In-Game Description[]
The Orcish assassins are some of the best trained Orcs alive, but they live in secret and not a part of normal Orc society. They come from families hopelessly disgraced and without honor, not afraid to use the subtle arts of concealment, to accomplish their means. As brute strength and savage fighting tactics come naturally to Orcs, assassins are carefully trained in the art of stealth and agility and the use of poison. In addition, the assassin can easily climb city walls to infiltrate and conquer unguarded towns.
Among Orc warriors, the ultimate insult is to be called an "Assassin," though they are quick to hold their tongue when one is present. Many an Orc warrior has disappeared after making disparaging remarks about the cowardly ways of the Orc Assassin.
Strategy[]
Orc Assassins are a useful supporting unit for an Orc army. Their stats are somewhat comparable to an Orc Swordsman, with 1 less Damage, 1 more Defense and 2 more Health. Their primary benefit comes from their ability to shoot poison darts with marksmanship proficiency, while also being able to defend themselves from physical attackers.
When paired up with Warlords, Assassins become much more effective, since they can poison approaching enemy units from afar, thus weakening them for the Warlords to easily finish off. Their ability to climb walls is of questionable usefulness for large city battles, since they lack the physical combat strength to assault a well-defended city alone. However, in combination with their concealment, it means they can be used to raid poorly-defended cities by surprise if there is sufficient cover nearby.
Assassins are very squishy and will easily die to an attack from many Level 3 or 4 units and even Level 2 cavalry units. Even if they go down though, they may poison the attacker as a parting gift. Killing them as quickly as possible (with a single hit from a powerful unit) or with a ranged attack is therefore the best option to deal with them.