History VideoGame / MiddleEarthShadowOfWar

* DummiedOut: The game files have 2 variations of the [[spoiler:Nazgul sister's mask; the one that appears in the game [[note]]"Wraith execution, Wraith chain, and Chain of shadows each deal 33% more damage with each successive wraith"[[/note]] and one that was used in a teaser image which was quickly pulled after the devs decided to change the mask's ability [[note]]Originally the mask was meant to replace the "Ice Storm" power with a chain that keeps enemies stuck, as "Ice Storm" makes frostproof enemies immune to the stun move; the intention was that players could revert back to the default stun with the mask[[/note]].]] The latter version can only be obtained by modifying the game.

* DefendsAgainstTheirOwnKind: [[spoiler:Talion decides that he cannot let [[NotSoDifferent Sauron or Celebrimbor]] win, and knowing that any Ring of Power would restore his powers and keep him alive at the cost of eventual corruption, he grabs a nearby ring which belonged to the Nazgûl formerly known as Isildur. Wearing it turns him into a some sort of proto-Nazgûl, which means he still has free will, and his powers & appearance are relatively unchanged. He uses his Nazgûl-powers to stall Sauron's takeover of Middle-earth and keeps him confined in Mordor for decades, but eventually the ring gets him and he joins the nine as Sauron's servant]].

* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Much attention is paid to the fact that Talion and Celebrimbor are becoming [[NotSoDifferent more and more like Sauron]] the more power they build. This ties into ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', where the point is made that anyone attempting to use even a new Ring of Power against Sauron would be consumed by it and become a new Dark Lord -- and Celebrimbor has already wielded the One Ring.

* NotSoDifferent: Besides Talion/Nazgûl and Celebrimbor/Sauron comments all throughout the story some orcs brings the parallel between them and Talion as orcs can come back from the dead now too.

Taking place in an AlternateTimeline version of the events leading up to ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', the game continues to follow the fallen {{Ranger}} Talion (Creator/TroyBaker) and the [[OurGhostsAreDifferent wraith]] of the Elf-lord who once helped to forge the [[ArtifactOfDoom One Ring]], Celebrimbor (Creator/AlastairDuncan), as the duo forge their own Ring of Power and attempt to put an end to [[BigBad Sauron]]'s coming invasion of Middle-earth, even if they must become {{Evil Overlord}}s themselves. Differentiating itself from the original is the [[DarkerAndEdgier darker]] and more [[MindRape disturbing]] nature of the story. Early on you are [[NewEraSpeech shown]] that you will be helping a WellIntentionedExtremist build a slave army of a "lesser race" so that you can defeat [[FallenAngel Wizard Satan]].

The "Nemesis System" from the previous game returns, where enemy commanders have running character histories and abilities that develop as you continue to battle them, or take out their superiors and {{Mooks}}. The system also now applies to enemy strongholds, which evolve in various ways as you invade them. In 2021, Warner Bros. Interactive successfully [[DisneyOwnsThisTrope patented this system]] after a string of refuals dating back to 2015.

** One messenger is extremely chatty about a traitor in Minas Ithil, bragging to everyone in his way that he has a message from him, despite everyone pointing out that the warchief is not going to be pleased that the messenger is shooting his mouth off. When the messenger finally gets to the fortress to make his report, the furious Warchief [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe cuts him in half]] before hearing the message and yells at everyone around that ''it's supposed to be confidential information''.
--->'''Messenger''': Warchief, I have important news from the traitor in Minas Ithil-! ''(He is promptly subjected to a CruelAndUnusualDeath by the Warchief)''
--->'''Warchief''': [[SurroundedByIdiots How many times have I told you all?!]] ''Never'' speak of the traitor openly! [[MakeAnExampleOfThem Let this miserable dead glob be an example to the rest of you]]! The next maggot to even ''whisper'' the word "Traitor" around me will get even worse!
** Some Captains will repeatedly drink the same poison grog until they die.

-->'''Messenger''': Warchief, I have important news from the traitor in Minas Ithil-! ''[He is promptly subjected to a CruelAndUnusualDeath by the Warchief]''
-->'''Warchief''': [[SurroundedByIdiots How many times have I told you all?!]] ''Never'' speak of the traitor openly! [[MakeAnExampleOfThem Let this miserable dead glob be an example to the rest of you]]! The next maggot to even ''whisper'' the word "Traitor" around me will get even worse!

** Even the drakes are easier on the eyes, adopting the "cool", armor-scaled, [[DinosaursAreDragons paleoart]]-influenced look common to modern fantasy dragons as opposed to the hideous, slimy eel-like creatures depicted in the film version.
*** It's not AdaptationalAttractiveness; Drakes are a separate species, the nazgul rode on fellbeasts.

* DemotedToExtra: The One Ring plays an important role in the backstory of Shadow of Mordor and is a major gameplay element of the DLC campaign The Bright Lord. In this game, the One Ring is only seen [[Film/ReturnOfTheKing as it’s being destroyed]].

* FamousLastWords: [[spoiler:"Got one word for ya, maggot: [[TakingYouWithMe boom]]."]]

* DarkestHour: By the time Eltariel confronts Talion, he's already lost Gorgoroth and N´rnen, and the forts at Cirith Ungol and Seregost are about to be besieged. While Eltariel manages to defend Cirith Ungol, Talion is forced to retreat from Seregost -- and both of them know that [[ForegoneConclusion there's no way this will end well for him]].

** The Dark Tribe is described as the most loyal to Sauron of all the Tribes, to the point of fanaticism. Dominated Dark Captains are the most likely to betray you for any reason out of all the Tribes.

* ThatManIsDead: [[spoiler:Talion finally succumbs to Isildur's ring's influence, invoking the trope almost verbatim.]]

* SpeedRun: Invoked. Once you beat the main story once, you won't need to play the story missions again. From now on, you just need to capture 5 increasingly difficult outposts and capture the fort, and you're scored based on your speed and the run's difficulty level.

** Regular Orcs fleeing from Graugs or other beasts will ignore Talion and continue fleeing, instead of deciding to pick a fight with him.

* TheChosen: Uruks who are shamed but take it in pride as The Unashamed can be recruited. If they are, they'll state that Talion's Shaming them was a SecretTestOfCharacter and that they are official Talion's "chosen one".

* ArtificialBrilliance: Regular Orcs fleeing from Graugs or other beasts will ignore Talion and continue fleeing, instead of deciding to pick a fight with him.

** Similarly, forcing your captains to duel their blood brothers will result in expressions of shock and disgust.
*** Killing an Uruk and then getting killed by his blood brother triggers this quote:
-->'''Uruk's blood brother:''' That's what you get for killing an Uruk's blood brother, you ''monster!''

The "Nemesis System" from the previous game returns, where enemy commanders have running character histories and abilities that develop as you continue to battle them, or take out their superiors and {{Mooks}}. The system also now applies to enemy strongholds, which evolve in various ways as you invade them.

* DifficultySpike: Act IV: The Shadow Wars raises the game's difficulty noticeably, as story quests shift to defending fortresses from Sauron's siege armies. Unlike previous quests, which involved Talion and (at most) a handful of followers operating in a relatively small area[[note]]Even fortress assaults involve Talion and his assault team taking a single victory point, then moving on to the next one, and so forth[[/note]], fort defenses require you to defend the ''entire'' fort and often involve simultaneous skirmishes at numerous victory points; as such, it's entirely possible to be too late to save a dying follower at Point A because you were busy defending Point B. The attackers are likely to be more powerful than your followers, and while you can review their composition of the assault force, you cannot weaken them before the assault (by defeating warchiefs, infiltrating spies, etc.). Getting your perimeter breached causes [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard future attackers to spawn ]]''[[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard inside]]''[[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard the fort]], and losing any victory point [[FromBadToWorse spawns an extra attacker to try to take advantage of the situation]]. During the first few stages, it can actually be easier to sacrifice your low-level followers and to try to recruit the attackers, as the enemy captains tend to be on a lower level than Talion at that point. Most grinding can be circumvented by this method, and losing a fortress every now and then may actually be a good idea, since the goal then becomes to retake the fort (which is far easier and allows you to weaken the enemy before the siege). The Act received an overhaul in July 2018, which significantly lessened the number of fort defense quests necessary to complete the Shadow Wars; fort defense quests are still available afterwards, but they're optional.

*** Its not AdaptationalAttractiveness; Drakes are a separate species, the nazgul rode on fellbeasts.

* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Celebrimbor assures Talion that their power of brainwash will not be misused if applied only to orcs, who despite being AlwaysChaoticEvil, are shown to develop their own personalities and even bonds of friendship. Despite him being less than thrilled about the prospect of this idea, Talion goes along with it anyways. [[spoiler:It's not until Celebrimbor tries to have him brand Isildur - a formerly human Nazgûl - that Talion refuses to follow the wraith any longer]].

* Even the drakes are easier on the eyes, adopting the "cool", armor-scaled, [[DinosaursAreDragons paleoart]]-influenced look common to modern fantasy dragons as opposed to the hideous, slimy eel-like creatures depicted in the film version.