• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor |OT| One Title to rule them all

Just finished up the main game and got all the achievements. Fantastic stuff! Burned thru it all in about 25 hours of game time. I'm sort of hesitant on the Season Pass stuff right now, does anyone know when the Celebrimbor DLC is supposed to hit? That would definitely make me buy the season pass.
 

Levyne

Banned
Just finished up the main game and got all the achievements. Fantastic stuff! Burned thru it all in about 25 hours of game time. I'm sort of hesitant on the Season Pass stuff right now, does anyone know when the Celebrimbor DLC is supposed to hit? That would definitely make me buy the season pass.

At the end of the Beast DLC, I believe all it said was "2015"
 
I'm getting near the end and although I have been enjoying it, the repetitive mission design becomes so apparent in the
second map
. And I hate how you cannot just opt to restart if you fail a dagger, sword or bow mission - it's especially annoying in the dagger missions as if you're spotted once you fail immediately, and then you have to trek back across to accept it again.

I'm going to finish the story tonight and then I'll do the remaining side missions and collectibles and toy with the Nemesis stuff to get the remaining trophies. I've only just got the Brand ability, and I can see that making the group combat a lot of fun.
 
I'm nearing the end now, and to be honest I'm really tired of this now. I've been trying to brand all the bodyguards and the Warchiefs, but for some reason practically all of them are combat experts, invulnerable to arrows and I can't leap over their heads, so it makes what is usually quite a fun combat system very boring instead. And when they run off it's very annoying, especially when I can't pin their legs down with arrows and they run extra fast, which means I have to trek across half the map to find them and start over again. I was going for the Platinum trophy but I'm kind of fed up with a lot of the side stuff now so I might just finish up the story missions and shelve it for now.
 

Weetrick

Member
I'm nearing the end now, and to be honest I'm really tired of this now. I've been trying to brand all the bodyguards and the Warchiefs, but for some reason practically all of them are combat experts, invulnerable to arrows and I can't leap over their heads, so it makes what is usually quite a fun combat system very boring instead. And when they run off it's very annoying, especially when I can't pin their legs down with arrows and they run extra fast, which means I have to trek across half the map to find them and start over again. I was going for the Platinum trophy but I'm kind of fed up with a lot of the side stuff now so I might just finish up the story missions and shelve it for now.

After this game I'm going to take a long break from giant open world, "millions of items on a map" type games.
 
Finished it last night. What a flat ending. Fucking hell; it
builds up the Black Hand of Sauron through the whole game and then you face off against him in a fucking QTE. Goddamn it developers, why do you keep doing this?! You brand five Warchiefs to amass your own army, and then at the end you travel on the boat with about eight Uruks in frame and it feels very anticlimactic considering I'd spent the last 2-3 hours to convert my own 'army'. I faced off with my 'nemesis' in front of the Tower's castle, but to be honest I barely even recognised him and it had absolutely no impact. They should have focused on this sole nemesis a bit more; maybe at the half way point Sauron uses his power to resurrect an Uruk captain or Warchief in the same way that Talion keeps resurrecting, so you can face off with him several times before having a final showdown before the last boss
.

Anyway, reading back over my comments I've moaned a lot about this game, and I don't think it accurately reflects how much I genuinely enjoyed the game for the most part. There are a lot of issues, weird design decisions and things to fix in the inevitable sequel, but it was a really fun game overall with solid core components. I have enjoyed it, it's satiated my desire for an Assassin's Creed-type game for now and I frankly have no desire to play an open-world collect-em-up for a while now. However, I am very close to the platinum and may need a bit of help with some trophies; I still need the following:

  • 1 - No Power in Numbers - help a captain survive a recruitment power struggle, then kill him and all his new recruits
  • 2 - A Mighty Doom - acquire a level 25 rune
  • 3 - Master of the Wilds - complete all hunting challenges
  • 4 - Burning Vengeance - perform an execution on a flaming Beserker
  • 5 - Liberator - complete all Outcast Rescue Missions
  • 6 - Rise and Fall - after an Uruk kills you to become a captain, help him become a Warchief and then kill him
  • 7 - A Graug's Heel - capitalise on a Warchief's fear
1 should be easy to do, I just have to find the right red mission symbol and give it a go.
I haven't tried 2 yet, but someone posted tips for it on a previous page, so I'll give it a go later.
I'm having trouble with 3 - I saw in a YouTube video that you need to let a ghul with an alert symbol above its head run away to summon a Matriarch Ghul, but every time they do this she does not spawn. I don't know if I'm doing anything wrong.
I've tried 4 dozens of times, and cannot get it right - I've tried throwing Beserkers into fires, exploding barrels or fires when they're nearby, hitting them with the fire arrow ability, and I either kill them outright with the initial attack or can't get to them before they're dead.
5 should be easy - got about another six missions to do, which I'll finish up tonight.
6 should be easy, I just haven't tried it yet. I'll have a go tonight,
I'm not entirely sure how to do 7 - do I get a Graug ready and then summon a Warchief to fight, or summon one first and then run off to get a Graug?
 
I'm not entirely sure how to do 7 - do I get a Graug ready and then summon a Warchief to fight, or summon one first and then run off to get a Graug?

Despite the name, you don't actually have to exploit the graug fear. You can do whatever is an option based on your available warchiefs. Fear of fire is an easy one.

I've tried 4 dozens of times, and cannot get it right - I've tried throwing Beserkers into fires, exploding barrels or fires when they're nearby, hitting them with the fire arrow ability, and I either kill them outright with the initial attack or can't get to them before they're dead.

This one gave me problems too. Fire arrow is how I got it once I realized how quick I had to hit the execution buttons.

I'm having trouble with 3 - I saw in a YouTube video that you need to let a ghul with an alert symbol above its head run away to summon a Matriarch Ghul, but every time they do this she does not spawn. I don't know if I'm doing anything wrong.

This one I got lucky with. Everything went aces first time I tried it. I think the second pack of ghuls should rise up right at the location where you fought the first pack. It did for me.
 
Thanks for the tips, but I have decided to sack it off for now. I've had my fill and can't muster any enthusiasm for another 4-5 hours of repetitive gameplay just for the Platinum.
 

T.O.P

Banned
Got 2 trophies left for platinum (my first platinum ever, didn't even care about them before but i got obsessed with this game lol)

Is the season pass worth it? if not i'll just grab it when i'll double dip on pc with some sales
 

Levyne

Banned
Got 2 trophies left for platinum (my first platinum ever, didn't even care about them before but i got obsessed with this game lol)

Is the season pass worth it? if not i'll just grab it when i'll double dip on pc with some sales

Right now I'd say not, the Beast Hunt stuff was pretty boring.
 

Weetrick

Member
I just beat the game. The final boss was awful - One of the least exciting final bosses in recent memory. Still a great game though.
 

theaface

Member
Just finished up the game with a platinum trophy today. I think the praise and criticism it seems to receive is valid in equal measure. The core gameplay is certainly fun, though a touch repetitive. The nemesis system is fresh and interesting, whilst the end game is as damp a squib as any in recent memory. All in all, a largely enjoyable game that deserves a lot of credit, although it says a lot about the poor quality of 2014 that it received so much GOTY buzz.
 
So I picked this up today and just started playing a bit. I'm getting very frustrated. I see the waypoint set across the map about 800 ft away. I've tried to get to this about 5 times now and keep getting killed. I'm finding it near impossible to get across the map without being spotted. And once I'm spotted I seems to agro about a dozen different orcs and they take forever to kill. What am I doing wrong here? It shouldn't be this damn hard to get to the first mission. Thanks!
 

theaface

Member
So I picked this up today and just started playing a bit. I'm getting very frustrated. I see the waypoint set across the map about 800 ft away. I've tried to get to this about 5 times now and keep getting killed. I'm finding it near impossible to get across the map without being spotted. And once I'm spotted I seems to agro about a dozen different orcs and they take forever to kill. What am I doing wrong here? It shouldn't be this damn hard to get to the first mission. Thanks!

Just run past the enemies that spot you, if you don't want to engage them in combat. Some may give chase, most will lose interest pretty quickly. Either way, once you get to the mission marker and press the button to start the mission, it won't matter how many orcs you've alerted, as your surroundings reset to the respective mission's default.
 

Mystic654

Member
I just got the game and got a rune called raising storm (Storm of Urfael). I have no idea how to use it, Do I have to advance to a certain story mission to start using it? I know some say you have to press L3 + R3 to use it. But I tired that and nothing happened. Anyone have any ideas how to use this rune once equipped?
 

n0razi

Member
I just got the game and got a rune called raising storm (Storm of Urfael). I have no idea how to use it, Do I have to advance to a certain story mission to start using it? I know some say you have to press L3 + R3 to use it. But I tired that and nothing happened. Anyone have any ideas how to use this rune once equipped?

theres a meter at the bottom left that you have to fill first (through melee combat) and once thats full you can activate DURING COMBAT with L3+R3

its pretty OP but i stopped using it because i would accidentally kill a captain that i meant to interrogate
 
Storm of Urfael and the other super powers have to be unlocked, and only after getting a bunch of other upgrades.

They're at the bottom of the upgrade screen, under all the other upgrades.

You won't get any use out of that rune for a while.
 

Mystic654

Member
theres a meter at the bottom left that you have to fill first (through melee combat) and once thats full you can activate DURING COMBAT with L3+R3

its pretty OP but i stopped using it because i would accidentally kill a captain that i meant to interrogate

I had to re-install the game. It wasn't showing up in the 1st install. It sure is fun to use.

Storm of Urfael and the other super powers have to be unlocked, and only after getting a bunch of other upgrades.

They're at the bottom of the upgrade screen, under all the other upgrades.

You won't get any use out of that rune for a while.

No you don't have to unlock it, Rune gives you access to Storm of Urfael from the start.
 

void666

Banned
So, now that i'm free from the shackles of destiny i'm giving my backlog some attention.

Just finished Shadow of Mordor.

Gameplay is really fun. Though i think the "inspiration" (rip off?) from batman games is a bit too much.
Nemesis system probably would've been better if i died more. I must have died 4 or 5 times total.
At some point i had to face my nemesis. What nemesis? I killed all the orcs who killed me.
And learning strengths and weakness became pointless later on. Talion was so overpowered i could take down any warchief easily.

Something that bothered me is like some abilities are unlocked only through story missions.
But it's never something interesting, like learning a spell or finding some magical gadget. Guy just decides to do it out of nowhere. Take the branding ability for example. Why couldn't he have used it before?

Story missions are all meh. Its saving grace are the solid rip off batman gameplay, the delicious gore and the interesting but too simplistic nemesis system.
It's so good to kill orcs. They are like nazis. Pure evil.

About the last boss
yes, the cenobite hellraiser guy. He is the last boss for me. Sauron is just a QTE. Anyway, what a disapointing "fight". Stealth brand 3 times and then a QTE?? Why devs keep doing this?Just throw your gameplay in the trash bin and use a stupid QTE instead? Really?

Overall it's a good game and i might come back to it at some point.
For some reason i bought the season pass. So i hope some of the DLCs are good.
 

raindoc

Member
I posted here before, about my troubles getting into the game, especially concerning fighting mechanics and the nemesis-system. I was at the point where I had to kill 4/5 warchiefs and just kept dying. every nemesis was invulnerable to everything that makes a ranger's life easier and they kept showing up in packs whenever I was close to finish a mission or one of their own.

So I went on and played Destiny.

This weekend I gave it another try annd started a new game. HOLY CRAP it's awesome! Other than running away from fights i was thinking i'd loose more often, I did nothing different, but this time it just clicked for me (I do feel like I got a little bit more lucky with the runes that dropped this time around). I destroy hordes of uruks in combat and can't stop playing - yesterday I unlocked branding, today I'm gonna make me some warchiefs.
 

daevv

Member
Anyone know what the latest 8.27gb PS4 update does? Not sure if it was released today or last weekend as it has been a few days since I played it. Only wondering as it a large file. Thanks.
 

nortonff

Hi, I'm nortonff. I spend my life going into threads to say that I don't care about the topic of the thread. It's a really good use of my time.
Anyone know what the latest 8.27gb PS4 update does? Not sure if it was released today or last weekend as it has been a few days since I played it. Only wondering as it a large file. Thanks.

I would like to know too. Couldn't find anything about it.
 

Autofokus

Member
Anyone know what the latest 8.27gb PS4 update does? Not sure if it was released today or last weekend as it has been a few days since I played it. Only wondering as it a large file. Thanks.

According to the changelog (PS4):
Code:
- Bright Lord DLC support added
- Bugfixes
 
I noticed this today, it's very odd. I mean, I have to download the what is basically an entire DLC (8.31 GB) disguised as a patch, even if I'm not going to buy it, in order to have some bugs fixed?
 
I came here to see if anyone knew what this huge update was about. I hate large updates - I have unlimited bandwidth but my speed is just horrible (and cannot be upgraded due to my location and ancient infrastructure. Thanks Bell Canada!).

Cheers
 

raindoc

Member
I just spent ~2hrs preparing a Warchief for the "Level 25 Rune - Trophy". In the end the target marker jumped from regular orc to Warchief in the worst possible moment and I accidently killed him before he enraged...

vadernooo.jpg
 

Tsukumo

Member
Just shut my PS4 off in frustration. Keep getting surrounded by 40 urochs and then running into control issues:

I want my character to climb up a wall; he stands next to it.

It's just the character movement which is set up to be a bit slow. And it's the general speed of the game, since the uruks aren't faster than you. Like the Arkham games, SoM has its own "rhythm". You are probably used to faster games.

I want him to jump off a cliff; he stands at the edge.

If you are running and it doesn't jump off, then it's a bug but if you are stationary that's probably and input override. If you run up the edge, then stop then try to jump that's because the character has a slowing down animation that was put there on purpose (I guess) to not have you fall off into a pit of uruks when you are rushing over the roofs of a stronghold.

I want to move sideways while climbing a wall; he goes up.

This is true, but it's the camera. In this game, like the Arkham games, I got used to control it myself and I think it's the best solution.

I seem to be the only one having trouble with the controls though, so maybe it's just me. I was really looking forward to this game but it's been a chore sticking with it. Too repetitive and too frustrating.

If you are already doing this then sorry but I'd suggest to stick to story missions for as long as you can. Also, movement wise: use as many runes as you can to buff and regenerate focus. Shooting arrows to uruks to teleport makes traveling through the map a joke.
Enjoy the Game of the Year ;D
 

Dunkelgrau

Member
Bought this today and I am not quite sure about the nemesis-system.

Killed Mogg the Other Twin and until now the system seems to be something in the background which does not really matter. And it also seems that my influence is nearly not existing. Hope this will get better in the next few hours? Otherwise I will not finish the game.
 
So I just picked this game up in the PSN sale and ehhhh I keep dying.
All.
The.
Time.

Like seriously.

I keep getting surrounded and there's mo real way for me to kill the Enemies fast enough before more join the fray. The executions can be interrupted by other enemies so I can't even use those properly otherwise I take damag/ the execution doesn't work.

I just feel really underpowered and it's making me want to just delete the game :I
 
So I just picked this game up in the PSN sale and ehhhh I keep dying.
All.
The.
Time.

Like seriously.

I keep getting surrounded and there's mo real way for me to kill the Enemies fast enough before more join the fray. The executions can be interrupted by other enemies so I can't even use those properly otherwise I take damag/ the execution doesn't work.

I just feel really underpowered and it's making me want to just delete the game :I

Stick with it, it does get better, it was the same for me at the start but try thinning the herd with stealth where you can and don't be afraid to run away if needed, Elf mode or whatever it is called is pretty good for finding healing herbs, I kept forgetting to use that!
 
I bought this from the Critic's Choice sale.

It's a great game, don't get me wrong, but how did this win so many Game of the Year awards? Take the battle system of the Rocksteady's Arkham games, then mix it with the Assassin's Creed formula and there you go. The Nemesis System was very interesting, I'll give it that, but the repetitive mission structure (which becomes more apparent in the second map) and average story bring it down.

Still, one of the best games from last year. Those fights where you'd have to deal with a small army of enemies on top of captains always got my blood pumping. Every execution or stealth kill felt like it had impact. The story was good (though it did falter) and even as a non-Lord of the Rings fan (I know bits and pieces) could follow what was going on without wondering just what the hell was happening.

I hope (know) we get a sequel that improves on everything it had to offer, because at the end of the day it was a blast to play. And that's all that matters.
 

raindoc

Member
Stick with it, it does get better, it was the same for me at the start but try thinning the herd with stealth where you can and don't be afraid to run away if needed, Elf mode or whatever it is called is pretty good for finding healing herbs, I kept forgetting to use that!

the two best tips everyone should get before starting this game. eventually you'll get to a point where Talion becomes a one man army and fights without multiple captains become almost boring, but first you need to take things slow.
i've also seen people here suggest that you stick with the story missions first, but I disagree - the upgrades one unlocks by doing secondary missions make the game easier faster than sticking to the story entirely.

When I first atarted playing this game I went all in in the story and had not much fun, stopped playing entirely. came back rather recently, took it slow and had a blast. it's now really one of my favourite games.
 
Stick with it, it does get better, it was the same for me at the start but try thinning the herd with stealth where you can and don't be afraid to run away if needed, Elf mode or whatever it is called is pretty good for finding healing herbs, I kept forgetting to use that!

I played some more last night and this morning, unlocked some new abilities and it makes things easier however only slightly :p

I'm enjoying the game but it's so frustrating at the same time when you just get swarmed all the time. I have unlocked the Square and X attack now which is useful. Also unlocked the executions available after 5 combos instead of 8.

Hopefully with some more unlocks it will make things easier.
 
Top Bottom