GrogHeads Forum

This one kind of sneaked up on me.....after reading a roundup of reviews at this link, has me thinking this needs to be another purchase of mine:)  Comes out on September 30th.

Anybody else looking to buy this or has any other information on it?

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/middle-earth-shadow-of-mordor-review-roundup/1100-6422592/

Yes. We were discussing it in the console forum. I think it looks awesome. Not sure if I will buy it on the PC or the ps4.

Thanks JH, will have to look over at the console section for comments....I plan to get on PC myself.

By the way, for those planning to buy for PC, at GMG there is a 25% off coupon making it only $37.....here is the code. 

SEPTEM-BEROFF-ER25XX

I've already pre-ordered through GMG and the Season Pass through Gamersgate (GMG for some reason had no deals for pre-ordering the season pass).
It's supposed to come out this Tuesday, which caught me by surprise as well since I remembered it was supposed to be October 7th or something like that.

http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-4/middle-earth-shadow-of-mordor/trailers/4373063

I'm interested in this too. I read some chatter on a possible release date delay but that seems to have been cleared up by now.

What is a "season pass?"

I'm eyeballing this game, but only because of the Tolkien link.  I didn't think the game looked all that interesting- but that's just me.

Quote from: Toonces on September 28, 2014, 01:15:18 PM
What is a "season pass?"

I'm eyeballing this game, but only because of the Tolkien link.  I didn't think the game looked all that interesting- but that's just me.

Season Pass Includes:

- Guardians of the Flaming Eye Exclusive Warband Mission: Face Sauron's elite Defenders before the Black Gate and earn the Wolf's Head rune
- Trials of War Challenge Series: Play the full series of 4 challenge modes: Test of Power, Test of Speed, Test of Wisdom and the Endless challenge. Earn points for power, skill, speed and efficiency and build your Legend on the Leaderboards.
- Lord of the Hunt Story Mission: Dive deeper into Mordor's living world and hunt the wild beasts of Mordor to earn unique runes.
- The Bright Lord Story Mission: Battle against Sauron as Celebrimbor, the great Elven Lord of the Second Age, to unlock powerful runes and the ability to wield the One Ring.
- Future content including additional Warband Missions, Runes, & Skins: Enhance your weapons with powerful Runes and customize Talion's appearance with unique skins.

Not all listed content is available on 9/30. Each DLC will be added to your Steam account as it becomes available in the Steam store.

So a season pass is like a version that has all the DLC included?  Ok.  I ask because I've seen it on a few games.  I thought maybe it was something like a one-year subscription or something....I wasn't really sure actually.  I guess I could've just read the fine print.   :idiot2:

Thank you for asking...I've seen it a few times too and didn't know what it meant either.

It's a damned annoyance just like the DLC distribution.  Games no longer cost $50-60, but much, much more when you add in the additional content packages.

Bear in mind that the publisher is not releasing review copies before the release day. Historically speaking, that is a red flag.

Quote from: Swatter on September 28, 2014, 05:25:27 PM
Bear in mind that the publisher is not releasing review copies before the release day. Historically speaking, that is a red flag.

Bunch of reviews although for console.  Thinking pc won't be much different.

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/middle-earth-shadow-of-mordor-review-roundup/1100-6422592/

Wait a few months and the cost will be halved, especially at the end of the year with Steam sales.

Even though I want it, likely won't pick up day one after all.  Forgot fps football should be out this week so reserving funds for that.  No doubt I'll still get this at some point.

^Yes, there is a lot coming out in the next couple of months to keep all of us occupied.

Quote from: Gusington on September 28, 2014, 06:52:12 PM
Wait a few months and the cost will be halved, especially at the end of the year with Steam sales.
[/quote

True about many games right now. I was debating Divinity:OS or Wasteland 2 but decided to wait for the year end sales. Not like I don't have enough of a backlog to keep me going for the next decade!

You're a complete sucker if you buy a game on day 1 with no reviews out yet.

Quote from: Toonces on September 28, 2014, 11:55:10 PM
You're a complete sucker if you buy a game on day 1 with no reviews out yet.

On a console-to-PC port?  Probably so!

Port means it was developed for Console and then ported later to PC.
This was developed for PC&Console simultaneously.

Additionally, I've heard there were already reviews of the PC version (the console version is still supposedly in development).

Quote from: Tpek on September 29, 2014, 12:35:31 PM
Port means it was developed for Console and then ported later to PC.
This was developed for PC&Console simultaneously.

Additionally, I've heard there were already reviews of the PC version (the console version is still supposedly in development).

O Rly? 

I just look down upon PC games that were made for the Console crowd by default.  Partly because something with the graphics gives me a splitting headache in 4 out of 5 of them and don't provide settings to adjust such things (like FOV and POV height). 

They're often shallow action games, too.  Is this supposed to be another Skyrim or will it be the usual console fodder?  :coolsmiley:

Quote from: Nefaro on September 29, 2014, 02:12:20 PM

Quote from: Tpek on September 29, 2014, 12:35:31 PM
Port means it was developed for Console and then ported later to PC.
This was developed for PC&Console simultaneously.

Additionally, I've heard there were already reviews of the PC version (the console version is still supposedly in development).

O Rly? 

I just look down upon PC games that were made for the Console crowd by default.  Partly because something with the graphics gives me a splitting headache in 4 out of 5 of them and don't provide settings to adjust such things (like FOV and POV height). 

They're often shallow action games, too.  Is this supposed to be another Skyrim or will it be the usual console fodder?  :coolsmiley:

I do not disagree it's going to limited because of the need for it to be adapted to consoles,
just stating that a "Console Port" it is still not.

Console Ports are whatever you think they are and worse. Most of them come out with atrocious optimizations and barely work at all.

It's got an 85% rating on Metacritic right now and the words 'open' and 'innovative' are being used quite a bit. I am very tempted...especially with the discount from Green Man.

I caved and preordered on the PS4.

Quote from: Tpek on September 29, 2014, 12:35:31 PM
(the console version is still supposedly in development).

Have you seen this somewhere?  Everything I can find still says PS4 version tomorrow

There were some odd delays but now it looks like console and PC versions will be tomorrow.

It's available from GMG for 37.50.

I just spoke with Gamestop.  I thought I had it on pre-order for the PS4 so I was wondering why I hadn't gotten notified it was coming out tomorrow.  Checked my account and it says XBOX 360 so I called to correct that.  The clerk told me that the PS3 and XBOX 360 versions will not be out until November so that is why I wasn't notified.  PC, PS4 and XBOX 1 are tomorrow.  Again, according to the clerk at Gamestop  :)

Thanks Challerain.

Hey, you all were warned.  Jarhead I excuse- he'll buy anything.  The rest of you ought to know better.   :idiot2:

Quote from: Toonces on September 29, 2014, 09:53:15 PM
Hey, you all were warned.  Jarhead I excuse- he'll buy anything.  The rest of you ought to know better.   :idiot2:

You're just trying to convince yourself that you don't need to buy this one immediately. You know you totally want to.

Thankfully, not interested

Maybe when it's on sale. 

For those who do buy it for the PC, can you check to see if you can re-map the keys please?

Looks like released on steam now...the steam forum seems full of issues such as low fps, video issues, and game not starting.  Hopefully just initial bumps for the launch or typical reaction from the steam community.

Quote from: Grim.Reaper on September 30, 2014, 04:19:23 AM
Looks like released on steam now...the steam forum seems full of issues such as low fps, video issues, and game not starting.  Hopefully just initial bumps for the launch or typical reaction from the steam community.

This is why I buy on ps4. No problems but kicking too much ass. Fwiw, the steam forums are always filled with people complaining. The only people who post are the ones with problems. You've got to figure, If 500,000 people are playing the game at release, and even a fraction have problems, it's going to be a significant number.

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on September 30, 2014, 06:13:47 AM

Quote from: Grim.Reaper on September 30, 2014, 04:19:23 AM
Looks like released on steam now...the steam forum seems full of issues such as low fps, video issues, and game not starting.  Hopefully just initial bumps for the launch or typical reaction from the steam community.

This is why I buy on ps4. No problems but kicking too much ass. Fwiw, the steam forums are always filled with people complaining. The only people who post are the ones with problems. You've got to figure, If 500,000 people are playing the game at release, and even a fraction have problems, it's going to be a significant number.

Yep, I'll trust the feedback of this community over steam and others....

The only place where I fnd more whiners and complainers than the Steam forums are the TWC forums.

Quote from: Grim.Reaper on September 30, 2014, 04:19:23 AM
Looks like released on steam now...the steam forum seems full of issues such as low fps, video issues, and game not starting.  Hopefully just initial bumps for the launch or typical reaction from the steam community.

*cough* console focus *cough*

This is what I expect for the PC version from multi-platform releases these days.  Poor optimization, not enough options, screwy interface, and generally feeling like they didn't bother with putting enough time into the PC version.  Milking it as an afterthought?

If it's a 3D game for both console and PC then best to check scuttlebutt after awhile.

The word on the interwebs is that this is a good game.  Total Biscuit had a very favorable impression with the PC version.  I am still waiting for my copy to finish downloading.

Trey

^I've read much of the same.

Post impressions!

So far its very Batman Arkham City-ish and Assassin Creed-ish, which is a very good thing.  Combat flows with parry's, counters, attacks and finishes.  The story is good, if not convoluted.  I'm a little bit lost, but I was really distracted when I started playing (the baby was running around and shouting like a banshee).  The graphics are mostly good, but the facial animations of the enemy Ork and Uruks are really amazing.  The cool thing is that there are enemy captains in the game that you meet and fight with.  They can survive and live to fight you again later on in the game.  Sometimes you scar them in battle and that will become part of the game when you cross paths again.  You can also interrogate defeated enemies to gain intelligence on other captains, ie. strength, protection, location, etc. Additionally, the enemy captains are not only fighting you, but they are fighting each other and they gain strength and rank as they defeat other captains.  This is a pretty cool feature and I'm interested to see how it plays out.

The game is extremely challenging so far, but I'm interested to see how things change as I level up my character. I feel like he has really potential to become a total badass.

Anyway, if you like the batman or assassin creed games, or if you have an interest in LOTR lore, this one is pretty much a no-brainer.

If you have no interest in any of the above and dislike button smashing action games, keep walking and don't look back.     

Only got to play for a few minutes but my initial impressions are ... badass!  Production values are off the charts with great immersion.  I can already tell that this is going to be a fun romp filled with great Lore.

Trey

OK. I stopped blundering around into every Uruk warband I came across and started playing with more of a stealth Ranger style and this has really improved my experience.  So far, I'm really enjoying it. I think this will pull me away from Destiny for awhile.

Thanks for the impressions...the only thing holding me back is the price. I could have preordered Monday for 37.50 but didn't have enough info to decide. Now I do...when it goes on sale I will get it.

Thanks for the recon, JH.

I'm with Gus - interested but not ready to pay full retail.

Please don't laugh (unless it becomes a health risk to contain it), but does the PC version require a console-style controller?  Or can it be played reasonably well with a mouse/keyboard? 

Quote from: Martok on October 01, 2014, 03:52:44 PM
Please don't laugh (unless it becomes a health risk to contain it), but does the PC version require a console-style controller?  Or can it be played reasonably well with a mouse/keyboard?

That's a good question.  Some of those multi-platform Action games aren't adapted to mouse & keyboard well at all and a controller would is recommended.  I dunno if that's the case here.  Been wondering too.

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on September 30, 2014, 08:40:45 PM
...Anyway, if you like the batman or assassin creed games, or if you have an interest in LOTR lore, this one is pretty much a no-brainer....

Must...resist...temptation...to buy this game...I feel that I'm failing though.  Tell me can you play as an Ork?  Or is this from the human and other 'good guys' perspective only?

Quote from: W8taminute on October 01, 2014, 04:25:24 PM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on September 30, 2014, 08:40:45 PM
...Anyway, if you like the batman or assassin creed games, or if you have an interest in LOTR lore, this one is pretty much a no-brainer....

Must...resist...temptation...to buy this game...I feel that I'm failing though.  Tell me can you play as an Ork?  Or is this from the human and other 'good guys' perspective only?

You cannot play as an Orc. You play the role of Talion, a murdered Ranger of Gondor who has returned from the spirit world to exact vengeance. The character is somehow linked with the spirit of an elven king, too.  As I said, the plot is a bit convoluted..lol.

I caved and purchased the pc version, hope to play later tonight.

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on October 01, 2014, 04:45:47 PM

Quote from: W8taminute on October 01, 2014, 04:25:24 PM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on September 30, 2014, 08:40:45 PM
...Anyway, if you like the batman or assassin creed games, or if you have an interest in LOTR lore, this one is pretty much a no-brainer....

Must...resist...temptation...to buy this game...I feel that I'm failing though.  Tell me can you play as an Ork?  Or is this from the human and other 'good guys' perspective only?

You cannot play as an Orc. You play the role of Talion, a murdered Ranger of Gondor who has returned from the spirit world to exact vengeance. The character is somehow linked with the spirit of an elven king, too.  As I said, the plot is a bit convoluted..lol.

Ok then.  I'm seeing that my local Gamestop has this game in.  Now I'm staring at my car keys... :)

Would someone with the PC version mind checking to see if it's possible to remap the keys please?

Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on October 01, 2014, 05:27:18 PM
Would someone with the PC version mind checking to see if it's possible to remap the keys please?

It appears so....you can select an action and assign a specific key to it....not sure if there are any limitations as to what keys can actually be used.  Is there a specific action you would want to remap to a specific key?  If so let me know and I can see if I can do it.

I'm trying to think of the last time a AAA game kinda flew under the radar like this and was greeted with a near universal "wow, this is surprisingly awesome!!!" response.  (...or maybe it's not too hard if you count Elite: Dangerous, although that game does still have a certain indy street-cred.)

Not sure this really appeals to me but I have to admit, I feel like I'm missing out on something big.

Quote from: Grim.Reaper on October 01, 2014, 05:56:05 PM

Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on October 01, 2014, 05:27:18 PM
Would someone with the PC version mind checking to see if it's possible to remap the keys please?

It appears so....you can select an action and assign a specific key to it....not sure if there are any limitations as to what keys can actually be used.  Is there a specific action you would want to remap to a specific key?  If so let me know and I can see if I can do it.

Thanks Grim.  I appreciate the effort on my behalf.  I'd like to know if it's possible to remap the move keys to the number pad.

RPS says that the game can be played with a mouse and keyboard but we are better off playing with a gamepad.

Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on October 01, 2014, 06:05:57 PM

Quote from: Grim.Reaper on October 01, 2014, 05:56:05 PM

Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on October 01, 2014, 05:27:18 PM
Would someone with the PC version mind checking to see if it's possible to remap the keys please?

It appears so....you can select an action and assign a specific key to it....not sure if there are any limitations as to what keys can actually be used.  Is there a specific action you would want to remap to a specific key?  If so let me know and I can see if I can do it.

Thanks Grim.  I appreciate the effort on my behalf.  I'd like to know if it's possible to remap the move keys to the number pad.

Yes, seemed to work...mapped forward to num8. back to num2, left to num4, and right to num6 without an issue

Quote from: Gusington on October 01, 2014, 06:10:42 PM
RPS says that the game can be played with a mouse and keyboard but we are better off playing with a gamepad.

Yes, you can play with either....I am using a controller....the battles are pretty fast and furious, especially against groups, would be very hard for me to use keyboard...but I guess if you are good with keyboard you could make it work.

Quote from: Grim.Reaper on October 01, 2014, 06:11:30 PM

Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on October 01, 2014, 06:05:57 PM

Quote from: Grim.Reaper on October 01, 2014, 05:56:05 PM

Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on October 01, 2014, 05:27:18 PM
Would someone with the PC version mind checking to see if it's possible to remap the keys please?

It appears so....you can select an action and assign a specific key to it....not sure if there are any limitations as to what keys can actually be used.  Is there a specific action you would want to remap to a specific key?  If so let me know and I can see if I can do it.

Thanks Grim.  I appreciate the effort on my behalf.  I'd like to know if it's possible to remap the move keys to the number pad.

Yes, seemed to work...mapped forward to num8. back to num2, left to num4, and right to num6 without an issue

Excellent.  Thanks again.

Quote from: Gusington on October 01, 2014, 06:10:42 PM
RPS says that the game can be played with a mouse and keyboard but we are better off playing with a gamepad.

urgh

I can't stand playing FPS with a controller...I'm not being elitist - it just doesn't work with me...and the key words in your RPS mention there is can and better off playing with a gamepad

It's nigh impossible for me to understand why a game would be better played on a PC with a controller than keyboard and mouse and whenever that has been the case, the game was not very good on PC (for me).

Quote from: JudgeDredd on October 02, 2014, 12:31:41 AM

Quote from: Gusington on October 01, 2014, 06:10:42 PM
RPS says that the game can be played with a mouse and keyboard but we are better off playing with a gamepad.

urgh

I can't stand playing FPS with a controller...I'm not being elitist - it just doesn't work with me...and the key words in your RPS mention there is can and better off playing with a gamepad

It's nigh impossible for me to understand why a game would be better played on a PC with a controller than keyboard and mouse and whenever that has been the case, the game was not very good on PC (for me).

You certainly can play with a keyboard, those options exist.  There is just a lot of fighting and action going on with a number of different moves where I think it would be harder to execute on a keyboard than a controller.  But you can certainly do it.

In some games I prefer keyboard, while in other games I like using a controller.  It just depends on the gameplay.  In shooter type games I find it harder to shoot with a controller because it feels imprecise, while playing more brawling/sword play types of games like this that kind of precision is not always needed, except when shooting your bow.  Great thing is you have a choice and can use whatever you want within this game.

Ah. OK. I've just never been into controllers - BUT - you are correct in that it depends on the game. I use a controller for FIFA 14 and I used to use a controller for Madden NFL (which is sadly missed from the PC! I still don't understand why he dropped the PC - that, I would've thought, was a chunk of market)

Quote from: JudgeDredd on October 02, 2014, 04:42:16 AM
Ah. OK. I've just never been into controllers - BUT - you are correct in that it depends on the game. I use a controller for FIFA 14 and I used to use a controller for Madden NFL (which is sadly missed from the PC! I still don't understand why he dropped the PC - that, I would've thought, was a chunk of market)

Agree 100%... Would love for madden to come back to pc.

Quote from: JudgeDredd on October 02, 2014, 12:31:41 AM

Quote from: Gusington on October 01, 2014, 06:10:42 PM
RPS says that the game can be played with a mouse and keyboard but we are better off playing with a gamepad.

urgh

I can't stand playing FPS with a controller...I'm not being elitist - it just doesn't work with me...and the key words in your RPS mention there is can and better off playing with a gamepad

It's nigh impossible for me to understand why a game would be better played on a PC with a controller than keyboard and mouse and whenever that has been the case, the game was not very good on PC (for me).

It's not a FPS though. It's in the third person. Not sure if this makes a difference for you on this game......

Picked up the game last night for PS4.  Jarhead was right about the gameplay being like Batman Arkham City mixed with the Assassin's Creed series.  This is a good game.  Combat is definitely modeled after the Batman series whilst the story telling and questing is right in line with Assassin's.  There's also appears to be crafting, artifact finding, and hunting/gathering challenges as well. 

So far the story is definitely gripping me after about 45 minutes of gameplay. 

This game definitely feels better playing with a controller vs. keyboard and mouse.  For me games like COD or Battlefield, the more hardcore FPS'ers, definitely play better with keyboard and mouse but games like this Shadow of Mordor and it's brethren Batman/Assassin's play better with a controller.   

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on October 02, 2014, 06:22:15 AM

Quote from: JudgeDredd on October 02, 2014, 12:31:41 AM

Quote from: Gusington on October 01, 2014, 06:10:42 PM
RPS says that the game can be played with a mouse and keyboard but we are better off playing with a gamepad.

urgh

I can't stand playing FPS with a controller...I'm not being elitist - it just doesn't work with me...and the key words in your RPS mention there is can and better off playing with a gamepad

It's nigh impossible for me to understand why a game would be better played on a PC with a controller than keyboard and mouse and whenever that has been the case, the game was not very good on PC (for me).

It's not a FPS though. It's in the third person. Not sure if this makes a difference for you on this game......

Well, I played Batman Arkum Asylum with mouse/keyboard and I loved that game. But I do get how some games might be better with gamepad...it's just not my weapon of choice  :)

Actually I think someone mentioned shooters. I've tried shooters with a gamepad and I hated it. But "slasher" games, with lots of combo attacks etc...I guess gamepads probably suit them to some degree

Totally dependent on your personal tastes. I have played and won Assassin's Creed games using the mouse and keyboard.

I've played shooter with gamepad in consoles and became pretty good.
Definitely better than my mouse keyboard shooting skills.

Quote from: Grim.Reaper on October 01, 2014, 06:13:03 PM

Quote from: Gusington on October 01, 2014, 06:10:42 PM
RPS says that the game can be played with a mouse and keyboard but we are better off playing with a gamepad.

Yes, you can play with either....I am using a controller....the battles are pretty fast and furious, especially against groups, would be very hard for me to use keyboard...but I guess if you are good with keyboard you could make it work.

Thanks, guys.  Appreciate the info. 

Quote from: JudgeDredd on October 02, 2014, 12:31:41 AM


It's nigh impossible for me to understand why a game would be better played on a PC with a controller than keyboard and mouse and whenever that has been the case, the game was not very good on PC (for me).

Because it's essentially a port from the console version with little effort put into the PC interface.

I also prefer to avoid using a console controller for a PC game.  Excepting Platformers but I pretty much never play those anyway.

Incidentally -- can't remember if this was mentioned upthread -- but unlike the EA Game adaptations from movie elements, this has more of a blessing from the Tolkien estate, down to the contractual obligation not to include pumpkins and tomatoes. (Because those are New World foods which wouldn't be in ancient European prehistory history.)

Couldn't agree more.

There was an FPS once that the tried having i multi platform but the console owners hwere getting wiped out so much by the PC owners with mouse and keyboard they had to forgo the mode.

This particular game is very very hard, at the star anyway..if you make a mistake with your stealth you've pretty much had it..and everytime you die any "captains" that where there fighting you get promoted to make them even better!

Quote from: JudgeDredd on October 02, 2014, 12:31:41 AM

Quote from: Gusington on October 01, 2014, 06:10:42 PM
RPS says that the game can be played with a mouse and keyboard but we are better off playing with a gamepad.

urgh

I can't stand playing FPS with a controller...I'm not being elitist - it just doesn't work with me...and the key words in your RPS mention there is can and better off playing with a gamepad

It's nigh impossible for me to understand why a game would be better played on a PC with a controller than keyboard and mouse and whenever that has been the case, the game was not very good on PC (for me).

Played some more today.  I'm really loving how you advance the story by killing the captains that were involved in putting you in this predicament in the first place. 

There's some side missions you can do as well to help level your character up.  That brings me to the leveling system.  It's not too terribly complex yet it's not a kindergarten game either.  You have rune slots for your sword, bow, and dagger which you unlock by advancing the story.  Equipping your weapons with runes grants you bonus's for melee and ranged attacks. 

You have character traits and abilities which you can unlock by collecting 'coins'.  These traits and abilities allow you to stealth kill from above, create gruesome finishing moves, and allow you to ride animals to name a few. 

And then there's the gore we all know and love about the LOTR series movies.  Man some of the finishing moves are pretty intense and make me a bit squeamish despite being desensitized to years of video game carnage.  This isn't a video game that children under 10 should play but that's just my opinion. 

Wrt to the gamepad/keyboard debate.  I totally agree with the philosophy that is depends on the gamer.  Like the games we play us grogs have different 'weapons' of choice to borrow from JD.  You put us all together and I bet we could be an unstoppable force to be reckoned with in any online multiplayer game.   :)

How many hours of playtime does this game give you before you're finished?

I may buy this for PC due to the price (if it goes on sale in Steam). Hardly touch my console these days.

What is the lowest price you guys have seen? I saw 38.00 for PC while shopping on Google last night, but also saw 12.98 for a Steam key...from a place called Ebid IIRC. That can't be legit...can it?

FPS shooters I need a mouse and keyboard but these thrid person close in fighting games I expect would be fine using a controller. It's when you need fast movement in all directions with iron sighs to fire a gun where I've no idea how you manage to do it with a controller.

Quote from: Gusington on October 03, 2014, 07:58:56 AM
What is the lowest price you guys have seen? I saw 38.00 for PC while shopping on Google last night, but also saw 12.98 for a Steam key...from a place called Ebid IIRC. That can't be legit...can it?

Gus, since you refused to pre-order and use a 25% off voucher and receive the free pre-order stuff, just wait for a sale. (Of a 50% off at least)

I looked a little further into the 12.98 deal and it claims that there is no MP component, it's just the single player campaign. That makes sense to me I guess I just have never seen an offer like that before. Kinda tempting too since I would never go online with this game.

There is no multi-player at all, AFAIK.

Not fully true.
There are online components.

For an example, if an Orc Captain kills another player, you can go on a mission to avenge that player.

And there might be MP in the future.

Gus, don't be tempted by shady deals. Just wait for a proper sale.

It does get easier once you get used to it. Def a stealth game..esp at the beginning.

I know you're right tpek...but look:

http://us.ebid.net/for-sale/5051895267073-middle-earth-shadow-of-mordor-video-game-windows-pc-132308901.htm?from=googleshop_us&adwords=Y&gclid=CNLt4L6DlMECFVEQ7AodymQAJw

Tempting eh?

Quote from: Gusington on October 04, 2014, 05:17:57 PM
I know you're right tpek...but look:

http://us.ebid.net/for-sale/5051895267073-middle-earth-shadow-of-mordor-video-game-windows-pc-132308901.htm?from=googleshop_us&adwords=Y&gclid=CNLt4L6DlMECFVEQ7AodymQAJw

Tempting eh?

I bought mine from this place for only $25....had no issue with the purchase and received it pretty quickly (depends on time of day).  Ordered other things from here as well, without issue.
http://cdkeyshere.com/

Another place I have started using is gaming dragons, very similar setup to greenmangaming.  Right now you can also buy it from here for only $37.
http://www.gamingdragons.com/en

Ever here of Ebids? Me neither. They're offering it for 12.00!! Without 'MP', which doesn't sound like much of a deal breaker from the above posts.

Quote from: Gusington on October 04, 2014, 05:45:01 PM
Ever here of Ebids? Me neither. They're offering it for 12.00!! Without 'MP', which doesn't sound like much of a deal breaker from the above posts.

Nope, not heard of them...I was happy with my $25 purchase, certainly will get my money out of it.

Yeah I don't want to be the first to get burned by an unknown site. Hopefully a sale won't be more than a few months away for this game.

Quote from: Toonces on October 02, 2014, 10:05:44 PM
How many hours of playtime does this game give you before you're finished?

I've got 7 hours in it and only completed about 20% of the campaign.  There are a lot of side missions and quests.

^I'm about 5 or 6 hours into the game and about 13% done with the story.  I too have been really distracted with all the side action you can get into. 

Yesterday's session was particularly brutal.  I died a lot during my attempt to hunt one of the captains down.  As luck would have it I would usually get intercepted by another captain on the way over to the target.  I gotta slow down a bit and move more stealthily.  Barging in Rambo style will get yourself killed quite quickly in this game. 

My recommendation to new players is to do 4 or 5 of the story missions before hitting too many of the side quests. Most of the tutorials and some of the best powers are unlocked in the story missions. Unlocking powers and learning tricks this way can help you be more effective in the side quests.

So the game really focuses on stealth action more than straight up fighting?

Quote from: Gusington on October 06, 2014, 08:09:13 AM
So the game really focuses on stealth action more than straight up fighting?

If you want to survive, you need to learn when to hide, when to sneak when to attack and when to run. When it comes to brawling though, your character is still an exquisite killer. 

Damn you, Jarhead.  I just went from being mildly curious about this game to actively wanting it.  >:(  WHY MUST YOU BE SO ELOQUENT??! 

Quote from: Martok on October 06, 2014, 02:07:04 PM
Damn you, Jarhead.  I just went from being mildly curious about this game to actively wanting it.  >:(  WHY MUST YOU BE SO ELOQUENT??!

LoL...its the "exquisite killer" part that got ya', isn't it?  Totally calculated.  >:D

JH is our own resident Kenny Rogers in that last post.

There's a similar game being released by Cyanide Studios tomorrow called Styx based on an orc assassin. If it's any good it may give Mordor a run. But it's by Cyanide so well you know...

Quote from: Gusington on October 06, 2014, 02:12:32 PM
JH is our own resident Kenny Rogers in that last post.

There's a similar game being released by Cyanide Studios tomorrow called Styx based on an orc assassin. If it's any good it may give Mordor a run. But it's by Cyanide so well you know...

Mordor is a AAA title using a popular and established IP. Its also more of an action game than a focused RPG.  Styx seems to be somewhat of a sequel to Cyanide's prior title Of Orcs and Men.  Styx was one of the two playable characters in that game.  Although OOAM received mildly positive reviews, I don't think this title will be a direct competitor of Mordor.

...mostly be because it's a Cyanide title and well you know :)

From all the praise for Mordor my resolve to wait for a sale.is crumbling...should have just bought it pre-release but who knew it was going to be so uber?

Ha ha, my birthday is coming next month and I can get at least one maybe two games for free!

...
...


.......


.......waaah, my birthday won't be until next month!  :P {/firstworldproblems}

 >:(

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on October 06, 2014, 02:12:05 PM

Quote from: Martok on October 06, 2014, 02:07:04 PM
Damn you, Jarhead.  I just went from being mildly curious about this game to actively wanting it.  >:(  WHY MUST YOU BE SO ELOQUENT??!

LoL...its the "exquisite killer" part that got ya', isn't it?  Totally calculated.  >:D

Dammit.  You know me too well...  :-\ 

I'm not much on button mashers, but this Angry Joe video about his losing feud with Olgoth is pretty damn funny.  Almost tempts me.

;D

Just played through my first hour with this game and damn, it really is that good. So much to do, so much lore to read up on, varied combat, combos...and I just began the Gollum mission. Nerdtastic!

Between this and AoWIII I have fantasy gaming coming out of the wazoo!

I should probably get to that one as well.  Another game on the growing backlog.  I'm having tonnes of pint sized fun with the Halfling DLC for AOW III though. 

Still waiting on a keyboard fix for Divinity: OS.  It's been 6 months now and still nothing but promises.

^Full disclosure...after an hour with Shadow of Mordor, I began a new game of AoWIII, my first random map, as an orc dreadnaught. Three hours later, I am back. What a classic game.

Is the Golden Realms DLC good?

Quote from: Gusington on October 25, 2014, 05:34:46 PM
^Full disclosure...after an hour with Shadow of Mordor, I began a new game of AoWIII, my first random map, as an orc dreadnaught. Three hours later, I am back. What a classic game.

Is the Golden Realms DLC good?

So you finally went full random?

Quote from: Gusington on October 25, 2014, 05:34:46 PM


Is the Golden Realms DLC good?

I like it.  It adds a bunch of new units, monsters, and spells.  It also adds some new quest type things like "be the first to build a grand palace" or "be the first to become totally good or evil" and you get rewards.  They also have new victory conditions based on magical shrine things.  I'm still not sure how they work though.

The halfling race is tough to play.  They're rwally weak and rely on support units to keep them in the fight. They tend to die like flies so I play them like Russians.  I make tonnes of low tier units and send them out in waves.

^^ This is precisely why the League eventually instituted a rule that teams could only have  maximum of 16 players.

:D

Yes I am finally playing a full random sandbox game of AoW III with 3 other AI factions. Playing as orc dreadnaughts. I am really impressed with the AI on the 'normal' setting too.

AoWIII combined with Shadow of Mordor will be my fantasy defaults for a while.

According to Steam, I've got...24 HOURS in this already?! Good grief, I had no idea!   :o

Anyway, it's good! I just killed all of the Warchiefs for a second time. And now I'm about to join somebody to go somewhere for new stuff and to learn more about my wraith buddy, who it turns out is...some guy.

Spoilers avoided.  ;D

The game is quite the time stealer. I put a little something together for Halloween that's getting published tomorrow on it.

Quote from: Gusington on October 30, 2014, 01:39:49 PM
The game is quite the time stealer. I put a little something together for Halloween that's getting published tomorrow on it.

It's interesting how the power curve changes the way that you play. As you unlock new skills and perks, you stop sneaking around quite as much and start strutting around practically begging a band of Uruk to pick a fight with you.

Except packs of Caragors. Yikes. And that stupid Graug.  :o

By hour 5 the Uruks, while scary at the beginning, are at the bottom of the player's list of worries. There's a lot going down in those shadows.

I really should get back to this :)

I guess I should try to progress into the story more then.  I'm about 3 hours in but I've only done 2 of the story missions.  I'm too busy running around collecting stuff and offing captains.  I don't mean to.  They just keep showing up and fighting me when I'm busy trying to find runes or step on spiders.

^Me too, there is no shame.

Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on October 30, 2014, 03:31:35 PM
I guess I should try to progress into the story more then.  I'm about 3 hours in but I've only done 2 of the story missions.  I'm too busy running around collecting stuff and offing captains.  I don't mean to.  They just keep showing up and fighting me when I'm busy trying to find runes or step on spiders.

The story missions are good because some of your key powers are unlocked through them. Go ahead and do a few of the story missions, you'll unlock some of the cooler powers and then have a lot more fun just dicking around.

^Did you finish the game?

http://grogheads.com/?p=6466

Nicely done, Gus!

Thanks Dawg. Played another hour last night and it only gets more gooder.

Quote from: Gusington on October 31, 2014, 07:48:43 AM
Thanks Dawg. Played another hour last night and it only gets more gooder.

Wait until you complete the mission that lets you enter a whole new realm to explore and kill things in. The abilities get...interesting.  ;D

Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on October 30, 2014, 03:31:35 PM
I guess I should try to progress into the story more then.  I'm about 3 hours in but I've only done 2 of the story missions.  I'm too busy running around collecting stuff and offing captains.  I don't mean to.  They just keep showing up and fighting me when I'm busy trying to find runes or step on spiders.

If you tell me this is a literal *thing*, I'm getting this game for sure. 

Yup.  I found out by accident.  There are always spiders and rats skittering around.  I assumed they were just background filler.  Then I ended up stepping on a spider while trying to sneak up on an Orc and it triggered a side mission.

^Right - the side mission for the spiders that I have is to kill three...actually haven't done it yet...

^I did the challenge mission of killing those little spiders, but didn't know you could kill them by stepping on them :P

<Squee!> 

This being a Lotr property, I bet the spiders get bigger later.  ^-^

Quote from: JasonPratt on November 02, 2014, 04:08:44 PM
This being a Lotr property, I bet the spiders get bigger later.  ^-^

I haven't seen them yet, but it has been hinted at...

So it tracks your friends as well?  I just got a Vendetta mission telling me I could avenge the death of Gusington by killing Larz (the dude from Metallica?).  Sorry to hear you got killed by a drummer Gus.

Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on November 05, 2014, 04:27:21 PM
So it tracks your friends as well?  I just got a Vendetta mission telling me I could avenge the death of Gusington by killing Larz (the dude from Metallica?).  Sorry to hear you got killed by a drummer Gus.

I tried avenging W8 awhile back and got my ass handed to me.

If I'm going to get killed in a game, I'd prefer it be Lars. FWIW I didn't know it tracked us either. Kinda cool, kinda 1984.

Does it track your steam friends?

I haven't seen a Steam friend set up for a vendetta, only people I don't know.

In other news: Shadow of Mordor -- KITTEN APPROVED!

(Especially when I'm rig2ind \tsdh0t. dammit kitteh get off y kebyd stp btting fginga aaahg!

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on November 05, 2014, 04:33:45 PM

Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on November 05, 2014, 04:27:21 PM
So it tracks your friends as well?  I just got a Vendetta mission telling me I could avenge the death of Gusington by killing Larz (the dude from Metallica?).  Sorry to hear you got killed by a drummer Gus.

I tried avenging W8 awhile back and got my ass handed to me.

Awesome!  So you saw one of my many shameful deaths and was able to attempt vengeance?  How sweet is this game!  I just started playing the game again last night after finishing the single player campaign in COD: Advanced Warfare.  I need to try to find a vendetta mission as well.  If you can do this on the PS4 version I'm sure you can do it on the Steam version as well.  This is a great game.   O0

Admittedly a great Titanosaurus quote; but why not a MechaG1 quote?

"He has transformed himself into a magnetic form!" -- wait, that's about Godzilla, not about MG1.

"Mechagodzilla! Beat Godzilla to death! {clickoff}"

Quote from: JasonPratt on November 20, 2014, 07:06:46 PM
Admittedly a great Titanosaurus quote; but why not a MechaG1 quote?

"He has transformed himself into a magnetic form!" -- wait, that's about Godzilla, not about MG1.

"Mechagodzilla! Beat Godzilla to death! {clickoff}"

Yeah!  That's the quote I was trying to remember but couldn't for some reason.  A classic.  I remember when I saw that scene that's all my brother and I kept saying to each other.  Good memories.  Thanks for reminding me.   O0

The Titanosaurus quote is the one I liked because as a junior high school student I was picked on quite a lot by the bullies of the school.  I would fantasize about bringing Titanosaurus to school and unleashing him on those bullies.  I guess you aren't allowed to do things like that now a days though. 

^You got picked on? That makes me sad.

Hug?

^ Thanks Gus!  I'm good now though as I never let them scar or scare me.  But I'll still take the hug! 

Everyone can.

Awww... yes, they don't allow kids to bring Titanosauruses to school anymore; but I recall in kindergarten wishing I could run over the school with a triceratops after receiving my very first (and very unfair) spanking from a teacher. (To be fair, she realized it was unfair and wept hard over it herself though I didn't know that at the time -- it was her first spanking, too.)

There's probably a moral here about how Godzilla movies and dinosaurs contribute to school shootings... (not entirely kidding. ;) )


ANYWAY! -- back to the kitten. I mean Shadow of Mordor. I mean the kitten loving Shadow of Mordor. Her first experience with a computer game, or even a television that close up really. Didn't pay much attention until the game started and I loaded in.

Then
she
was
rapt.

Walked out on the edge of my legs (on the chair footstool) and perched there, watching not-Aragorn run around Udun.

When I jumped him on the big not-Battle-Cat, she was even more rapt! Held out her paw to the screen several feet away. Meowed a couple of times. Forgot to purr.

I've had cats a long time, though not much inside and even less while playing games, and I've never seen that response before.

(Also she likes the mouse-pointer on the screen, but that didn't surprise me.)

That story disturbs me.

It looked a lot like a kitten having a religious experience. Not something I ever thought I would see. Or words that I ever would type.  :))

If I would have to guess who here would type those words, you would top that list.

My Siamese used to do the same thing (raise a paw out, reaching for the TV screen from a few metres away) whenever Fozzy Bear was on TV.  He did it once when Alf was on too. I always thought it was hilarious. 

New free-LC released today, word on the street says...

Orly? Hm! I took the opportunity of a daily sale to pick up the version with the season pass, too. I'll be curious what they're adding. They put in a fairly large patch or update or something last night -- I don't know what as I was busy playing the Mordheim early access and getting the parents started on nu-Who.

Quote from: Gusington on November 21, 2014, 09:56:54 AM
If I would have to guess who here would type those words, you would top that list.

Heh, looking at it like that I guess I'd agree!  :)

So I bought this in the sale and I'm lost with Elf Shot. I've used my 4 and apparently I can hold "E" and drain more. The E is flashing down the side but I can't see to drain a thing...and anytime I try, I just end up fighting.

Any ideas?

lol - I don't get it. There's so much going on! Different missions coming up...different targets...different abilities. And I really, really don't get being beaten by a Captain as making him stronger. I mean...that's a "fair" mechanic...but if you are beaten by him, and he increases strength, doesn't the game get slowly harder?

I'm actually totally lost in the game. I have no idea about story or what I'm meant to be doing and that's mainly because so much is happening at once.

I think I'll start again...one of the Captains has increased from 10 to 15 in the short time I've been playing!

its not that big of a deal. you're going to lose on occasion and they will get stronger, but you get stronger too. also, keep in mind that they are fighting and losing to each other too. don't get overwhelmed by all the missions. just focus on one at a time. i was lost at first too and kept getting my ass kicked. i was picking fights with everyone at first. you have to use stealth. sneak around and be selective about who you engage. try not to get distracted by all the side missions. do a few of the story missions at first because they unlock some of your special powers and abilities, some of which tip the balance in your favor!

Don't give up hope JD.  Yes the game is very overwhelming at first because there is a lot going on all at once.  Here are some tips that should hopefully orient you in the right direction.

1.  On the map of the world look for yellow icon's.  Those denote the missions to complete in order to advance the story.  The story is purposely fuzzy at first but as it develops you'll learn more.

2.  The red icon missions are meant to weaken Sauron's army by targeting individual captains.  Don't worry about them leveling up to 15 or more.  At first you are going to be weak and not have much skill so to defeat these bad guys try a stealth approach or try shooting them from afar with your bow.

3.  To use drain you must be near a target.  The target can be either an Uruk or a Caragor.  Stealth is key here because if they see you you'll have to fight them and any of their buddies making draining a tough job to do.  As you drain your target is helpless but so are you.

4.  You have two skill trees to take care of.  One where you need to earn points that you get by killing captains and warchiefs the other tree that needs you to earn 'money points' to spend on the skills.  The first tree where you spend points on to level up deals with combat skills mostly.  The second tree is mostly attributes that passively work for you during battle. 

In the beginning the first batch of story missions are fairly easy to get out of the way.  Then you must spend some time roaming the map looking for random things to do in order to level yourself up a bit before taking on your first story driven major mission which you will learn about fairly soon.  Hope this helps.  Trust me, once you figure the game out it becomes addictive very fast.  You'll want to race through and finish the story which is definitely entertaining like Farcry 3 was but not memorable like the Bioshock series of stories.

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on December 27, 2014, 08:32:47 AM
its not that big of a deal. you're going to lose on occasion and they will get stronger, but you get stronger too. also, keep in mind that they are fighting and losing to each other too. don't get overwhelmed by all the missions. just focus on one at a time. i was lost at first too and kept getting my ass kicked. i was picking fights with everyone at first. you have to use stealth. sneak around and be selective about who you engage. try not to get distracted by all the side missions. do a few of the story missions at first because they unlock some of your special powers and abilities, some of which tip the balance in your favor!

lol - that's exactly what I've been doing

Quote from: W8taminute on December 27, 2014, 08:39:51 AM
Don't give up hope JD.  Yes the game is very overwhelming at first because there is a lot going on all at once.  Here are some tips that should hopefully orient you in the right direction.

1.  On the map of the world look for yellow icon's.  Those denote the missions to complete in order to advance the story.  The story is purposely fuzzy at first but as it develops you'll learn more.

2.  The red icon missions are meant to weaken Sauron's army by targeting individual captains.  Don't worry about them leveling up to 15 or more.  At first you are going to be weak and not have much skill so to defeat these bad guys try a stealth approach or try shooting them from afar with your bow.

3.  To use drain you must be near a target.  The target can be either an Uruk or a Caragor.  Stealth is key here because if they see you you'll have to fight them and any of their buddies making draining a tough job to do.  As you drain your target is helpless but so are you.

4.  You have two skill trees to take care of.  One where you need to earn points that you get by killing captains and warchiefs the other tree that needs you to earn 'money points' to spend on the skills.  The first tree where you spend points on to level up deals with combat skills mostly.  The second tree is mostly attributes that passively work for you during battle. 

In the beginning the first batch of story missions are fairly easy to get out of the way.  Then you must spend some time roaming the map looking for random things to do in order to level yourself up a bit before taking on your first story driven major mission which you will learn about fairly soon.  Hope this helps.  Trust me, once you figure the game out it becomes addictive very fast.  You'll want to race through and finish the story which is definitely entertaining like Farcry 3 was but not memorable like the Bioshock series of stories.

Thanks - but I wasn't giving up...just confused with all these different missions and places. I actually really like it and the mechanics are pretty nifty...I'm just confuzzled and overwhelmed a bit.

I think I get like this with most games - if my initial foray into it overwhelms me or confuses me, I sound like I've had enough when in fact I've just come out to vent.

True, don't pick fights with everything at first.

Also, remember that elf-shot can be found for free on the map just lying around, too; the minimap will show any nearby.

Every time you die, all orc-strength missions on the map will be resolved; meaning a bunch of orcs are going to level up, and new orcs will start cycling in to take the place of any orc captains slain by you or by other captains. This is the main reason to be careful NOT TO DIE! (Most areas have helpful plants around which will heal most or all your wounds, and can be found on the minimap if you've reclaimed a tower already. Reclaim the tower first on entering any new region so you'll see the plants and elfshot on the mini.)

High level orc captains are invulnerable to many or even most attacks; but I don't recall ever seeing an orc, no matter how powerful, which didn't take damage from combat finishers, even if he was invulnerable to basic attacks (which I can't quite recall if I ever saw either. If so it was rare.) But you can earn yourself better abilities more quickly by killing off lesser captains who can be one-shotted in various ways.

If I'm going up against high level captains, first I'm going to check if he's vulnerable to stealth kills. Sometimes high levelers can still be one-shotted by a stealth kill; but if not I don't bother merely trying to damage that way. (It's much rarer for them to still be vulnerable to archery insta-kills, and I learned not to bother wasting arrows much on them if they have a retinue nearby.)

Second I check if he's invulnerable to being grabbed, because ideally I'd rather grab him after thinning out any nearby orcs and interrogate him: captains give more information than fellow-captain positions, they also give weakness and strength reports. Interrogations always end in a knife-kill which they cannot resist. (Until much later in the game when they can end in something more useful.)

If I don't think I can whittle him down to grab safely because of other orcs around, I'll check to see if he's invulnerable to stuns and/or jumpovers. Those unlock early, and there's an ability which combines them, too. Even orcs which are invulnerable to flurry attacks are only invulnerable to them from the front, so jumping over and releasing a flurry from behind is a great way to built up your hit chain quickly so you can try a combat finisher -- also the flurry itself will lead into its own combat finisher, leaving you with your hit-chain intact and able to launch a real combat finisher. Flipovers and/or stuns are the fastest way to kill a high level captain (except maybe explosions if you've unlocked that).

In the worst case scenario, if he happens to be immune to flipovers and also to stuns (and/or thus to flipover-stuns), and also somehow immune to regular attacks, just attack nearby orcs, possibly with a stun-flurry combo to build up your hit chain and then use the combat finishers on your target. Even if you haven't unlocked stuns or flurries yet (do flurries have to be unlocked...?) you can theoretically kill any captain by this method just by building a chain with basic attacks on his nearby flunkies and then hitting him with the combat finisher. That might take seven or eight times, but it can be done.

^Good advice. I was also lost for the for 4-5 hours on what to do. But then things started to click. For elf-shot you need to hold the E key down to get all of it, IIRC. Don't give up, the game is worth learning.

Thanks Jason - a lot of good points there.

However - it's times like what just happened that frustrates me - and it could be a lack of understanding on my part - but I don't think so - feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

So I saw an Uruk (Ork?) with the icon saying there was intel. There were shed loads of Uruk's around...so I crouch around taking them out one by one...starting with any archers. All good. The numbers dwindle and I make a slight error in judgment and jump down for a stealth kill but I'm noticed and the rest come after me. Now there's probably about 8. But I'm doing fine and my mouse is taking a battering...but they're dropping.

Eventually, I have taken them all out after 20 minutes of fighting...only for a Captain to show up. Now first off, there were NO captains around. Second, the one that turned up isn't even meant to be in that map "area".

So that's what's really pissed me off - I don't think I did anything wrong in that I checked to make sure no captains were around and I took out as many as I could stealthily....so I jumped early - but I fought my way through that melee only for a captain to be transported in...so how come?

Thoroughly pissed off with that...a level 12 captain is now 13 and for some other reason (presumably the in-fighting between them, I have no idea) another one (who has killed me a number of times) has been promoted to level 15!

All my abilities on the top row are complete and I need to kill captains to unlock the next row (I currently have 3 points waiting to be used but cannot use them) - but I'm not daft enough (now!) to take on a level 12 Captain.

So I'm stuck doing little missions because these captains keep turning up from nowhere (this is the second time I've noticed it - before that I wasn't really aware of captains, their locations and importance).

:knuppel2:

Still getting those Captains turning up. In one melee, I had 3 or 4!

BUT - I have learned to run away and also look at their weaknesses as suggested and it makes a difference. Running away and taking on again isn't a bad tactic I've killed several captains now and hundreds if not thousands of Uruks

10.5 hours over the weekend!

Yep, RUNNING AWAY IS OFTEN YOUR BEST TACTIC!

In several areas, orcs will keep spawning in from adjacent areas once you start a fight, especially in or near strongholds. There will NEVER be an end to them, so eventually you've got to run. Captains will be drawn in from other portions of the map, too; and I've had times when three or four captains show up during a brawl. It's possible the game teleports them in, too, in order to convince you to move along and stop killing buttloads of orcs. I never specifically noticed that, but I didn't check to see how far off range any of them were.

Even though there are level 15 captains now wandering around, you should still be able to find lower-level captains by going to the army screen and choosing ones on the bottom row to hunt -- if they're still in silhouette, then interrogate someone.

You can also manually scan a captain when he's nearby by going into wraith mode and zooming in on him with... don't know the keyboard command, on a console controller it would be L3, pushing in on the left stick. There was always a reminder how to do it in that situation. NOTE THAT THIS DOES NOT REALLY PAUSE THE GAME! It just slows the game down a whole lot while you're in scan. I never left it in scan long enough to see if it would be a problem for me, but I do recall a sabretoothy thing smatting a captain I was scanning that way.

By the way, one of my gifts for Christmas was Shadow of Mordor: actually the parents had ordered it for my birthday but it didn't arrive in time, so they just saved it for Christmas. I didn't know that, so a few days after my birthday I took it off the list and picked up the deluxe edition with a season pass off Steam, figuring that would keep anyone from ordering it for Christmas.

Anyway, they can send it back, maybe, for credit -- it's completely unopened. But if anyone wants to negotiate a trade, I'm putting it up temporarily!

(To clarify, this is the basic PC edition, with only one DLC -- I forget which, possibly not one released yet for general download -- not for a console.)

Paying attention to weaknesses is key. Once you can take advantage of captains' weaknesses the game begins to flow and gets a lot more fun.

To get to that point a lot of running away will probably happen first, though :)

Quote from: Gusington on December 28, 2014, 03:48:28 PM
Paying attention to weaknesses is key. Once you can take advantage of captains' weaknesses the game begins to flow and gets a lot more fun.

To get to that point a lot of running away will probably happen first, though :)

Definitely weaknesses are great. For example, one of the ones who had beat me 3 times (because I stood toe to toe with him) I found out could be killed with a ranged shot to the head...so a careful aimed shot got me 10 power! Similar for others like susceptible to finishers.

A few are pretty useless though. Like one is scaredy of the flies...but I only know of one or two places where those hives are - and he's never there.

^^ That's odd, because I typically found that those with environmental weaknesses could be found around the weakness.

Even so, flies are useless unless you're trying to pick off someone out of a group (or need to rescue someone). Though on the other hand, if you've unlocked the arrow impale skill or if you're clever in how to use the wraithrunning skill (which unlocks pretty early) you can use a captain's fear (from fire or from flies or whatever) to make him abandon his coterie where he's vulnerable to being whacked in various ways. Shoot his feet to grab him (unless he's invulnerable to being grabbed or shot), that kind of thing. About halfway through the game you can unlock a skill chain that allows you to teleport where you shoot wraitharrows, too. (They're called elf-shot, but I don't know why, they're like the ghosts of elf arrows.)

I used the hives a couple of times pretty effectively IIRC...

Quote from: JasonPratt on December 28, 2014, 06:07:46 PM
^^ That's odd, because I typically found that those with environmental weaknesses could be found around the weakness.

Even so, flies are useless unless you're trying to pick off someone out of a group (or need to rescue someone). Though on the other hand, if you've unlocked the arrow impale skill or if you're clever in how to use the wraithrunning skill (which unlocks pretty early) you can use a captain's fear (from fire or from flies or whatever) to make him abandon his coterie where he's vulnerable to being whacked in various ways. Shoot his feet to grab him (unless he's invulnerable to being grabbed or shot), that kind of thing. About halfway through the game you can unlock a skill chain that allows you to teleport where you shoot wraitharrows, too. (They're called elf-shot, but I don't know why, they're like the ghosts of elf arrows.)

Maybe I just haven't noticed them around. Don't forget some of the captains seem to "teleport" in to my area. I've only unlocked 3 areas (towers) and of those, I've only cleared two, though I've discovered at least the location of maybe a dozen captains.

^^ Oh, right, that would explain why they aren't near an environment you can use against them -- marching in and/or teleporting from other regions once a fight gets sufficiently going.

When you have a captain that has a fear of 'insert object here' that means that he's going to get scared and run.  He's not going to die of his fear but there is a percentage chance he's going to flee from the fight.  If he flees all you need to do is stay with him and cut him down once you reach him. 

Morgal flies can be used to great effect just like igniting a bonfire.  The rank and file orc will die easily from these disasters but not your hardened captains or warchiefs.  Hope this helps...

They also die easily from being pummeled by a Titanosaurus.  ;D

Or the equivalent thereof.  :coolsmiley:

^ O0

Quote from: JasonPratt on October 02, 2014, 12:33:04 PM
Incidentally -- can't remember if this was mentioned upthread -- but unlike the EA Game adaptations from movie elements, this has more of a blessing from the Tolkien estate, down to the contractual obligation not to include pumpkins and tomatoes. (Because those are New World foods which wouldn't be in ancient European prehistory history.)

  I got this game for the pumpkin-free environment.  I haven't seen a pumpkin yet.  But maybe Talion looks like a pumpkin to the Orcs?  is that possible?

Devs: "But we can have elves turn into wraiths, right? That's important to our story."

Estate: "Oh, sure, even though JRRT would have spit blood at that. BUT NO PUMPKINS!"

Quote from: JasonPratt on April 28, 2015, 10:03:32 AM
Devs: "But we can have elves turn into wraiths, right? That's important to our story."

Estate: "Oh, sure, even though JRRT would have spit blood at that. BUT NO PUMPKINS!"

  It's funny how the Orcs quickly become much more likable than that "glowing" pruney elf.  I like this game, but being an Orc would be more fun it seems to me: no wife, no wriath, no phone, no luxury, primitive as can be.  So join us here each undead moment, there's millions of Orcs to be.

^HA

Damn I need to start playing this again.

Quote from: Gusington on April 28, 2015, 07:16:15 PM
^HA

Damn I need to start playing this again.

  I played as hard as I could last night.  I'm in the difficult early hours (hiding and sneaking and running away -- and/or getting killed).  I stabbed all the Orc archers and picked off henchmen and finally got the first Orc Captain (?Ugh? the Slaver).  It was intense and very cool.  I hope it gets easier though, at least as far as not getting killed so often.

I only played about a dozen hours but I died probably 100 times at least.

Quote from: Gusington on April 29, 2015, 02:14:09 PM
I only played about a dozen hours but I died probably 100 times at least.

  I've played for almost 4 hours, I guess I've been killed about 15-20 times.  There was a bad string early last night since low-level orcs where finishing me off (I was trying some new stuff in a new area -- that's my excuse).  they would lose their duels against ?Gorgoth? the wrestler and now he's up to a 9 (having started at 3, I think).  After that I went to another area and was more cautious and went on the Gollum quest.  I think I'm about to reach a new plateau with flips and whacks and stealth from above!
  The Wraith is getting pretty tiresome.  I wish I was an Uruk.

Don't we all :)

Don't get too disheartened. I was dying constantly - mainly because I had no idea who to attack and where and specifically when. I was ending up in battles with Captains I had no need to be near

Now I enjoy nothing better than running into a stonghold and causing havoc

(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww2.warwick.ac.uk%2Fknowledge%2Farts%2Funiversalshakespeare%2Fzz_general_chang.png&hash=36eba452fb931480b05d19a4ce0a63720d80beee)

I should point out I haven't played it for a while because the open world of Far Cry 4 and GTA V have sucked me in

Quote from: JudgeDredd on April 30, 2015, 09:10:31 AM
Don't get too disheartened. I was dying constantly - mainly because I had no idea who to attack and where and specifically when. I was ending up in battles with Captains I had no need to be near

Now I enjoy nothing better than running into a stonghold and causing havoc

  The Stronghold thing.  Now I watch out for that warning.  I'm also learning to scout and plan as much as possible.  You'd think that would be obvious, but it definitely pays off in this game and all the more so when you have some options like Detonate.

Anyone interested that hasn't bought this yet (like me) might want to go check out Bundle Stars.

https://www.bundlestars.com/en/bundle/middle-earth-shadow-of-mordor-bundle

For $9.99 you can get the base game and 18 DLCs. Yeah, eighteen DLCs.

Over 43GB in downloads. I started it about 20 minutes ago and am at 4%. LOL

^One of the top games I've purchased in the last couple of years.

$9.99 is $2.50 cheaper than what I paid for Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Game of the Year Edition while it was on sale at Steam in April.

I played it a bit last night; it's not bad, but some of the missions were infuriating, even right out the gate. There was one where you have to stealth-kill 10 Orcs in 5 minutes. The first time, I failed miserably and was spotted by a half-dozen of them, so I had to fight for my life, and yet the clock kept ticking. The second time I actually killed the 10th one right before the time ran out, but the game infuriatingly didn't see it that way, so I failed it again. I also got my butt kicked by a couple of Captains, and was very surprised to see them level up because of it - not sure if that's cool or scaring me to even try to take them on again. I would think the 'boss' creatures early on would be easy to take on, but that's not the case, here. SoM doesn't do anything to hold your hand, which isn't necessarily bad at all; it just took me by surprise. It plays really well on my new rig so I will definitely be back to it...once I buy a game controller for it.

^Every single person I know has had some trouble with the game's missions. Take little nibbles at first or you're in for a world of hurt!

I'm not sure whether I hate this system or love it. I think it's a little of both. It was funny, one of the Captains beat me up and then said to come back when I got better.  ;D

Oh yeah they will throw tons of insults at you. Just wait...

That game is a hoot! -- even my little kitten (now deceased trying to scout out this 'road' thing in front of the house) stopped trying to eat my mouse in order to walk out onto the edge of my foot and meow randomly at the screen, fascinated by it.

This typically happened when... let us say another cat was on the screen.