The Nemesis System was Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor’s standout feature, and Monolith Productions promises that the upcoming sequel, Middle-Earth: Shadow of War, will contain an expanded and upgraded version of the system. If the recent gameplay trailer is to be believed, Monolith Productions has outdone itself.
When Middle-Earth: Shadow of War was first announced, Monolith Productions mentioned the “Nemesis Fortress” but did not elaborate. The new gameplay trailer demonstrates how the Nemesis System is woven into various attack and defense strategies.
In the gameplay trailer, the main character Talion assaults the fortress of Seregost alongside an army of orcs and trolls led by a beast rider and a troll. The trailer demonstrates how trolls make effective battering rams and beast riders are generally immune to fire traps. Furthermore, some orcs or trolls can sneak into the fortress as spies, as demonstrated in the trailer when one orc sniper saves Talion’s life. The narrator implies that due to the Nemesis System, no two playthroughs will be the same. For example, the beast rider might be replaced with a necromancer who makes the dead fight for him, or Talion has to save himself.
The trailer also demonstrates how the Nemesis System changes how orcs and troll warchiefs will defend their fortress. In the trailer, one warchief is a necromancer who is rather straightforward and charges at Talion to negate his powers, while another warchief prepares oil traps to light on fire any troll who tries to knock down a door. Finally, according to the trailer, each fortress is commanded by an overlord who customizes his throne room in various deadly ways. In the trailer, the overlord is a massive (and unusually intelligent) troll who carries a flamethrower that can set the floor on fire and create walls of fire.
The trailer finishes with the statement that players can make one of their existing warchiefs the new overlord of the fortress. Apparently, players will have to decide whether it is better to select a warchief who has special powers that can defend the fortress, such as necromancy or the ability to control wild animals, or one who can raid the surrounding lands for various resources. The trailer implies that just as Talion can attack fortresses, so too can Sauron.
On a side note, while the trailer focuses on the upgraded Nemesis System and the Nemesis Fortress, it also demonstrates various other systems, such as an expanded loot system and new wraith abilities.
Middle-Earth: Shadow of War is scheduled to release on August 22nd for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.