In this article, you will find a complete walkthrough of the prologue and the first act in Middle-Earth: Shadow of War
Prologue
The main task: Find Celebrimbor
The first mission is very simple – it is educational, in it you will be taught the basic controls.
Watch the video that retells current events and the story from the first part. After that, you will be able to control Talion, which is in a kind of cave with several orcs roaming the area.
As always, when it comes to the first levels, you should take a little time and thoroughly study the controls. An orc will stand in front of you – enter the stealth mode and complete the kill. Attacks of this type do not bother other orcs, and you can use them to kill enemies with a single hit.
Look at the minimap and go to the gold marker. Keep jumping up the ledges, practice stealth, and perform a few attacks from above for fun. However, this is an optional requirement, and you can simply jump down to the group of orcs who are guarding the narrow corridor. Face the orcs and learn the basics of combat. Start fighting them. This easy fight will serve as a kind of impetus for other battles. Here you will learn about the basics of fighting, dodging and parrying. The enemies are very easy and you will defeat them without any problems. After that, go to the marker and watch a long scene. Celebrimbor will return to you and the prologue will end.
Act 1. Siege of Minas Ithil
Mission 1. Brotherhood
Quest giver: Gondor
Jump down and sneak to the orc with a green badge above his head. This worm is a special type of orc that can reveal the weaknesses of one of the captains. Dominate him and choose the captain you want to know more about.
Then you can follow the gold marker. You can dominate other worms or sneak past them without being noticed. Finally, you will reach a group of orcs and learn how to use the bow. Follow the paths and defeat enemies. Then you can walk up to the footprints on the ground and study them. Follow them and you will face another group of enemies. The best way to kill these orcs is to blow up the barrels and then continue forward.
When you reach the city, find your target using the ghost form. This way you can find the captain you need. Learn about his weaknesses – this orc is stunned after you carry out a stealth attack. Climb up the houses and go to the enemy captain.
Attack the enemy from above to use his weakness. This will remove most of the captain’s health. You can now participate in combat. Soon after, you will be joined by Idril, a brave Gondorian warrior who will assist you in the battle. You will also receive new equipment – equip it and do not forget to check and change your wardrobe in the future.
Follow Idril and you will reach a courtyard full of warriors. Defeat the orcs and then follow the warrior. Keep fighting until you reach the main gate. This is where you split up. Your goal is to defeat the orcs. This is not a very difficult task, especially since your hero has a glaive, which manifests itself very well when it comes to area attacks. Kill all orcs. The mission will end after their death.
Mission 2. Eyes of Sauron / Shadows of the Past
Quest giver: Gondor
It’s a very simple task here – you have to run straight until you reach Khedira’s tower. There, you need to clear it and use the tower to find interesting places (missions, artifacts, and so on) in the vicinity. You have to move the circle until it shrinks and warns you of something interesting. After that, this event / artifact will be on your map.
In addition, these towers serve as fast travel points – you can teleport here when you are out of combat.
In addition to this, you can use these towers to rewind time. Thanks to this, new captains may appear in Sauron’s army, or you can let your captains complete the missions that were given to them earlier.
The goal of this mission is to learn how to use elven rage. Find the mounds and go there. There will be a mission “Shadows of the Past”. This is a special type of mission that recreates the heroic deeds of Celebrimbor from the past. Here you can see a story that shows how a furious elf used his ring to destroy enemies. Your task is to fill the rage bar. This panel fills up when killing orcs. Please note that this mission has additional objectives – this is typical of Celebrimbor missions. In each task, you can get bronze, silver or gold. It depends on the number of completed goals. In this mission, there will be an easy goal – to fill the rage bar in one minute and 36 seconds and defeat ten enemies using elven rage. This is easy to do. Just focus on enemies and executions on the ground. After filling the bar, activate the rage and quickly kill all enemies using boosted attacks and executions. After that, the mission ends.
Mission 3. The Seeing Stone
Quest giver: Gondor
Follow Idril. Enemies will shoot at you with siege beasts. Watch out for the big red circles on the ground. You must avoid them, otherwise you will die quickly. Do not rush forward, but rather run around these circles.
Weak orcs will be waiting for you in the yard. Kill them and follow the woman. Avoid new explosions until you reach the heroes of this celebration. Shoot explosive charges at these monsters, and then dominate them.
Load your arrows and run towards the siege beast. Aim your bow at the blue dot next to the catapult. This will cause an explosion that will damage the beast.
Shoot another target and approach the monster. Take control and watch the army of orcs. You have to kill 60 targets, so use the abilities of your new “friend”. During the battle, another siege beast will come out. Get rid of the competition – only one beast can be on the battlefield. After that, keep shooting the orcs. Use the beast to destroy your enemies. Kill him when all targets fall and move on.
You have a new ability – double jump. Use this trick to quickly reach the new beast. Take control and start shooting at enemies. This time, you need to kill 80 orcs and two siege beasts. The task is simple, because no one will bother you. After that, you can jump off the beast and kill it. Minas Ithil saved … For now.
Mission 4. Knife in the dark
Quest giver: Shelob
The mission begins with the presentation of a new enemy – Olog-hai. These powerful war trolls are resistant to attacks and require a slightly different approach. The best way is to press the buttons that appear on the screen to slip between your legs and stun at the right moment. You can also climb on his back and attack him with a dagger, which also allows you to control the enemy.
After that, Gollum will appear. A famous character tells you that he can lead you to the Assassin. Follow your new ally. On your way you will meet orcs, but you can easily avoid the fight. Shoot the nest of flies and the enemies will scatter.
Finally, you will meet Shelob. She shows Talion a vision of the killer. Follow Gollum until you reach four orcs. Head towards the nest of flies hanging above them and shoot at it to neutralize the threat. There are many tricks in the game that allow you to use environmental objects to your advantage.
Then you must find the first victim of the killer. Follow Gollum and the marker. Activate the ghost on the spot and follow the footprints on the ground. Jump onto Olog-hai and defeat the rest of the orcs.
While pursuing plot goals, you can safely ignore single orcs. Soon you will reach the second victim. Return to Gollum and continue your journey. Further there will be a gate and a guard patrol with Olog-hai. Climb the gate and jump onto it to make the fight easier. Then follow your companion until you reach a small orc camp.
Activate ghost mode and follow new tracks. This time you will find yourself on a living victim. Tame him for information on the killer you’re looking for. Shoot down the nest of flies to make the fight easier. The enemy is afraid of them. He is overwhelmed by the fact that he can become an ordinary piece of meat for them. His death completes this quest.
Mission 5. No Man’s Land
Quest giver: Gondor
Baranor wants to show the orcs that the army of Gondor will not sit idly by and wait for the next attack in the fortress. Follow him to the gold marker. There will be many lonely orcs on your way – you can order your captain to make stealthy attacks on these enemies.
Keep walking and activate ghost mode looking for footprints. Follow them and stumble upon a large group of enemies. You can either kill these enemies or use stealth to avoid them and make the fight ahead easier. Use stealth attacks to defeat this captain easily.
Finally, you will reach the orc who is your target. The hunter is a new type of enemy. Shoots a crossbow and tries to keep a safe distance. He also travels around Karagor, which makes this fight more difficult. First try to clear this place from other orcs.
When it comes to fighting the leader, then you must prepare for a more difficult battle. Do not forget that these are more powerful warriors, have unique abilities and, as a rule, are resistant to some types of attacks. This enemy has a strong vulnerability to stealth attacks. They stun him and allow you to attack without any problem. Use this knowledge to your advantage – avoid the orcs, climb the tower and from there jump onto the leader. The mission ends after the death of the leader.
Mission 6. Shower of arrows
Quest giver: Shelob
You managed to kill the leader who wanted to storm Minas Ithil, but this is only the beginning. Go to Shelob and get another vision. Go to Baranor and warn him of a new threat. When you get to Baranor, he will ask you to protect the area. You need to eliminate ten archers and go unnoticed. It’s a fairly simple task – look for single targets, climb towers and kill orcs using stealth. If you want, you can kill targets with your bow. Aim for the head to critically hit. This will allow you to quickly complete the task. However, I would advise you to practice stealth because this mechanic will come in handy later on.
After that, climb the high tower and watch the warrior enter the arena. Two captains of the fifth level will enter with him. You have to be careful because fighting multiple captains can be challenging. I advise you to shoot explosive boxes to eliminate most of the enemies. You can also use stealth attacks on one of the captains. Then activate elven rage or executions to quickly defeat the remaining enemies. The mission will end after the death of the leader.
Mission 7. Traitor’s Gate
Quest giver: Shelob
This mission is quite difficult, so I advise you to pump Talion to at least level 15. Go to Shelob and see another vision. This time, you will learn that there is a traitor in the ranks of Gondor.
Follow Gollum. Here you can meet spiders – they are your allies and attack enemies by jumping on them. You will have several options for calling these critters. Just destroy their nests and they will come. They will help you destroy the orcs.
Keep running until you reach the orc stronghold. Then you go alone – Gollum will not be able to keep up with you. Kill several orcs near the walls and go upstairs. Your task is to follow the messenger until you find the leader. Stick to the western side of the fortress and climb the buildings. Attack archers and try to stay close to your target. If any orcs that are on the roofs of houses began to notice you, you can kill them with a bow.
As a result, you will meet the leader. He will be furious because the messenger brought you to him. The chieftain is level 17 and has a legendary rank. This is a tough opponent.
He is vulnerable to stealth attacks – you can try to attack him from the shadows by jumping off ledges. Be careful. There will be many orcs below and you can be stupidly hammered. So try to disperse these troops. Lure enemies to the barrels and first of all, kill the riders on the Karagor.
You can also use beasts as mounts (provided you purchase the desired ability) because they are very useful in combat. And also use your bow and shoot the chief in the head. With his death, the mission will end and you will receive a legendary item.
Mission 8. Arena
Quest giver: Gondor
Sauron’s army kidnapped the general. You must go to the arena and challenge the enemies so that Idril can carry out a rescue operation. There will be consecutive battles in this mission, and I would advise you to get the best equipment.
The first enemy will be an orc – a destroyer from the Olog-Khaev race. He uses explosive barrels and his weapon deals fire damage. In all other respects, this is an ordinary goof. Just roll between your legs and focus on your attacks.
After that, several captains and ordinary orcs will attack you. Is your task clear? You need to defeat all the orcs. There are many explosive barrels in the arena. Use them to get rid of weaker orcs.
Don’t forget about Karagor cells. They can be destroyed and watch the carnage in the arena. The beast will start attacking your enemies (but be careful, because it can switch to you at any time). Tame it or use it as a mount.
Defeat a wave of enemies. After that, a strong captain will appear. In my case, it was a level fourteen archer. I killed him very quickly with elven fury.
After defeating the captain, Talion challenges the rest of the orcs and demonstrates his strength. Its power frightens the orcs, and they flee in fear. On such a pretentious note, the mission ends.
Mission 9. Before dawn
Quest giver: Gondor
Despite your best efforts in the arena, Idril was unable to break into the enemy camp and save her father. You must escort her and rescue the general. Move forward and issue orders to secretly destroy the soldiers. On the way, you will encounter captured Gondorian soldiers. Destroy orcs, rescue soldiers and move forward. You will find yourself in a small camp with a large group of enemies.
Rescue another group of prisoners and clear the area of orcs. This is a very simple task – you can use Idril’s help or do it yourself. The rescued soldiers will join you. After defeating the orcs, you will see a rather mysterious scene. Castamir will be released. Follow the golden marker and destroy new enemies. Get to the bridge. There you will have to face a small group of orcs. Deal with the threat, move closer to the city and complete this short mission.
Mission 10. Fall
Quest giver: Shelob
A warning! This is the final mission in this act and after that you will have to say goodbye to this area for a while. Therefore, take a little time and collect the remaining artifacts, and also open the door in the burial ground.
In the last vision of Shelob, the sad truth is revealed – Kastamir is a traitor to his people. Go to Minas Ithil to witness Sauron’s brutal siege. What to do? Join the defenders and try to save the day. Your first task is to defend the yard for two minutes. An additional goal is to reach twenty hits without interruption. There are many enemies, and you will complete this goal very quickly. Fight enemies, but watch out for catapults (red circles on the ground) and Olog-hai. You can drain your enemies for healing.
After a short scuffle, a powerful captain will enter the courtyard and lead the attack. Your elven rage should be fully charged – use it to quickly destroy the enemy. In addition to the captain, a dragon will appear on the battlefield, which will interfere with you in every possible way and pour fire on the battlefield. I advise you to concentrate on the captain in order to end this torment as quickly as possible.
After the carnage, watch a long video. Now you will find yourself in a huge church, where you will have to face the Nazgul. Five Nazguls will oppose you at once. This battle has a specific strategy. Don’t jump at them right away. There are more of them and they will quickly kill you. Follow the prompts on the screen and wait until one of the enemies approaches you. After that, you can fill the counter using normal attacks. Don’t forget about parrying and dodging. Weakened Nazgулыl can be driven out. After defeating all the Nazgul, watch another long scene. After that, you will wake up in a cave next to your savior. Follow the elf until you reach Shelob. See another scene. The mission and the first act conclude on this note. Well, at least the ring was returned ..