Tactics for the Stronghold.

Inadequate?
Apparently, you've never played against the AI.
At 200% difficulty, and in a game that's so far removed from online play in terms of pace, in the early days, you build the structures you have enough money for, including the forge, which is needed for the popular town hall and capitol, which are essential in this type of game. And, of course, upgrading orcs is one of the cheapest upgrades, at least among their tier – 1000 gold and 2 wood and 2 stone... of course, there's a direct correlation between upgrading a unit and the cost of that upgrade – from this, it's clear that orcs don't become much stronger, although +5 health and +1 speed are always nice... and probably a little attack/defense and arrow capacity.