Witch King Build and Guide LOTR Rise To War

Witch-King is one of the best if not THE best Commanders in the LOTR Rise To War when it comes to damage output,  with the above-average stats for all 3 main stats. He is definitely a Commander that will be worth your time and effort put into leveling and “grinding” for Respect points. Witch-King is an all-out damage Commander with no defensive skills, and he will end the fight in the first 2 rounds in the majority of fights with minimal losses.

There are very few Commanders that can counter Witch-King but they need to be Respect level 5 like for example Gandalf the Gray, and also needs specific gear that will reduce burn damage received since that’s the core of Witch-King’s damage output. Witch-King is also one of the iconic characters from LotR lore and folklore being the leader of the nine Nazguls and the most powerful of them.

Witch-King is Tier 3 Commander and the first thing that you need to notice and acknowledge is his base trait which is “Leader”. “Leader” trait will give Witch-King +5 Command. Witch-King’s highest stat is Might. Might increase Physical damage dealt to enemy units and Commanders. NOTE that to make Witch-King glass cannon and as best as he can be, you will need to have him at Respect level 3.

Every time your Commander levels up you will have a skill point to spend in their skill tree. There are four main skills and thus four different focus points in Witch-King’s skill tree which we will talk about here. Note that each of these four main skills has two additional skills connected to them which you will unlock upon leveling the main skill to level 2. On Commander Respect level 1 you will have two starting main skills.

Respect level 0 Build

The first one of two starting main skills is “Lord of the Nazgul”. “Lord of the Nazgul” skill when active will give: (Against enemy Commander) Damage -%. This is a very decent damage debuffing skill and typically you want to put 5 points into this skill. The second main skill should be your focus point until Respect level 3.

Additionally at the “Lord of the Nazgul” skill max level enemy Commander has a chance to be Stunned. Great skill overall to decrease enemy damage output but Witch-King relies on buffing his army damage and that makes him powerful as he is. This should be the last skill that you will put points in out of the three main ones that we will talk about in this guide.

Note that “Lord of the Nazgul” skill is referenced as a “title” rather than “skill” which essentially means once it’s unlocked and you have a skill point in it, it will act as a passive skill. As mentioned above upon leveling the “Lord of the Nazgul” skill to level 2 you will unlock its two additional skills which you will be able to level up.

These two skills are:
Enflame: (Self) Normal attacks deal an additional % burn damage.
Break Defenses: (Against 1 enemy target) Deals >%< Physical damage, Defense -% for 1 round. This skill has 1 round cooldown.

Since you will want to put 5 points (or more if you don’t have Witch-King at Respect level 3 and max this skill out until you do), into this skill, you also need to put 1 or 2 skill points into “Enflame” because his power comes from Burn damage and this skill plays well into his optimal best build.

Naturally, effect stats % rise as you level up addressed skills.

The second main skill is “Black Captain” which when active will give: (Orcs, Uruk-hai, Evil Men and Trolls) damage dealt +%. If you are at Respect level 0-2 with Witch-King then this is the first skill that you want to max out, this is an enormous buff for your army, especially for Alchemists which will be a majority of your army in terms of command, and this buff stacks wonderfully with Respect level 3 main skill.

This skill is very important and powerful in the early game as well. Note that “Black Captain” skill is referenced as a “title” rather than “skill” which essentially means once it’s unlocked and you have a skill point in it, it will act as a passive skill. Additionally, at max level of “Black Captain” skill, races mentioned above will receive +2 HP.

Two additional skills that you will unlock upon leveling “Black Captain” to level 2 are:
Morgul Commander: (Orcs and Uruk-hai) Damage received -%.
Convener: (First 2 rounds) [All allied units] Gain initiative and % to attack twice each round.

For these skills, probably the best way to go is to max out both of them to make sure that your army will attack first and give your army % chance to attack twice in a row with an intact army for maximal damage output, and some defense from “Morgul Commander” so you keep as much of your army alive as possible.

Naturally, effect stats % rise as you level up addressed skills.

Respect level 3 Build

Upon reaching Respect level 3 with Witch-King you will be able to unlock and level up his third main skill called “Ringwraith” which when active will give: (Against all enemies) Burn, Focus, and Poison damage received +%.

This is a skill tree to focus on AFTER you maxed “Black Captain” because skills activate in order in which you distribute skill points, as soon as you reach Respect level 3 with Witch-King reset your skill points and max “Black Captain” first, then this skill, and lastly put approx 5 skill points into “Lord of the Nazgul”.

This will make your Alchemists overpowered along with the “Black Captain” skill being maxed as well since all of these damage buffs stacks, especially with Alchemists. Note that “Ringwraith ” skill is referenced as a “title” rather than “skill” which essentially means once it’s unlocked and you have a skill point in it, it will act as a passive skill.

Like every other main skill, these stats rise as you level up the skill. At the max level of the “Ringwraith” skill, Witch-King will receive a bonus +15 Focus points.

Two additional skills that you will unlock upon leveling “Ringwraith” to level 2 are:
Morgul Poison: (Each round) Normal attacks inflict +% Poison damage (Continuous) for 2 rounds.
Nazgul Screech: (Round 1) [Against 2 enemy targets] +% of being Stunned and inflicts +% Focus Damage (Continuous) after the Stun effect ends (effect modified by Focus stat). This is an extremely powerful skill that you should max out, at max level chances will become 100% so you will have guaranteed Stun + Focus burst.

Naturally, effect stats % rise as you level up addressed skills.

Respect level 5 Build

And finally, upon reaching Respect level 5 with Witch-King you will be able to unlock and level up his fourth main skill called “Lord of Minas Morgul” which when active will give: (When using Fell Beasts) [Witch-King] Focus and Speed +amount, (enemy Commander) Might and Focus -amount. In the current meta, this skill is ignored and unnecessary in Witch-King’s build because he works best with Alchemists no doubt.

It’s decent self-buffing and enemy Commander debuffing skill but it doesn’t give Might buff to Witch-King and it procs if you use Fell Beasts which aren’t great either. You should ignore this skill completely and stick with the first 3 Respect skills. At the max level of “Lord of Minas Morgul,” Fellbeasts gain Stun immunity.

Note that “Lord of Minas Morgul ” skill is referenced as a “title” rather than “skill” which essentially means once it’s unlocked and you have a skill point in it, it will act as a passive skill. Two additional skills that you will unlock upon leveling “Lord of Minas Morgul” to level 2 are:

Chaotic Retreat: (Enemy units) Defense -%.
Dishearten: (Enemy units) Damage -%

These are very decent debuffing skills but it’s not worth spending 2 skill points on “Lord of Minas Morgul” just to unlock them and then spend more points on these skills, there are more worthy skills to spend those skill points on from the first 3 main skills.

Naturally, effect stats % rise as you level up addressed skills.