Orc and Orc Chieftain

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
Towns

Statistics
Orc
Cost per troop  150
	Attack 8 Defense 4 Damage 2–5 Health 15 Speed 4 Movement Ground Size 1 Shots 12 Growth 7 AI Value 192
Special abilities:
• Ranged attack
Orc Chieftain
Cost per troop  165
	Attack 8 Defense 4 Damage 2–5 Health 20 Speed 5 Movement Ground Size 1 Shots 24 Growth 7 AI Value 240
Special abilities:
• Ranged attack
Portraits

Orcs and Orc Chieftains are the level 3 creatures of Stronghold. They are recruited from the Orc Tower.

"Armed with throwing axes, orcs and orc chieftains have an effective ranged attack. At close range, their low speed and defensive values, and the ranged attacker hand-to-hand damage penalty, make them vulnerable." ^{RoE manual}

Heroes with a specialty

Jabarkas the Barbarian has orcs as a specialty, which increases the attack and defense skills of any orcs or orc chieftains for each level attained after 3rd level and gives them a speed bonus of 1.

Horn of the Abyss

In Horn of the Abyss, Orcs and Orc Chieftains got a new appearance closer to that of orcs from Heroes II and IV:

File:Orc portrait.gif  File:Orc portrait (HotA).gif    File:Creature Orc (HotA).gif

File:Orc Chieftain portrait.gif  File:Orc Chieftain portrait (HotA).gif    File:Creature Orc Chieftain (HotA).gif

User commentary

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Slow and easy to kill when engaged, they should be upgraded immediately, since 4 speed is too little for the adventure map. They are also the only Stronghold shooter for a long time, since you will obtain Cyclopes only later on, usually even after obtaining Behemoths. However, when having got Cyclopes, focus on them as main shooters, as they are not only stronger but significantly faster than Orcs (especially when upgraded - Cyclops Kings have brilliant speed for a ranged unit), and have an ability to destroy fortifications. When you play with Jabarkas, you may still keep Orcs as your main force though, as they will not only get stronger as the game goes by, but also get a speed bonus which means that Orcs won't slow you down on the map too much. They are also very cheap for a Level 3 unit. Bless and Precision are great buffs for Orcs, who have big damage range from almost useless to decent. Similarly, when playing against Stronghold, cast Curse on Orcs if the enemy doesn't have notable amounts of stronger units.

See also:

• List of creatures

• Comparison of Level 3 Creatures
• Comparison of Ranged Creatures