Roc and Thunderbird

Stronghold Creatures

Level

1

 Goblin

 Hobgoblin

Level

2

 Wolf Rider

 Wolf Raider

Level

3

 Orc

 Orc Chieftain

Level

4

 Ogre

 Ogre Mage

Level

5

 Roc

 Thunderbird

Level

6

 Cyclops

 Cyclops King

Level

7

 Behemoth

 Ancient Behemoth

Roc

Attack Skill

13

Defense Skill

11

Damage

11–15

Health

60

Speed

7

Move

Flying

Size

2

Growth

3

AI Value

1027

Fight Value

790

Cost

600

Flies.

Thunderbird

Attack Skill

13

Defense Skill

11

Damage

11–15

Health

60

Speed

11

Move

Flying

Size

2

Growth

3

AI Value

1106

Fight Value

869

Cost

700

Flies. Lightning Strike.

Rocs and Thunderbirds are the level 5 creatures of Stronghold. They are recruited from the Cliff Nest.

"Rocs and thunderbirds are the only flying units available at Stronghold towns. When thunderbirds attack, there is a 20% chance thunderbolts will strike their target, delivering 10x the number of attacking thunderbirds in additional damage." ^{RoE manual}

Dwellings & Portraits

Heroes with a specialty

• Shiva the Barbarian

Special Ability: Lightning Strike

When the stack attacks, the there is a 20% chance that a lightning strike occurs before the enemy has a chance to retaliate. If if occurs, the lightning strike deals damage equal to ten times the number of attacking Thunderbirds. The lightning strike has the same visual effect as the spell Lightning Bolt, and the game also treats it as such in terms of damage increases/resistances/etc. See the Lightning Bolt page for a list of things that affect this ability.

Gallery

• 
  Thunderbird
  (RoE manual p111)
• 
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User Commentary

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Since they are the only flying Stronghold unit, the rocs and thunderbirds usually die in large numbers if they are to be sent to attack the enemy straight away. They should be used tactically and not draw too much damage towards themselves, even if their health stat is the third highest for a level 5. Their defense is also pretty low. Try to upgrade Rocs to Thunderbirds as soon as possible, as with speed 7 Rocs are quite useless. For that reason, capturing Rocs' external dwellings is not that difficult (however, beware of first turn right, and if you cannot kill all 9 Rocs guarding the dwelling at the same time, Slow is still a good idea as the guardians may attack twice due to high morale, reaching some of your troops).

Since the lightning strike deals direct damage that is unaffected by most combat modifiers, it's most effective against heavily armored stacks, although with only a 20% chance of occurring it cannot be relied upon.

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See Also:

• List of creatures

• Comparison of Level 5 Creatures