Mordor is home to the ambitious. No matter the rank of any of your foot soldiers, there’s a good chance they’re hungry to grow in power any way they can. And in our newest Elite Challenge, you’re going to have to take a lowly Common Trickster of any tribe or elemental, all the way up to Legendary - for a shot at an official Shadow of War OST, signed by the development team at Monolith Productions.



Think you can build a Trickster up through the Online Fight Pits? Here’s how to get involved:

• Take a Common Trickster in your army of any tribe or elemental and send them into the Online Fight Pits!
  
• If they’re able to win five Pit Fights in a row, they’ll be upgraded from a Common Trickster all the way up to a Legendary!
• Send screenshots of the before and after, along with the Online Fight Pit screen to social@lith.com, along with your age, address, and platform of choice.

Good luck in the Pits. You’ll need it.

Mordor is home to the ambitious. No matter the rank of any of your foot soldiers, there’s a good chance they’re hungry to grow in power any way they can. And in our newest Elite Challenge, you’re going to have to take a lowly Common Trickster of any tribe or elemental, all the way up to Legendary - for a shot at an official Shadow of War OST, signed by the development team at Monolith Productions.



Think you can build a Trickster up through the Online Fight Pits? Here’s how to get involved:

• Take a Common Trickster in your army of any tribe or elemental and send them into the Online Fight Pits!
  
• If they’re able to win five Pit Fights in a row, they’ll be upgraded from a Common Trickster all the way up to a Legendary!
• Send screenshots of the before and after, along with the Online Fight Pit screen to social@lith.com, along with your age, address, and platform of choice.

Good luck in the Pits. You’ll need it.

The New Year has finally dawned! 2017 was a wonderful year here in Mordor. We released new patches, new content, and we pushed out a mountain of Community Challenges for you to sink your teeth into. (And boy, did you.) That's why we're thrilled to be back to make 2018 an even better time to hang out with us in Mordor.

This month we've already got a lot in store for you – so we're just going to get right to it:


The Nemesis System is all about creating your own personal stories. Last year, we added even more possibilities with the release of the Slaughter and Outlaw tribes. With them came all manner of new enemies to fight, kill, and recruit - creating a countless number of new characters for you as the Bright Lord to encounter.

Now it’s time for a new tale to begin as you step into the role of the legendary Elven assassin, Eltariel.

This year we'll be releasing our first story DLC, The Blade of Galadriel, to further tell Eltariel's story. It's set to release in early February, so we’ve got new some looks at live gameplay and interviews with the developers, all month long. (Read below for more details!)


We see you, Shadow of War Community. We see how good you’ve gotten at our game. We see your desire for an extra challenge. And, we see you conquering Gravewalker difficulty without batting an eye. That’s why in 2018 – Elite Challenges are coming back.

For those of you just joining us, Elite Challenges are issued to the entire community by us here at Monolith, and they require a firm mastery of Shadow of War and the Nemesis System to complete.

And, like last time, we won’t be giving you any time to prepare!

We’ll be issuing them as they arrive, right on our forums. You’re going to want to keep an eye out, because we’ve got some cool prizes to hand out – like the statue of Carnan/Tar-Goroth from our Mithril Editions, exclusive Shadow of War concept art lithographs signed by the development team, and signed game soundtracks - among other things.


Building an army is an essential duty for any Bright Lord. That’s why, this month, we’ve got a bevy of rewards that’ll be ready and waiting for you – as you complete the month’s Community Challenges.

To help you get a head-start, here’s a rundown of the month’s in-game Community activities:


In 2017, our live streams let us have a direct conversation with you, the community. Plus, it was a great home for our developers to go up in front of you and share their latest and greatest ideas. 2018 will be no different.

This month we’re kicking off our first batch of streams in the New Year, with a look at what you’ve been up to - as we marvel at how powerful your Fortresses have become, along with some Online Fight Pits on a variety of platforms, and even some new (and unusual) strategies to help build up your hierarchy.

But, we’re also going to take a first look at The Blade of Galadriel story DLC! On January 18th we’ll talk through the opening moments of Eltariel’s story, along with some of the motivations behind the new tale we’ve weaved into Mordor with special guests from the development team.

For all the latest be sure to keep an eye on our Official Announcements section! And, as always, you can follow us on Twitch, YouTube Gaming, and Mixer for notifications of when we're going live.



Last year we were thrilled to be able to share Shadow of War with you – and, we were just getting started. 2018 is looking to be the best year to conquer Middle-earth and we can't wait to see how you'll get the job done.

-The Shadow of War Community Team

The New Year has finally dawned! 2017 was a wonderful year here in Mordor. We released new patches, new content, and we pushed out a mountain of Community Challenges for you to sink your teeth into. (And boy, did you.) That's why we're thrilled to be back to make 2018 an even better time to hang out with us in Mordor.

This month we've already got a lot in store for you – so we're just going to get right to it:


The Nemesis System is all about creating your own personal stories. Last year, we added even more possibilities with the release of the Slaughter and Outlaw tribes. With them came all manner of new enemies to fight, kill, and recruit - creating a countless number of new characters for you as the Bright Lord to encounter.

Now it’s time for a new tale to begin as you step into the role of the legendary Elven assassin, Eltariel.

This year we'll be releasing our first story DLC, The Blade of Galadriel, to further tell Eltariel's story. It's set to release in early February, so we’ve got new some looks at live gameplay and interviews with the developers, all month long. (Read below for more details!)


We see you, Shadow of War Community. We see how good you’ve gotten at our game. We see your desire for an extra challenge. And, we see you conquering Gravewalker difficulty without batting an eye. That’s why in 2018 – Elite Challenges are coming back.

For those of you just joining us, Elite Challenges are issued to the entire community by us here at Monolith, and they require a firm mastery of Shadow of War and the Nemesis System to complete.

And, like last time, we won’t be giving you any time to prepare!

We’ll be issuing them as they arrive, right on our forums. You’re going to want to keep an eye out, because we’ve got some cool prizes to hand out – like the statue of Carnan/Tar-Goroth from our Mithril Editions, exclusive Shadow of War concept art lithographs signed by the development team, and signed game soundtracks - among other things.


Building an army is an essential duty for any Bright Lord. That’s why, this month, we’ve got a bevy of rewards that’ll be ready and waiting for you – as you complete the month’s Community Challenges.

To help you get a head-start, here’s a rundown of the month’s in-game Community activities:


In 2017, our live streams let us have a direct conversation with you, the community. Plus, it was a great home for our developers to go up in front of you and share their latest and greatest ideas. 2018 will be no different.

This month we’re kicking off our first batch of streams in the New Year, with a look at what you’ve been up to - as we marvel at how powerful your Fortresses have become, along with some Online Fight Pits on a variety of platforms, and even some new (and unusual) strategies to help build up your hierarchy.

But, we’re also going to take a first look at The Blade of Galadriel story DLC! On January 18th we’ll talk through the opening moments of Eltariel’s story, along with some of the motivations behind the new tale we’ve weaved into Mordor with special guests from the development team.

For all the latest be sure to keep an eye on our Official Announcements section! And, as always, you can follow us on Twitch, YouTube Gaming, and Mixer for notifications of when we're going live.



Last year we were thrilled to be able to share Shadow of War with you – and, we were just getting started. 2018 is looking to be the best year to conquer Middle-earth and we can't wait to see how you'll get the job done.

-The Shadow of War Community Team

This week, we’ve got a full show for you.

Then, we’re going to dive deep into Shadow of War and explore strategies in how Shaming can provide you with stronger Captains, take our best Captains out to the Xbox One Online Fight Pits, and we’ll give you a full rundown of the latest Elite Challenge. Then we’ll close out by giving you tips for the Weekly Community Challenges, so you can pull down the Community War Chests!

We’ll see you at the same Monolith time, in the same Monolith places (Twitch, YouTube Gaming, Mixer): 3 PM Pacific/ 6 PM Eastern!

This week, we’ve got a full show for you.

Then, we’re going to dive deep into Shadow of War and explore strategies in how Shaming can provide you with stronger Captains, take our best Captains out to the Xbox One Online Fight Pits, and we’ll give you a full rundown of the latest Elite Challenge. Then we’ll close out by giving you tips for the Weekly Community Challenges, so you can pull down the Community War Chests!

We’ll see you at the same Monolith time, in the same Monolith places (Twitch, YouTube Gaming, Mixer): 3 PM Pacific/ 6 PM Eastern!

• Fixed an issue for some players where Windows Defender was blocking access to save files, which resulted in a crash on launch.

• Migrated saved data files from the Documents folder to the AppData\Local folder.
  
• We now present an error message when the game is unable to access the saved data location.
  
• Previous saves will still appear in the My Documents folder and can be used as backup.

• Fixed an issue for some players where Windows Defender was blocking access to save files, which resulted in a crash on launch.

• Migrated saved data files from the Documents folder to the AppData\Local folder.
  
• We now present an error message when the game is unable to access the saved data location.
  
• Previous saves will still appear in the My Documents folder and can be used as backup.

Gravewalker Difficulty: A new, higher difficulty level even more challenging than Nemesis, including:

• By default, the player gets no Last Chances.
  
• Enemies are more perceptive and able to spot a stealthy player from farther away. They are no longer surprised when they spot a player, and remember a vanished player for longer.
  
• Orcs gain more levels when they kill the player.
  
• Orcs gain more levels when a Death Threat is sent.
  
• Orcs gain more levels when they become Maniacs.
  
• More Orc Captains are present roaming the world.
  
• Nemesis Missions have shorter durations, necessitating decisions to rescue or get vengeance.
  
• Worms are less frequent, have much better senses, and can defend themselves as they flee.
  
• Enemies deal more damage, particularly grunts and monsters.
  
• Players deal less damage to Captains.
  
• Environmental hazards deal more damage to the player and slightly less to enemies. Expect some grunts to survive a barrel explosion.
  
• Enemies adapt slightly more quickly to player attacks.
  
• Enemies attack slightly more quickly, and are more likely to coordinate attacks.
  
• Enraged Orcs are harder to disrupt.
  
• Retreating enemies adapt to stealth attacks.
  
• Siege Beasts take less damage from their ammo packs exploding.
  
• Followers bleed out quicker.
  
• Shortened duration of ‘Dazed’ state triggered by fear and weaknesses.
  
• Poisoning a barrel from ranged or using distract costs Focus.
  
• Slightly increased drain time for critters, grunts, and Captains.
  
• Please note, Gravewalker Difficulty was previously known as Brutal Difficulty.

The following content and features will be added to your game upon purchase of the Outlaw Tribe Nemesis Expansion DLC. Please note, if you currently own the Expansion Pass, this content is included with your pass.

Outlaw Tribe

• The Outlaw Tribe Nemesis Expansion brings the rebellious and defiant Outlaw tribe to Mordor with their own unique weapons - including the new bola that can trap their enemies at range – and fighting style, added missions, fierce battles, a new fortress theme and more.

New Outlaw Tribe Missions

• Outlaw Showdowns: New missions allowing players to face down Captains from the Outlaw tribe, with each showdown bringing unique challenges to complete.
  
• Outlaw War Bands: Aid your ally and defeat your nemesis when facing off in new Outlaw War Bands quests, as Captains from the Outlaw tribe bring their own forces to clash in battle.
  
• New Fortress Theme: Fortresses can now be commanded by and embody the characteristics of the contemptuous Outlaw tribe, including themed monuments, outposts and Overlord throne room.
  
• Legendary Gear Set: Hunt down Legendary Outlaw tribe Orcs for a new Legendary gear set with additional upgrade challenges.
  
• Purge: Captains from the Outlaw tribe prowl around Mordor in groups, launching deadly ambushes in an attempt to cleanse their land of outsiders. Defend these attacks to keep the Outlaw Orcs in check.

General Stability:

• Fixed an issue where some dead Orcs in the Army screen do not get cleared and replaced.
  
• Fixed an issue when interacting with the Best Defense Mission, where new Captains could be generated in Núrnen and inadvertently overwrite some of the Orcs in a player’s hierarchy.
  
• Fixed an issue where a captured Overlord from Endless Siege could be instantly killed instead of being placed in a Rescue Mission.
  
• Fixed an issue where some of the alarms in Minas Ithil could be triggered by Orcs, even after you have successfully disabled their outposts.
  
• Fixed an issue where mounted Orcs could choose not to battle when in a Fight Pit.
  
• Fixed an issue that resulted in corrupted, bright white FX with certain explosions, flames or impacts.
  
• Fixed a softlock that could occur during an Online Fight Pit loss when the only remaining follower is a prisoner.
  
• Fixed an issue where enemy Slaughter tribe Orcs would not choose Siege upgrades.
  
• Fixed many environment and movement issues, particularly with Slaughter tribe assets.
  
• Fixed a bug where followers would sometimes disappear from the player’s hierarchy after they successfully completed a Fight Pit.
  
• Fixed a bug where Slaughter and Outlaw Captains would sometimes fail to enter the player’s hierarchy after playing their tribal missions.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused a bright square FX to display on screen.
  
• Fixed some possible softlocks that could occur when accessing an Online Fight Pit.
  
• General stability improvements and crash fixes.

• Fixed an issue where the “Track Challenge” toggle did not function correctly on first input.
  
• Fixed an issue where the Nemesis Missions tab in the Quest Log could get stuck at 97%.
  
• Added Speaker Test functionality to the Sound menu in Options.
  
• Tribal Invasion Missions no longer appear as main story missions on the World Map.
  
• The Expansions tab in the Quest Log now correctly indicates when tribe DLC is owned but not yet unlocked in your campaign.
  
• Fixed a bug where the Outlaw Tribe Nemesis Expansion would not display as owned in the Quest Log.
  
• Fixed various error message bugs that could manifest when the game is not connected online.

• Made it easier for Orcs to shed Iron Will upon being shamed. Reduced the likelihood that Iron Will would be given to Orcs in various situations.
  
• Shaming an Orc no longer removes strengths if he is at least level 60.
  
• Captains who are retreating (but not terrified) can now adapt to stealth attacks while in flight.
  
• Nearby Orcs will now hear and react to mines that have been detonated.
  
• Increased green gem life steal in weapons and increased Mirian drop from white gems in weapons based on weapon type.
  
• Fixed an issue where Overlords would inappropriately gain incorrect levels when winning a friendly Online Pit Fight match.
  
• Fixed a bug where victorious Overlords could still be killed by damage-over-time effects during Online Fight Pits.
  
• Improved rewards for Online Fight Pit chests.

• Added functionality identifying when a new game patch is available. When a new game patch is available, users will be prompted to update. Until the user updates to the latest patch, online functionality will not be accessible.

Gravewalker Difficulty: A new, higher difficulty level even more challenging than Nemesis, including:

• By default, the player gets no Last Chances.
  
• Enemies are more perceptive and able to spot a stealthy player from farther away. They are no longer surprised when they spot a player, and remember a vanished player for longer.
  
• Orcs gain more levels when they kill the player.
  
• Orcs gain more levels when a Death Threat is sent.
  
• Orcs gain more levels when they become Maniacs.
  
• More Orc Captains are present roaming the world.
  
• Nemesis Missions have shorter durations, necessitating decisions to rescue or get vengeance.
  
• Worms are less frequent, have much better senses, and can defend themselves as they flee.
  
• Enemies deal more damage, particularly grunts and monsters.
  
• Players deal less damage to Captains.
  
• Environmental hazards deal more damage to the player and slightly less to enemies. Expect some grunts to survive a barrel explosion.
  
• Enemies adapt slightly more quickly to player attacks.
  
• Enemies attack slightly more quickly, and are more likely to coordinate attacks.
  
• Enraged Orcs are harder to disrupt.
  
• Retreating enemies adapt to stealth attacks.
  
• Siege Beasts take less damage from their ammo packs exploding.
  
• Followers bleed out quicker.
  
• Shortened duration of ‘Dazed’ state triggered by fear and weaknesses.
  
• Poisoning a barrel from ranged or using distract costs Focus.
  
• Slightly increased drain time for critters, grunts, and Captains.
  
• Please note, Gravewalker Difficulty was previously known as Brutal Difficulty.

The following content and features will be added to your game upon purchase of the Outlaw Tribe Nemesis Expansion DLC. Please note, if you currently own the Expansion Pass, this content is included with your pass.

Outlaw Tribe

• The Outlaw Tribe Nemesis Expansion brings the rebellious and defiant Outlaw tribe to Mordor with their own unique weapons - including the new bola that can trap their enemies at range – and fighting style, added missions, fierce battles, a new fortress theme and more.

New Outlaw Tribe Missions

• Outlaw Showdowns: New missions allowing players to face down Captains from the Outlaw tribe, with each showdown bringing unique challenges to complete.
  
• Outlaw War Bands: Aid your ally and defeat your nemesis when facing off in new Outlaw War Bands quests, as Captains from the Outlaw tribe bring their own forces to clash in battle.
  
• New Fortress Theme: Fortresses can now be commanded by and embody the characteristics of the contemptuous Outlaw tribe, including themed monuments, outposts and Overlord throne room.
  
• Legendary Gear Set: Hunt down Legendary Outlaw tribe Orcs for a new Legendary gear set with additional upgrade challenges.
  
• Purge: Captains from the Outlaw tribe prowl around Mordor in groups, launching deadly ambushes in an attempt to cleanse their land of outsiders. Defend these attacks to keep the Outlaw Orcs in check.

General Stability:

• Fixed an issue where some dead Orcs in the Army screen do not get cleared and replaced.
  
• Fixed an issue when interacting with the Best Defense Mission, where new Captains could be generated in Núrnen and inadvertently overwrite some of the Orcs in a player’s hierarchy.
  
• Fixed an issue where a captured Overlord from Endless Siege could be instantly killed instead of being placed in a Rescue Mission.
  
• Fixed an issue where some of the alarms in Minas Ithil could be triggered by Orcs, even after you have successfully disabled their outposts.
  
• Fixed an issue where mounted Orcs could choose not to battle when in a Fight Pit.
  
• Fixed an issue that resulted in corrupted, bright white FX with certain explosions, flames or impacts.
  
• Fixed a softlock that could occur during an Online Fight Pit loss when the only remaining follower is a prisoner.
  
• Fixed an issue where enemy Slaughter tribe Orcs would not choose Siege upgrades.
  
• Fixed many environment and movement issues, particularly with Slaughter tribe assets.
  
• Fixed a bug where followers would sometimes disappear from the player’s hierarchy after they successfully completed a Fight Pit.
  
• Fixed a bug where Slaughter and Outlaw Captains would sometimes fail to enter the player’s hierarchy after playing their tribal missions.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused a bright square FX to display on screen.
  
• Fixed some possible softlocks that could occur when accessing an Online Fight Pit.
  
• General stability improvements and crash fixes.

• Fixed an issue where the “Track Challenge” toggle did not function correctly on first input.
  
• Fixed an issue where the Nemesis Missions tab in the Quest Log could get stuck at 97%.
  
• Added Speaker Test functionality to the Sound menu in Options.
  
• Tribal Invasion Missions no longer appear as main story missions on the World Map.
  
• The Expansions tab in the Quest Log now correctly indicates when tribe DLC is owned but not yet unlocked in your campaign.
  
• Fixed a bug where the Outlaw Tribe Nemesis Expansion would not display as owned in the Quest Log.
  
• Fixed various error message bugs that could manifest when the game is not connected online.

• Made it easier for Orcs to shed Iron Will upon being shamed. Reduced the likelihood that Iron Will would be given to Orcs in various situations.
  
• Shaming an Orc no longer removes strengths if he is at least level 60.
  
• Captains who are retreating (but not terrified) can now adapt to stealth attacks while in flight.
  
• Nearby Orcs will now hear and react to mines that have been detonated.
  
• Increased green gem life steal in weapons and increased Mirian drop from white gems in weapons based on weapon type.
  
• Fixed an issue where Overlords would inappropriately gain incorrect levels when winning a friendly Online Pit Fight match.
  
• Fixed a bug where victorious Overlords could still be killed by damage-over-time effects during Online Fight Pits.
  
• Improved rewards for Online Fight Pit chests.

• Added functionality identifying when a new game patch is available. When a new game patch is available, users will be prompted to update. Until the user updates to the latest patch, online functionality will not be accessible.