle, especially since the Uruk-hai can deal good damage close-up.
Conquest of Osgiliath
"Osgiliath was once the jewel of our kingdom," Lord Denethor mused, sitting alone before a large banquet table. His two sons, Boromir and Faramir, stood silently behind the aging steward as he ate.
"The city must be reclaimed," Denethor continued, "if we hope to keep our kingdom intact. The Lords of Gondor must return to their rightful place. Recapture the city, my sons! Restore it to its former glory!"
In this mission, Evil needs to defend Osgiliath from Gondor's forces, while Gondor must attempt to kill off Evil's heroes and take over the buildings. Evil will get some reinforcements after a few turns, and some time later, Knights of Gondor will assist the offensive.
Battle in Osgiliath
Flight from Moria
Breathless and beaten, the Fellowship escaped the Mines of Moria. But there was little time for rest.
Aragorn was adamant: "By nightfall these hills will be swarming with Orcs!"
Yet no sooner had the warning been spoken than the hills began to thicken with the hideous faces of Goblins and Trolls. But the Fellowship was not alone...
This battle looks hard for Good, but it's pretty easy, actually. After you kill the Troll, there's only a sea of cannon fodder, the goblins. For Hard, the group of Woodsmen can be the difference between victory and defeat. They are worth 4 points, and each hero 2, and Good wins points if the battle lasts enough time. So, every action of evil must be cautious.
The Troll, Ugluk, and the Goblins
Amon Hen
Beneath the pillars of stone atop Amon Hen, Frodo made his intentions clear. He would carry the Ring alone to Mordor. Aragorn nodded, then leapt suddenly to his feet. Something was approaching from the rear!!
Aragorn drew his sword.
"Run Frodo! Run!" he cried, for the Uruk-hai were close at hand
This battle is easy for both sides, since Good need to kill 12 enemies and Evil must kill 6 heroes, 2 of them are Merry and Pippin who are extremely weak. Good heroes can kill most enemies in 2 attacks, except the Berserker, that only has 6 HP. For single player, the Berserkers only appear when the player works for Evil.
Ambush!
Balin's Tomb
Boromir VS. Mr.Troll
Gandalf read aloud the final entry in Balin's tome: "Drums! Drums in the deep... we cannot get out. A shadow moves in the dark. Will no one save us? They are coming."
A nervous silence froze the Fellowship. All were still. And then, from some unknown depth far distant, the drums began again.
It's basically Flight from Moria in another place. A Cave Troll, tons of Goblins and your heroes. But, one of them will be unable to fight (unless he has good range) because of position, so heroes like Legolas should be used. Evil will need to use the Goblins with intelligence, since they are very weak and die quickly.