Middle Earth: Shadow of War
Moderators: LawBeefaroni, Arcanis, $iljanus
- Scoop20906
- Posts: 11795
- Joined: Tue May 03, 2005 3:50 pm
- Location: Belleville, MI
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
Impressions request. I'd love to hear comparisons between this game and this last. I'm also curious about end game and if there is too much padding. I'm going to get the game but price point is a concern.
Scoop. Makeup and hair are fabulous. - Qantaga
Xbox Gamertag: Scoop20906
Steam: Scoop20906
Xbox Gamertag: Scoop20906
Steam: Scoop20906
- gbasden
- Posts: 7708
- Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 1:57 am
- Location: Sacramento, CA
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
That is large. I just started the download and it's going to be over an hour. :/
- coopasonic
- Posts: 21014
- Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 11:43 pm
- Location: Dallas-ish
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
I've only played about an hour. Despite the early unlock I decided to go to bed at a reasonable hour last night. In the hour or so that I have played, it is pretty much exactly the same as Mordor. I expect that to change over time. I haven't opened up recruiting and sieges so right now I am just gathering intel and killing captains. I've unlocked a few skills and gotten a few minor equipment upgrades. I did manage to die also, you know, just to see what happened. It all seems very, very familiar.Scoop20906 wrote:Impressions request. I'd love to hear comparisons between this game and this last. I'm also curious about end game and if there is too much padding. I'm going to get the game but price point is a concern.
I hope to get a bunch more time with it tonight.
-Coop
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter
- Max Peck
- Posts: 13842
- Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2005 8:09 pm
- Location: Down the Rabbit-Hole
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
I'm about 3 hours in, but I haven't progressed the story beyond the opening linear segment that gets you to Minas Ithil. I've been having a good time just running around, terrorizing orcs, slaying captains and getting a feel for the mechanics. In a lot of ways, compared to Shadows of Mordor, the early game feels like more of the same, but better.
In general, combat works pretty much the same as SoM, but it feels more fluid. The biggest change I've seen so far is that you build up "might" in order to use special abilities like executions, rather than building an uninterrupted combo streak. The auto-targetting seems more helpful, letting me dash to more distant enemies and strike felled targets without needing to do ground executions, so there are fewer times that I find myself swinging at empty air before the fight is over.
The big change in character progression is that they've replaced runes with gear slots (sword, dagger, bow, armor, cloak). Captains now drop gear instead of runes, and there are treasure orcs that drop cash or gems (which can be used to add a buff to a gear slot). So far, the best quality gear I've seen is epic (one up from normal), which have attached quests/challenges in order to unlock special bonuses.
I also got a good taste of the Nemesis system right out of the gate. I was killed by a captain, who was promoted to epic status. This set up a revenge mission, which led me to an orc encampment outside the city, where I proceeded to fail to kill him about a dozen times because he got the advantage of the "last chance" quick-time mechanic. It has changed a little, so instead of moving the cursor into a circle and hitting the indicated key/button, you get a shrinking circle and need to hit the key/button once the circle is inside a shaded area. I thought that I needed to time it to hit the rim of the shaded area, so I repeatedly missed and let him escape until I finally figured out what I was doing wrong. But then, he refused to stay dead. He called on his blood brother for support, and they ambushed me in the city. And I killed him again. And they came back for a second round. And I killed him yet again. At the first ambush, he had gone from having two good legs to one peg-leg. At the second ambush, he had two peg-legs. And his buddy must have lost a leg in the previous ambush as well, because there were three peg-legs laying on the rooftop when the battle was done. I wonder if he'll keep coming back until he has no arms or legs at all?
In general, combat works pretty much the same as SoM, but it feels more fluid. The biggest change I've seen so far is that you build up "might" in order to use special abilities like executions, rather than building an uninterrupted combo streak. The auto-targetting seems more helpful, letting me dash to more distant enemies and strike felled targets without needing to do ground executions, so there are fewer times that I find myself swinging at empty air before the fight is over.
The big change in character progression is that they've replaced runes with gear slots (sword, dagger, bow, armor, cloak). Captains now drop gear instead of runes, and there are treasure orcs that drop cash or gems (which can be used to add a buff to a gear slot). So far, the best quality gear I've seen is epic (one up from normal), which have attached quests/challenges in order to unlock special bonuses.
I also got a good taste of the Nemesis system right out of the gate. I was killed by a captain, who was promoted to epic status. This set up a revenge mission, which led me to an orc encampment outside the city, where I proceeded to fail to kill him about a dozen times because he got the advantage of the "last chance" quick-time mechanic. It has changed a little, so instead of moving the cursor into a circle and hitting the indicated key/button, you get a shrinking circle and need to hit the key/button once the circle is inside a shaded area. I thought that I needed to time it to hit the rim of the shaded area, so I repeatedly missed and let him escape until I finally figured out what I was doing wrong. But then, he refused to stay dead. He called on his blood brother for support, and they ambushed me in the city. And I killed him again. And they came back for a second round. And I killed him yet again. At the first ambush, he had gone from having two good legs to one peg-leg. At the second ambush, he had two peg-legs. And his buddy must have lost a leg in the previous ambush as well, because there were three peg-legs laying on the rooftop when the battle was done. I wonder if he'll keep coming back until he has no arms or legs at all?
"What? What? What?" -- The 14th Doctor
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
- Max Peck
- Posts: 13842
- Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2005 8:09 pm
- Location: Down the Rabbit-Hole
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
He rose from the grave yet again, this time with both legs grown back but only one arm.Max Peck wrote:I wonder if he'll keep coming back until he has no arms or legs at all?
"What? What? What?" -- The 14th Doctor
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
- Daehawk
- Posts: 64112
- Joined: Sat Jan 01, 2005 1:11 am
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
Watched my friend play it a bunch. The biggest stand out to me is the AI seemed pretty brain dead. They just didn't see him even when he walked out in the open near them. He could easily sneak attack when he wanted.
--------------------------------------------
I am Dyslexic of Borg, prepare to have your ass laminated.
I guess Ray Butts has ate his last pancake.
http://steamcommunity.com/id/daehawk
"Has high IQ. Refuses to apply it"
I am Dyslexic of Borg, prepare to have your ass laminated.
I guess Ray Butts has ate his last pancake.
http://steamcommunity.com/id/daehawk
"Has high IQ. Refuses to apply it"
- Scoop20906
- Posts: 11795
- Joined: Tue May 03, 2005 3:50 pm
- Location: Belleville, MI
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
I watched some on twitch last night and noticed that very thing. Sneak missions must be Uber easy since you can walk with 5 feet of an Orc and they won’t notice you. I don’t remember that from the previous game.Daehawk wrote:Watched my friend play it a bunch. The biggest stand out to me is the AI seemed pretty brain dead. They just didn't see him even when he walked out in the open near them. He could easily sneak attack when he wanted.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Scoop. Makeup and hair are fabulous. - Qantaga
Xbox Gamertag: Scoop20906
Steam: Scoop20906
Xbox Gamertag: Scoop20906
Steam: Scoop20906
- coopasonic
- Posts: 21014
- Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 11:43 pm
- Location: Dallas-ish
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
They are orcs. They aren't that bright. When they see you the indicator turns yellow, you have a couple seconds to move on before they decide you are a threat and need to be dealt with. If it is one orc, you can stealth kill them before they act. If it is a couple, you are going to be in for a fight... well, two orcs isn't really much of a fight, but adda third that will go raise the alarm and then the captain that will be alerted to your presence and call in his goon squad and then the ambush captain that takes advantage of the situation and THEN you have a proper fight. Holy hell the messes I have gotten myself into...
I'm still trying to push ahead on the story missions so I can start building my own army. I want to see the new stuff!
I'm still trying to push ahead on the story missions so I can start building my own army. I want to see the new stuff!
-Coop
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter
- Max Peck
- Posts: 13842
- Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2005 8:09 pm
- Location: Down the Rabbit-Hole
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
In both games, it takes orcs a few seconds to notice you when you come into sight unless you're making a lot of noise. You'll see their HUD indicators gradually change from yellow to red as they lock on to you. I haven't noticed that they're particularly slower on the uptake in SoW vs SoM, but that may be more apparent from watching someone play than playing myself.Scoop20906 wrote:I watched some on twitch last night and noticed that very thing. Sneak missions must be Uber easy since you can walk with 5 feet of an Orc and they won’t notice you. I don’t remember that from the previous game.Daehawk wrote:Watched my friend play it a bunch. The biggest stand out to me is the AI seemed pretty brain dead. They just didn't see him even when he walked out in the open near them. He could easily sneak attack when he wanted.
"What? What? What?" -- The 14th Doctor
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
- KDH
- Posts: 1309
- Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2005 2:04 pm
- Location: California
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
...
... Middle-Earth: Shadow of War - How To Reduce Steam Install Size On PC
you can reduce the PC install size From 97.7GB .. to just 65GB!
1.) .. Start installing the game
2.) .. Open up the game's Properties!
3.) .. De-select the Files!
(('4K Cinematic Pack' and 'High Resolution Texture Pack'))
so, uh, yeah .. you don't need to point out that you've already installed the game ..
... Middle-Earth: Shadow of War - How To Reduce Steam Install Size On PC
you can reduce the PC install size From 97.7GB .. to just 65GB!
1.) .. Start installing the game
2.) .. Open up the game's Properties!
3.) .. De-select the Files!
(('4K Cinematic Pack' and 'High Resolution Texture Pack'))
so, uh, yeah .. you don't need to point out that you've already installed the game ..
.
Ain't nobody got time for that
.
Ain't nobody got time for that
.
- IceBear
- Posts: 12519
- Joined: Sat Nov 13, 2004 5:58 pm
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
Yeah...this game isn't really about sneaking. I tend to just run right through the orc camps. If I get cornered killing 30 or 40 orcs isn't a big deal
- coopasonic
- Posts: 21014
- Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 11:43 pm
- Location: Dallas-ish
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
It isn't a big deal, but it's 5 minutes that could be put to better use... though Elven Rage sure is fun.IceBear wrote:If I get cornered killing 30 or 40 orcs isn't a big deal
-Coop
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter
- Max Peck
- Posts: 13842
- Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2005 8:09 pm
- Location: Down the Rabbit-Hole
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
I've already installed the game through Steam, and at no time was it ever 97.7GB. Neither of those DLC packs was enabled by default, although I can select them as free DLC. Perhaps it only includes them if you select the DLC prior to downloading the game.KDH wrote:...
... Middle-Earth: Shadow of War - How To Reduce Steam Install Size On PC
you can reduce the PC install size From 97.7GB .. to just 65GB!
1.) .. Start installing the game
2.) .. Open up the game's Properties!
3.) .. De-select the Files!
(('4K Cinematic Pack' and 'High Resolution Texture Pack'))
so, uh, yeah .. you don't need to point out that you've already installed the game ..
I just enabled the high resolution textures pack, and that alone adds 10.5GB.
"What? What? What?" -- The 14th Doctor
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
- IceBear
- Posts: 12519
- Joined: Sat Nov 13, 2004 5:58 pm
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
Oh most of the time I don't fight them. I just run around completing quests and levelling and if I decide...eh, I'm bored I just stop and blow off some steam killing orcs.coopasonic wrote:It isn't a big deal, but it's 5 minutes that could be put to better use... though Elven Rage sure is fun.IceBear wrote:If I get cornered killing 30 or 40 orcs isn't a big deal
Thinking that you need to stealth or you have to fight is not really the point of the game. It's an orc killing simulator and you kind of do whatever you want to accomplish that. The AI or lack thereof isn't really needed for this
- coopasonic
- Posts: 21014
- Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 11:43 pm
- Location: Dallas-ish
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
I did see something pretty cool last night that was AI related.
I was fighting a tank type captain and I was continuously vaulting over him, stunning, then attacking his back. After he defied death and I resumed the process he said, "I can see what you are doing" and grabbed me out of the air as I vaulted again. A big "Adaptation" or something like that popped up on the screen and I was no longer able to vault. That was very cool to see. Luckily he was still susceptible to ranged attacks.
I was fighting a tank type captain and I was continuously vaulting over him, stunning, then attacking his back. After he defied death and I resumed the process he said, "I can see what you are doing" and grabbed me out of the air as I vaulted again. A big "Adaptation" or something like that popped up on the screen and I was no longer able to vault. That was very cool to see. Luckily he was still susceptible to ranged attacks.
-Coop
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter
- KDH
- Posts: 1309
- Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2005 2:04 pm
- Location: California
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
Max Peck wrote: ... Neither of those DLC packs was enabled by default, although I can select them as free DLC. Perhaps it only includes them if you select the DLC prior to downloading the game.
I just enabled the high resolution textures pack, and that alone adds 10.5GB.
I interpret the article to mean .. you could've saved the DL time by disabling the DLC during the Steam download \ install .. but I could be wrong. Steam install is synonymous with download (or Vice Versa)
The shadow of mordor game had a high-rez texture dlc which didn't DL by default.. I was happy with the graphics, so I skipped it rather than bork my frame-rate
.
Ain't nobody got time for that
.
Ain't nobody got time for that
.
- NickAragua
- Posts: 6142
- Joined: Mon Feb 23, 2009 5:20 pm
- Location: Boston, MA
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
Max Peck wrote:I also got a good taste of the Nemesis system right out of the gate. I was killed by a captain, who was promoted to epic status. This set up a revenge mission, which led me to an orc encampment outside the city, where I proceeded to fail to kill him about a dozen times because he got the advantage of the "last chance" quick-time mechanic. It has changed a little, so instead of moving the cursor into a circle and hitting the indicated key/button, you get a shrinking circle and need to hit the key/button once the circle is inside a shaded area. I thought that I needed to time it to hit the rim of the shaded area, so I repeatedly missed and let him escape until I finally figured out what I was doing wrong. But then, he refused to stay dead. He called on his blood brother for support, and they ambushed me in the city. And I killed him again. And they came back for a second round. And I killed him yet again. At the first ambush, he had gone from having two good legs to one peg-leg. At the second ambush, he had two peg-legs. And his buddy must have lost a leg in the previous ambush as well, because there were three peg-legs laying on the rooftop when the battle was done. I wonder if he'll keep coming back until he has no arms or legs at all?
I'll bite your legs off!
Black Lives Matter
- IceBear
- Posts: 12519
- Joined: Sat Nov 13, 2004 5:58 pm
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
Yeah...I've had that happen a couple of times. I want to say I had one adapt two or three times so I couldn't jump over him, became arrow proof and fire proofcoopasonic wrote:I did see something pretty cool last night that was AI related.
I was fighting a tank type captain and I was continuously vaulting over him, stunning, then attacking his back. After he defied death and I resumed the process he said, "I can see what you are doing" and grabbed me out of the air as I vaulted again. A big "Adaptation" or something like that popped up on the screen and I was no longer able to vault. That was very cool to see. Luckily he was still susceptible to ranged attacks.
- El Guapo
- Posts: 41522
- Joined: Sat Jul 09, 2005 4:01 pm
- Location: Boston
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
Becoming fire proof in the middle of a battle sounds like quite a trick.IceBear wrote:Yeah...I've had that happen a couple of times. I want to say I had one adapt two or three times so I couldn't jump over him, became arrow proof and fire proofcoopasonic wrote:I did see something pretty cool last night that was AI related.
I was fighting a tank type captain and I was continuously vaulting over him, stunning, then attacking his back. After he defied death and I resumed the process he said, "I can see what you are doing" and grabbed me out of the air as I vaulted again. A big "Adaptation" or something like that popped up on the screen and I was no longer able to vault. That was very cool to see. Luckily he was still susceptible to ranged attacks.
Black Lives Matter.
- Max Peck
- Posts: 13842
- Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2005 8:09 pm
- Location: Down the Rabbit-Hole
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
No, that's my point. I didn't need to disable it because the default was for it to be not enabled. That is kind of the whole point for making it seperate DLC -- you need to opt in to get it rather than opt out to avoid the extra download.KDH wrote:Max Peck wrote: ... Neither of those DLC packs was enabled by default, although I can select them as free DLC. Perhaps it only includes them if you select the DLC prior to downloading the game.
I just enabled the high resolution textures pack, and that alone adds 10.5GB.
I interpret the article to mean .. you could've saved the DL time by disabling the DLC during the Steam download \ install .. but I could be wrong. Steam install is synonymous with download (or Vice Versa)
The shadow of mordor game had a high-rez texture dlc which didn't DL by default.. I was happy with the graphics, so I skipped it rather than bork my frame-rate
But it's a moot point. Even without the high resolution/4k assets, the game is still more than double Smoove's pain-in-the-butt threshold.
"What? What? What?" -- The 14th Doctor
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
- Max Peck
- Posts: 13842
- Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2005 8:09 pm
- Location: Down the Rabbit-Hole
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
Yup, if I spam a particular special attack on a captain too many times in a single battle, then they adapt and can counter it. I haven't noticed if they get a persistent immunity or if it just lasts for the duration of the encounter.coopasonic wrote:I did see something pretty cool last night that was AI related.
I was fighting a tank type captain and I was continuously vaulting over him, stunning, then attacking his back. After he defied death and I resumed the process he said, "I can see what you are doing" and grabbed me out of the air as I vaulted again. A big "Adaptation" or something like that popped up on the screen and I was no longer able to vault. That was very cool to see. Luckily he was still susceptible to ranged attacks.
"What? What? What?" -- The 14th Doctor
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
- Daehawk
- Posts: 64112
- Joined: Sat Jan 01, 2005 1:11 am
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
I wish I had this game while it is new and shiney.
--------------------------------------------
I am Dyslexic of Borg, prepare to have your ass laminated.
I guess Ray Butts has ate his last pancake.
http://steamcommunity.com/id/daehawk
"Has high IQ. Refuses to apply it"
I am Dyslexic of Borg, prepare to have your ass laminated.
I guess Ray Butts has ate his last pancake.
http://steamcommunity.com/id/daehawk
"Has high IQ. Refuses to apply it"
- Scoop20906
- Posts: 11795
- Joined: Tue May 03, 2005 3:50 pm
- Location: Belleville, MI
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
So far I’m liking the impressions. Anyone made it far enough to sieges? Also what is it like managing your Orc army? And does your army or territories ever get threatened by other armies?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Scoop. Makeup and hair are fabulous. - Qantaga
Xbox Gamertag: Scoop20906
Steam: Scoop20906
Xbox Gamertag: Scoop20906
Steam: Scoop20906
- Tao
- Posts: 1537
- Joined: Sat Nov 20, 2004 3:47 pm
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
A co-worker was telling me about the adaptive combat countering, he wasn't sure if it was the AI or if he was just failing to vault correctly. I will have to let him know it is part of the AI.
Reading through the list of skills, have to say, on paper, the skills from the original seem more interesting. Haven't actually played yet so, grain of salt...yada yada.
How is the camera during combat? While I enjoyed the first game that was probably my biggest gripe, the camera was so tight to the character it often was a hindrance in
combat or outright made me nauseous at times during long fights.
Reading through the list of skills, have to say, on paper, the skills from the original seem more interesting. Haven't actually played yet so, grain of salt...yada yada.
How is the camera during combat? While I enjoyed the first game that was probably my biggest gripe, the camera was so tight to the character it often was a hindrance in
combat or outright made me nauseous at times during long fights.
"Don't touch my stuff when I'm dead...it's booytrapped!" - Bender Bending Rodriguez
- Sectoid
- Posts: 3712
- Joined: Thu Aug 04, 2005 9:35 am
- Location: Cydonia, Mars
- Contact:
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
Here's my impressions so far of the hour or so I played it for last night:
There are too many damn captains in the first city. I would try to hunt down 1 captain, fight him for a bit, then another captain would appear out of no where, give his little speech, then another, then another that I killed before. Before I could run away, I had 4 captains gunning for me, 1 literally, with his crossbow. I managed to kill the one I was after, but had to high-tail it towards some Gondor guards to get them off my scent.
I agree that stealth is way borked in this game compared to SoM or even the Arkham series. I ran past several orcs without them even noticing me. I am too used to SoM where the first 75% of the game, you are expected to stealth around the whole time.
What does the Glaive thing do, exactly? I went through the tutorial for it and used it a few times, but it didn't seem as effective as the sword.
The fighting system is reminiscent of the Arkham series, with the jumping from enemy to enemy. I think the hit detection is a little off, though. My streak got interrupted several times even if I countered. Maybe I hit the counter button twice, though.
Am I off on this, or does fast-traveling now advance time? I fast traveled to one of the towers and it went through the whole resolving thing where some captains gain power, some die, etc. Did I hit the wrong button or did this happen to anyone else?
The one thing I always have a problem with in sequels to games like this is how they explain why you are de-powered from game to game. In the last Infamous, they couldn't get around it, so they just made you a different person altogether. The device they used in this one makes a little sense. The wraith used his power to make the new ring. So, your abilities from him evaporated. I don't get how Talion forgot how to do some of his stuff, though.
There are too many damn captains in the first city. I would try to hunt down 1 captain, fight him for a bit, then another captain would appear out of no where, give his little speech, then another, then another that I killed before. Before I could run away, I had 4 captains gunning for me, 1 literally, with his crossbow. I managed to kill the one I was after, but had to high-tail it towards some Gondor guards to get them off my scent.
I agree that stealth is way borked in this game compared to SoM or even the Arkham series. I ran past several orcs without them even noticing me. I am too used to SoM where the first 75% of the game, you are expected to stealth around the whole time.
What does the Glaive thing do, exactly? I went through the tutorial for it and used it a few times, but it didn't seem as effective as the sword.
The fighting system is reminiscent of the Arkham series, with the jumping from enemy to enemy. I think the hit detection is a little off, though. My streak got interrupted several times even if I countered. Maybe I hit the counter button twice, though.
Am I off on this, or does fast-traveling now advance time? I fast traveled to one of the towers and it went through the whole resolving thing where some captains gain power, some die, etc. Did I hit the wrong button or did this happen to anyone else?
The one thing I always have a problem with in sequels to games like this is how they explain why you are de-powered from game to game. In the last Infamous, they couldn't get around it, so they just made you a different person altogether. The device they used in this one makes a little sense. The wraith used his power to make the new ring. So, your abilities from him evaporated. I don't get how Talion forgot how to do some of his stuff, though.
(V)(;,,;)(V) - Why not Zoidberg?
Model Mayhem # 641920
Model Mayhem # 641920
- Max Peck
- Posts: 13842
- Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2005 8:09 pm
- Location: Down the Rabbit-Hole
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
I believe that it's a power attack that let's you smash through a tanky orc's defenses, but I haven't used it much because I find the timing for the hold-then-strike mechanism to be difficult. I need to play around with it to get a better feel for how to use it effectively.Sectoid wrote:What does the Glaive thing do, exactly? I went through the tutorial for it and used it a few times, but it didn't seem as effective as the sword.
You have it right. Fast travel does advance time. I believe the UI explicitly warns about that, either when you mouse over the waypoint on the map or as a confirmation message before triggering the fast travel (I can't remember specifically which it was). I was going to fast travel across the city last night, but aborted when I saw the warning and realized that it would make one of the missions expire.Sectoid wrote:Am I off on this, or does fast-traveling now advance time? I fast traveled to one of the towers and it went through the whole resolving thing where some captains gain power, some die, etc. Did I hit the wrong button or did this happen to anyone else?
Nope, I was wrong. You can use the fast travel waypoints to either fast travel OR advance time, but fast travel itself doesn't advance time.
I thought they did a reasonably good job of handling it. They provide an explanation of why Talion isn't as powerful as he was at the end of the first game, but they still made him start out feeling relatively more powerful than he was at the beginning of Shadow of Mordor.Sectoid wrote:The one thing I always have a problem with in sequels to games like this is how they explain why you are de-powered from game to game. In the last Infamous, they couldn't get around it, so they just made you a different person altogether. The device they used in this one makes a little sense. The wraith used his power to make the new ring. So, your abilities from him evaporated. I don't get how Talion forgot how to do some of his stuff, though.
Last edited by Max Peck on Sun Oct 15, 2017 2:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"What? What? What?" -- The 14th Doctor
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
- El Guapo
- Posts: 41522
- Joined: Sat Jul 09, 2005 4:01 pm
- Location: Boston
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
Is this story still supposed to fit within the existing LotR canon?
Black Lives Matter.
- Max Peck
- Posts: 13842
- Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2005 8:09 pm
- Location: Down the Rabbit-Hole
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
Maybe? I haven't seen anything that violates canon per se, but I'm not really a Tolkien geek scholar. I've read and enjoyed LotR and The Hobbit, and liked the movies, but that's about it.El Guapo wrote:Is this story still supposed to fit within the existing LotR canon?
I do know that a lot of people are saying that Shelob isn't canon, but her make-over doesn't bother me.
Spoiler:
"What? What? What?" -- The 14th Doctor
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
- Sectoid
- Posts: 3712
- Joined: Thu Aug 04, 2005 9:35 am
- Location: Cydonia, Mars
- Contact:
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
Several reviews I've seen who were very Tolkien geeky were emphatic that it is not cannon. I had a question though for those that have played SoW. My question is a bit spoiler-y, so...Max Peck wrote:Maybe? I haven't seen anything that violates canon per se, but I'm not really a Tolkien geek scholar. I've read and enjoyed LotR and The Hobbit, and liked the movies, but that's about it.El Guapo wrote:Is this story still supposed to fit within the existing LotR canon?
I do know that a lot of people are saying that Shelob isn't canon, but her make-over doesn't bother me.Spoiler:
Spoiler:
(V)(;,,;)(V) - Why not Zoidberg?
Model Mayhem # 641920
Model Mayhem # 641920
- Max Peck
- Posts: 13842
- Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2005 8:09 pm
- Location: Down the Rabbit-Hole
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
Sectoid wrote:Several reviews I've seen who were very Tolkien geeky were emphatic that it is not cannon. I had a question though for those that have played SoW. My question is a bit spoiler-y, so...Max Peck wrote:Maybe? I haven't seen anything that violates canon per se, but I'm not really a Tolkien geek scholar. I've read and enjoyed LotR and The Hobbit, and liked the movies, but that's about it.El Guapo wrote:Is this story still supposed to fit within the existing LotR canon?
I do know that a lot of people are saying that Shelob isn't canon, but her make-over doesn't bother me.Spoiler:Spoiler:
Spoiler:
"What? What? What?" -- The 14th Doctor
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
- MonkeyFinger
- Posts: 3223
- Joined: Thu Dec 30, 2004 10:23 pm
- Location: South of Denver, CO
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
I'm not in any rush to get this, perhaps on a deep sale as I got plenty of Orc Murder out of the first one. Found this review which the reviewer thinks "it's fine" and a whole lot of MOTS, something I was wondering about.
-mf
- IceBear
- Posts: 12519
- Joined: Sat Nov 13, 2004 5:58 pm
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
I'm enjoying it quite a bit. I found the first one very relaxing and satisfying but I haven't touched it since I finished it shortly after it was released. It is MOTS (though you can ride dragons in this one) so I can understand waiting to play it if burnt out
- AWS260
- Posts: 12721
- Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2006 12:51 pm
- Location: Brooklyn
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
I'm enjoying this well enough -- just captured my first fortress, and absolutely loved that overlord encounter.
I find it mildly disconcerting how much time the female characters appear to spend on their makeup. The elf assassin looks like she's ready for prom, the spider-lady looks like she's ready for goth prom, and even the is wearing amazing lip gloss.
I find it mildly disconcerting how much time the female characters appear to spend on their makeup. The elf assassin looks like she's ready for prom, the spider-lady looks like she's ready for goth prom, and even the
Spoiler:
- KDH
- Posts: 1309
- Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2005 2:04 pm
- Location: California
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
What if ..Max Peck wrote: No, that's my point. I didn't need to disable it because the default was for it to be not enabled. That is kind of the whole point for making it seperate DLC -- you need to opt in to get it rather than opt out to avoid the extra download.
But it's a moot point. Even without the high resolution/4k assets, the game is still more than double Smoove's pain-in-the-butt threshold.
When you install a game, steam takes into consideration existing files .. what if somebody were to copy their Shadow-of-War folder to a flash drive (or three) and with a lot of subterfuge and spycraft get it to Smoove ... then, considering he's on record (or will be, in this scenario) as having purchased from steam .. Steam then just fixes his install to make it right with the world. ... If it doesn't work he refunds, as he is under the 2 hour window .. all he, and the others involved, risk is their steam accts and 20 years in the slammer ... easy-peasy
capiche?
I'd like to help but I decided to skip the game
.
Ain't nobody got time for that
.
Ain't nobody got time for that
.
- Sectoid
- Posts: 3712
- Joined: Thu Aug 04, 2005 9:35 am
- Location: Cydonia, Mars
- Contact:
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
I still haven't taken over my first fortress, due to my open-world-game-ADD, but I wanted to say, it isn't just MOTS. The combat has been upgraded and the story line, so far, is much better. I will say the camera is really screwy, though. There has been more than 1 occasion where there was a orc speech and instead of the camera focusing on the orc, it was pointing at the ground. Also, trying to do the Arkham-style fighting with an uncooperative camera is hard, to say the least.
At one point, I was riding a graug and climbed one those orc-y towers and got stuck in Cirith Ungol. There was a scaffold above me so I couldn't climb up and for some reason, I couldn't jump off the graug, kill it, or make it go down. I just sat there while archers were shooting at the graug, which would not die. I also could not fast travel because of nearby enemies. So, I had to quit the game and hope for the best. When I restarted, it put me at one of the towers I had not cleansed yet, so that was helpful.
A patch was just released, so I hope it helps and no one else gets stuck. Here is a link to a video of the incident along with a bunch of other stuff. I forgot to crop it.
At one point, I was riding a graug and climbed one those orc-y towers and got stuck in Cirith Ungol. There was a scaffold above me so I couldn't climb up and for some reason, I couldn't jump off the graug, kill it, or make it go down. I just sat there while archers were shooting at the graug, which would not die. I also could not fast travel because of nearby enemies. So, I had to quit the game and hope for the best. When I restarted, it put me at one of the towers I had not cleansed yet, so that was helpful.
A patch was just released, so I hope it helps and no one else gets stuck. Here is a link to a video of the incident along with a bunch of other stuff. I forgot to crop it.
(V)(;,,;)(V) - Why not Zoidberg?
Model Mayhem # 641920
Model Mayhem # 641920
- Tao
- Posts: 1537
- Joined: Sat Nov 20, 2004 3:47 pm
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
I do not have the game, and there may already be a link in this thread however there are a couple of FOV mods available to help with the camera. The first one required Cheat Engine and made folks nervous so another fan created a slightly better FOV mod. If you check the Steam forums user name Gollum IIRC.
"Don't touch my stuff when I'm dead...it's booytrapped!" - Bender Bending Rodriguez
- coopasonic
- Posts: 21014
- Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 11:43 pm
- Location: Dallas-ish
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
Yeah, that.
After 5 days off for a family trip, I was very happy to come back to Mordor and continue the killing and domination. I took down both warchiefs ahead of assaulting the fortress. For the second warchief I had two captains infiltrated so I got an ambush and I never had to lift a finger. There was a bonus objective to get three ground kills. I didn't get any because it was over too fast.
I hope future fortresses are harder.
-Coop
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter
- gbasden
- Posts: 7708
- Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 1:57 am
- Location: Sacramento, CA
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
I'm definitely enjoying it so far. The story is pretty excellent from my point of view, canon or no. The combat does seem more fluid, and it's easy to feel like a badass until you get complacent and have 30 orcs and a few war trolls and caragor eating your face. I'm back to really enjoying the nemesis system. I had a tank orc that was really a pain in the ass, but I finally killed him with charged hammer throws to the face. Now he's back with a steel face mask and his previous head weakness is gone.
- coopasonic
- Posts: 21014
- Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 11:43 pm
- Location: Dallas-ish
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
I shouldn't have said that.
My second fortress I went all out. I took out all four war chiefs, replaced them all with spies so going in, I had 4 spies on the inside and 4 captains leading the assault. The actual fortress assault was trivial. As soon as it started my spies blew out the gate and walls on the sides. I basically just ran from victory point to victory point hitting the capture button. With all four points captured in about 90 seconds it was time to face the overlord.
So, remember, I had 8 captains helping me out with the fortress assault. Not a one of them joins you in the overlord fight. I had my bodyguard (who was not well chosen) but that was it. The overlord was a level 35 legendary arrow proof poisoner that did massive damage. He also had about 30 friends with him. I didn't stand a chance. He was vulnerable to stealth, but I didn't see much opportunity to use that. There were rows of vents on the floor that spewed poison a LOT. I need to see if I can find a place to use stealth next time. Also I need to try to turn more enemies early. It was just surprising and frustrating how quickly I went down after the trivial assault.
-Coop
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter
- AWS260
- Posts: 12721
- Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2006 12:51 pm
- Location: Brooklyn
Re: Middle Earth: Shadow of War
I had a similar experience on my second fortress, but managed to take out the overlord on my second try. And I didn't have to re-fight the fortress assault -- the game just took me straight to the overlord's chamber.