Middle-earth: Shadow of War is a game that lets players traverse the treacherous lands of Mordor from Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. Set between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogies, players take on the role of Talion, a Gondorian Ranger who becomes possessed by the Wraith spirit of Celebrimbor, the maker of Sauron's One Ring. Together with Celebrimbor, Talion sets out to usurp Sauron's reign over Mordor by building an Orc army.
Over the course of the game, Talion can earn abilities and weapons to help him on his quest to take on Sauron and his minions. There are abilities in the game that are more useful than others. Here is a guide to the most useful abilities in Middle-earth: Shadow of War.
Spoiler warning ahead for Middle-earth: Shadow of War.
Useful Combat Skills in Shadow of War
- Fatal Counter: During the game, players will have to level up Talion in order to grant him new abilities to combat various enemies. One such ability is the combat skill Fatal Counter. This skill is under the Perfect Counter and allows Talion to instantly kill an enemy grunt after a well-timed counter.This skill can be unlocked upon reaching level 15 in-game. However, while this skill is best used against normal enemies, it does not work against Captains and Beasts. Despite this drawback, Fatal Counter is still a perfect skill for those looking to improve Talion's Combat.
- Ground Finisher: As the name suggests, Ground Finisher helps players execute their downed enemy combatants in a quicker fashion. Without it, players are open to attacks by surrounding enemies while trying to finish off a grounded enemy. It ensures players that Talion has an easier time to vanquish fallen foes without being too distracted by surrounding reinforcements.For an extra precaution, players can equip this skill with the sub-class ability Wraith Shield. It will allow Celebrimbor to protect Talion from other enemies whilst Talion finishes executing his opponent. It's a nice shield-offense combo to consider.
- Ceaseless Might: This skill can be unlocked after achieving level 19 and is an evolution of the Brutal Aggression upgrade. It allows Talion's skills that would require all of his Might to not fully drain it. This gives players the ability to utilize Talion's abilities more frequently rather than waiting for their Might by attacking combatants.Powers that use Might are Execution, Drain Skill, Mighty Shot and Elven Light. All of these abilities are useful in combat. Ceaseless Might is a good way to ensure players that they can use more than one of these abilities at a time without fully depleting their Might.
Useful Predator Skills in Shadows of War
- Wraith Chain: In addition to combat, there will times when the player must utilize stealth to complete their objective. Wraith Chain allows Talion to link four stealth skills at a time as long as there is enough Focus. Players must be careful though, as this ability can use up a significant amount of Focus.Wraith Chain provides a more suitable alternative to luring Orcs away one by one to be killed stealthfully. It gives the player a chance to take out more than one enemy. This skill can also be upgraded with sub-class abilities, such as Monster Hunter which allows players to stealth assassinate beasts.
Useful Ranged Skills in Shadows of War
- Detonate: Outside of combat and stealth, Talion can also take care of enemies from afar with his Wraith bow and arrow. One skill to help take out multiple enemies is Detonate. It allows Talion the ability to shoot a fire pit and perform a Shadow Strike into the pit to make it explode and kill nearby enemies.This skill also comes with sub-class abilities that help expand its capabilities. One ability, Matron's Scent, can cause ghouls to attack nearby enemies upon the detonation of a fire pit via Talion's arrow.
Useful Wraith Skills in Shadows of War
- Consume: Thanks to Talion's Wraith abilities, he can use supernatural powers to take control of enemies as well as grant combat bonuses. One skill that is useful for being a Wraith is Consume. This ability, at the cost of Talion's Might, lets Talion drain an enemy completely to regain health.Consume should only be used as a last resort in the event Talion is nearing death. Without it, players would end up dying without a second chance to get back at their enemies. The sub-class skill Chain of Souls allows Talion to drain more than one enemy during Consume to get even more health back.
- Elven Light: This is another useful Wraith skill that stuns and blinds nearby enemies, allowing Talion to get the upper hand if he is losing in combat. So if the player gets ganged up and overpowered, they can use this skill to get their momentum back. This skill requires the Might bar to be completely full in order to activate.Elven Light can be also be equipped with a sub-class ability to do damage upon using in battle. Cleansing Blaze sets enemies on fire when Elven Light is utilized. The other sub-class abilities have similar damaging effects.
- Treasure Hunter: Upon defeating enemies, players will have to manually grab loot from their fallen foes upon pressing the right button. Treasure Hunter removes that requirement by allowing players to just walk up and automatically collect the items. This skill should be unlocked in-game early on so players will not have to continually press a button to acquire their hard-earned rewards.
Sub-class abilities can also affect the type of loot that can be collected. Discerning Eye increases the chance for players to earn better quality gear after defeating Captains and high-ranking orcs.
Middle-earth: Shadow of War is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.