Nemesis System Guide

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In Shadow of War, Orcs are the enemies you will mostly encounter in your travels through Mordor.

Orcs take on many forms in Mordor, from the lowly Grunts and Worms to Captains, Warchiefs, and even Overlords - the latter half that can even appear as Epic or Legendary Orcs.

At their base, Orc Grunts take on a variety of roles in the Enemy Classes they can fulfill - which include:

• Warrior
  
• Archer
  
• Defender
  
• Hunter
  
• Savage

Of these classes, once a Grunt has attained he status of Captain and is usually at least level 5 or above, they can obtain additional Advanced Classes - depending on their base class. These can include:

• Assassin
  
• Beastmaster
  
• Beserker
  
• Commander
  
• Destroyer
  
• Marksman
  
• Tanks
  
• Trickster
  
• Tracker

Orcs who become Captains can also belong to one of several Tribes, which will give them additional combat potential - setting them apart from others. The known Tribes and Orc can belong to include:

• Dark Tribe
  
• Feral Tribe
  
• Machine Tribe
  
• Marauder Tribe
  
• Mystic Tribe
  
• Terror Tribe
  
• Warmonger Tribe
  
• Outlaw Tribe (Coming Soon in a DLC)
  
• Slaughter Tribe (Coming Soon in a DLC)

The Base Classes Include the very General types of roles that Orcs take in the game. These Classes include:

- The most basic of grunt orcs, these orcs wield swords and nothing else, counter their attacks [RIGHT CLICK], although, be wary Warrior Grunt Orcs can be found on Caragors as well (not that caragors are strong or anything but they are annoying).

- Ranged orcs equipped with crossbows. You can find these Archer class grunt orcs on Watch Towers and other structures of outposts and fortresses looking out for incoming enemies. Roll and jump [SPACE] to avoid being hit by one of these crossbow bolts.
- Strong Orcs who generally have a body structure which is physically larger, to compensate for the heavy shield and long pike they carry around. These Grunt Orcs can be a pain when facing Captains and require players to have to duck and dodge [SPACE] in order to get away from their thrusting attacks. Try hopping over them if they are giving you trouble with that tough shield of theirs.
- Equipped with a large bundle of pointy spears, Hunters are very strong against Beasts, dealing much more damage than an ordinary Grunt Orc. Hunters can be found in outposts and fortresses as well as hunting parties.
- These Strong Orcs wield heavy axes or dual hatchets depending on their region. Savages are quite the blood thirsty class of the game. Make sure you don't directly attack them without first punching them with your fist [E] , Hopping over and behind them, freezing them or dazing them with explosions/campfires.

In Shadow of War, many of the Uruks and enemies you encounter will affiliate themselves with the many Tribes of Mordor and beyond. These tribes have an effect on these Captains, Warchiefs, and Overlords.
When an enemy belongs to one of the distinct tribes, they may in turn use that affiliation to change the location around them or influence the Fortresses they have claimed.
It is also possible that the stronger enemies you face will also inherit special Strengths and Weaknesses that are exclusive to the tribe they are a part of.

For more information, select a Tribe below:

• Dark Tribe
  
• Feral Tribe
  
• Machine Tribe
  
• Marauder Tribe
  
• Mystic Tribe
  
• Terror Tribe
  
• Warmonger Tribe
  
• Slaughter Tribe
  
• Outlaw Tribe

Image of a Dark Tribe Citadel

The Dark Tribe is one of the many Tribes in Middle-earth: Shadow of War.

Members of the Dark Tribe cloak themselves in mystery and deceit, preferring to stick to the shadows and assault their prey unaware. The Dark Tribe make excellent assassins, as they have
a tendency to ambush their targets when least expected.

When an Overlord of the Dark Tribe takes over a fortress, the area - as well as the region around the fort, will be transformed. Dark skies will be ever-present in the region so long as the Dark Overlord reigns, some alterations will be made to the Fort and Outposts.

Most notably, several alchemy tables will be placed in certain areas, and shooting them will release a giant burst of poison balefire that heavily damages those nearby.

Members of the Dark Tribe enjoy a special move called Dark Strikes. The Dark Tribe member will prepare a rapid assault of attacks that must be blocked in succession with the right inputs to avoid taking damage.
"You need not fear the dark, brothers. But what you will fear is what lies within it, waiting for you!"

~ Lugdash The Devourer

Image of a Feral Tribe Citadel

The Feral Tribe is one of the many Tribes in Middle-earth: Shadow of War.

Members of the Feral Tribe believe themselves one with the beasts and nature of Mordor, and are often found either in the company of beasts, taming them, or hunting them to increase their prowess.

When an Overlord of the Feral Tribe takes over a fortress, the area - as well as the region around the fort, will be transformed. The bones of many great beasts will adorn the walls and structures, as will the cages of imprisoned beasts.

Most notably, more bait can be found in areas controlled by the Feral Tribe, and you will find Drake Bait in greater quantities in Forts and Outposts.

Members of the Feral Tribe enjoy a special trait called Feral Claws. This comes as an unblockable charge that - if it connects - will pin you down and brutalize you with massive slashing attacks.
"Sauron will be pleased to see the beasts of Mordor feed upon your despicable corpse!"

~ Ushbaka Deathmonger

Image of a Machine Tribe Citadel

The Machine Tribe is one of the many Tribes in Middle-earth: Shadow of War.

Members of the Machine Tribe are at the forefront of industry, preferring to build up their technological might and forge the fires of war. As such they can often be found at the smiths and outposts of the region preparing for battle.

When an Overlord of the Machine Tribe takes over a fortress, the area - as well as the region around the fort, will be transformed. The smoky skies of industry will cover the region, and the fort will be paved over in bricks and strong walls.

Most notably, several new forges will be placed around the fort and outpost - and the fire within can be detonated with keen archery skills.

Members of the Machine Tribe enjoy a special move called Machine Hook. The Machine Tribe member will ready a lethal chained hook to launch in an arc in front of them that cannot be blocked, and if it connects will pull the opponent in for the kill.
"Our forges make the Dark Lord's spears and axes and arrowheads! And with these mighty weapons of war, we will lay waste to all his enemies!"

~ Kugaluga Bone-Ripper

Image of a Marauder Tribe Citadel

The Marauder Tribe is one of the many Tribes in Middle-earth: Shadow of War.

Members of the Marauder Tribe prize themselves on adorning their bodies with the loot of conquest, using improved armor and weaponry looted from their victims, and their forts reflect their greed.

When an Overlord of the Marauder Tribe takes over a fortress, the area - as well as the region around the fort, will be transformed. Well polished walls and buildings will surround the fort to showcase the loot they have gained.

Most notably, large battle chests will appear in their fortresses and outposts - and tribute is often contained within that can be plundered.

Members of the Marauder Tribe enjoy a special move called Hail of Bolts. The Marauder Tribe member will sheathe their weapon to produce dual crossbows and prepare a large salvo of crossbow bolts in a wide arc in front of them, requiring expert dodging to avoid the salvo.
"We Welcome you to this fortress! Your bodies will litter its approach; your valuables will fill its halls! And we will toast the Dark Lord's terrible power with grog sweetened by your blood!"

~Shagog The Golden

Image of a Mystic Tribe Citadel

The Mystic Tribe is one of the many Tribes in Middle-earth: Shadow of War.

Members of the Mystic Tribe are masters of the occult, and practice strange and mysterious rituals in the dark places of the world. Their dark designs invoke the unspeakable art of necromancy and undeath.

When an Overlord of the Mystic Tribe takes over a fortress, the area - as well as the region around the fort, will be transformed. Eerie bone structures will adorn the walls and the stench of death will become ever-present.

Most notably, totems will be erected so that members of the Mystic Tribe can raise their fallen comrades. Only by using your wraith powers you can purge the dark totems and make them pure.

Members of the Mystic Tribe enjoy a special move called Mystic Blade. The Mystic Tribe member will prepare a Cursed blade that will then allow them to teleport through the battle to attack with an unblockable strike - making dodging necessary to survive. Another ability unique to the mystic tribe is the necomancy ability which allows orc's to raise recently fallen orcs.
"I've been reading the signs! I've been interpreting the omens! But now I put that all aside so I can spill the blood, sever the limbs, rend the flesh!"

~ Tumug The Warlock

Image of a Terror Tribe Citadel

The Terror Tribe is one of the many Tribes in Middle-earth: Shadow of War.
Members of the Terror Tribe worship Sauron and his terrifying visage, and prefer the value of shock tactics and unflinching violence to make their foes cower in fear.

When an Overlord of the Terror Tribe takes over a fortress, the area - as well as the region around the fort, will be transformed. The skies will be tinged in a blood red sunset as the bodies of men and orcs alike will be gruesomely displayed from the battlements.
Members of the Terror Tribe enjoy a special move called Terror Chains. The Terror Tribe member will prepare two wicked curved blades on the end of chains and whip them around in all directions to catch you off guard.
"We are the ones who break the enemies of Sauron! We are the ones who make them shriek and wail and beg! We are the ones who teach you that until this day, you did not know pain!"

~ Ishghra The Devoted

Image of a Warmonger Tribe Citadel

The Warmonger Tribe is one of the many Tribes in Middle-Earth: Shadow of War. Members of the Warmonger Tribe are militant and fierce, and endlessly train for the days when the world of men will end, and their forces will darin out of Mordor to consume the lands in all directions. They can be found constantly training their troops for battle at all hours.

When an Overlord of the Warmonger Tribe takes over a fortress, the area - as well as the region around the fort, will be transformed. Blades and steel will cover the forts, and weapons will be found in abundance for all to arm themselves with.
Members of the Warmonger Tribe enjoy a special move called Warmonger Clash. The Warmonger Tribe member will prepare to charge their opponent and lock blades, and if you do not break the hold quickly enough, you will be overpowered.
"In the Dark Lord's name, we master war! We seek it, we relish it! We will honor Sauron's name with every riven shield and severed head!"

~ Goroth the Betrayer

Image of a Slaughter Tribe Citadel

The Slaughter Tribe is one of many Tribes in Middle Earth: Shadow of War. Members of the Slaughter Tribe are bloodthirsty and ecstatic, and are obsessed with viscera, blood and guts. They can be found in forts draped with skins of their victims to remind them of the thrill of battle and the pleasure of the feast that follows.

When an Overlord of the Slaughter Tribe takes over a fortress, the area - as well as the region around the fort, will be transformed. Rags and carcasses will cover the forts, guts and severed heads will be found in abundance to help remind all orcs of their glorious battles. There is also a meat grinder in your fortress when you set a Slaughter Tribe as your Overlord, you can throw orcs in if you're feeling angry! :D
Members of the Slaughter Tribe enjoy a special move called Rapid Fire, where they throw a barrage of cleavers at their opponents. The Slaughter Tribe member will also throw two knives as boomerangs, collecting them after they've sliced through the opposing orcs body. Either of these attacks can be deadly. If the Slaughter Tribe member manages to use these abilities multiple times, you can expect whoever is opposing him to be as good as dead.

[No Visual Representation of a Slaughter Tribe Member just yet]

"Hooks and racks! Blood gutters and grates! Cleavers' blades and saws' teeth! Picture them in your mind, maggots, for they'll be the final resting place for your remains!"

~ Gubu All-Eater

Image of an Outlaw Tribe Citadel

The Outlaw Tribe is one of many Tribes in Middle Earth: Shadow of War. Members of the Outlaw Tribe are rebllious and have a deep contempt for all of those who would rule them. They can be found in their forts filled with banners that represent their insignia -- The bloody fist -- They are proud of their symbol and of themselves and feel they are the superior orc race in all of Mordor.

When an Overlord of the Outlaw Tribe takes over a fortress, the area - as well as the region around the fort will be transformed. Their insignia will cover seemingly every inch of the fortress to remind them of the real purpose they serve.
Members of the Outlaw Tribe enjoy a special move where they curl a weighted chain to subdue their opposing tribute. Although easily stopped, if they receive the opportunity to get their opponents into a lock, they are able to deal immense damage and heavily lower the health of opposing enemies.

[No Visual Representation of the Outlaw Tribe just yet]

"Too long have the warmongering kingdoms of Men threatened the Orc-folk. To them, we are mindless hordes, low vermins, and they thirst for our blood, our lands. But a reckoning is coming brothers, for we rise."

~ Ratak The Proud

There are many Regions in the game are now guarded with major Fortresses and outposts that protect the region and held by the strongest of Orc's forces.

Each Fortress you lay siege on or defend will be different, and the Fortress Overlord who rules over it will have changed it to their Nemesis System traits, as will the Warchiefs that help defend it. The look and feel of the fortress will be altered depending on what Tribe the Overlord is a part of. Every one of the Warchiefs will also bring another addition of defense to the table, as well as their bodyguards.

In order to start a siege on an Orc Nemesis Fortress, you may first have to complete several essential steps to prepare for attack. In a siege, you will be able to choose up to 6 (provided your level is high enough) to become Assault Leaders that lead their own armies and also their provided reinforcements you situate them with, against the defenders of the enemy fortress. As you gain levels, more slots of Assault Leaders will be unlocked, which being the last is Level 45. For every Assault Leader, you will be allowed to choose one of three types of reinforcements to go with them, purchasable with Silver Coins. These include:

• Assault Leader 1: Sappers, Mounted Cavalry, Olog-Hai
  
• Assault Leader 2: Defender Hosts, Hunter Hosts, Savage Hosts
  
• Assault Leader 3: Fiery Siege Beasts, Poisonous Siege Beasts, Cursed Siege Beasts
  
• Assault Leader 4: War Graugs, Drake, Spiders
  
• Assault Leader 5: Farsight Archers, Fire Archers, Mounted Archers
  
• Assault Leader 6: Inspiring Banners, Increased Capture Rate

Furthermore, the enemy army will also equip themselves and which it also depends on the Overlord and his Warchiefs, they willl lean towards preparing their defenses with whatever they happen to align with, which can include:

• Overlord: Stone Walls, Reinforced Stone Walls, or Metal Walls
  
• Warchief 1: Iron Gates, Poison Spouts, or Fire Spouts
  
• Warchief 2: Savage Host, Defender Host, or Hunter Host
  
• Warchief 3: Fiery Siege Beasts, Poisonous Siege Beasts, or Cursed Siege Beasts
  
• Warchief 4: War Caragor, Caged Hellfire Drakes, or War Graug
  
• Warchief 5: Spiked Walls, Fire Archers, or Farsight Archers
  
• Warchief 6: Fire Mines, or Poison Mines

It's important to investigate what the enemy army is using as defence, in which choosing the right assault reinforcements to counter their defence reinforcement. An example is, if they have Iron gates upgrade, Sapper reinforcement can destroy them easily. If they have Reinforced Walls, it might need a War Graug reinforcement to help bash them down.

One of the important things to think about is that you have several options when choosing how you want to take control of the fortress, either by launching a full-scale invasion, Luring out the warchiefs and picking them out one by one through the warchief missions on the map, or through infiltrating with spies that way you have help from within, plus the additonal reinforcements of your assaulting army.

If the fortress as it currently is, is too powerful to attack, you can consider doing the warchief missions and luring them out and fighting them in the field, along with their bodyguards. While you cannot go one on one with the Overlord, you can defeat all the warchiefs in the field to take down their defenses and also their reinforcing defenses. You can also shame them to reduce the level of the overall fortress and or plant a spy/bodyguard to their warchief to infiltrate and have help from within. Infiltrating the Warchiefs that defend your soon-to-be fortress, is another method of assault. You can install your own captains to be bodyguards of the enemy warchiefs to turn the tide of battle.

In order to do this, you need to have several dominated/branded captains in your army and command them (3) and then hover your mouse over the Warchief and send them to infiltrate. He will have to proof his worth to be a bodyguard in a random Fight Pit challenge, and if he survives the challenge, he will become the bodyguard of the warchief you want to spy on/infiltrate. This gives and edge to the battle to come. Or you can confront the warchief himself in the field like in the above topic of dueling them and have help taking him down in a Betrayal Mission. Make sure to kill all his other unbranded bodyguards to unlock the betrayal misson.

Nemesis Fortress battles will require you to capture several Control Points before the way to the Overlord is opened. These are located in specific areas of the Fortress that your Assault Leaders & their forces will automatically try and fight and hold for you until you can claim them. Enemy Warchiefs, if still in the fight and not infiltrated or killed, will try to defend the Control Points with their Bodyguards. The more of your forces that are in the area the faster you can win over the area and claim it before assaulting the next point. Claiming the Control Point will push the defenders to fall back to the next control point, aswell as your forces moving to capture the next.

If fighting a fortress that has many Warchiefs (Up to 7 Max), you will have to take more Control Point (There is up to 4 Control Points in the Standard Areas and up to 2 in the inner courtyard). But be aware that the Inner Walls around the Courtyard does have the same defenses on the wall as the outer walls had. Such would be Siege Beasts.

Once you have captured all Control Points, the remaining objective of the battle is to fight and kill/brand/shame the Overlord. If you still have enemy warchiefs, they must be defeated first before the way to the Overlord is provided.

When all defenses, warchiefs, and control points are down the remaining enemy forces will surrender which leaves just the Overlord to deal with.

Note that when in Assaulting the Fortress Mode or Defending the Fortress Mode, you will see on occasion some of your Assault Leaders and their Bodyguards with a Red Circle slowly depleting overtime. This means they are bleeding and need your help. Helping them requires that you head over to them and Hold E to revive them back to full hp. However you will have to be careful as if there are hordes of enemies around, you will have to deal with them very quickly or just try to take the hits until you get him back up. Sometimes you will have many Assault Leaders & Captains who need help getting revived. This will require some quick decisions that need to be made, check quickly which of the timers have the shortest time and go help them. Use your focus & rooftop to run quickly as standard running will never get you there on time.

The Overlord's Throne Room will be decorated depending on the type of Overlord and the Tribe he belongs to. This can include flaming, cursed or poisonous vents that come out sections of the floor, and the enemies he brings to the fight. Note that the Overlord will also continually summon reinforcements, so trying to defeat all the additional Orcs will not ever happen. You will have to plan your strategy to take him on. The best way is to either summon a Graug, Shelob's Brood or A Bodyguard (If you have one assigned to you) to help you fight in your battle with the Overlord.

If the Overlord wins and successfully kills you, your siege will have failed and therefore you will have to start it again. However, if you start the siege immediately right after you load back up, the assault will start from the fight with the overlord. So it will give you time to try again and this time be victorious. If playing on Nemesis Difficulty, the surviving bodyguards will take over the dead Warchief's positons and become the new Warchiefs to defend the fortress. But on Normal or lower difficulty, you'll be able to immediately challenge the Overlord like previously stated.

Once you have successfully claimed the Fortress, you will have the ability to appoint an Overlord of your own to take control and manage your fortress. Your new Overlord will decorate the fortress and surrounding area with the Tribe he belongs to. Your surviving Assault Leaders will also become Warchiefs to help defend the Fortress.

While it auto assigns the new Warchiefs, you can go to the Army Menu and change out the Warchiefs that defend the Fortress. You may also see that when slotting the warchiefs that some might have little missions that prevent commanding them. However you can bypass that by going to the Siege Upgrades menu and clicking now on the Right Side and picking them from there, this will automatically cancel the mission their on and place them as an active warchief.

You will also want to assign Bodyguards to each warchief. There are several strategies that can be performed and made use of when doing so. If you want to make it where frontal assaults are impossible to get through, you can assign 3-4 Bodyguards to the Front two warchiefs. There can be a design flaw in this however if the enemy breaks through and gets into your fortress from the backside, which can cause a very big imbalance, provided the enemy warchief brings friends along. If you want to balance it out, two per every warchief. It is best to at least have up to 12-14 Branded Captains guardings warchiefs and leave the remaining for randoms to appear if incase wanting to get better captains in your army and getting rid of old ones.

As the game progresses, you'll eventually have to defend that which you have claimed and which will require you to make your own defenses and prepare it accordingly to the attackers.

When in the Army Screen, Click the prompt for Siege Upgrades to manage your Fortress Defenses. Much like attacking a Fortress, You can assign reinforcements to your warchief's as listed in the beginning of this section of the guide.

Here are some strategies for the use of Reinforcements when Assaulting Fortresses.

The attacking army is strengthened with a group of explosive Sappers who charge the fortress.
Sappers are very well decent to use especially when the enemy is using "Iron Gates" as one of their reinforcement upgrades to their defenses. However there is one thing to watch out for; If the enemy is using a Fire Drake as their gate defence, the sappers may not be able to really reach their target without dying by fire first. They may or may not arrive. So in this case, it is better to have a War Graug along with Sappers to ensure breaking through a likely occurrance. The attacking army is strengthened with a group of caragor riders.
Honestly i hardly use this upgrade because most of the time, the caragors are killed easily. However if one of the captains has (if you gathered intel before attacking) a negative trait that is instantly killed, terrified or dazed by the sight of caragors, this Upgrade will do a great service in the battle. The attacking army is strengthened with a group of Olog-Hai who can destroy fortress walls.
This can be one great upgraded provided if the defending army is using no wall upgrades or just stone wall upgrade. With Reinforced Stone Wall, it might take abit longer for your fortresses to punch through. Most of the time although your Assault Leaders will hop over the wall if there are no spikes, with an exception to Ologs as they cant really climb (I have not seen that yet, as they spend most of their time smacking the wall.). Using this upgrade is also a decent one when you want a horde of trolls smashing through the enemy forces. The bigger the orc the better! The attacking army is bolstered with Savages, axe-wielding shock troops.
Having dual weapons is always a fun thing right? With a bunch of these guys, they can rip through enemy forces like butter, especially if the defending force is using hunters upgrade. They can also as far as i have seen, take down war enemy Warchief's Bodyguards. This is a situational upgrade, but can also be used as a main upgrade for every attack if you so wanted. The attacking army is bolstered with Defenders, shield-bearing heavy infantry that can help capture Victory/Control Points faster.
Honestly the best upgrade with what it has to offer. Of course shields are always a better choice! As it gives more defence and longer survivability. The more your orcs survive in battle the longer you can hold an attacking position. In addition to, they can also help capture and hold Control Points and help you capture them quicker then the standard capture timer. This is the greatest choice to choose from for pretty much all assaults. The attacking army is bolstered with Hunters, who hurl jagged spears that are especially deadly to beasts
Great choice as far as upgrades go when you have an enemy using a War Graug or Hellfire defence. If you break the walls down or gate, and the enemy has a Drake as a defence upgrade, the hunters will pulverize the drake as it will be automatically their primary target once its free and then focus on their other targets, which would be caragors and other beasts. This is exceptionally powerful against War Graugs as previous stated, War Graugs are very sturdy in defence and powerful in their attack but are tremedously weak to Hunters and go down quickly. The attacking army fields Siege Beasts that rain fiery destruction on the fortress walls and the archers atop them.
Situational. If the defending force is using Farsight Archers, they can shoot from great ranges and can truly do alot of damage to your forces provided they have their back to them while engaging other foes near them. Most of the time archers are ignored and your forces charge in and fight whats in front of them. Archers are only attacked when the area is pretty much cleared. These beasts will take care of the Archers and also the Siege Beasts who defend the fortress. However if the fortress is upgraded with 6-7 Warchiefs. They will not reach the back inner courtyard wall defending beasts, you will have to take care of those yourself. The attacking army fields Siege Beasts whose projectiles create toxic clouds that choke defending Siege Beasts and monsters.
This is a good option for most all attacks as i have found. It throws projectiles into the enemy forces and weakened them with a Damage over Time debuff. However this can be useless when fighting Defending Warchiefs and their Bodyguards if they are immune to poison. However it does thin the pack when fighting alot of spawning adds. The attacking army fields Siege Beasts that pummel War Chiefs and their minions with dark, crippling artillery fire.
A second good option to choose from as it does do a great amount of damage to Warchiefs and Bodyguards, provided they are not immune to Curse. But when they are not, this can definitely help you turn the tide of combat. When you are about to break into their fortress, you may fight a few captains or warchiefs with a fraction of their health already reduced due to the Curse Damage. This can be helpful as it saves time that you or your assault leaders have to spend attacking them so they can attack other targets and push for a win.

Cluster of deadly arachnids swarm the fortress, poisoning and panicking the defenders.
Great for when you want to spread poison damage to all of the enemy forces. This can be countered by Captains and Warchiefs if they are immune. But it does a great deal of damage when they are not. Exceptional when it comes to dealing with additional troops as it spreads when spiders jump to each target. The attacking army is supported by a War Graug, a massive Beast capable of terrible destruction.
This is a great edition to use, especially against defenders with Reinforced Stone Walls or Metal Walls, Also including Iron Gates upgrade. War Graugs are mainly for breaking through to get into the fortress to begin your full scale invasion. However once it does break through, it will definitely go down quickly as most all of their forces will focus on it and kill it. War Graugs are best for breaking and entering, other then that it usually dies very quickly after the breach, even when riding it. A drake swoops in to rain fiery chaos onto the fortress. Be warned, the drake's fire does not discriminate!
In my opinion, this is the worst and most useless upgrade to take. You can mount it if you have the skill yes, but however the most damage you will do to a Warchief or Captain is minimal if not a medium amount from them having a debuff trait to make them very damaged from fire, however you can't really preview every single Bodyguard or Warchief right? In Addition, Warchiefs and Bodyguards along with any hunter hosts will focus target it and surely kill it fast. Also note that if one of your captains is bleeding, you will have to dismount and go heal them, but by that time...the enemy forces will most likely have done a significant amount of damage to your drake as since you are not on it, any skill upgrades to reduce damage done to your mount will have been removed the moment you dismount. Archers ignite their arrows to rain fire on their targets.
This is situational as these archers do shoot closer to the walls and can die quicker if the enemy is using Farsight Archers. This can be used if they are using Spiked Walls. If they are using that as their defence, Fire archers can be a plus when dealing with Siege Beasts on the wall as since they will not have great defending archers that don't do much damage. Archers can shoot targets at greater ranges.
This is a great option when you wanna play it safe and really annoy the heck out of the defenders inside. Including the Siege Beasts if they all focus target them when able. This also does help when dealing with Fire Archers defending upgrade, since they cannot shoot that far enough to kill the Farsight Archers. Archers ride caragors, giving them increased mobility.
Situational. This can be taken if the enemy is using spiked walls and if they also are not using a very threatening Siege Beast on the wall. Mounted Archers can right in and help you from afar when dealing with enemy forces and also help defeat defending warchiefs and their bodyguards. However if the enemy is using Hunter Host, Fire Archers or Farsight Archers as a defence upgrade, this upgrade can be pretty useless and pointless to take. Inspired Orcs enter bloodthirsty rage, attacking with increased ferocity.
Situational. In my opinion, a very useless upgrade. But that is just my opinion. This upgrade rather gives your forces a little damage buff when in battle. As it stands, it might be a good idea to take if you believe that the enemy force will have a great number of Bodyguards to a Warchief. The more damage they do, the faster surrounding enemies will die, the more time they get to whack the Warchiefs and their Bodyguards. Other than that, its optional to say the least. It is all up to the player and his or her playstyle when picking this or the other upgrade. Attacking Orcs capture Victory/Control Points much faster.
The best upgrade to take for Assault Leader 6. With this upgrade, when your forces charge in force charge into the fortresses after breaking the perimeter, you can quickly take the Control Point at such as fast rate that the forced defending it will have to retreat and keep retreating quickly. This forces Warchiefs and their Bodyguards to fall back to the next Control Point and if you brought Captains who are archers, this can be truly devastating to their health. In addition if you are taking multiple Control Points at once, they will have to fall back even more and your Assault Leaders will push more and all group up together and be even more devastating when combining strengths.

Here are some strategies for the use of Reinforcements when Defending your Fortresses.

Solid stone walls to repel attackers.
This is the first tier defence for wall defence. It can help for a time and also cheap to buy when in the beginning stages of the game, however when reaching later points of the game it can truly be a easy target to destroy and would require an upgrade to a better tier defence. These stone walls have been strengthened for increased resistance to attack.
This is a good choice if you wanna save Silver Coins and also have wall that will hold decently. It can be useful for mid-game but when it comes to Shadow Wars time, this can be very outdated. Although if you really do not care about your walls and such, this is some good balance at least that will give you abit of edge when dealing the first initial assaulting forces. Strengthened and reinforced with thick iron plating, these walls can withstand a tremendous amount of damage.
The Best Wall Defence for a fortress. It is a costly one but can withstand a tremedous amount of hits from enemy forces. However these wall can be countered quickly with a War Graug, given it has enough time to smack your walls. Using Fire Archers can easily counter the War Graug and protect your walls. Both Outer Gates and Inner Gates are strengthened against attack.
This is a situational upgrade. If the enemy forces are not using any upgrades such as; War Graug, Olog-Hai, or anything that can really be a hazard to your walls, Iron Gates can definitely help hold them off longer. As they will most likely be focusing most of the time on your front gate. Yes, you will have some attacking your walls, like Olog Captains/Warchiefs, but your wall will hold out for a long enough time and Iron Gates will equalize that to match the Metal Walls. Holding the enemy out long enough for you to go out there and deal with the Warchiefs yourself and reduce the amount of work for your Defending Forces. Clouds of toxic gas boil from cunningly placed mouths on the walls, blistering and choking attackers as they try to climb up.
This is optional. It is a good upgrade when dealing with things like Olog-Hai Upgrade or anything that trys to spam your wall. It is continuous and will be devastating to the enemy Warchiefs and/or Bodyguards. However if they are immune to poison and they are the only ones attacking your walls, this can end up useless. So be sure to check each Warchief's details before assigning this upgrade...if the majority of the Assault Leaders are immune, lose this upgrade and use something else. Flames issue from slits in the walls, setting Olog-Hai trying to destroy them on fire. An unconventional choice for a fortress with wooden walls.
Another optional upgrade but a much better one of the three given. It does the same thing as the Poison Spouts but only uses flame. It does a significant amount of damage to War Graugs & Olog-hai if they are used and also Assault Leaders with their Bodyguards. However just like previously stated in Poison Spouts, check the details of each Assault Leader that is attacking your fortress for Immunity against flame. If a majority of the Assault Leaders have immunities to flame and poison then the only other option is to use Iron Gates as both spouts will proof useless. If in which case, use Hunter Host to defend against a War Graug or Fire Archers. The defending army is bolstered with Savages, axe-wielding shock troops.
This upgrade and be exceptional when using it as a defence. Killing the Assault Leaders and their Bodyguards quickly is definitely a plus. The faster you defeat them, the closer you get to Victory. This upgrade can definitely be a good one, however this one can be countered easily if the enemy uses Mounted Archers. The defending army is bolstered with Defenders, shield-bearing heavy infantry that can help hold Victory Points longer.
A reasonably good upgrade, and a good choice for any defence. The Longer your forces stay alive, the better. If the enemy pushes forward and claims Victory points, it can definitely turn the tide of the battle to their favor. Defenders also stick close to their Defence Leaders, any attempt to attack them head on will most likely be interrupted and or blocked off if they swarm around your defending warchief. The defending army is bolstered with Hunters, who hurl jagged spears that are especially deadly to Beasts.
This upgrade should only be chosen if you want to take down their War Graug or Wild Drake upgrades. This can be useful when defending against Mounted Archers aswell as they will target the caragors they ride upon. Other than that, if the use anything else, this upgrade is practically useless. Yes they can do alot of damage against Assault Leaders attacking you, but using Savage Host will do much better in damage then Hunter Host.

The defending army fields Siege Beasts that rain fiery destruction and terror on the attackers.
Situational. If the assaulting force is using Farsight Archers upgrade, they can shoot from great ranges and can truly do alot of damage to your forces while waiting for the assaulting force to break into your fortress. Fire archers if used will also be an easy target aswell. These beasts will take care of the Farsight Archers and also the Siege Beasts who assault the fortress. The defending army fields Siege Beasts whose projectiles create toxic clouds that choke defending Siege Beasts and monsters.
This is a good option most all defending missions. It throws projectiles into the enemy forces and weakened them with a Damage over Time debuff. However this can be useless when fighting Assaulting Warchiefs and their Bodyguards if they are immune to poison. However it does thin the pack when fighting alot of spawning adds. The defending army fields Siege Beasts that pummel Assault Leaders and their minions with dark, crippling artillery fire.
A second good option to choose from as it does do a great amount of damage to Warchiefs and Bodyguards, provided they are not immune to Curse. But when they are not, this can definitely help you turn the tide of combat. When enemies are about to break into your fortress, you may fight a few captains or warchiefs with a fraction of their health already reduced due to the Curse Damage. This can be helpful as it saves time that you or your assault leaders to push for a victory faster. A pack of vicious caragors stalks the fortress, ready to pounce on and eviscerate attackers.
Situational. This is a good option if you use them against Assault Leaders that are weak to Beast Attacks. This definitely can help also with thining the forces inside your fortress. However be observant and look out for their strengths for any buffs when attack beasts, for if they do then this upgrade will be useless. It will also be useless if the assault force is using Hunter Host as the Hunter Host is proficient when dealing with Beasts. Gates are guarded by caged drakes whose breath incinerates attackers. An unconventional choice for a fortress with wooden walls.
Great choice if using a mix of; Metal Walls, Fire/Poison Spouts or Iron Gates and Spiked Walls. Using these as a mix when using Hellfire will force the attackers to attack the Gate. And since they are there, the drake on your side of the Gates will fire devastating flame damage against the attackers keeping the area clean and the forces stuck outside. Using this combination will also hold out against two waves of Assault Leaders. However this can be countered if the Assault Leaders attacking have immunity to fire. In which case then the gates will be easing pickins and will bust through. Do note that if your gates are and eventually breached, the drake will fly free and will attack friend and foe alike as it is not branded. You will have to immediately pause and shoot it in the head quickly and weaken it. And or Shadow Mount it and use it against the attacking forces. A War Graug defends the fortress, eager to crush and devour all attackers.
This is a good option if you want to pummel forces attacking you. However this is not the best option to take if Hunter Host is used by the enemy and also if Assault Leaders are immune or strengthened by sightings of Beasts like the Graug and which makes the Graug easy to kill and quite quickly. The only time to use this is if no Hunter Host is used and if the Majority of the Assault Leaders are heavily damaged by Beast attacks. Walls are augmented with Spikes that prevent attackers from climbing them.
This is the best upgrade of all three choices given for Defence Leader 5. Without this, non olog Assault Leaders can climb over and start their assault on the first wave and can provide a early weakening to your defending forces. It is best to use this for all defending missions to keep the enemy out of the fortress longer and also stop swarming methods. I have never used Fire Archers and Farsight Archers after using this upgrade. Archers ignite their arrows to rain fire on their targets.
As for use of this upgrade in defence should be only when an enemy is using a War Graug. However do note that if you do use this for that reason, enemy Assault Leaders and their captains can climb over and do more harm then a Graug. The War Graug will go down quicker then Assault Leaders & Captains but they also can get into your fortress quicker than a War Graug. Archers can shoot targets at greater ranges. Eliminating more enemies before they reach the fortress.
This is honestly a useless upgrade compared to what Spiked Walls has to offer. But if used, this upgrade can provide great defence on eliminating Fire Archers upgrade and all the rest of the little foot soldiers on the field. They can do some damage to Siege Beasts but are useless against Assault Leaders in the long run.

Attempts to reach Victory Points are hampered by toxic mines that blister and choke attackers.
The best upgrade in my opinion for Defence Leader 6. This upgrade can be useful when you want to add extra defence to the Control Points and give your Defence Leaders an edge to the fight. However this can be useless if the Assault Leaders are immune to Poison. But even so, it can also thin the enemy forces down so that your Defence Leaders can focus on the Assault Leaders more instead of the little foot soldiers.

The approach of the fortress is littered with volatile mines to incinerate and terrify attackers.
This is a great option when you wanna blast away attackers who approach your fortress and your gate. It thins them down so your gates are not attacked with a great amount of enemy forces. However do keep in mind that once they blow up...they are no longer useful. So new waves of enemies will not be affected. In the long run, this can help you with a mixture of other strategic ways get down in the field and help kill off enemy Assault Leaders and their captains for the first wave, but other then that...this is all this upgrade has to offer.

In Shadow of War, you will find that many of the Overlords, Warchiefs, Captains, and leaders of The Lord of Mordor's Forces come with randomly given Strengths and Weaknesses. This will also apply to any that you brand, and promote to lead your orc army.

Reason is that these Captains and Warchiefs are procedurally generated, You will need to gather intel from Intel Grunts to find out new info on your unindentified captains, you can find them with a Green Icon randomly placed on your mini map. Finding these captains on the in-field will also reveal their strengths, but it does not reveal their weaknesses.

Even after you reveal what a captain has to offer, these Immunities or Weaknesses can still change over the course of your gameplay. As these Orcs and Ologs-Hai fight, defeat others captains, cheat death, get shamed, etc...they may gain or lose perks abd/or even become Epic or Legendary which is a good thing.

The Positive Perks and Negative Perks are as follows:

Strengths are traits that Orc Captains can have that give them specific advantages on the in combat versus player or another captain.

• Immunities
  
• Hates
  
• Traits
  
• Bonueses

Weaknesses are common that most Orc Captains, Warchiefs, and even Overlords are randomly given. They can be from simple small weaknesses or something major like that which allows for instant kills or traits that can leave them stunned or terrified from yours or another captains attacks. Or even a beast's attacks.

• Mortal Weaknesses
  
• Vulnerabilities
  
• Dazed By
  
• Hints

These are the positive perks that captains get that make them completely immune to certain attacks - whether they be from the player or from the environmental hazards or other orc captains.

If you want to work around an Orc Captain's immunties, try attacking him in a way that triggers any fears/dazes he has because through that it will temporarily disable his immunities while he is stunned or terrified.

• Fire-Proof (Immune to fire attacks)
  
• Frost-Proof (Immune to frost attacks)
  
• Poison-Proof (Immune to poison attacks)
  
• Arrow-Proof (Immune to ranged attacks)
  
• Beast-Proof (Immune to Beast attacks)
  
• Immune to Curse (Immune to curse damage)
  
• Immune to Execution (Immune to combat executions)
  
• Vigilant against Stealth (Immune to stealth attacks, also includes wraith stealth skill)

Hates are specific trait perks that, while they do not grant immunity but will send the Orc or Olog into a rage/enrage mode - increasing their damage, their attack speed, and making them harder to kill for a certain period of time. Enrage mode also removes for the duration of the rage time, the Broken tag even if they have low health, so if you plan on branding the captain, kite until the tag turns green again. Most all attacks in rage mode will become unblockable.

The one annoying thing is that while under the effects of rage, the captain can no longer distinguish friend from foe and will lash out at anything nearby, if he is a branded captain, he could very well attack his own allied captains aswell and kill/or use fatalities on them. This can be useful in large groups of enemy captains but definitely can be a potiental hazard if your dominated orcs starts attacking your own during a fortress assault.

• Bestial Frenzy (Becomes enraged after killing a beast)
  
• Blood Brother (Will ambush and become enraged when his Blood Brother is attacked or killed)
  
• Bloodlust (Becomes enraged when other Orcs nearby become enraged)
  
• Brutal Frenzy (Becomes enraged at the sight of brutal attacks or shaming)
  
• Devoted Master (Becomes enraged when target's pet or gang is killed)
  
• Enraged by Acrobatics
  
• Enraged by Betrayal (Becomes enraged when allies fight each other)
  
• Enraged by Boss Defeat (Becomes enraged when his boss is killed)
  
• Enraged by Burning
  
• Enraged by Caragors (Becomes enraged at the sight of a Caragor)
  
• Enraged by Cowards (Becomes enraged when high-ranking orcs flee or become dazed)
  
• Enraged by Curse (Becomes enraged when hit by a cursed weapon)
  
• Enraged by Drakes (Becomes enraged at the sight of a Drake)
  
• Enraged by Everything (Can become enraged at any moment)
  
• Enraged by Frost
  
• Enraged by Graugs (Becomes enraged at the sight of a Graug)
  
• Enraged by Ghuls
  
• Enraged by Injury (Becomes enraged when taking damage)
  
• Enraged by Morgai Flies (Becomes enraged when swarmed by Morgai Flies)
  
• Enraged by Mortal Wounds (Becomes enraged when at low health)
  
• Enraged by Pinning (Becomes enraged when you pin his foot to the ground)
  
• Enraged by Poison (Becomes enraged when hit by a poison weapon)
  
• Enraged by Rival (Enraged by the sight of a specific rival Orc)
  
• Enraged by Spiders (Becomes enraged at the sight of Spiders)
  
• Enraged by Stealth
  
• Enraged by Undead
  
• Enraged by Weakness (Becomes enraged when higher-ranking targets become dazed)
  
• Haunted (Enraged by Shadow Strike)
  
• Killing Frenzy (Becomes enraged after killing a Captain)
  
• Last Stand (Becomes enraged when facing the Bright Lord alone)
  
• Possessive Master (Becomes enraged if his Bodyguards are attacked.)
  
• Power Crazed (Becomes enraged upon encountering a more powerful target)
  
• Vengeful (Becomes enraged when witnessing the death of an allied captain)
  
• Vengeful Master (Becomes enraged when a Bodyguard is killed)

Traits are additional attacks perks and skills that each Orc Captain brings to a fight, depending upon what their base Class and the Advanced Classes is that they belong to. They are also influenced by Tribes they are apart of to give them more additional skill perks/traits. Among the types of Advanced Classes there are in the game are:

Devastating killer who prefers to ambush enemies and strike them down quickly with very well percise agility. These enemies prefer to ambush you in the field most of the time. Fighting these Captains should be handled with caution and very well handled strategy, be quick to retreat when low on health or you'll be killed. To save yourself to fight again with proper support, better environment and such is no defeat.
Assassin Trait Perks

• Agile - Dodges, rolls, and vaults over opponents to avoid taking damage.
  
• No Chance - Does not allow a Last Chance Promot. Instant Death is for sure (Unless another captain saves you just in time, which can happen.)
  
• Master of the Hunt - will track you relentlessly and call reinforcements to join his hunt.
  
• Throwing Knives - Can hurl throwing knives from a distance.
  
• Epic Throwing Knives (Epic Trait) - Throws an arc of multiple knives at all foes in front of him.

At one with the creatures of Mordor. Beasts will not attack him. Can often be found in the wilds or taming beast nemesis missions. Take out any beast friends he summons quickly, or tame them to your side to turn the tide of combat. But be aware that killing his pets will most likely enrage him, due to a perk called Devoted Master.
Beastmaster Trait Perks

• Bestial Roar - Calls Caragors to battle, heals allied beasts and send them at his target.
  
• Caragor Pack - Arrives to fights with a pack of Caragors.
  
• Drake Lure - Can call a Drake into battle.
  
• Den Mother - Calls and heals Ghuls into battle.
  
• Spider Summoner - Is able to summon Spiders on command to poison targets.
  
• Dire Mount (Epic Trait) - Starts the battle mounted on a Dire Caragor, and can ride others.
  
• Epic Graug Call (Epic Trait) - Summons a graug to fight alongside him.

Chaotic spamming warriors (As i like to call them) who becomes enraged in combat. The Berserker thrives when damaging others. Attack him with ranged attacks if possible, or use the environment to distract, stun, and wound him before going in for the kill or capture. Because when enraged, his attacks are brutal and extremely repetitive and can cause you to go into Last Chance mode in matter of seconds.
Berserker Trait Perks

• Furious Charge - Charges after opponents, knocking them to the ground and beating them.
  
• Rabid - Utters terrifying battle cries that disorient and intimidate enemies.
  
• Rampage - Recklessly charges into battle, attacking friend and foe alike.
  
• Shield Slam (Defender Only) - Can strike his shield into the ground, stunning nearby enemies.
  
• Flying Axes (Savage Only) - Throws his weapons which will return back to him, dealing high damage to everyone in their path.
  
• Epic Rage (Epic Trait) - Stays enraged for long periods of time.

Bolsters those who fight alongside him, enabling them to fully unlesh their combat bloodlust. Can often be found training troops in outposts and sometimes can be located in the field. The Use grog barrels, grog stacks, fires or Elven Light to clear the battlefield of his friends while you focus on the captain.
Commander Trait Perks

• War Banners - Orders followers to plant war banners that strengthen and frenzy allies, but can be destroyed.
  
• Call Reinforcements - Uses a horn to continually call more reinforcements to the area.
  
• Dying Command - Upon death, his followers will be sent into an enraged state.
  
• Fanatical Gang (Epic Trait) - Leads a gang that becomes enraged if he is attacked.

An master in explosive/burst strategy and weaponry, he is equipped with bombs and mines.You will need to be constantly moving and dodging if you want to avoid his repetitive explosives.
Destroyer Trait Perks

• Final Blast - Upon death, triggers an explosion that stuns enemies.
  
• Elemental Blast - Upon death, triggers an explosion that can deal either Fire, Frost, Poison, or Curse damage.
  
• Sappers - Has a gang of explosive enemies who detonate in a suicidal blast.
  
• Mines and Bombs - Can deploy mines or throw bombs that stuns enemies.
  
• Elemental Mines and Bombs - Can deploy mines or throw bombs that can deal Fire, Frost, Poison, or Curse damage.
  
• Epic Bombs (Epic Trait) - Throws multiple bombs rapidly.
  
• Epic Elemental Bombs (Epic Trait) - Throws multiple bombs rapidly that can be either Fire, Frost, Poison, or Curse infused

These captain are a specialist in ranged combat who sees farther, fires with more accuracy, and deals more damage with crossbows or spears. The goal is to keep them in melee range whenever possible so they can't unleash their most devastating wounding attacks, in melee range, just focus on dodging their melee counters.
Marksman Trait Perks

• Power Shot - Fires a powerful shot that stuns his target.
  
• Explosive Shot - Fires ranged projectiles that explode on impact.
  
• Quick Shot - Can shoot successive bolts very quickly.
  
• Epic Quick Shot (Epic Trait) - Can shoot multiple targets at once.

Heavily armored Captains that withstand extroadinary amounts of damage. The Tank can endure hard hits and is capable of a second wind moments before death (Defy Death Perk). A Captain that can last this long in combat can be easily killed by mortal weaknesses or things that cause them to flee in fear.
Tank Trait Perks

• Determination - Heals himself during battle through sheer willpower alone, but can be interrupted.
  
• Wave of Might - Unleashes a wave of strength so powerful that it pushes back and disorients nearby enemies.
  
• Epic Determination (Epic Trait) - Heals himself completely during a battle through exceptional willpower, but can be interrupted.

Seeks you out no matter where you hide and summons reinforcements to hem you in. Be wary and perceptive to spot their traps when dodging around, and interrupt them with hit and run tactics before they can call for help.
Tracker Trait Perks

• Master of the Hunt - Will track you relentlessly, and sound a horn for nearby Orcs to join his hunt.
  
• Trapper - Can set traps to pin an enemy place, making them vulnerable to ranged attacks until set free.
  
• Harpoon (Olog Only) - Mid-range weapon that locks onto enemies, and will pull you in if struck.
  
• Epic Trapper (Epic Trait) - Throws multiple traps to ensnare enemies, making them vulnerable to ranged weapons until breaking free.

Expert in surprise attacks and unexpected stategies used to confuse their victims. The Trickster is difficult to predict. Use AoE (Area of Effect) attacks like grog barrels, grog stacks or Elven Light to stop them from dodging. You can also if they are not immune to ranged, pin them in place so they can't escape.

• Smoke Bomb - Deploys Smoke Bombs to elude enemies
  
• Decoys - Can appear with an entoruage who look exactly like him, and it will make tracking the real target harder.
  
• Epic Smoke Bomb (Epic Trait) - Deploys more powerful smoke bombs that also stun nearby enemies while he eludes them.
  
• Elite Decoys (Epic Trait) - Can appear with a group of elite Grunts that look exactly like him, and will make tracking the real target harder.
  Trickster Trait Perks

Extremely skilled captain. The slayer fights his enemies head on and overpowers them with his unmatched combat skills. Don't rely on using standard attacks but change around your strategies quickly and often and bring other branded captains to swarm him if possible.
Slayer Trait Perks

• Triple Strike - Attacks with a deadly three-hit combination. Use caution when fighting up close.
  
• Quick Learner - Adapts to your tactics quickly to render them useless.
  
• Slayer Counter (Epic Trait) - Responds to Executions from the front with an unblockable counterattack. Execute from behind instead.

Bonuses are positive perks that captains take into combat, whether through their equipment or part of their class. Some can randomly be given to any orc captain, while others are specific to one of the Tribes or Specific Classes

• Beast Slayer - Can execute enemy beasts
  
• Caragor Rider - Able to mount and ride nearby Caragor, and can start a battle already mounted.
  
• Cursed Weapon - Wields a blighted weapon that can curse enemies.
  
• Flame Weapon - Wields a fiery weapon that can set others on fire.
  
• Flame Thrower (Olog Only) - Wields a large cannon that acts like a flamethrower, spreading fire in a wide area in front of him.
  
• Giant Slayer - Deals increased damage to Ologs and Graugs.
  
• Gang of Archers - Leads a group of archers.
  
• Gang of Defenders - Leads a group of defenders.
  
• Gang of Hunters - Leads a group of hunters.
  
• Gang of Ologs - Leads a gang of Ologs.
  
• Gang of Savages - Leads a gang of Savages.
  
• Gang of Warriors - Leads a group of warriors.
  
• Iron Will - Cannot be dominated (this perk can be lost if shamed but has a small chance to remove. Shaming to remove this bonus does downlevel the Captain thus giving him a chance to acquire a weakness that might comprise how good he is initially. You might be better of killing him after 1 Shame. Additional is risky and might fail).
  
• Loyal Bodyguard - Always found at his Master's side.
  
• Necromancer (Mystic Only) - Can resurrect followers from the dead.
  
• Poison Weapon - Wields a noxious weapon capable of Poisoning his enemies.
  
• Unbreakable - Can never be reduced to a broken state, and therefore cannot be dominated.

Epic Traits are given to only the most legendary of Captains, Warchiefs and Overlords. These traits are often extremely deadly, and offer little countermeasures. Epic Orcs have one of these Traits, while Legendary Orcs have two.

• Epic Caragor Rider - Able to ride any nearby caragors. Often starts battle already mounted on a Dire Caragor
  
• Epic Cursed Bombs - Throws multiple cursed bombs rapidly
  
• Epic Trait: Curse Master - Increases Curse damage dealt by himself and allies.
  
• Epic Trait: Curse Warder - Decreaese Curse damage dealt to himself and allies.
  
• Epic Trait: Fire Master - Increases Fire damage dealt by himself and allies.
  
• Epic Trait: Fire Warder - Decreases Fire damage dealt to himself and allies.
  
• Epic Trait: Fanatical Gang - Nearby followers become enraged if target is attacked.
  
• Epic Trait: Gang of Elite Archers - leads a group of highly skilled archers.
  
• Epic Trait: Gang of Elite Defenders - leads a group of highly skilled defenders.
  
• Epic Trait: Gang of Elite Hunters - leads a group of highly skilled hunters.
  
• Epic Trait: Gang of Elite Ologs - leads a group of highly skilled ologs.
  
• Epic Trait: Gang o Elite Savages - leads a group of highly skilled savages.
  
• Epic Trait: Gang of Elite Warriors - leads a group of highly skilled warriors.
  
• Epic Trait: Great Strength - Attacks deal immense damage.
  
• Epic Trait: Mighty Archers - Inspires allied Archers to deal extra damage and take less damage
  
• Epic Trait: Mighy Defenders - Inspires allied Defenders to deal extra damage and take less damage
  
• Epic Trait: Mighty Hunters - Inspires allied Hunters to deal extra damage and take less damage
  
• Epic Trait: Mighty Ologs - Inspires allied Ologs to deal extra damage and take less damage
  
• Epic Trait: Mighty Savages - Inspires allied Savages to deal extra damage and take less damage
  
• Epic Trait: Mighty Warriors - Inspried allied Warriors to deal extra damage and take less damage
  
• Epic Trait: Poison Master - Increases Poison damage dealt by himself and allies (increases the Damage of each tick by 20%)
  
• Epic Trait: Poison Warder - Decreases all Poison damage received on target and allies.
  
• Epic Trait: Thick Skinned - Has greatly increased health.

Mortal Weaknesses are huge debuffs that lesser captains and warchiefs, and even overlords might have that allow for a quick death if taken advantage of. Many higher level enemies will get rid of them. They may also be terrified of certain things that lower their guard allowing for a quick yet easy finisher/kill.

• Craven - Flees in terror when faced with higher level enemies
  
• Deserter - Flees in terror when witnessing the death of an allied Captain.
  
• Extremely Soft Headed - can be killed instantly with a headshot.
  
• Hysterical Master - Flees in terror when one of his Bodyguards is killed.
  
• Intimidated - Flees in terror upon seeing his rival.
  
• Mortal Beast Fodder - Can be killed instantly by beast attacks.
  
• Mortally Flammable - Can be killed instantly using fire.
  
• Mortally Sickly - Can be killed instantly by poison attacks.
  
• Mortally Vulnerable to Executions - Can be killed instantly killed by execution attacks.
  
• Mortally Vulnerable to Stealth - can be killed instantly using Stealth Attacks
  
• Quivering Wreck - Flees in terror after seeing an enraged enemy
  
• Soft Skull - Takes extreme damage from headshots.
  
• Terrified of Balefire - Flees in terror when burned with balefire
  
• Terrified of Betrayal - Flees in terror when Allies betray him.
  
• Terrified of Boss Breaking - Flees in terror when his leader is broken.
  
• Terrified of Brutality - Flees in terror when another orc is brutalized or shamed.
  
• Terrified of Burning - Flees in terror when burned by fire or fire attacks
  
• Terrified of Caragors - Flees in terror when attacked by a Caragor
  
• Terrified of Curse - Flees in terror when attacked by a cursed weapon
  
• Terrified of Drakes - Flees in terror when attacked by a Drake
  
• Terrified of Executions - Flees in terror after being attacked by combat executions
  
• Terrified of Frost - Flees in terror after being frost attacked
  
• Terrified of Ghuls - Flees in terror when attacked by Ghûls
  
• Terrified of Graugs - Flees in terror when attacked by a Graug
  
• Terrified of Morgai Flies - Flees in terror when swarmed by Morgai flies
  
• Terrified of Poison - Flees in terror when being poison attacked
  
• Terrified of Pinning - Flees in terror after being pinned
  
• Terrified of Stealth - Flees in terror after being stealth attacked
  
• Terrified of Spiders - Flees in terror when near spiders

Vulnerabilities are debuffs that allow captains to be heavily damaged by certain attacks, either by the player, environment or by other captains.

• Vulnerable to Execution - Heavily damaged by executions
  
• Vulnerable to Stealth - Heavily damaged by stealth attacks
  
• Flammable - Heavily damaged by fire
  
• Sickly - Heavily damaged by poison
  
• Beast Fodder - Heavily damaged by beasts
  
• Soft Target - Heavily damaged by Ranged Attacks
  
• Clumsy - Can be grabbed or mounted without first being weakened

Dazed attacks are very bad debuffs to have if you own the captain, but in combat against an enemy captain, it is extremely useful. If exploited, this will make the enemy become vulnerable to follow up attacks, and cause them to lower their defenses. Immunities are temporarily forgotten while an enemy is dazed. Dazed Captains usually stayed for about 30 seconds until something knocks them out of it such as a boulders from graug catapults and such. When dazed, it will show "Dazed" above them and they will be like rotating their head in a stunned fashion. Go to work on slicing and hacking away at him with freely opportune attacks.

• Battle Weary - Becomes dazed after killing another Captain.
  
• Overwhelming Awe - Flees in terror at the sight of the Bright Lord
  
• Demoralized - Dazed when witnessing the death of allied captain
  
• Dazed by Stealth - Becomes dazed after stealth attacks
  
• Exhaustion - Becomes dazed when his rage wears off.
  
• Fear of Burning - Dazed when burned
  
• Fear of Brutality - Dazed by seeing a brutal attack or a shaming
  
• Fear of Caragors - Dazed when attacked by a Caragor
  
• Fear of Execution - Dazed when attacked by combat executions
  
• Fear of Graugs - Dazed when attacked by a Graug
  
• Fear of Ghuls - Dazed when attacked by Ghuls
  
• Fear of Morgai Flies - Dazed when swarmed by Morgai flies
  
• Fear of Pinning - Becomes temporarily dazed when immobilized by Freeze Pin
  
• Fear of Poison - Dazed when poisoned
  
• Fear of Spiders - Dazed when attacked by Spiders
  
• Shaken Master - Dazed when Bodyguards are killed.
  
• Soft-Headed - Becomes Dazed when shot in the head.
  
• Weak Master - Dazed when his pet or gang is killed.
  
• Quivering - Dazed by the sight of enraged enemies
  
• Infected with Fear - Dazed by the sight of captains or higher ranking orcs becoming dazed or fleeing

Hints aren't specifically debuffs but they do give hints or pointers about what can be used to damage the Orc Captain or if they happen to be immmune to attacks.

• Damaged by Ranged Attacks (and Shadow Strikes) - Can be injured by ranged attacks and Shadow Strike
  
• Damaged by Executions - Can be injured by executions
  
• Damaged by Explosions - Can be injured by explosions
  
• Damaged by Stealth Attacks - Can be injured by stealth attacks
  
• Damaged by Poison - Can be injured by poison
  
• Damaged by Fire - Can be injured by fire
  
• Damaged by Curse - Can be injured by curse
  
• Damaged by Beast Attacks - Can be injured by beast attacks

There are some enemies that cannot be dominated to join your army and whether they are a higher level than Talion or have that annoying bonus, Iron Will, that prevents them from joining your army.

In these occurrances, you can choose to Shame an Orc instead of killing. Shaming involves terrorizing the helpless Orc, and will cause them to flee in terror, and lower their rank by five levels down a minimum of level 1. By unlocking the "Worse Than Death" upgrade (From completeing Bruz Questline) you can lower an Orc's level by up to 10 total levels.

Doing this will allow you to have a second chance to shame an Orc, although at a lower level. It also has a chance to get rid of the Iron Willed trait that some Orcs carry.

Note: There is although one debuffing effect by Shaming. Shaming if done to much or reducing the orc's rank more than enough, you can end up doing more damage then you want. You could end up giving the captain you are trying to get a bad trait from Mortal Weakness, Vulnerabilities, and Dazed By categories. So watch closed to that area when shaming them, do a before and after comparison to both Strengths and Weakness. If you see that the captain you want has lost some key elements and/or gained some very bad debuff traits, its better to kill them to open space for more captains.

Though it can be rare, there can be unexpected side effects to Shaming that will effect a shamed Orc in drastic ways.

Unashamed - Upon your next encounter, the Orc will adopt a new title, usually "The Unashamed", Giving himself white handprints and growing in level as opposed to lowering his level. This may also add or remove traits.

Deranged - Upon your next encounter, the Orc will become Crazed, and sometimes adopt a new title like "The Mindless" or "The Mad". This can either lower his level further, or raise it, and give the Orc a new bizzare personality, and add or lose certain traits.

Maniac - The captain in question will become deranged, but along with a new title and crazed personality, can also dramatically raise in level, often times becoming Epic or Legendary in the process and gaining several new and fearsome traits in the process.

Almost nothing is as annoying in Shadow of War as Betrayal is when losing a Regular, Epic or even a Legendary Captain.

There is a hidden factor of the Nemesis System, there is a chance for Orc Captains & Warchiefs in your Army to betray you even though you have branded them. A Captain/Warchief's betrayal is not always an occurrance, but there are some events that can cause this to happen, though not always.

Orcs affected by Betrayal will always Iron Will perk, and cannot be re-Dominated although Shaming the Captain enough has a small chance to remove this perk on the next encounter with the Captain.

Dominated Follower Death - Upon the death of an allied follower; whether during a siege, Nemesis Mission, Fight Pits, or accident, there is a chance that the Orc in question may gain the perk of Cheating Death as well as Betrayal, and ambush you out in the region.

Humiliation - There is a hidden bonus some Orcs possess that if they send the player into a Last Chance attempt, they will forego the Last Chance and instead humilate you by not even bothering to strike the final blow, and leave. There is a chance that another allied Orc will see this, and show up soon after to Betray you, seeing the humilation as a sign of weakness.

Player Death - Each time the player dies, there is a small chance that one of the allied Captains in your army will become disillusioned with your leadership and betray you at the next opportunity.

Friendly Fire - Though rare, but however if directly given, there is a chance that if you repeatedly attack and hurt an allied Follower of yours, they will eventually become fed up with your antics and betray you on the spot.

Killing Orcs isn't always the end of the orc himself. Certain Orcs have a hidden ability to Cheat Death, making their defeat only temporary.

Unlike Strengths and Weaknesses that are listed, Cheating Death is something that all Orcs have a chance to do. When defeating in combat, there are a number of ways an Orc can die listed below their name when they die.

However, as you see the body of the Orc on Army Screen, as long as the body does not disappear, that Orc or Olog has a chance to reappear and seek you out in combat again.

Often times, the enemy that Cheats Death will sport scars or disfigurements of your previous battle, and may even change the title and personality of that character to reflect that. Burned enemies may appear charred, cleaved enemies may come back stitched together, and poisoned Orcs may become covered in disease.

Enemies that Cheat Death can also become stronger for their survival, and can increase in level or gain or lose certain Strengths and Weaknesses - be sure to inspect them upon their return to see what has changed.

Authors of this guide and what they provided or written in order to complete this guide.

• Provided all screenshots of the guide.
  
• Sections Written: Nemesis Fortresses & Strategies Parts I & II, Assault Reinforcments I & II, Defence Reinforcements I, II & III, How the System Works, Immunities, Hates, Traits I & II, Bonuses, Mortal Weaknesses, Vulnerabilities, Dazed By, Hints, Shaming, Betrayal Causes, and Cheating Death.

• Provided Icons & Visual Representaions for the guide.
  
• Sections Written: Basics, Base Classes, Tribes Classification and Descriptions Parts I & II.

Comment by Genesis: "Thanks to Eriss for their support when creating this Guide. Very helpful with ideas, suggestion, additions, edits and more. The guide is what it is today with their help and will be helpful to many others as we hope it will be."

Comment by Eriss: "Had quite a lot of fun with this guide. Glad to have been working with Genesis. This guide sets a high bar for guides coming in the future. I'd also like to thank my buds up at IGN for all the help and support."