Lothern - advice, tips | Factions Total War: Warhammer II Guide
Last update: 22 November 2017
This chapter contains useful advice on playing the Lorthern under Tyrion's leadership.
Initial situation
Tyrion starts the game with one city - Lothern. What's particular about it is that Lothern has 9 building slots and 2 special slots. The Dark Elves will be the first enemy - The Cult of Excess. They will be dwelling in the remaining two cities of your province, and in Angerrial in the neighboring province. The army closest to you will be consisting of 10 formations, stationing in the Glittering Tower. The Caledor - lying on the west, is going to be another target. The remaining factions are High Elves, and they will be neutral towards you.
First turns
You should begin the game by befriending the other factions of the High Elves, and getting rid of the Cult of Excess. First, only the Yvresse will settle for a non-aggression pact and a trading agreement, but the remaining ones should not be very problematic if you use the Influence.
Head for the Tower of Lysean, and at the same time recruit new units and start developing Lothern. The Dark Elve's settlement should yield without much resistance, and you will be able to demolish the Militia camp in Lothern - the same building is in your newly acquired town, and there's no use having two of these.
Then attack the Glittering Tower, while at the same time expanding your army (you should have at least 4-5 units of archers, the rest should be Spearmen). In Lothern, you should construct the following buildings: Plaza (to improve the public order), Elven Gardens (this will increase the income from Plaza as well as allow you to recruit one more hero) and Elven Craftsman (additional income).
After conquering the next settlement, strengthen your army (so it's full or almost full) and set out to conquer Angerrial. Develop the settlements you already own. After achieving a population surplus, prioritize the main building in the Glistering Tower and build a Homestead there. After getting another surplus point, invest in the Tower of Lysean and build Salt Flats there (which will yield a resource for trade). Don't forget to develop the currently available buildings.
The Dark Elve's army will probably want to face you outside the settlement, in the fields. Considering the power of your bolt throwers and archers, you will have an edge over them, and the battle shouldn't be particularly difficult. However, if they decide to take the battle in the city, the army you have might be too weak to crush the walls.
Unfortunately, when you're fighting for Angerrial, another faction of High Elves - most probably the Sapher - will probably capture another settlement in this province: Shrine of Asuryan. Which will make the development of this province a bit more difficult - you also won't be able to issue edicts. You could declare war on them, but that doesn't make much sense. Instead, try to increase your relations with the Intrigues tab (accessible by pressing 0) and try to quickly form a confederacy. NOTE that if you're playing on a difficulty lower than very hard, you might just be able to capture the whole province - if you act with haste.
Next, try to develop the settlements for a couple turns. Then you can try to replenish the losses in your army. You should replace some spearmen with the Sea Guard from Lothern - they are hybrid units that do great in battle.
When your army is ready, head out to fight the Caledor. Capturing their capital -Vaul's Anvil is of utmost importance, because it's a place that provides the ritual resource. Try not to attack when the garrison in the settlement is full - you might not be able to cope with such force, especially if there's a dragon inside. Instead, attack when the army is outside, or try to lure it out. When you manage to capture the settlement, build the Ancient Waystone (if it's not already built for any reason) - this will provide the points needed for a Ritual.
Then focus on getting rid of the Caledor quickly. There's no telling what sort of power and territory will that country have - sometimes they conquer the whole west coast of Ulthuan, other times they just have one city.
Remaining turns
During the following turns, your task will be to unite the whole Ulthuan. Stary by conquering the factions on the west - the Tiranoc and the Nagarythe; they will probably not be friendly towards you, so forging an alliance might not be easy.
Then set out to conquer the Scourge of Khaine in the north. One of their settlements - Temple of Khaine is another city that will yield ritual resource, so make sure you're quick when capturing it.
In the meantime, increase your relations with the remaining High Elves and try to create confederations. Also try to make sure the relations between the 3rd party factions are good as well - otherwise, your alliance might be broken by internal conflicts.
If you manage to unite the Ulthuan, you can try to mount a sea expedition, get across the sea and attack the heart of the Dark Elves' empire, but such a journey will not be easy, especially since you will have to defend your own world during the Rituals. On the other hand, this will prevent the Dark Elves from attacking you, which might be advantageous.
Maintain peace with the Bretonnia knights and the Dwarves on the northern realms of the Southern Lands - trading with them will be hugely profitable. Additionally, you should also try to incorporate the factions of the High Elves that are separated by sea - this will give you vantage points in the south.
For the sake of overseas affairs, you should develop the Maritime Empire technology - this will reveal the world around all bodies of water, and hence many new factions (including the faction of Teclis - the other Legendary Lord of the High Elves). In order to be able to develop this technology, you will have to build Shrine of Asuryan (an advanced military building).