The Blade of Galadriel is a direct continuation from the main story of Shadows of War. If you haven’t finished Shadows of War (or at least got to act 4: The Shadow Wars) then I highly recommend not playing this, as it will ruin the plot surprise in the main game. Otherwise it’s a fun but short DLC (took 4-5 hours to 100%) that I highly recommend so you can play as the elf Eltariel, continuing her mission to disrupt the Ringwraith’s and watching over Talion (and helping you recruit some additional captains along the way).

Being a short expansion many of the new systems of the main game have been removed completely. There is no money to collect, and no loot other than light gems. All of the additional legendary weapons are linked to optional side missions. Eltariel starts at level 35 and has a large range of skills already unlocked, and is provided a much smaller unique skill tree to deal with focusing on her light powers. The powers that she displayed through the main game are the focus now, with light being something that can heal herself and allies, blind enemies and used to install kill mobs. She also has some unique arrow moves. The skill tree still works in the same way, with you having an option of which upgrade being active. I never thought I would miss dominate so much, not being able control captains really changes how the game is played, as was shadow bind to stealth capture beasts.

Since she refuses to dominate orcs your allies are actually recruited during the scripted missions and each captain is quite unique and most are quite amusing. After a short mission (which usually involves killing an enemy captain - though some are quite well scripted) they are willing to fight for you and assault the forts. This time around there aren’t any siege upgrades to worry about, making the assaults much quicker. You don’t need to worry about taking on the captains roaming the map, as none of them seem to be linked to the fort, so you only have to worry about the 3-5 captains in the fort to win. Intel is also extremely limited as you can’t capture worms. Each region has 6 legendary items locked to scripted battles. All other enemies are removed from the map during these, which prevent other captains joining in (which was a problem I found lots during the main game) but it removed a lot of the unpredictability and difficulty from the game. The unique weapon sets apply unique bonuses that can change how many of Eltariel’s abilities are used and making the missions to collect them a worthwhile task. Many of the orcs guarding them have quite a lot of immunities, so having the right weapon or equipment set really helps before taking some of them on and the few that have quick learning are nightmares to fight. Multiple Gems types have been removed, with only the new light type gems appearing now.

I found playing as Eltariel after playing as Talion for 50+ hours fun but also required me to relearn tactics. Many abilities and moves I would use simply don’t exist, and having to focus on which weapons and armors to use for bonuses to match the enemies weaknesses was refreshing instead of summoning a Drake or Graug and stomping on the enemies until I could capture them. The big orc battles that Talion would rush headlong into were replaced with quick surgical strikes.

I liked the plot though the main antagonists weren’t well explained on how they got to were they were (they get a short scene and then don’t reappear until the end). The ending was good and I could see it setting up a sequel if needed (just because Sauron is dead doesn’t mean middle earth is safe). One bonus from finishing the story is the orc captains you recruit join your garrison in the main game. This will either be a big boost or completely pointless depending on where you are and what level orcs you are recruiting, though they are legendary, have tons of immunities and few weaknesses and boosting their levels isn’t hard.
The Achievements the DLC adds are the easiest of all the games to accomplish, the should all come naturally through playing the game making it an easy 100%

For more reviews please visit https://store.steampowered.com/curator/31327216/

The Blade of Galadriel is a direct continuation from the main story of Shadows of War. If you haven’t finished Shadows of War (or at least got to act 4: The Shadow Wars) then I highly recommend not playing this, as it will ruin the plot surprise in the main game. Otherwise it’s a fun but short DLC (took 4-5 hours to 100%) that I highly recommend so you can play as the elf Eltariel, continuing her mission to disrupt the Ringwraith’s and watching over Talion (and helping you recruit some additional captains along the way). Being a short expansion many of the new systems of the main game have been removed completely. There is no money to collect, and no loot other than light gems. All of the additional legendary weapons are linked to optional side missions. Eltariel starts at level 35 and has a large range of skills already unlocked, and is provided a much smaller unique skill tree to deal with focusing on her light powers. The powers that she displayed through the main game are the focus now, with light being something that can heal herself and allies, blind enemies and used to install kill mobs. She also has some unique arrow moves. The skill tree still works in the same way, with you having an option of which upgrade being active. I never thought I would miss dominate so much, not being able control captains really changes how the game is played, as was shadow bind to stealth capture beasts. Since she refuses to dominate orcs your allies are actually recruited during the scripted missions and each captain is quite unique and most are quite amusing. After a short mission (which usually involves killing an enemy captain - though some are quite well scripted) they are willing to fight for you and assault the forts. This time around there aren’t any siege upgrades to worry about, making the assaults much quicker. You don’t need to worry about taking on the captains roaming the map, as none of them seem to be linked to the fort, so you only have to worry about the 3-5 captains in the fort to win. Intel is also extremely limited as you can’t capture worms. Each region has 6 legendary items locked to scripted battles. All other enemies are removed from the map during these, which prevent other captains joining in (which was a problem I found lots during the main game) but it removed a lot of the unpredictability and difficulty from the game. The unique weapon sets apply unique bonuses that can change how many of Eltariel’s abilities are used and making the missions to collect them a worthwhile task. Many of the orcs guarding them have quite a lot of immunities, so having the right weapon or equipment set really helps before taking some of them on and the few that have quick learning are nightmares to fight. Multiple Gems types have been removed, with only the new light type gems appearing now. I found playing as Eltariel after playing as Talion for 50+ hours fun but also required me to relearn tactics. Many abilities and moves I would use simply don’t exist, and having to focus on which weapons and armors to use for bonuses to match the enemies weaknesses was refreshing instead of summoning a Drake or Graug and stomping on the enemies until I could capture them. The big orc battles that Talion would rush headlong into were replaced with quick surgical strikes. I liked the plot though the main antagonists weren’t well explained on how they got to were they were (they get a short scene and then don’t reappear until the end). The ending was good and I could see it setting up a sequel if needed (just because Sauron is dead doesn’t mean middle earth is safe). One bonus from finishing the story is the orc captains you recruit join your garrison in the main game. This will either be a big boost or completely pointless depending on where you are and what level orcs you are recruiting, though they are legendary, have tons of immunities and few weaknesses and boosting their levels isn’t hard. The Achievements the DLC adds are the easiest of all the games to accomplish, the should all come naturally through playing the game making it an easy 100% For more reviews please visit https://store.steampowered.com/curator/31327216/