Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Video Interviews and Editorials
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Talion literally carries his past with him on his adventure. He bears Ranger equipment, like a sword and tattered cloak. He also keeps tokens of his family with him, like his son's broken sword. Visually similar to the shattered hilt of Narsil, Talion uses this small blade as a dagger for stealth takedowns and other close-range attacks. His dagger, sword, and bow can be upgraded by killing Uruks (the biggest, nastiest orcs) and collecting ruins.
In addition to his physical armaments, the wraith unlocks a host of other moves for Talion. A teleport ability called Shadow Strike allows him to home in on enemies' locations for quick kills and environmental navigation. For example, if an Uruk archer takes aim on Talion from up on a rampart, he can use Shadow Strike to deftly blink up to the foe. He can also bind foes' feet to the earth, stopping them dead in their tracks. The wraith also lets him slow down the action to dial in accurate shots with his bow. Some of Talions' most important abilities involve striking fear into the Uruks.
"Fear is a big part of the gameplay and combat system," de Plater says. "There are a lot of enemies, and it's easy to get overwhelmed. One way to successfully deal with masses of enemies is to make them break and run. It's really helpful if you're fighting a large group, things like taking down their leaders will spread terror among the troops. Terrifying displays of your power will make them flee."
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Gollum isn't the only foul creature being driven from its home near the end of The Hobbit. If you watched Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, then you know that an evil being called the Necromancer (a.k.a. Sauron) is gathering power in the ruins of Dol Guldur. The stronghold originally belonged to the Elves before Sauron began rebuilding his power as the Necromancer following his defeat by Isildur during the War of the Last Alliance (when the One Ring was cut from his hand). Once Gandalf and the rest of the White Council agreed that the Necromancer was in fact Sauron, they drove the evil entity from Dol Guldur. His power not fully restored, Sauron fled back to Mordor. While we don't assume that Dol Guldur will play a role in Shadow of Mordor, it's interesting to note the events that forced Sauron back into Mordor prior to the game. These events will also likely play a larger role in Jackson's upcoming sequels to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
As Sauron slowly builds his forces in Mordor, the vigilant Ranger stations and cities nearby gradually become more affected. In the fiction of Shadow of Mordor, humans have developed a fringe settlement in the region of Udûn. Mordor isn't yet the blasted hellscape we know from The Lord of the Rings, so living off the land is dangerous but not impossible. These unfortunate souls are among the first to be attacked and forced into slavery by the mounting Uruk threat. Sauron's forces also attack Talion and the other Rangers of Mordor's Black Gate. Talion and his family are murdered, but the Ranger is mysteriously bound with a wraith, which prevents him from joining his loved ones in the afterlife.
We don't know much about the enigmatic wraith fused with Talion, but examining the other spirits of Middle-earth and Mordor's history may offer clues. Wraiths and other spirits appear under varying conditions in Middle-earth. The Ringwraiths were twisted into spectral abominations due to Sauron's influence. Wights haunt the burial mounds of the Barrow Downs. Lights flicker above the flooded mass gravesite of the Dead Marshes. The Oathbreakers are an army of shades cursed to a ghostly existence after breaking a promise to aid Isildur in battling Sauron. There is not one set process for the manifestation of a wraith or undead specter, and Monolith is creating its own justification for Talion's curse. The wraith linked with Talion could be a restless spirit from the War of the Last Alliance or some other unfortunate incident stemming from the Mordor's tumultuous, millennia-old history. We know the wraith has its own agenda, though its motivations seem to overlap with Talion's to some extent.
