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Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor |OT| One Title to rule them all
- Thread starter Levyne
- Start date
Sanctuary
Member
There really should be some kind of mini help guide in the OP for those finding the fights difficult.
All you need to do is grab these skills to trivialize most encounters:
1. Wraith Stun
2. Execution
3. Critical 1
4. Vault Stun
5. Wraith Finisher
6. Blade Master
7. Resilience
8. Critical 2
9. Double Charge
The first three skills have the most impact early and mid game. You also want to dump most of your miriam on a few arrow upgrades until runes worth using start dropping.
Arrows > Focus <> Rune Slots > Health
They will sometimes materialize into existence from out of nowhere. I've had it happen more than once out in the wilds where there was only that single elite around anywhere within my range of vision. It does happen the majority of the time in a stronghold though.
The visceralness is what kept me playing, even when it started to get too easy. The kill animations are just ridiculously satisfying.
I don't know how I feel about this game. I'm enjoying it, I don't regret the purchase, but I can't help but feel the crazy good review scores are overrating the games quality a bit. I could list point after point of things I really enjoy, but then it'd be countered just as easily by the missteps that I can't get over.
I've played it for probably 4-6 hours and that should be plenty long enough for the game to "click" for me but so far I just haven't felt what had earned this game such a reputation among critics.
I've played it for probably 4-6 hours and that should be plenty long enough for the game to "click" for me but so far I just haven't felt what had earned this game such a reputation among critics.
Sanctuary
Member
The only thing this game does that hasn't been done in other games is the Nemesis system. That's also what pretty much every review focuses on, and it's also what the majority of posts here that are gushing over the game are talking about too. If you don't end up with your own personal nemesis, you're not going to get what the hype was all about.
The enviroment, movement and repetitive side missions are entirely Assassin's Creed. The only Batman element is the combat, which I actually found more enjoyable in this game. That was also one of AC's most glaring weaknesses. What they called "combat" may as well have not even been there due to how inconsequential it was.
You guys are insane. Just about every single review even mentions what game obviously influenced this the most and how it's a game we've seen many iterations of before. I didn't realize that in the Batman games you had to track down an informant to gain information about your mark either, or that you had to climb up tall buildings to reveal map markers around your general location. The parkour aspect has a lot more impact than you seem to be giving credit too. You might want to go back and play both series.
Then there's Wraith-o-vision, which is Detective Mode, which was directly taken from Eagle Vision.
It feel way more like a Batman Arkham game than like an Assassn's Creed game.
SJRB
Gold Member
It has nothing to do with Assassin's Creed whatsoever, other than that you can climb structures.
More like Batman Arkham mix with Kingdom of Amalur. Man if only there is Kingdom of Amalur 2.
Net_Wrecker
Member
It's like people don't want to admit it's the purest version of Assassin's Creed we've gotten since AC1. C'mon now, be real.
Wind's Howling
Member
Oooh! So that's what it is! lol
BouncyFrag
Member
I'm quoting myself as he returned and killed me yet again. He can also poison me now...I finally killed the aptly named. That turd had killed me more times than I'd like to admit, usually when I was at low health and outnumbered and already engaged with another captain. An icon for power struggle event for me to party crash shows up. I found him inside a large building beneath the ledge I was perched on. I insta-killed him with a stealth take down and it was glorious. He never saw me coming.Kaka the Tactician
...and his body is all tore up.
CyanideFuse
Member
I am burned out with AC but this game just feels so different. The combat and nemesis system are amazing. I have put in around 9 hours and I have yet to do more than 5 main missions. I just cannot stop sneaking around and causing chaos.
I am usually quite 'boring' in open world games. I cannot get into Saints Row because it just feels too unstructured and chaotic and I always tow the line in GTA apart from when I am on missions. This is the first open world game where I am spending more time not doing missions just so I can be a pain in the ass to every one around me.
There is such an array of options open to you in combat. You can sneak around grabbing from the ledge; you can stealth attack from above; you can use a brutalise attack that can scare off surrounding enemies; You can explode bonfires; open cages with caragors so they run amok; shoot hives so the bees cause chaos; ride around on caragors biting any one in your way; fight with your sword, dagger or arrows. Oh and you can pin feet to the floor so they cannot run away
: And then open the cage of a caragor.
It is one of the games where having shadow play switched on is a must; I have had so many epic fights. If you use all the available options in combat it makes the game so much fun.
I feel it is like Vanquish. You are playing it wrong if you don't enjoy the combat ;p
Yeah, I'm still at the figuring out stage, not even seeing the station for hype train yet. A few hours in and it's been one of the worse first impressions of a game I've had since New Vegas. Think I might watch some Twitch streams and YouTube walk-throughs, feel like I need to give it a chance.
It's just how I feel about the game. I spend most of my time fighting against orcs and Uruk, so yeah the batman vibe is more obvious for me.
RoyaleDuke
Banned
So, I'm at about 35ish hours and I just got to the second area
One thing about the combat that I love is how much it feels like I am one of the character's from the books or films, it's effortless to kill something and yet the feel of combat is just so chunky and weighty. You feel agile but you also feel incredibly dangerous, and once you get that Wraith teleporting kill move...
The game enters into over the top amazing territory.
Nurn, and holy fucking shit its so goddamn good you guys. So good. DEIMOS IT'S SO GODDAMN GOOD.
One thing about the combat that I love is how much it feels like I am one of the character's from the books or films, it's effortless to kill something and yet the feel of combat is just so chunky and weighty. You feel agile but you also feel incredibly dangerous, and once you get that Wraith teleporting kill move...
The game enters into over the top amazing territory.
BouncyFrag
Member
Gathering intel on Captains harkens back to when you needed to do the same in the first AC. It is very satisfying killing a Captain you had been struggling with by finding creative ways to exploit a weakness. Thank god SoM doesn't have AC's crazy/drunk guys who always pushed you causing you to become exposed (the worst was when you had to carry a crate from point A to point B) or even insta-kill you by pushing you into water. What the fuck was up with John Marston and Altaïr not knowing how to swim?
/rant
It does deliver on some of the potential on stealth and free choice of killing HPTs, which the Assassin's Creed series has, but never executed upon. But the combat and free-roaming feel more like Batman Arkham and Red Dead Redemption, respectively. AssCreed's worlds never felt so alive, all the NPCs felt like mindless drones just walking the streets for no reason. Mordor delivers individual Uruks having conversations about things that are happening in Orc-society and the mysterious Gravewalker.
It took an hour or two for it to click with me but as soon as I got into the groove of farming Captains in Power missions then the game turned into a GOTY contender for me.
I thought that I'd hate the game going in but I was oh so wrong. The combat is just really visceral and satisfying. I truly feel like a badass as I Shadow Strike to an Archer at the top of a tower and then detonate a campfire wiping out a pack of minions before I engage a Captain.
Sanctuary
Member
I've seen quite a few opinions that the game seems to actually go out of its way to be offputting in the first few hours. That once you get beyond those first few hours, it's way easier to grasp. Just seems like they didn't really ease people into it like many feel they should have and they kind of just throw you into the middle of it.
I actually felt like this game did a better job of doing what AC should have done. I don't recall ever actually finding out any kind of weaknesses to exploit in the first or second game. It was basically "track down guy to reveal map marker which is where you go to press a button and complete the kill". Initially I thought that was pretty awesome in this game, but during the second half of the game it becomes a non issues, even against level 20 Warchiefs. You don't even need to look up any weaknessses for the majority of them unless they are immune to melee.
I think I am done with the game.
Repititive mission and environment.
Same stupid AI fight over and over again.
Clone of other games.
Nemesis system that does not make any major different in gameplay. (Except I have to find information for their weakness which is interesting for a first few hours.)
After I heard that the last boss has very poor design my urge to play this game suddenly drop to abysmal.
This game is overhyped but it seem to capture its right audience.
Repititive mission and environment.
Same stupid AI fight over and over again.
Clone of other games.
Nemesis system that does not make any major different in gameplay. (Except I have to find information for their weakness which is interesting for a first few hours.)
After I heard that the last boss has very poor design my urge to play this game suddenly drop to abysmal.
This game is overhyped but it seem to capture its right audience.
Thanks. This sounds excellent. Will be going to the shops in a bit. Though I think I played Vanquish only partially right.
Actually I hate 'visceral' so prepare for me whining about this game for the remainder of the thread, hehe.
Net_Wrecker
Member
I'm not saying it can't be described as a mixture of other titles or that it isn't a good game on its own merits, but Assassin's Creed is in the DNA. Sure there's Batman combat, and RDR touches, and enemy manipulation, and AI vs. AI, but the climbing, the takedowns, the stealth, the captain/warchief intel gathering + assassinations, the alarms, the map unlocking through
I really like the game, but it is what it is.
Ι think I spend a lot of time playing the game "wrong".
A lot of new powers are unlocked doing main missions. New powers unlock pretty far into the game. And these powers make your life easier and the gameplay more enjoyable/varied.
I spent a lot of time hunting captains, only to realize that I need Branding ability to actually be able and do some serious damage and have access to some serious epic rune drops.
Also some of the fights that can be irritating, like the random caragor encounters, can become a non issue once you unlock the abilities to counter them and even teleport onto them.
I was doing all side missions and yet the battle system was not fully realized yet. Now I am left with not a lot of side stuff to do and I realize how much more enjoyable everything would be if I had unlocked all abilities earlier.
My advice for newcomers in this game is to simply do all Main Missions to fully unlock the battle system and abilities and then focus on the side stuff.
A lot of new powers are unlocked doing main missions. New powers unlock pretty far into the game. And these powers make your life easier and the gameplay more enjoyable/varied.
I spent a lot of time hunting captains, only to realize that I need Branding ability to actually be able and do some serious damage and have access to some serious epic rune drops.
Also some of the fights that can be irritating, like the random caragor encounters, can become a non issue once you unlock the abilities to counter them and even teleport onto them.
I was doing all side missions and yet the battle system was not fully realized yet. Now I am left with not a lot of side stuff to do and I realize how much more enjoyable everything would be if I had unlocked all abilities earlier.
My advice for newcomers in this game is to simply do all Main Missions to fully unlock the battle system and abilities and then focus on the side stuff.
Sanctuary
Member
I'd have to agree with this. You really want to be doing the Gollum missions, then the main story missions until you get the ability to brand and then go back and do all of the weapon/collectible stuff.
Lanrutcon
Member
So fighting a lvl 20 Warchief and 5 Captains inside a fortress while the alarms are going off was...yeah. I do not recommend that approach. No matter how badass you think you are, they will pincussion your ass while you're trying to do...well, anything.
And one of them had a character sheet that read 'Immune to you'. Truth.
And one of them had a character sheet that read 'Immune to you'. Truth.
Can't you just Shadow Strike your way to glory? If I could rename this game to Shadow Strike of Mordor I would!
Sanctuary
Member
No, because that doesn't instantly kill most (if any) elites, even those weak against ranged finishers. It also consumes two elf shots per strike.
What I mean is, SS the minions, replenishing Elf Shots via Combat Drain as needed, then melee the Elites.
The one that's immune to Talion needs to be betrayed by a bodyguard I guess?
Gravy Boat
Member
So I have the game on PS4 (loving it) and a friend is thinking about picking it up on Xbox 360. He knows that the nemesis system is supposedly not as in depth, but does anyone know the specifics of how it's different on the older consoles?
I've tried searching online and all I can find is one interview where Monolith say it won't be as indepth as the system on PS4 and Xbone, but nowhere can I find specifically what is different about it.
I've tried searching online and all I can find is one interview where Monolith say it won't be as indepth as the system on PS4 and Xbone, but nowhere can I find specifically what is different about it.
Sanctuary
Member
It looks pretty ugly, assuming this PC shot (on low) is comparable.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=133052636&postcount=9309
Early on the game tries to give you the impression that you can easily take on a bunch of orcs, you can't (yet). Know when to run away
Also, do the first 4-6 story missions straight away as it's the only way to unlock some pretty game-changing skills. I found it took about 4 hours until the game really started to click for me
Gravy Boat
Member
It's not graphics he's worried about, more the nemesis system and how scaled down it is. Can find any information at all on it aside from that one interview which doesn't give specifics.
Some captains can call for backup and have other captains join in on the fun. Happened to me with a particular one. By the time I had killed its minions he had already called for backup. Was a tough fight.
That last war chief encounter was an absolute pain in the ass for me in Area 1.
So I go to fight him, he's got 2 captains with him and then a third crashes the party. The war chief killed me the first time. Second time he got away as he is invulnerable to ranged so I couldn't pin him. Out of fury I tore the hell out of his entire horde and ended up fighting multiple captains that appeared one after another.. It was epic, after killing like 3/4 captains the horde dispersed.
I then hunted him down the war chief in the next area and just absolutely destroyed him one on one.
In the first area I just wiped out as many captains as possible. At one point there was like 5 captains and just war chiefs as I did my best hunting as many as I could down. Sauron must be pissed!
So I go to fight him, he's got 2 captains with him and then a third crashes the party. The war chief killed me the first time. Second time he got away as he is invulnerable to ranged so I couldn't pin him. Out of fury I tore the hell out of his entire horde and ended up fighting multiple captains that appeared one after another.. It was epic, after killing like 3/4 captains the horde dispersed.
I then hunted him down the war chief in the next area and just absolutely destroyed him one on one.
In the first area I just wiped out as many captains as possible. At one point there was like 5 captains and just war chiefs as I did my best hunting as many as I could down. Sauron must be pissed!
When I first started the game (jumping down from the first tower) I ended up having to fight 3! just in that one tiny area, they just kept coming haha.
I agree with you that SoM has the same concept as AC. But everything in AC is horrible and boring.
Why? The speed of the game.
I would never collect the collectables nor do side missions in AC because Ubisoft thinks it is fun that you have to travel 100 miles from the nearest fast travel point to get to an object/mission point.
They think it is fun that you have to slowly climb and holding down button to get to point A to B.
They think it is fun to run and chase people with how awful your assassin is at running, automatic climbing on fence for more delays, more awful climbing onto rooftop, and bumping into people.
Takedown/Stealth/Intel are pointless mini game of cat and mouse in AC, but SOM? Just straight up busting into the area and demand answers. Quick and simple.
Alarm going off? AC=snoozefest, it is better to just run since it is pointless due to no RPG elements. SOM=more opportunity to level up and hoping that a captain will show up.
Purest AC? Nope, since the game has more speed. Same concepts, better execution on those concepts.
I hope AC will copy SoM.
I suck at these kind of games, but i feel that this game is a bit too easy for its own good. I've only died by the hand of an orc/uruk one time, so the whole nemesis-system never made much of an impact on the experience. I'm only 13h in, but its just getting easier and easier with every new unlocked skill.
I can't handle that many orcs straight on, but semi-escaping to heal up and get new arrows always becomes the prio at about 10% health, and doing so is never that big of a problem.
I can't handle that many orcs straight on, but semi-escaping to heal up and get new arrows always becomes the prio at about 10% health, and doing so is never that big of a problem.
HP_Wuvcraft
Banned
Just got a Level 26 Rune.
I started this for the first time last night (PS4) and after a brief 3 hour run my initial impressions are:
Has this been the general consensus with the games opening few hours or are people being wowed by it from the off?
- The graphics didn't really impress me at all. The initial environments are so monotone and drab (I know it's meant to be as it's Mordor but even still). It seems full of muddy textures and sometimes Talion looks like complete ass outside of cut-scenes.
- Talion seemed very unlikable. I don't know if it was just me but I was expecting a lot more giving the voice talent on show, so far I'm not really "getting" the guy.
- It's incredibly easy up to this point. I've killed 3 captains, stealth killed countless uruks and have yet to come close to dying.
- Controls and fighting mechanics are very good. I had a lot of fun in large battles fighting off hoards of enemies. They've really nailed it and I've not experienced or enjoyed fighting this much this since Arkham Asylum.
Has this been the general consensus with the games opening few hours or are people being wowed by it from the off?
Yeah I got with it pretty quickly on the whole running away thing. Ended up being chased by 3 captains and about 15 of Orcs at one point, went on a Benny Hill escapade across Mordor. Not taking on any group larger than 4 now, otherwise...
Impeccable
Member
Pretty sure the Nemesis system and variants of it will be a mainstay in gaming from now on. It's pretty revolutionary.
Eurogamer said it's the fastest selling game based on LOTR, ever.
Sanctuary
Member
I actually said in my initial post after finishing the game how this was only the second Assassin's Creed game I've completed and mostly because of the issues you described.
General consensus? Dunno if it's the general, but the last 30 or so pages can pretty much be summed up as "Wow, Nemesis system is SOOOO AWESOME!!!!!". Take from that what you will.
You guys have two days to wrap things up!
Oh shit, we forgot to implement the code for the final two fights. Fuck it, let's do something totally different. So different that it will be shocking and remembered for years to come! Then we can add in what we were initially going to do later on as DLC and pawn it off as a time travelling mechanic!
Gravy Boat
Member
I'm trying to do one of the warchief missions where I need to kill 20 Uruks in 2 minutes, and can never get above 11 or 12. Am I bad or is this just unnecessarily difficult? I mean, the combat isn't hard but it can take a while to kill stuff, especially since they never seem to be in groups of 4 or more in this particular section.
I find it'l take 20-30 seconds to kill a group of 4, then maybe another 10-15 seconds to get to the next group, even with the shadow strike.
I find it'l take 20-30 seconds to kill a group of 4, then maybe another 10-15 seconds to get to the next group, even with the shadow strike.
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