Getting slaughtered in the harsh land of Mordor? Yeah, I was having a hard time too. A few moments of letting my guard down, led to the rapid promotion of a couple of captains. The world around me seemed to be growing at a pace I couldn’t keep up with. Outnumbered and under-powered, I decided to restart my journey and pay close attention to the world around, to learn to be the predator and not the prey. Here are some of the ways that I accomplished that.
Learn to hunt – In order to conquer the forces of Mordor, you’ll need to learn how to hunt your main prey, the captains of Sauron’s army. You know what your prey is, but how can you find them? Intel. Intel, intel, intel. Until you’re a bad ass later in the game, you’ll need to know where the captains are, and their strengths and weaknesses. Intel can be obtained through interrogating worms (the weak-minded orcs that glow green during wraith sight), finding misc intel info that is marked on the map by the same symbol as worms (unfortunately, misc intel info doesn’t appear during wraith sight), or even the captains themselves.
Now, you’ve got your intel. You’ve marked which captain will meet his end next, you know how you’re going to do it and where to find him. Next is to get yourself in killing distance without botching the assassination. Wraith sight costs you nothing, so use it as often as needed. When entering the area where your next prey lies, keep an eye out with wraith sight. Find your prey, and then check out his surroundings. Look for any monsters that can join the fight, other orcs the captain may call for help and especially look out for other captains. Use the terrain to your advantage. Going for a stealth kill? Find some high ground. Vulnerable to caragors? Look for hanging meat to use as bait or some caragors you can lead back to him.
Do not rush in, that is until you’re a total BA. Before that time comes, approach the captain and warchief assassinations as a hunt. You’re the predator, not the prey.
You’re a ranger, act like one – Sword, dagger and bow. The weapons of a ranger and everything you need to exact your vengeance. Take note of the tutorials that pop and us the new techniques that are taught to you. If you need a refresher, check out the appendices in pause menu. In Mordor you can attack, defend and even have a small amount of crowd control. Wraith stun, vaulting and most of all, parrying, will keep you alive much longer in Mordor. When horde of orcs descends upon you, stay calm, and defend more than attack. You’ll want to kill the orcs of course, but if you hit an orc and let his buddy hit you, then you’re doing it wrong. Every, time the warning of an attack appears above an orcs head, that is your first priority, doesn’t matter who you’re about to kill. Rangers don’t get hit.
You are not Gandalf – You’ve just stormed a stronghold, killing an untold number of orcs, including their captains and the grand prize, a warchief. Yes, you are officially a bad ass. You’ve leveled up your character like crazy, unlocked most of his abilities, have a dozen epic runes, you’re on a roll. You’ve even forgone getting intel, being completely unafraid of any threat in Mordor. Let’s take it down a notch, you are not Gandalf. You’re a bad ass wraith not an unstoppable wizard. Shadow of Mordor has an amazing ability to check your arrogance and reset the balance of power. No matter how bad ass you are, fight smart and don’t get sloppy. The last thing you need towards the end of the game is to be killed by a captain that is already elite and then watch as him and all his elite captain buddies are promoted to legendary.
Did I miss something or do you have anything to add? Please tell us in the comment below and help other gamers out!
learn to hunt