davidh777

I defeated one of my captain nemeses by having my graug eat him.

mattysemo247

GOTY edition is $15 ($12 GCU) today only at Best Buy. Pretty much the best bang for your buck you could spend on a game.

K&AJones

I have yet finish the last two missions which I need to...but yea, a heck of game that didn't get the media coverage and praise it should've

mattysemo247

It received GOTY from most outlets that year. I'm sure it did better than they had anticipated.

OldBoy

ok, fine...i've giving this another chance dammit!

K&AJones

Once you unlock that ability where you can have the Orcs fighting for you it's a blast not to mention riding those oversized "Dogs". I'm in the second area and have all the Captains under my control...but I absolutely love the combat system. I think it's as good or slightly better than Batman.

davidh777

Yeah, I got a ton of play out of the extra content because they offered different ways to play. After I had beaten everything, I started letting myself get killed just to generate some more enemies. At that point, I decided I better stop and play something else.

OldBoy

holy shit! i think i love this game now. killed me 2 captains and now on a search for Gollem. this is so cool!

davidh777

Yeah, it's tough going at first, but you can build up your skills in order to take on the captains.

OldBoy

well, for the first captain where you have to take out 4 archers first i did it all sneaky bc i can't fight groups for shit yet. so i went all around sneaking and stealth kills. i mean don't get me wrong...i have no idea where the fuck i'm going or know what i am dong exactly, but the sword and slashery is fun and that you can stealth kill is the tits too.

OldBoy

how do you build up skills, take on regular orcs and such?

OldBoy

can someone give me some basic strategies to get through the beginning stages? just some pointers that maybe helped you along in the start...

how do you know where the main story mode is? i seem to just be picking Captains to go to in the menu and find, try to kill or be killed by them and they either power up or i die fighting a horde. how do you get past the hordes in the beginning?

also, is the basic fighting mechanic (in the beginning) just slash with X and block with Y? i mean just timing and using those 2 is pretty much it?

thanks in advance.

K&AJones

As I recall the first part without much skills (tree) is a slight chore especially the first Captain. What I did was just start killing some random Orcs and also anytime you see slaves with Orcs around ...free them. Try and first get use to movement, stealth and combat with a few Orcs. Don't underestimate the stealth part using everything around from bushes to tents, rocks. Lure them over and do a stealth kill. Everything you do builds up your skill tree and getting a few perks at first really helps.

I think the first Captain you have to take out is in the upper North West section. You need to use stealth and work around taking the archers out and then work on the ones on the ground. You can get up and while hanging from the platform "call them over"...you'll see when they have a red outline meaning they're alerted....then do a stealth kill. But be aware, if you kill one and say he is in the open, their body can be found and put others on alert. Mastering stealth will help you throughout the game, especially when you gain the ability to "Brand"...converting them to help and defend you.

As to the combat yes at first that's it but you'll gain more combat skills as you progress that really becomes more helpfully with larger mobs. You don't want to get into a large fights at first. Just random kills, save slaves, collect stuff, open towers and then when you're ready get the captains because they drop items to enhance your sword, dagger and bow (that comes later). And one other trick that really helps...pit Orcs against Orcs or Beasts whenever you get the chance, especially paying attention with the Captains vs Captains all vying for a higher position.

OldBoy

thanks K&A sounds like a plan!

davidh777

Yes, basic fighting is X-Y. There are other things you can do, but I don't play many fighting games so I tend to keep it simple. As you build skills, you'll be prompted for other combos, which you can use or ignore. They can be fun once you acquire them and figure them out, though.

As far as main story mode goes, I think you'll gradually figure which goals on the map are side quests (like freeing slaves) and which are more important. They all build skills and are fun, though, so I wasn't in too much of a hurry to finish the story.

K&A offers good tips. I know you've already used stealth so keep doing that. The more you can isolate and pick off guys--think Die Hard in Mordor--the better. Sometimes the judicious thing is to avoid a fight. Also, try to collect the runes and stuff because those help too. Your map and detective mode will come in handy here.

Open up towers, as K&A said. That opens up what you can see and makes traveling and getting killed less annoying.

OldBoy

thanks david. i am enjoying the game immensely however. it is just fun being in this world and even though i die, like a lot, i am having fun doing so, though the starting back at the tower is a little frustrating. i would rather still be in the mission i was doing, but alas...

boredsilly

Yeah, this is definitely a must. The map isn't so dumb large that it is hard to run across, but after some time you're just going to want to get to the business at hand, and the fast travel makes that so much easier.

I really hope they're working on a sequel to this.

K&AJones

I think awhile back I looked around on the net to see if there was so much as a hint to a sequel and there wasn't nothing to my surprise. The game came out of no-where, didn't get the publicity it should've and still won a lot of praise and awards.

I was hoping for a update at one of the last game shows but nothing....if they ever did I would hope to see at least a 2-player co-op as this game would be perfect. I did just visit their Home Page....Monolith Productions and frankly nothing. Latest news still has Shadow of Mordor listed. I did visit their facebook page which has little but I did post the question.

mattysemo247

I bet we get some sort of teaser at E3 this year

OldBoy

Is there anyway to get around strongholds? I keep going for a mission, wind up in a stronghold on my journey, try to sneak around but there are so damn many. Then the cargors are brutal. But it's fun, but little frustrating bc I keep dying and these captains get more powerful. I was on my way to a mission too and a troll ate me. That was funny.

Also, when an enemy is down but not out, when they have white hurt arrows is there any way to finish them off before they get up again? It seems ripe for a finisher but can't do anything. Is that something that opens up later perhaps?

davidh777

I don't remember how the hurt arrows worked, but the strongholds are indeed a PITA, especially if you're chasing someone and they enter one. Avoid it if you can, or try to stealth your way through it. Sometimes you can make it around the edges. Do not get into a battle, no matter how macho you're feeling.

OldBoy

ok. i seem to try and avoid all the red arrows but i seem to run into them (strongholds) all the time. like its almost unavoidable in order to get to a particular mission start...

davidh777

Yeah, I guess it makes sense that those guys would hang out in or try to return to strongholds if they can. Use stealth when you can, including the attract (Y) tactic. I resisted that one for a while but it's useful.

OldBoy

I try the attract but when I attract they see me all the time...

davidh777

From a stealth position, I assume (like hanging or hiding in a bush)?