Enemy types | Combat Middle-earth: SoM Guide
Last update: 11 May 2016
In Middle Earth: The Shadow of Mordor, you will be spending the majority of time murdering orcs, although this is not to say that the bestiary of the game is poor. The orcs themselves specialize in various fields and, apart from that, in many locations there also are completely different types of monsters. The below list presents the main enemy types that you deal with in the game
The standard orcs make up, nearly, every group of enemies that you encounter and their main aim is to attack Talion in melee. By themselves, or in small groups, they are no threat to you, but you need to be careful in the case of, e.g. larger groups, or when they are accompanied by enemies of the other types (e.g. Orc Captains or caragors). While at the orc fortresses, avoid raising alarms unnecessarily, because the arrival of reinforcements may, considerably, increase the numbers of the enemy forces and, at the same time, make it more difficult to prevail.
Archers are a frequent element of the landscape. I recommend that you locate them still before you enter a given location, using the Wraith mode. In my opinion, the best way to eliminate archers is using ranged the weapon, especially if you still have not raised the alarm. You can, just as well, approach their vantage points and deal with them directly or, silently execute them from behind.
By default, Defender orcs hide behind big shields and, for obvious reasons, this makes it more difficult to deal damage to them. Fortunately, you do not need to waste time on destroying the shields (although this is an option) A much better way to do is to jump over them and attack them from behind , before they can turn around and hide behind the shield again.
Hunters is another type of orcs. In combat, they use pikes thanks to which they are capable of dealing damage to Talion effectively. If possible, try to avoid their attacks but, instead of on counterattacks, rely on dodging.
Berserkers are yet another type of the stronger orcs. They are characteristic for their ability to counter the standard attacks launched at them. The solution to this is stunning them. Only after the beast becomes defenseless for several seconds, you can land your own attacks.
Caragors are large wild beasts that you can encounter throughout the game, or find in cages. IN the latter case, you can free them if, e.g. you want to gain additional experience, or if there is, around, a member of the Sauron's Army, whose weakness is the fear of caragors. These beasts are very dangerous at close quarters and, if you want to avoid taking (considerable) damage you need to tap, flawlessly, the dodging key/button.
Note - If you are knocked down by a caragor, you need to escape death by completing the minigame.
After you get an appropriate ability, you can tame caragors. You do that by jumping onto them from above (e.g. from a ledge or a rooftop), or by stopping their charge. In both case, you have to complete a simple minigame, where you need to operate with the analog stick and keys/buttons. Taming a caragor makes it much easier to fight, because the beast is very agile and can, additionally, feed on the opponents, which restores its health points.
An even greater danger, than the caragors, are beasts called graugs. These large monsters pose a lethal threat for you and, if you are not pressed by the circumstances, it is best to stay away from them. However, you do not need to keep avoiding them throughout the entire game because, just like in the case of caragors, it is possible to unlock the ability that allows you to mount them. With the huge graug as your mount, you can easily decimate a big army of orc, or eliminate an elite member of Sauron's Army.
Ghuls occupy only select locations of Mordor and their main advantage is that they usually act in big, or very big groups. Of course, this requires you to attack, in melee, again and again. Also, the special attack connected with ghuls is very useful, which you gain access to soon after the initial encounter with them, during the main storyline.
Note - some ghul variations may attempt to wound you by spitting venom, over distance. In such situations, try to shorten the distance between you and the opponent and attack in melee.
Another group of opponents, are the ones connected with the Nemesis system, i.e. the ones that have been described in the chapter entitled Sauron's Army. You need to be the most vigilant while fighting Captains and Warchiefs. This is so, because they are much stronger than the above orc types. Apart from that, they have lots of strong points and, relatively, few weaknesses, which it is best to learn about.
Note - in extreme situations, in a single locations, there can be as many as two, or even three members of Sauron's Army. For the, quite, obvious reasons this CONSIDERABLY raises the difficulty of a possible battle. I recommend that you avoid such fights because otherwise, you would have to check out who you are attacking, on a regular basis (different weak and strong points) and avoid the strong attacks of those of the elite orcs that you aren't targeting at the moment.
The last category of enemies are bosses. Unlike Sauron's posse, which is randomly generated, these are predetermined and they appear at the specific moments of the game (e.g. after you start a main mission). To learn more, see the chapters devoted to the walkthrough of main and side missions of the game.