Starting a conversation about the second, third and any subsequent part of the work, I really don’t want to turn it into an article-by-article comparison. You are looking for some radical changes that can be called “revolutionary” or “innovative”.

Middle-earth: Shadow of War has nothing to do with it. Despite the fact that the developers have tried to make a huge number of changes, they are so tiny and pointy that if you did not play Shadow of Mordor at least a month ago, you most likely will not notice them. And they don't affect anything significant. Imagine you have a fruit basket in front of you, containing green apples, red grapes, oranges, and the like. They take her away and after a couple of years they bring a new, completely different basket, in which there are red apples, green grapes, tangerines and the like. Can you distinguish?

The plot continues to tell the story of Shadow of Mordor about the adventures of the undead Gondor ranger Talion and the ghost of the Elven Smith-King Celebrimbor. This proposal alone at one time caused ardent hatred for the work from orthodox Tolkienists. The fact is that the plot of both games, which develops between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, is entirely an invention of the developers.

If you are from the category “I shoot point-blank for fandom and lore”, then do not approach this fiend of heresy, because unlike the Shadows of Mordor, the Shadows of War pierce the fanfiction dagger much deeper into the body of Middle-earth. If fanaticism is alien to you, then here is a brief retelling of the original game.

The plot of the first part

The outpost of the Gondor Rangers is attacked and killed by everyone and everything, including Talion and his family. But the spirit of Talion unites with the spirit of Celebrimbor, the creator of the rings of power. Together they decide to cut out all the bad guys. Having upgraded their mystical skills halfway through the storyline, the cheerful late duo begins to subdue the orc tribe. In the end, they defeat all the villains and prepare to reign in Mordor.

All this is described in a two-minute cutscene a la "Previously" right at the start of the game. After that, we are suddenly thrown into the mouth of Mount Doom, where the heroes forge something suspiciously resembling a ring of omnipotence (yeah, this is such a good idea, and last time everything turned out great). Ten seconds later, Shelob kidnaps Celebrimbor, twenty seconds later Talion exchanges Celebrimbor for a new ring of omnipotence, and the first act of the plot begins.

There are four acts in total:
- The first act is introductory. Due to the fact that Celebrimbor has placed most of his forces in the new ring, which is in safe custody at Shelob, we cannot subjugate the orcs. Although this does not at all explain where the purely “Talion” skills like execution, savagery and others have gone. And there's a plot, too. story missions main line.
- The second act is gameplay. It consists in capturing all four available regions of Mordor. The plot of the main line practically does not develop, but additional storylines appear.
- The third act is the plot. The denouement of the main storyline, many cut-scenes and the first ending of the game. Essentially one mission.
- The fourth act is end-game. Actually the Shadows of War themselves, or rather the Shadow Wars. Gameplay with no plot twist. At the end, he will give a beautiful cutscene with a “real” ending.

The plot itself is not intricate. Darkness is coming and we must stop it. The dichotomous essence of the protagonist brings pleasant notes to the narrative. Talion seeks to save his native Gondor and, in the future, all of Middle-earth from inevitable death in the face of Sauron. That's why he raises an army. Celebrimbor on the other hand is obsessed only with revenge and the lust for power. But don't be fooled, these notes only play a couple of times per game.

Celebrimbor, according to my subjective feelings, has become much more "mu ... eccentric." Previously, he recalled his family, behaved as cynical due to his age and arrogant due to his origin, but in general he was a good guy who just once made a mistake by trusting the wrong one. Now he has lost his worries about the mistakes and losses of the past and consists entirely of bile, arrogance and a manic obsession to raise an army for himself.

Talion, in turn, lost the motivation to avenge the death of the family, due to the fact that he had already avenged. And he was motivated to save Gondor simply because he remembered that it had once been his job. And if the elf loses positive qualities, then Talion loses negative ones. Without the obsession with revenge, there remains a knight in shining armor, trusting everyone, giving everyone a second chance. Not that it was bad, just a little boring.

Do not misunderstand me. In the original game, the duo also did not have a special depth of characters and relationships, but now they have lost even the ghostly bulk of the characters. The Tallion-Celebrimbor relationship is great for a kind of forced buddy movie in Middle-earth conditions. But they do not want to develop, which is why the zest of two opposites connected by magic in one body is lost, and the final plot twists do not work.

dissociative identity disorder
on the example of a veteran with post-traumatic stress syndrome

The main plot moves through missions divided into different groups depending on which minor characters they are connected.

The tasks of the Gondorians are connected with the protection of the Gondorian fortress of Minas Itil, the liberation and help of the human tribe. Of the characters, Baranor and Idril lit up, the existence of which you will forget in the middle of the second act, if not before. For show, I note that the first is an African (Haradrim), and the second is a woman.

Shelob's tasks are the beginning of the game. They are actually connected with Shelob, a giant spider who has her own personal accounts with Sauron and who appears in the form of a man. We will not go into the lore holivar that neither Ungoliant, nor even Shelob, could change their form. However, I note that the gameplay of the transformation of a spider into a human is not justified in any way. If Shelob had remained in the form of a spider, this would not have affected the overall plot in any way.

Spoiler regarding game history Shelob

Perhaps this was necessary for her relationship with Sauron. But in my subjective opinion, the relationship between the Dark Lord and the Giant Spider, two completely inhuman terrifying entities, would have produced a greater effect than the romance of two lusciously ideally beautiful people / elves. Imagine how Sauron, in the form of the unnaturally beautiful Annatar, lovingly strokes Shelob's huge mandibles soaked in poison. Such a love line might be remembered for its simultaneous contrast between the externally beautiful and the ugly and the internal similarity of the horrifying nature of both. But instead, we got a banal and safe union of two covers of Vogue magazine.

Most likely, the transformation from an octopus to a model was due to the desire to introduce a strong but ambiguous female character. And the source material turned out to be rather stingy on such material. Beautiful and dangerous, domineering and vulnerable, "always looking for evil and always doing good." Probably the image of Galadriel from the Fellowship of the Ring, when she approached the One Ring, strongly sunk into the minds of the developers. One way or another, we have an anti-heroine who, in view of the personal drama, tries to annoy the antagonist through our hands. And in any case, this is the most profound and memorable character of this game. (So-so compliment, of course, like the hottest piece of ice in the freezer).

Karnan's quests have nothing to do with the main story for the most part. They consist in the fight against the necromantic cult and the advertised Balrog. In general, the Karnan line is very similar to the DLC: the plot is loosely connected with the main one and is isolated in nature, has a relatively unique feature - the undead. If you remove this line from the story, it will not be noticeable. Going through it, I had an assumption that this was an addition, but the Balrog was presented so early that I had to stick it into the main game. No, it's some bullshit.

The spirit of Karnan is proof that rule 63 works on Ents too. The spirit of nature, such as you would expect to see Mother Nature: green and revealingly neutral, powerful and omnipotent, but nevertheless in need of our help.

Bruz Quests are the second act quests and the most fun thing in the game: killing orcs, subjugating orcs, subduing orcs to kill even more orcs. The capture of the fortress, the defense of the fortress - this is all for Bruz, such is the Game of Thrones at the minimum.

Bruz is the first captain we recruit into our army, he is responsible for training all the mechanics of the Nemesis system. By itself, a very charismatic character who just likes to tear off heads and no matter who. This is almost his entire character, but it is much more than the rest of the characters. Remember Rat from the first part? A petty, vile and despised sycophant who, due to your strength, has risen to the heights? Bruz is his opposite - huge, strong, fearless, revered. Story line I liked Bruza the most, she was the most interesting. (Yeah, and again the hottest ice in the freezer).

And finally, Eltariel's quests are the main story quests in which you have to fight the Nazgul themselves and the Witch-king in particular.

I can't really say anything about Eltariel. She is, she is an elf (probably), she plays a certain role in the first ending. Is she needed for the rest of the story? Well, one faceless character more, one less, who cares, maybe that's the hallmark of the series. Oh, I remembered, she is the messenger of Galadriel, which means she connects us with the original source (probably).

Having talked about the allies, it makes sense to put in a word about the villains. Remember those charismatic and unique antagonists from the first game? I don't remember either. In my memory, they forever merged with the gothic aliens from the Chronicles of Riddick and the BDSM club from the next entrance. Obviously, the developers came to a similar conclusion and solved the problem ingeniously - not to make an antagonist at all.

Slightly fibbed, but only slightly. There is Sauron, where without him, but we meet him at the very end for one battle, before that there was not a word about him. Instead, there are Nazgûl with the Witch-king at their head. And everything would be fine, but the Nazgul themselves are practically indistinguishable from each other, they have no personal or combat features, except for two of them. But these two are just as gray as the rest. In addition to the Nazgûl, there are a couple of special storyline Orc captains, whom they still tried to register, but they don’t really stand out against the general background of the Orcs. Also Balrog.

Balrog is cool.

As many already know, Shadows of War have two endings: the main one, obtained after completing the main plot and completing the third act, and the "true" one for the most stubborn. Why stubborn? Yes, because you can get it by completing the fourth act. Arkham Knight also had a true ending, for which you had to catch all the supervillains. Here you need to endure ten periods of the Shadow War, during which you need to survive about twenty assaults on your four fortresses. It would seem, what's the difference? The difference is that The Dark Knight encountered unique and sometimes charismatic supervillains with their own stories and behaviors. Even the longest and most dreary Riddler line consisted of a variety of puzzles. But the Dark Ranger was not lucky, he will have to replay exactly the same assaults from time to time. No history, no variety.

Personally, I liked the true ending. She is logical, moderately happy, but I will not undertake to recommend anyone to go through the fourth act just for her sake.

Summarizing the above.
The plot is frankly weak, the characters are so inexpressive that they are forgotten during the game, it will not give any wow moments. However, if you dig, you can trace the red thread of betrayal. On purpose or not, the writers carried it out, but a clear message reached me: you can’t trust anyone, especially in Mordor. The relationship between Talion and Celebrimbor could have been a good basis for the plot, but there is only a plot. Shelob's character could have been deep and complex, but he was abandoned early on. People and the elf here do not carry any semantic load. The situation could have been saved by the orcs, but one or even two storyline more or less written orcs is not enough to build something significant around them.

Memories of Shelob

Scattered throughout each of the five locations are pieces of Shelob's memories related to her relationship with Sauron. No one explains how the spider's memories just lie on the ground. Each of them is a small puzzle that offers to assemble a separate cinematic frame from a kind of puzzle. After collecting them all, you will collect a complete video that will tell you why Shelob sharpens his mandible on Sauron. Something similar to similar fragmentary videos from Assassin's Creed II and Until Dawn. For finding all the fragments in the location they give a skill point.

Itildins

In the first part, there was one ithildin door for the whole game. There are five of them, one per location. You can find individual words on the walls of the buildings of Mordor. They are also a simple puzzle. First you need to “adjust the clarity” of the letter from the triggers. After collecting all the itildins in the area, you need to put them in the right places of the verse, and in the open tomb you can get legendary equipment.

Artifacts

Collectibles. Just different things that you can twist in virtual hands and listen to a brief summary. Without fail, each item will be commented on by both Taleon and Celebrimbor. Once in such a conversation there was even a joke.

And while you're looking for a hoe from the Second Age, life passes by.

Tests

They are called dailies. This is their essence and purpose. Kill three spiders and get something: currency or a chest. Nothing interesting.

Memories of Celebrimbor

The only thing that is of any interest. In the form of Celebrimbor, complete various missions, while completing special conditions to get bronze, silver or gold. As a reward, you can get resources, currency, skill points and equipment. There is nothing particularly unique in such missions, in addition to the elf skin and filter. But at least some variety. The ideological successor of weapons testing from the first part.

It has been customary since the time of the Shadows of Mordor to compare the gameplay of this already series with Assaassin's Creed in terms of movement and stealth and with Batman: Arkham Series in terms of the combat system. Many at one time reproached this game, accusing it of secondary and plagiarism. But I tend to disagree with many of these.What can be wrong with borrowing something good?I will clarify, in borrowing some ideas, and not in complete plagiarism; in the awareness of the achievements of colleagues and their development, and not in mindless copying. Once upon a time, the system AC parkour has hooked the gaming community, as has the B:AS combat system, so before judging, we need to find out exactly how Taleon borrowed the ideas of modern game development, and how did he try to develop them?

NOTHING IS TRUE

Something tells me that the developers were pretty hurt by the comparison with the AU, especially against the backdrop of threats of litigation. Not to say that the system of parkour, movement and towers has changed dramatically, but there are still some innovations.

First, towers. They exist and carry, in general, the same function: to be a fast travel point, but they do not open a map, but points of interest. The storyline of these towers has been changed, they are no longer the forges of Celebrimbor, but a kind of search engines of Mordor. The opening of the map is also connected with this, having climbed onto a new tower, you will have to explore nearby territories for items to be collected. (Somewhat like looking for points of interest in a hot air balloon from Mad Max). There is nothing at least a little bit interesting about these towers (in Far Cry 3, towers were small puzzles and opened weapons, among other things, similarly in Horizon: ZD), but there are few of them and they are not as slow and boring (as in that or Mad Max).

Parkour in the nude remained the same. We can climb anywhere and roam the ropes, we can jump from any height and without hay. But in the development tree there is a skill that speeds up parkour, allowing you to get to the top of any tower in two jumps. After receiving this skill, I practically did not climb, but simply “flyed up” to the very top. There is also a skill that allows you to double jump, significantly increasing the range of jumps. That is, the parkour system, thanks to these skills, has become much more “magic”. And what of this, you ask, a similar skill was in the first part. Yes, but in the first part, this skill only affected the acceleration while running, and in the first part it was not required. In the same game, it is awarded as part of the training. Maybe I'm looking for a hidden meaning where there isn't one, but I want to think that Monolith is trying its best to disown AC.

And stealth has not changed from the word at all. Automatically turns on in the bushes or by pressing a button. There is no need to talk about artificial intelligence, it is quite possible to kill the enemy covertly even standing right in front of him, there is not much attention to the discovered corpses (this is Mordor, there is such a thing at every turn), the chase and search can end at any moment. Personally, I was not fond of stealth in this game, I started with a maximum of a hidden attack and moved on to a regular battle.

However, in fairness, it should be noted that theoretically there is the possibility of passing in stealth without direct participation in the battle. I really like these options, I feel like a great combinator-designer. Shadows of War offer several options for indirectly eliminating targets. You can poison an orc grog and provoke a massacre, you can lure different types of living creatures: from spiders to dragons, you can secretly subdue half of the enemies and force them to kill the rest. Unfortunately, these methods, based on personal experience, are ineffective. Only two are suitable for a poisoned grog, and additional skills are needed to transfer the poison. Animals since the first part have become noticeably weaker: ordinary orcs can cope with karagors, and even a huge graug can be crushed by a crowd or a captain. So these methods are more likely not a way of tactical clearing of the area, but a way to use the weaknesses of captains and leaders.

For passive observation, by the way, there is also an achievement

Having dealt with conditional borrowings from the AC, I want to explain why I am so sure that the developers not only know that they are accused of copying, but also strongly disagree with these insinuations. One of the trophies in the game is to drive the orc to madness by systematically humiliating him. In this case, you need to humiliate an orc of a certain class - a hired killer. If it's not enough for you, then the image of the trophy shows a hooded orc. Well, the cherry on the cake - the trophy is called "Everything is allowed / Everything is allowed."

I AM REVENGE

In the beat-em-up combat of the Arkham series built on a bunch of punch, counterattack, dodge and stun, I personally do not see anything wrong. I fundamentally disagree with those who consider it to be one-button and cite the recording of the first hour of the Arkham Asylum fights as proof. I propose to evaluate such a system on two main parameters:
- smoothness, in the concept of which I mean not only the smoothness of animations, but also the accuracy of the hero's movements;
- a variety of enemies and their mechanics, if the first parameter is responsible for the visual part of the gameplay and its convenience, then this item is responsible for the complexity and "multi-buttonness".

Smoothness. Talion's movements, even if not chopped and even passing from one blow to another, seemed to me a little chaotic. Wide aimless swings of the sword look like our ranger is driving away especially annoying Morgai flies from himself. I'm not a connoisseur of swordsmanship, and maybe that's why I didn't follow the movements of aestheticism. But the ultimate pumped counterattacks and executions look great, they are full of dismemberment and black blood. Although their diversity compared to the original hardly increased.

Watching the first reviews and listening to the first opinions about the game, I noticed that many people complain about the accuracy of the special attacks. At first it seemed to me that this nit-picking is far-fetched. And immediately after I noted this, an endless series of misses began: executions began to take place on everyone except captains, as well as submissions. I can’t say for sure if the accuracy is bad or not, because half of the game it was good, and half not. In Arkham, takedowns have always been applied to the right people, the most dangerous opponents at the moment.

As for accuracy, I can make my claims about a double counterattack. In the game, after obtaining a certain ability, you can carry out an accurate counterattack, choosing the right moment. And in the same game, when attacking two opponents, by pressing the counterattack twice, you can repel both attacks. So, when I carried out an accurate counterattack and at that moment the second enemy attacked me, I pressed the button again, but the double counterattack animation did not start, the damage animation also did not start, but the damage passed. Bug? Curvature of my hands?

The variety of ordinary enemies is not encouraging: there are ordinary infantry, shield bearers, who do not receive frontal damage for some time, savages (berserkers) who counterattack when hit in the forehead, crossbowmen - distant battle, hunters - long-range combat of medium and short distances. This set has been preserved unchanged from the first part. Not God knows what, but enough to not particularly relax. An innovation was the battle trolls - olog-hai. These big guys don't let themselves be jumped over or grabbed, they hit hard and have thick skin. Good addition.

The set of animals, in addition to caragors and grugs, was supplemented by spiders, small but harmful, and dragons, fast, evil, but not as dangerous as we would like.

Killing orcs is fun, this game can not be taken away.

Light cosmetic changes also affected the combat system. Previously, special attacks (executions, area attacks and quick submissions) depended on the combo counter: you score 8-5 points and you can perform a special attack, if you break a combo, you start over (familiar, right?). Now Talion is gaining conditional "power" from various actions: attacks, hidden attacks, taking damage, etc. depending on skills and equipment. At the same time, this power can be carried between battles, which allows you to attack the captain “fully charged” and carry out several executions on the move.

The “ultimate” has also changed, it is the only one and does not depend on the type of weapon currently used. Grants unlimited executions and unlimited ammo. In fact, the same "Rage of Urfael" from Mordor. I can’t regard this as a circumcision of mechanics, or as their rationalization, because I didn’t use it at all. Neither in the first nor in the second part did I get into situations in which an “ult” would be vital. By the way, in the course of the plot, the ult will change. I noticed this quite by accident while looking through the skill tree.

In the treasury of the variety of gameplay - the mechanics of submission. Talion, thanks to the magical abilities of Celebrimbor, is able to subdue the will of the orcs, forcing them to fight on their side. Regular orcs can be subdued at any time. Captains and leaders - only by breaking them, that is, either to scare them a lot, or to beat them hard. Once subdued, the orcs will start to fight on your side, they can even save lives.

As in the previous game, in the case of a mortal wound to the main character, he has the ability to delay death with the help of QTE and get some HP. And if the QTE fails or the second chance attempts are exhausted, death occurs. But besides this, sometimes the orcs subordinate to you can suddenly come to the rescue and kill the enemy who attacked you, preventing him from delivering the final blow. Looks very cool.

In general, I can’t call the gameplay anything but good. It does not require a serious immersion in the mechanics from the player, does not throw mental or physical challenges, but it is fun. He is methodical and well-tailored. You may not experience catharsis after the fight, but it will definitely leave a pleasant aftertaste. (Don't tell my psychiatrist, after the Batman massacre, I was very pleased to cut off the limbs of enemies with the same mechanics). Nothing new, of course, but why change something that works well anyway. Shadow of War is a gameplay game about gameplay and for the sake of gameplay, and it does an excellent job with this title.

Have you noticed that I, not particularly enthusiastic about individual mechanics, was generally satisfied with the gameplay, despite its obvious secondary nature? Is the mere quality of copying other people's ideas enough to fall in love with the gameplay?

Nemesis (Nemesis, other Greek Νέμεσις) - in ancient Greek mythology, the winged goddess of retribution, punishing for violation of social and moral orders.

The system "Nemesis" or "Sworn Enemies" in the localization is the main highlight, or rather the highlight of Mordor. Something for which the players are ready to forgive a miserable plot that does things to the canon that I can only show on a special doll at a child psychologist, are ready to forgive a gray and empty world, perhaps even ready to forgive loot boxes.

For those who were in complete informational isolation, a brief digression. Nemesis is an innovative system introduced in Shadow of Mordor. This system, thanks to the plot immortality of the protagonist, remembers all his contacts with the inhabitants of the open world. Any collisions, fights and deaths are remembered and leave an imprint on specific NPCs.

Wandering the vastness of Mordor, Grub knew no other occupation than fighting, killing and drinking grog. Most of all, he dreamed of one day getting a bottomless barrel of grog and a whole tribe of slaves for entertainment. But while he was a simple soldier of one of the many orc captains.

Everything changed in one day, when during the hunt for a caragora, its captain was hacked to death by the famous Dweller from the Grave. The fight was fierce, and Aksha the Skinner gave the Gondorian a good beating. The man was on his last legs when he cut the captain's throat. It just so happened that it was Grub who was closest of all at the moment when life left the Skinner along with the blood. He stood right behind Talion, who was completely oblivious to the rank and file soldiers. It cost him his life. One precise blow of the ax to the back of the head gave the world the Grub Quarterer.

Standing out in front of his comrades with a demonstration of Pathfinder giblets, he is instantly promoted to the rank of captain. Along with the rank, his strength grows: he receives a poisoned weapon and learns not to be afraid of curses, but at the same time, others become aware of his weaknesses, fear of poisons, for example. And besides them, his subordinates learn more about his personal qualities: cowardice and courage, intelligence and stupidity, sadism and nobility, etc.

Seeing the Dweller from the Grave the next time, the Quarterer will remember him and no matter how: he will be frightened by the walking dead, angry with the unfinished enemy, rejoice at the opportunity to prove himself once again. But this time, Talion is ready, the battle takes place according to a different scenario and the new captain is running. A person forgets about an insignificant orc, and he, in turn, continues to live and plan revenge. And while he lives, he hunts, feasts, kills, increases his strength and status: he gets new supporters, gets rid of weaknesses, and even rises to the leader. And so, during the siege of the fortress, the orc meets the Pathfinder again, but despite all the efforts, the immortal Gondorian kills him.

Has the story of Grub the Quarter ended? Hardly, orcs are strong guys and tend to recover from even the most mortal wounds. Walking through the newly captured fortress, Talion can easily fall into an ambush arranged by our hero. His ribs peek out from under worm-eaten flesh, his left arm, cut off in battle, is replaced by a metal hook, and burns from elven arrows cover his face. The Rude Quarterer is dead, long live the Rude Halfhand. Obviously, this creature of darkness is too stubborn to lie quietly in the ground. A very valuable shot in the upcoming war. Well, welcome to your new family.

The semi-armed veteran will fight many battles for the glory of the Lord of Light, will repeatedly save Talion himself from inevitable death, will sow horror and death on the fields of Mordor. But nothing lasts forever under the Eye of Sauron. One day, and inevitably, a poisoned arrow will overtake him, and his beloved Master will not be around. Dying once again, the orc will think about how many times he covered the Pathfinder with his crippled body from a fatal blow, how many victories he brought him on the battlefields. The fact that the Master never helped him to avenge the grievances received and even now was too busy to save the faithful captain.

Betrayal. He does not like this word, he prefers to call it retribution. It's not hard to kill a bodyguard. However, getting Talion himself will be more difficult. Another ambush and finally all the old grievances expressed. The fight goes on for a long time, the Boss managed to learn many new tricks, but the old orc is no longer so simple, he learns quickly. Does the person like to jump? Well, no, any jump will be aborted. Shooting a bow? One arrow hit, but the next one will be repulsed. But in the end, the traitor realizes that the Gravewalker got his name for a reason. Having dropped the faithful ax, the old man rests the stump on the ground, saturated with his own blood. He does not seek pity or forgiveness, in Mordor these words are worthless. Cursing his sworn enemy for the last time, he closes his eyes, intending to once again feel the steel of the enchanted blade on his neck. But his fate is much more terrible.

The Light Lord is not cruel, but he has a short conversation with traitors. On the face, right on top of old scars, unbearable pain flares up, the fire melts the skin and reaches almost to the bones. In response to this pain, the orc's eyes open. The last thing he sees is his Master's face distorted with anger, the last thing he hears are the unknown words of the ancient language, echoing from the ridge of Cirith Ungol to the waters of Lake Nurn. And then everything was filled with light, white, bright, beautiful, blinding, burning, devastating. For a long time Grub will roam the wastelands of the Black Lands, but not a single orc will approach him. Not a single fire will have a place for him. He will not find refuge in any outpost. The rude Half-hand forever remained in the power of the Light Lord, and the aimlessly wandering shell with a burn in the form of a hand on his face will remind everyone of the consequences of betrayal.

Perhaps the advertising company made the Nemesis system too idyllic. We were promised that every step we take would forever be imprinted in the history of Modrdor. We were promised an infinite number of completely unique orcs with their own stories. We were promised tragedies of loyalty and betrayal on a Shakespearean scale. Not specifically in these words, but personally I had overly high expectations, and after all, I played the first part and was familiar with the system.

They will remind me for a long time that they recaptured my fortress.

Nemesis doesn't affect everything. First, it only affects Orcs and Ologs from Captain and up. Ordinary soldiers, animals and rarely peaceful NPCs will not remember you. Secondly, Talion can affect her directly only by certain actions:
- killing Talion: automatically promotes a soldier to captain, raises the level of captains, can make him the highest or legendary, launches the "Vendetta" quest, during which you need to kill your killer;
- Flight of Talion: increases the level of the captains participating in the battle;
- killing the captain: with a certain probability, the captain will cheat death, while leaving traces of mortal wounds on him: prostheses instead of severed limbs, metal patches at the site of blows, bandages from burns;
- flight of the captain: having met again the captain will remember the previous battle;
- the murder of a blood brother: another captain will appear at the place of death and try to take revenge;
- leaving the subordinate captain in danger: the subordinate captain will die and with some probability cheat death, after which he will betray;
- refusal to help in the assignment of a subordinate captain: with a certain degree of probability, the captain will betray;
- humiliation or exile: the level of the captain goes down, some advantages disappear, weaknesses appear, with some degree of probability the captain may go crazy.

In addition to the direct impact of Talion, the captains are constantly sorting out the relationship between themselves and trying to prove themselves. All their activities are displayed on the map in the form of tasks of sworn enemies. These can be hunts, executions, attacks on camps, etc. After the first part, I would like a greater variety of such tasks, but in general their number remained unchanged. After completing the task, which by the way can pass without the participation of Talion, the captains can win, flee or die. Accordingly, their characteristics will increase or decrease.

Orc relationships can also develop without the participation of Talion. Not that these relationships are anything complicated, but even such one-dimensional relationships are still pleasant:
- blood brothers: these orcs are ready to kill and die for each other, if an orc is dying or dying, then his blood brother will come to take revenge on the offender, be careful with your subordinates who have blood brothers. Faced with one particularly vicious orc, I called in my bodyguard, a legendary pre-ordered olog-hai, to help out. Imagine the whole gamut that overwhelmed my feelings when my hope and support refused to kill my blood brother and betrayed me.
- rivals: these orcs become furious at the sight of each other;
- intimidated: this orc was seriously rotten by another captain, now he will run in horror as soon as he sees him.

As I noted above, captains develop in the same way as Talion. Along with levels and new victories, they have advantages, along with humiliations and defeats, weaknesses appear. I will not disclose the list of all the strengths and weaknesses, it is quite extensive and can sometimes surprise. Talion has 60 levels, and Orcs have even more. So what will become of the orc maximum level, will he become strong enough to become completely invulnerable? I heard from many complaints about unkillable orcs, heard how many retort that there are no unkillable orcs. Indeed, with an increase in the level and rarity, the orcs lose weaknesses and gain advantages, but no matter how strong the orc is, he will have at least three weaknesses. A loophole to immortality for orcs is the ability "opportunist", according to which, over the course of the battle, the captain gradually becomes invulnerable to the hero's tricks.

I once came across a legendary level 65 captain. He had three weaknesses: executions, ranged attacks, and stealth. After the first third of HP, he gained immunity to freezing, which I abused, at half he stopped responding to executions. With a bow and arrow, I still managed to break him, but because of the level I could not subdue him, I decided to kill him. Fatal mistake. It turned out that he had the ability "despising death", because of which, after bringing hp to zero, he completely restored it. After ten shots, the arrows lost their relevance. As a result, I shamefully ran.

Learning the strengths and weaknesses of captains through intel and orc worms is sometimes vital.

A significant innovation in the Nemesis system was the possibility of betrayal. In the course of the plot, the theme of betrayal pops up more than once and commercials also paid increased attention to it. If earlier it was believed that Celebrimbor completely subjugates the consciousness and will of enemies, turning them into bobbleheads, now it turned out that bobbleheads may cease to be such.

Maybe they will turn against the Master for many reasons. The surest way is to beat your captain, there is even an achievement associated with this. Another way is to leave an ally to die, and if he manages to cheat death, he will return on the other side. They say that if you do not help an ally on his personal assignments, then he can also betray. However, I did not feel such a pattern. It is much more likely that you will be betrayed to restore balance in the territory. For example, when at one location it turned out that all the captains were in my army, then after about five minutes of wandering, five of them betrayed me at the same time. Even real money paid for an orc does not guarantee his loyalty. I was betrayed by all four orcs that were given for pre-order.

Remember, only the dead do not betray.

The first act remains a fly in the ointment in the barrel of Nemesis. Oh, how many times have players complained about the length of the first act in Shadows of Mordor. How many tears were shed over the limited functionality of Talion in this first act. The developers listened carefully to this constructive criticism and put a "big, long, and uncut" creative eye on it. It would seem that Talion was already shown to us without the possibility of submission, this was the very beginning, this is forgivable. But here's the second part, let's get started right away. But no. The plot writers tried to somehow explain why Talion does not have the ability to subdue the orcs. But it still looks artificial. There is a feeling that this game is aimed primarily at new players who are unfamiliar with the original. But here's what's interesting. In Shadows of Mordor we were all new players and we didn't like the first act. What makes anyone think that players who start with Shadows of War will like the first act?

Open world, how much in this word. For two decades open world turned from a revolutionary invention into an obsessive trend, inserted where necessary and not. Fortunately, Shadows of War is a game, as already mentioned, gameplay, not story, so the open world suits her.

I've never seriously thought about open world classification questions, although they obviously need it. Indeed, depending on the game, the same device of the world can turn out to be both outstanding and frankly mediocre. Conventionally, without going into details, I divide sandboxes into three groups: content-dependent, constructively-dependent and superfluous.

For me, content-dependent worlds are those where the player himself, due to only his own mechanics, cannot entertain himself. He needs additional activities, classes, activities. I would include GTA and similar projects in this group. Many will probably criticize me, because in GTA you can have fun as you like and without additional activities. But remember the huge number of clones of this game that use the same starter set (a large space in the form of a city, for example, a third-person hero, the ability to control vehicles, the ability to shoot and fight), but forever remain forgotten with the shameful stigma of a clone. Content for the open world comes down not only to a set of sidequests, but also to its overall "fullness", including the social environment.

Constructively dependent worlds, on the other hand, require almost nothing beyond themselves to play. The word “empty”, offensive for the first group, does not matter to them. What is important here is the very structure and construction of the world, the diversity of its structure. Since the space itself plays a primary role in the gameplay. Such open worlds are used for example in racing. I know a few people who play The Crew not for the sake of racing, pumping and other things, but just to ride around the expanses of the USA. When I had a chance to try Steep, I enjoyed skating without competition. That is, a conditional GTA, with proper content, can easily exist in a city whose streets represent a grid of identical rectangles, and the same conditional NFS will be extremely uncomfortable here, even if you can go into every house, and all NPCs have an individually prescribed character.

Games with an extra open world, each of us can easily name right off the bat. My favorite example is L.A. noir. For all its outstanding features, the open world of this game seemed to me disgracefully dull. You can drive cars, you can admire the views of a completely historical city, you can prevent crimes. But in general, this open world distracts from a great detective story and squanders the speed of the story. In my purely subjective opinion, the costs of the open world could have been put to better use.

I made this lyrical digression to try to more objectively evaluate the open world of the Shadows of Mordor and not make unnecessary demands on it. Firstly, the open world is not superfluous here, since the plot and story missions, even if they were good, physically cannot convey the main feature of the game. It is also obvious that the design of the world for game mechanics is of no interest (as mentioned above, the parkour system is so simplified that the presence of vertical objects is depreciated).

Mordor is a bad place, but it's good.

Well, Mordor in this context is content-dependent. In order for us to like it, it must be filled with additional activities in addition to the main plot and side quests, it must have its own social environment or its imitation. In general, it should not be empty.

On the first point, everything is bad here. There is only one activity in the open world - to fight. There are also collectable items, which I called sidequests, but they are few and offer nothing but walk past and press a button. You can only engage in the open world by killing / subjugating orcs. And if you get tired of it, then the game itself will get tired, it is not capable of entertaining anything else.

But what else is this game filled with? Many criticize the world of the Shadows in particular for the fact that the social environment is completely hostile. By default, everything that is wants to kill the hero. Players complained about the lack of peaceful locations and NPCs. Firstly, formally, in the first game there were people-slaves, quite peaceful, and in the second game in the conquered fortresses all peaceful. And secondly, it's MORDOR! Who friendly do you expect to see there? Its whole point is that there is no one friendly there. And even if you go beyond the borders of Mordor, to human settlements, then what to do there? The only way Talion interacts with others is through killing and submission. And killing and subjugating people is not only hardly different from killing and subjugating orcs, but in addition it will create a powerful dissonance with the plot.

Nemesis comes to the rescue again and again. The archenemy system embedded in the social environment of Mordor transforms its empty and aggressive open world into an empty, aggressive and responsive open world. In other games, you influence the world, it reacts to you, and then forgets. Therefore, the arrest for stealing the apple of the supreme magician, who had just saved the city from the dragon, or when a person who killed a hundred people the day before, freely enters the police station, spoils the dive so much. Unlike them, you influence Mordor, it reacts, remembers and reacts adequately at the next meeting. Of course, he does not remember everything, and does not always react adequately, but this is a cut above other market offers. Responsiveness of the game world, I hope, will be the next big step after its opening.

Another claim to Mordor was its dullness and monotony. This time around, there are five locations in the game and, to be fair, they are trying to look unique. There is a green location where grass grows and trees bloom, there is a winter, mountainous one, where snow lies, there is a fiery one, at the foot of the volcano, where lava flows cross the earth, there is even a ghost town glowing with an eerie green light. Formally, there is a variety, but it is purely mechanical. The robot was told to make five different locations, and he did them, honestly, in different ways. But they still look the same, they have no soul. In fact, this is the same location under different filters. The architectural content is the same for all: ruins and orc tents. All fortresses are the same, except that depending on the ruler, they change filters. And while the graphics are modern enough, Shadows of War is definitely not the kind of game where you want to play around with the photo mode or just wander around.

It's not easy for me to rate the open world of a game. All the facts say he's disgusting. Empty, gray and monotonous. There is nothing to do and nothing to see. But his responsiveness and the realization that the real Mordor would look very similar do not allow me to put an end to it. “A dying, but not yet dead country” is probably how it should look: empty and gray, consisting of rocks, ice and lava with a small patch of fertile soil near the water. This open world is definitely not the best or even good, but it's authentic (which plays a cruel joke on it), and also has amazing innovations that I hope other developers will take on board.

Leveling skills is another of the modern trends that are used in Shadows of War. Many do not like it as a fact, they call it a limiter that does not allow you to fully master all the mechanics from the very beginning and an artificial increase in the passage time. Others like this system, allowing you to set short-term goals, refresh the gameplay, and also have additional motivation for the game. I think the system of skills and their leveling makes sense when leveling allows you to individualize your playing style, which is actually typical for RPGs. If leveling does not affect the style of the game, but only makes the game easier against the backdrop of increasing difficulty, it may not be so justified.

The "skill tree", if you can call it that, as well as many other aspects of the game, has undergone minor changes. Previously, skills were divided into groups by level, and in order to gain access to the next group, you need to open a certain number of skills from the previous one. Now skills are also divided into groups, but already in areas: combat, stealth, archery, etc. In each branch, skills go one after another, in order to open the next one, you need to open the previous one. With this, everything is simple and clear. Interestingly, each skill has three (sometimes two) additional ones that enhance the main one. For example, the Summon Karagor skill can be enhanced with the skills Summon Wild Karagor, Summon Graug, Summon Dragon. All three can be opened, but only one of them can be used. Very relevant for tactical combat with particularly evil captains who only have a couple of weaknesses. In the later stages of the game, you will be free to choose: attack the captain with poison or fire arrows, blow up a fire or lure spiders, etc. In a couple of moments, of course, I want several buffs to be active at once, but this is not critical.

Perks have become significantly more, and the ability to individualize your fighting style is good for the game. However, one incomprehensible incomprehensibility, which I have already mentioned, haunts me. Where did Talion's old skills go? Subordination has already been dealt with. The power of Celebrimbor is imprisoned in a ring, Shelob stole the ring, etc. and so on. But how did this circumstance affect the fact that Talion forgot how to perform executions, stun opponents, and much more? Why is there no difference between Talion of the first level from Shadows of Mordor and Talion from Shadows of War? Not even so, the "more experienced" Talion turned out to be even weaker than his early incarnation. After all, now he has become vulnerable to curses and his own fire / poison.

Fire, Poison, and Curse are three weapon boosters that can be used by enemies and, thanks to the ability to switch weapons, the main character too. What does the curse have to do with it - a novelty, when it affects us, it takes away the interface (minimap and counterattack indicator), when it affects the enemy, nothing really happens.

The Dragon. Ineffective, but extremely pathetic.

Previously, our weapons, although not outstanding, were extremely important for the plot and presentation of the lore. The sword with which Talion guarded the borders of Gondor. A dagger made from the broken sword of Talion's son. And Celebrimbor's personal bow. Those who played the first part may remember that we didn't just go through weapon tests, we literally wrote the legend of this weapon. Before the assignment, Celebrimbor pathetically told how the future will remember us and why the names Urfael, Aharn and Azkar will strike terror into the hearts of the orcs for more than one hundred years.

Well, now it's just a sword, a dagger and a bow of ordinary rarity with mediocre characteristics, which you will use by force for half an hour (at the end of the game they will become legendary, but this does not change the essence of the matter). It's good that you can't sell them.

In total, in the game you can change the sword, dagger, bow, armor, cloak and rune on the ring. By rarity, they are divided into ordinary, rare, higher and legendary. The number of perks available to the item depends on the rarity: ordinary ones do not have them, rare ones have one perk, higher ones have two, one of which opens after a small test that increases the level, the legendary ones have all the perks open at once, while their level can be increased several times. In addition, legendary items are collected in sets. When collecting a set or part of it, you can get a unique ability. For example, to conduct a special attack at the expense of health, not power.

By the way, instead of a bow, you can throw a hammer. As a rule, they deal less damage, but hit in an area.

You can upgrade items in addition to completing their tests with gems. Different stones affect different items in different ways. There are three types of stones: red-damage, green-health, white-money. At the same time, stones of the same type can be combined into stronger ones. They drop out from orcs, dragons and statues marked with a special symbol, are given for some tasks.

Maybe due to the fact that I constantly used the best equipment and stones, but I did not feel at all that the strength of the weapon affects anything. For the sake of experiment, I equipped the worst equipment, but the battles did not become much more difficult. The difficulty mainly depends on the difficulty of the orc, and in most cases he does not care about the strength of the sword.

To improve weapons and open cells for stones, local currency is used. Classically, it is divided into in-game "silver" and donated "gold".

Silver is also used only to improve the fortress and the attacking army, and then lies dead weight in the menu.

Gold is given at one of the moments of the game when they try to introduce the donation system. For it, you can buy an experience booster or especially fatty chests. So let's look at what exactly we are offered to spend hard-earned pesos.

Booster experience and money. Until the end of the third act, I went through the game purposefully according to the plot, without being distracted by gathering and side quests. I didn’t reach the maximum level, of course, but I already had enough open skills. It got to the point that when I got the next level, I opened the first perk that came across, because all the skills that were useful and interesting to me had already been explored. By the tenth wave of the fourth act, I already had the maximum level. Therefore, there is no nabonosti in this booster.

Chests with equipment and orcs can be dropped for both silver and gold. They differ in the rarity of items and orcs. However, it is worth taking into account that both supreme and legendary items can fall out of ordinary boxes. And it’s also worth taking into account that during the game, weapons are constantly falling from the orcs, and you are unlikely to encounter a lack of orcs to subdue. If you are still thinking about donating, then keep in mind that purchased orcs can betray you like any other.

Even in the chests, in addition to weapons and orcs, there are power-ups for your orcs. You can train your ward to use a cursed weapon or ride a caragor. As well as the rest of the contents of the boxes, these enhancements do not carry any semantic load. Only if you want to make a kind of tomagotchi out of a certain orc. For platinum, I still need to find a certain improvement, I needed to open three silver boxes.

The introduction of loot boxes was justified by the desire to save time for players who are ready to go for it. The catch is that players who save time are unlikely to play the fourth act for the sake of a ten-second cutscene. Because the most miserable meaning in the legendary orcs appears only in the fourth act. Before that, they do not save any time, until the end of the third act, the game, even at a high level of difficulty, is passed without problems. Again, if someone wants to save time and make games easier because they don't play very well, then there are normal and easy difficulty levels. The level of difficulty does not affect the receipt of trophies. One good thing is that donated loot boxes are not intrusive at all.

Thank Eru Ilúvatar, you don't have to see him often.

Going through the fourth act, I was very afraid of the danger of a dull grind. And I did sink into it a little. For the successful defense of the fortress, he tried to pump his orcs through the fighting pits (so dull that you don’t even want to talk about them) and the tasks of sworn enemies. Yes, it took some time until I realized that I do not care about my orcs. If they die, I'll hire others. Despite Nemesis, they are still unable to generate serious affection. In addition, no one forbids subjugating attackers right in battle.

All that hype around the grind and donation raised on the Internet is not worth a damn. Donat is not only optional, but almost completely useless. There is a minimum of grind in the game, there are a lot of weapons, orcs and stones, the difficulty is variable, and there are so many in-game currencies that you don’t know what to do with.

On the back of my BD box, next to the beautiful screenshots, I saw a strange picture with the caption "Multiplayer: 2 people." I flipped it over again and read the title carefully. No, that's right, the supposed single player game offers me multiplayer. Has another relentless modern trend shown its ugly face on the loot-box-eaten body of War Shadows?

Calmly. The phrase " online game" should be read as "network functions". You won’t be able to play directly with your comrades, but you can get some kind of contact surrogate through the so-called network vendettas and network conquests.

There have been network vendettas before. Their essence is that if a player is killed, then the orc who killed him appears on the map of another player. There are no differences from the usual vendetta, only the download is longer and after the successful completion of the task, a little of the in-game currency falls to both the avenged and the avenged. Of interest is only the tests associated with obtaining and improving the set of legendary equipment of network vendettas, which can provide a certain challenge. "Stealth kill a level 55 or higher online vendetta target while riding a caragor" - after that, I decided that the "Retribution" set was not so good.

Go ahead, Nagibator_2005 will be defeated!

In online conquests, you will be asked to lead an attack on the fortress of a random player or one of your friends. The strength of random fortresses increases with each new attempt, that is, for the first time you will be met by two leaders of level 15-20, and the tenth is most likely a complete set. Nothing special differs from the usual plot conquest. However, if in the course of the story you went through the fortresses as carefully as possible: you killed the leaders and replaced them with your spies, but in the end you didn’t get any gameplay pleasure, then it makes sense to try this mode. There is no way to prepare for a siege in advance, which means you will have to face all the defensive devices that can increase the level of hardcore.

Throughout the game, I had the feeling that I was deceived. They let me play the same game that I had already played. Again this castrated teaching first act. That two-button combat again. Again these bleak landscapes. Again I only play for the orcs. Only a lot of small changes remind me that this is still a new game.

Middle-earth: Shadow of War is an amazing example of how you can make a lot of changes while leaving the game the same. I would like to call it an example of a classic sequel, remembering the first and second Doom, which are also difficult to distinguish. But only a lot of time has passed since then, and now the sequel is required more than a simple repetition. Today, you expect from a sequel: “the same cabbage soup, but thicker”, eliminating the problematic aspects of the original based on player feedback and, in addition to a quantitative increase in the qualitative development of game ideas. Unfortunately, Shadows of War is not up to the task of a sequel. However, this does not mean that the game itself is bad.

Do you like fantasy but are not turned on the Legendarium canon? Did you enjoy Arkham's combat system but lacked gore? In principle, do you mind the beat-em-up mechanic? Is gameplay more important to you than story? The empty open world does not scare you, as long as there are unsevered orc heads? Do you like meditative gameplay and grind, against which you can listen to the monthly argument of cynologists about whether there can be a hidden meaning in the work that the author did not mean? Didn't play the first part, but really wanted to?

All Yes"? This game is definitely for you! 8/10 and no less. It will give an excellent gaming experience and captivate for several tens of hours, giving at the end a not very difficult platinum. You can safely take it (by the way, the PS4 disc edition costs 800 rubles cheaper than the digital one).

Mostly yes, but not all? 6.5/10. Most likely you will like the game, although the taste of secondary, emptiness and monotony will be felt all the time. Great option to buy on sale.

Are orcs and elves just fairy tales for young children? Or, on the contrary, do you zealously honor the precepts of the Professor? Don't you see anything interesting in the beat-em-up combat, is it dull and one-button? Are the requirements for plots in games the same as for plots in books and films? Let them either fill the open world with something interesting, or refuse it altogether? AAA-class projects for 4k are required to provide a variety of game process? The first part did not cause a storm of emotions?

Definitely not worth the purchase. 5/10 no more. Its passage will not cause physical pain, but given its considerable price tag and the time spent, you will still find yourself in a conditional “minus”. Maybe someday you will get free version try it, just for fun.

Pros:
+ objectively, this is the only AAA game in the Lord of the Rings universe;
+ open world is very authentic;
+ the combat system is made qualitatively;
+ graphics meet modern standards, albeit without frills;
+ orcs are simply magnificent in their disgust;
+ Nemesis system and the responsive social environment created by it;
+ light platinum.

Minuses:
- Weak plot
- not memorable characters;
- non-canon;
- empty open world;
- monotonous gameplay;
- full structural copying of the first part;
- the Nemesis system is again completely unavailable for the entire first act.

Nibbling:
* re-pumping skills that were already in the first part;
* the inability to turn off the greeting of the captains;
* minor changes that do not affect anything;
* special attacks sometimes hit randomly.

Middle-earth: Shadow of War finally has a sane equipment system. The developers have added so many innovations, as if they were trying to make amends for the greatly curtailed Shadow of Mordor system. And they succeeded.

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Middle-earth: Shadow of War finally has a sane equipment system. The developers have added so many innovations, as if they were trying to make amends for the greatly curtailed Shadow of Mordor system. And they succeeded.

Now Talion can be dressed up in different types of cloaks and armor, equipped with several types of weapons, and even improve the ring. All of these items can be enhanced with gems, and some of them can be upgraded separately. Let's start in order.

What equipment does Talion have

The virtual "doll" of the character is divided into six cells: Sword, Dagger, Bow, Armor, Cloak and Ring. In some cells, it is allowed to insert not only the weapon of the same name: for example, a bow can be replaced with a throwing hammer. At the same time, Talion will still pick up arrows - don't let that bother you.

Dress the hero in a breastplate, bracers and greaves from different kits it won't work in Shadow of War: armor is an indivisible set of armor. Talion does not wear a helmet at all.

What is the quality of the equipment

Each item of Talion equipment is colored in one of the colors that indicate the quality level of the equipment. In total, items have four quality levels:

• White color: common item. A simple piece of metal or fabric has no additional bonuses.
• Yellow: rare item. All rare equipment has one additional effect: for example, your ring can increase health recovery when depleted, and armor will increase the chance to set an enemy on fire.
• Orange color: supreme subject. Higher equipment can have two or three additional effects.
• Purple: A legendary item. The rarest and most valuable piece of equipment in Shadow of War. Legendary items not only have an impressive amount of additional effects, but can also be stacked to enhance each other.

note
Unlocking some additional effects on Rare, Ultimate, and Legendary gear may require you to complete challenges. We will talk more about these tests below.

Get better items

In terms of obtaining more powerful equipment in Middle-earth Shadow of War, almost nothing has changed. Talion gets new items during the passage of tasks (both story and side) and after killing the orc captains. Captains in Shadow of War are visibly invisible, you will meet them often, so there should be no problems getting equipment of a higher level.

note
There is a way to influence the quality of the loot obtained after killing the captains. In the "Ghost" branch there is a "Treasure Hunter" skill: its "Intelligibility" improvement increases the chance of dropping high-quality loot from killed captains. The most useful Middle-earth Shadow of War skills are described in more detail.

Legendary Sets

We have already mentioned that the legendary items obtained by Talion can be combined into sets and strengthen each other, unlocking special bonuses for several worn items of the same set. There are ten such sets in the game:

• Dark Tribe Bundle: Accumulation of power when using poisons.
• Savage Tribe Set: The ability to sit from the shadows on an unbroken graug and dragon.
• Meat Grinder Tribe Bundle: "Summon Supporters" summons Demomen, "Elven Light" scatters explosives around.
• Marauder Tribe Bundle: Picking up game currency increases damage and restores health.
• Mystic Tribe Set: Underling Orcs take 50% less damage and possess cursed weapons.
• Dread Tribe Bundle: Quick Throw kills fleeing soldiers, killing a fleeing enemy restores 100 health.
• Warmonger Tribe Bundle: Killing a burning enemy restores 50 health, occasionally Taleon flares up and releases a ball of flame.
• Light Overlord Set: Wrath build up faster, duration of Elven Rage decreases, all Elven shots are replenished after killing an enemy while in Elven Rage.
• Vendetta set: You can use health instead of Power Charge and Elven Shots.
• Ringwraith Set: Obtained after passing the third act. Allows you to summon undead and restores 20 health when the nearest undead supporter dies.

Why gems are needed

The effectiveness of Talion's weapons and equipment can be increased by encrusting it with special gems: they also drop out of captains, are obtained during missions, or can be found right in the open world.

• Red Gems: power. If you insert such a gem into a weapon, then the damage dealt by this weapon will increase. Inlaying an armor or cloak will increase the damage dealt by any attack. Ring inlay will increase the damage dealt by your followers.
• Green Gems: vitality. Weapons adorned with this gem increase the amount of health leeched. Inlaid armor and cloaks increase Talion's maximum health. If you insert a green gem into the ring, Talion's allies will take less damage.
• white gems: wealth. Weapon inlay increases the chances of receiving additional money from enemies killed with this weapon. Armor and cloaks with white gems increase the amount of experience gained. A ring with a white stone increases the level of the captain when recruited.

note
Gems can be changed or removed at any time, it's free. The gem is not bound to an item, but to an equipment slot. If you change one armor (or any item) to another, then the gem will automatically switch from the old item to the new one.

How to upgrade gems

Each gem has five quality levels: Gemstone, Rough Gemstone, Polished Gemstone, Exquisite Gemstone, and Flawless Gemstone. The higher the quality level of the gem, the more effective its bonuses work. For example, a regular Gem of Life increases maximum health by 10%, while a Flawless Gem of Life adds 30% to health.

The gem enhancement mechanic implemented in Shadow of War should be familiar to fans of the Diablo games. Several regular Gems are combined into a Rough Gem, then several Rough Gems are turned into a Polished Gem. To create a gem of the next level, you need three gems of the previous level.

In other words, to get one Flawless Gem, you need to find or craft three Exquisite Gems.

How to improve equipment

We wrote above that in order to unlock some of the effects of rare, supreme and legendary equipment, Talion will have to pass special tests. Let's talk about this in more detail.

The lower the quality level of the item, the easier the test: a rare item will ask you, for example, to "hit a burning enemy with a quick throw" - nothing complicated. The Supreme will offer to intimidate the enemy five times, and completing the test of the legendary item may require, for example, the recruitment of an orc captain of a certain level from a certain tribe.

note
The test is counted only for those items that Talion is currently wearing. You will not be able to play as if nothing had happened and pump items lying somewhere in your backpack: you will have to keep track of challenge goals and think in advance what equipment you want to improve.

After successfully passing the test, you will finally be able to improve the item - for this you will have to spend some amount of game currency. The upgrade not only unlocks an additional equipment bonus, but also slightly increases the level of that item. Tags: Middle-earth: Shadow of War , Games , Guide

IN Middle-earth game: Shadow of War you will meet a large number of orcs with whom you will have to fight. The abilities of orc captains depend on which class they belong to. This guide will tell you about each of the classes, of which there are only 10.

Orc classes

Hitman

Orcs, who are hired killers, specialize in killing commanders. These orcs are highly stealthy and like to ambush their enemies, so these orcs are able to effectively destroy the enemy command elite. Often even the guards do not have time to understand what happened. To survive, Orc Mercenaries use an ability that helps them disappear from the eyes of the enemy in complete darkness, and they usually run faster than their enemies. Orcs of this class are very good at hiding, which allows them to remain undetected by their opponents.

This class of Orcs makes them deadly assassins who are capable of stealthy attacks and quick kills. Skills that this class can have:

Skills:

• Skillful hunter. This ability allows you to blow the hunting horn when your footprints are found. Thanks to this, the orcs that are nearby will also follow you.
• Prompt. This skill allows you to exhaust your enemy. An orc using this skill can dodge enemy attacks, and it can do somersaults and jumps.
• No chance. If you are lying on the ground, then you will no longer have a chance to get up again. If you have little health left, then the best solution for you is to escape from this fight.
• Throwing daggers. Daggers will be thrown at you from afar.

Tamer

Orcs of this class are engaged in the training of animals, which then will fight in the army of Sauron. But it is very difficult to tame ferocious animals, so there are not very many obedient animals in the army of Mordor. Many animals die from ferocious training. But the surviving animals will be completely controlled by their tamer. An orc tamer is dangerous because in case of danger he can always call his pet for help. Orcs of this class are just as ferocious as other orcs, so they are proficient in dealing with ghouls and dragons.

This class is able to handle different animals that live on the lands of Mordor. Animals rarely attack them.

They have an animal roar. With the help of a roar, caragoras are called to battle, this roar also helps to replenish the health of animals and they go to attack enemies.

Berserk

An orc berserker, when angered, can lash out at anything he sees. Rage gives him more strength to perform powerful attacks and quick throws, thanks to which nothing remains of opponents. During combat, orcs of this class can fall into a complete frenzy that even their fellow tribesmen fear. They can deal the most damage when their health is low. Fury also allows them to regenerate health when hitting an enemy.

This class of orcs has the ability to go on a rampage in battle due to their rage. Berserkers revel in combat as they unleash their ferocious strikes on the enemy.

Skills for this class:

• Furious onslaught. Thanks to this skill, berserkers can knock down the enemy. It's best to dodge when you see an orc berserker running towards you.
• Fury skill. A battle cry is issued, which causes fear to all enemies who hear it.
• Rampage. An orc with this ability rushes into the thick of things, and there they strike at everyone they see. Allied troops can also fall under such blows.
• Boomerang. A weapon is thrown, which then returns, and with the help of it, damage is done to all enemies that are in the way.
• Shockwave Skill. A strike is made on the ground, thanks to which it is possible to stun enemies and push them away.

Commander

Commanders almost always walk with their squad. They give courage to their subordinates, who then fight with more dedication. The commanders send their soldiers to the desired area of ​​battle, carry out the organization of mass attacks on enemies. Commanders have reinforcements near them, which they will throw into battle when the need arises. Sometimes commanders set up ambushes for their enemies using their reserves. This class of orcs loves power very much, so they try to climb the hierarchical ladder as high as possible. They also don't like it when someone challenges their authority. Commanders rise up the hierarchy when their superior dies.

This class raises the morale of its warriors, who begin to fight with great zeal.

Skills for this class:

• The skill of military banners. An order is given to his subordinates to put up a banner that increases the fury of the orcs in battle. If you destroy the banners, then the authority of the commander will fall.
• Reinforcement call skill. This skill helps to summon new warriors to replace those who fell during the battle. Beware of the commander who uses the hunting horn.
• Death Order Skill. When a commander dies, his orcs may go on a rampage. They will try to avenge you for the fallen leader.

Destroyer

The army of Mordor was formed in order to destroy everything around. Orc Destroyers create havoc in enemy ranks using fire and explosions. Destroyers use traps and throwable bombs. They do not even pay attention to their fellows, who take damage from explosions. Sometimes it happens that they themselves receive damage from their bombs. But they were created to destroy, so they like to do it.

This class specializes in bombs and everything that can be blown up. The Orc Destroyer always carries bombs and mines.

Skills that this class has:

• The skill of a skilled hunter. When an orc sees your trail, he immediately signals this with a sound signal using a hunting horn. Orcs who have heard this signal join the pursuit.
• Demolition skill. With the help of this skill, Demomen are summoned, which are hung completely with explosives. When such a bomber reaches the target, an explosion occurs.
• Skill: Explosive Arrows. Arrows that hit the target explode and damage the enemy.
• Last Explosion Skill. When an orc dies, it explodes and stuns nearby enemies.

Accurate shooter

Orcs generally prefer close range combat because it suits their nature more, but there are some Orcs who prefer crossbows and throwing javelins. These wars in the army of Mordor are responsible for ranged combat. Shooters prefer to stay at a safe distance from their opponents. Often their arrows contain poisons or explosives. Other orcs may mock them and rebuke them for being cowardly and weak. But when the arrows save the lives of these orcs, then they no longer bully them. Also, shooters can shoot a dart or arrow at the head of such an offender, after which he falls silent.

This class of orcs likes to fight at long range. Arrows see long distances, accurately shoot at the target, and arrows inflict additional damage on the enemy.

Skills available for this class:

• Strong shooter skill. They shoot bolts that cause great damage and stun to the enemy.
• Rapid fire ability. Shoot accurately at the target and quickly, repeating this procedure.

Fighter

Slayers like to fight in close combat because they like the sound of swords. These orcs are great with melee weapons, so they can quickly counterattack without the enemy being able to do anything about it. It happens that the opponent has already been dealt a mortal blow, and he did not even understand what happened. Orcs of this class often do not like mass fights and long-range combat. They consider a duel to be a true fight. They love to defeat their opponent with skill and strength.

This class masterfully cope with the enemy in close combat. Slayers love to fight their opponent in open combat, and they defeat their opponents with the skills they have.

Skills for this class:

• Triple Strike Skill. During the attack, they make a combination that includes three hits. Such fighters are dangerous in close combat, so be on the lookout.
• Adjuster skill. Orc quickly gets used to your fighting style and tries to oppose something to it. To defeat such an opponent, you need to change the way you fight more often.

Tank

There are Uruks who were specially bred so that they could wear heavy armor. These warriors are very hardy and they are able to withstand very powerful blows. Tanks very rarely leave the battlefield. Their rage is not too great, even when they are fighting a hated opponent.

Warriors of this class are able to withstand very powerful attacks. Tanks are able to endure intense pain. When they have few lives left, they can get a second wind.

Skills that this class has:

• Stubbornness. The ability to heal oneself by will power. This treatment can be interrupted.
• Skill: Wave of Power. Creates a wave of force that knocks back nearby enemies.

bloodhound

Bloodhounds are warrior scouts and skirmishers in the armies of Mordor. On foot, they move very quickly, thanks to this, the bloodhounds show the way to the troops. But, basically, they act actively after the battle. When the enemy runs, the bloodhounds pursue him, I kill everyone they can overtake. Bloodhounds have an incredible flair, so it’s hard to surprise them with something. Sometimes they use harpoons, with the help of which bloodhounds can attract the enemy to them. When you find a bloodhound, it means that there are other orcs somewhere.

Warriors of this class can find you anywhere. They may call for reinforcements, which may prevent you from escaping.

Skills for this class:

• The skill of a skilled hunter. If your trail is discovered, then this is reported to other orcs with the help of a hunting horn. The orcs that were nearby start chasing you.
• No chance. You will not be able to rise again if you are already on the ground. If there is not much health left, then it is better to run.
• Trap skill. They can set traps that can immobilize the enemy. An opponent who falls into such a trap becomes vulnerable to throwing weapons.

Dodger

The Orc Trickster uses cunning and intelligence to make fools of his enemies. The Orc Trickster has excellent dexterity, allowing him to jump over opponents and dodge blows that can be dangerous. Also, this class of orcs actively uses a smoke bomb and traps that are invisible to the enemy. Trickster Orcs are very good at camouflage, so they often remain invisible to their enemies.

Orcs of this class use surprise attacks that can disorient the enemy. The behavior of an Orc Trickster is quite difficult to calculate.

Skills for this class:

• Smoke bomb skill. The smoke bomb allows you to hide at the right time from your opponent.
• Double skill. The Trickster Orc is in a group of other Orcs that he's not much different from, so it's hard to target him.

In this Middle-earth: Shadow of War guide, we'll tell you everything you need to know about increasing the level of recruitable Orcs that will strengthen your army. While playing Shadow of War, you will come across several opponents that you can "convince" to join your party. However, most of these recruits in Shadow of War will start out at a low level and you will have to level them up in order to achieve maximum effectiveness in combat.

However, this task is completed without any problems and you can bring all your Orcs to the maximum level quite simply. Before we get started, there's something important to warn you: none of the recruitable Orcs in Shadow of War can be leveled above Talion. However, you can find those that will match his level.

Leveling Orcs in Middle-earth: Shadow of War

Using the Wealth Stone

First, you need to unlock a slot in your ring and put a Wealth Stone into it. This stone is an important item that allows your Subordinate Captains to gain additional levels.

In the game, the Wealth Stone can be found in five types, each of which adds +1 to the level of the Subordinate Captain. Know that you can easily add about five levels to a just Subordinate Captain with a +5 Wealth Stone.

Visits to the fighting pits

In Mordor is great amount Fighting pits. You can have your recruits fight in these Fighting Pit to get a huge amount of experience which will definitely help them level up faster.

However, before you immediately run into the Fighting Pit, you must first open them, which is not an easy task. To open the Fighting Pit in Middle-earth: Shadow of War, you need to successfully complete the siege of the Stronghold in the region, and then complete the mission of the same name. Completing this mission will allow you to access the Fighting Pit in the region permanently.

Completing Missions and Orders

During passage Middle-earth: Shadow of War, you can send your recruits on various tasks: killing the enemy, helping other allies, creating a siege of the fortress and the like. However, we do not recommend that you leave all this management to be done automatically, as it can take a long time.

Those of you who want to speed up the process can easily see where the battles are taking place in the world and join them in order to complete them faster and get your reward. By doing this, you will not only be able to level up your recruits in a short amount of time, but also gain additional loot in the form of equipment, new recruits, and even more.

Talion from Middle-earth: Shadow of War can get their experience in different ways, and now in our guide we will tell you a few secrets that will help you quickly increase experience in Middle-earth: Shadow of War (Middle-earth: Shadow of War).

receiving new level V Middle-earth: Shadow of War, you will be able to get more skills, and thus dominate the tougher orcs and get higher level weapons, equipment.

How to quickly gain experience in Middle-earth: Shadow of War? This question will be answered by our walkthrough guide, in which we will tell you several ways that will speed up the experience gain.

Things for which you do not get experience in the game

First of all, we have to tell you about some things for which you do not get experience:

• Killing birds and animals;
• Completing the shadows of past missions;
• Collection of collectibles;
• Completion of update tasks;
• Pit-fight (fights in the pit).

How to quickly gain experience in Middle-earth: Shadow of War

And now let's talk about things that will help you quickly gain experience in " Middle-earth: Shadow of War».

Complete basic tasks

The easiest and fastest way to gain experience is by completing quests in your quest log. These include both very important and non-essential quests for Gondor, Shelob, Elthari, Karnan and Bruza.

You can also unlock additional slots by completing side quests outside of the main ones. story missions. It is worth looking for them yourself and doing them when you can. Since even the smallest quests can help you earn a lot of money.

However, after you complete most of the tasks, you will have to look for a new way to gain experience.

Complete Nemesis Missions

Today, one of the most numerous activities that you can take part in is the Nemesis missions. And don't be put off by the modest experience for every mission you take part in, whether they involve enemy orcs or your own forces.
"Nemesis" missions spawn in each region and are randomized - usually involving two or even three orcs fighting each other.

Some of them do not offer a huge amount on their own, killing or dominating the captains will not give you additional experience. Missions that help your own pursuers excel in a hunt or challenge will still be frequent, but not as common as those involving other captains being defeated.

Capture outposts

Each of the regions of Mordor consists of several guarded outposts outside the fortress, and a captain is responsible for each of them.

You can eliminate these captains in special "Nemesis" missions, which will not only give you experience but also disable alarms any time you go through them. You can even do this once you get to a new region. Just wait until the captain you want to control gets closer to you.

The most common way to gain experience in Middle-earth: Shadow of War, which often goes hand in hand with your other quests, is killing or subduing enemy Captains, Warchiefs, and Overlords. Each of these enemies that you kill, encounter while exploring the region of Mordor, or destroy during Nemesis missions, each kill or subdue them grants you experience.

Although this method does not give much experience (for example, a level 20 captain gives about 100 experience for a kill and 150 if you subdue him), this amount can be increased with the help of wealth gems by placing them in his armor. With two of these gems, you can earn an additional 30% experience for each defeated captain.

Missions Vendetta

If you ever run into a situation where you run out of captains, you will be able to complete the "Vendetta" missions after completing the online mission, which will give you access to the multiplayer part.

This type of mission is the destruction of orcs who defeated another player. You can even earn extra rewards if you complete the side objectives listed at the start. But if you don't complete the main objective, you will lose the Vendetta mission.

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