Shadow of War Beginner's Guide - Essential Tips, Shelob Memories, How to Save

In Middle-earth: Shadow of War, there's a surprising amount to get to grips with in the opening hours of the game, as overhauls are made to the Nemesis system, and the game also introduces the brand new Fortress Assault feature for players to tackle with their full armies. The sequel to Shadow of Mordor might pack a whole lot of new systems together, but with this Shadow of War guide, you'll never be at a loss for answers. Read on for tips on how to earn Mirian in Shadow of War, how to perform attack combos, and a guide to Shelob Memories.

Shadow of War Guide

Just below, you can find all our complete Shadow of War guides, including how to take down a powerful Overlord and his Warchiefs, as well as how to use the levelling up system in the game.

• Shadow of War Nemesis System Guide
• Shadow of War Fortress Assault Guide
• Shadow of War Best Weapons Guide
• Shadow of War Nazgul Boss Fight Guide
• Shadow of War Suladan Boss Fight Guide
• Shadow of War Helm Hammerhand Boss Fight Guide
• Shadow of War Isildur Boss Fight Guide
• Shadow of War Balrog Boss Fight Guide
• Shadow of War Frozen Flame Mission Walkthrough
• Shadow of War The Shadow Wars Guide
• Shadow of War Loot Boxes Rewards Guide
• Shadow of War Nemesis Forge Guide
• Shadow of War Ithildin Door Poem Solutions Guide

Below you'll see a whole heap of useful guides, hints, and tips, to help you get through Shadow of War. This includes how to farm Mirian to make the end-game easier, how to perform attack combos, How to Fast Travel, and an overview of Shelob memories.

Shadow of War Mirian Farming - How to Earn Mirian in Shadow of War

The main currency in Shadow of War comes in the form of Mirian, exactly as it did back in Shadow of Mordor. But what is Mirian actually used for? You can use the currency to upgrade gear, purchase upgrades before heading into a Shadow of War Fortress Assault mission, or purchase Training Orders. These are all the things you can use Mirian for, but here are some of the best ways to earn Mirian in Shadow of War:

How Best to Earn Mirian in Shadow of War

• Destroy your unused gear - If you head into your inventory from the main Shadow of War menu, you'll find that Talion can equip any bows, swords, daggers, and other items that he's picked up. If you go into any of these equipment slots, you'll be able to destroy old gear by hovering over them and holding down Y/Triangle. You'll gain more Mirian the higher level the piece of gear is that you've destroyed.
• Be on the lookout for Mirian drops - When you're off and about in the world of Shadow of War, you'll occasionally see a random Orc with a small white marker over his head. This means that he's carrying a certain amount of Mirian on him, and if you kill him, he'll drop this Mirian for Talion to pick up.
• Sacrifice any underleveled followers - If you go into the followers section within the Shadow of War market, you can destroy any followers that you no longer have a use for. While sacrificing them doesn't actually reward you with Mirian, it will give you gear items, which you can then destroy and turn into Mirian.

How to Manually Save Your Game in Shadow of War?

One of the most annoying things in video games is not being able to save your game whenever you like. Sadly, Shadow of War is one such game, with the save system being automatic. You’ll notice the game save at points as you play, but if you want to save your progress and turn off without waiting for the game to do it for you, there’s no obvious way to do so. There is, however, a way to force Shadow of War to save your game.

When you use the fast travel system in Shadow of War the game saves your progress. While this is a little long winded and means you have to sit through a loading screen, you will at least be happy to turn off your console knowing you’re not going to lose any progress. So there you have it. To manually save your progress in Shadow of War, fast travel to a new location. Simple.

Shadow of War Tips and Tricks

Here we've compiled some general Shadow of War tips and tricks for you, in order to help you navigate Mordor and take Talion's army all the way to challenging Sauron for domination.

• Make sure to always hold at least 1 Elf Shot in reserve, just in case there are any explosive barrels to shoot nearby.
• If you ever run out of Elf Shot, you can always recover some by dominating an Orc. The same goes for if you need to recover some health.
• Make sure you memorise the combo buttons for when your Might meter is full. For example, Y+B on the Xbox One is an execution on a single Orc, whereas A+B will let you instantly dominate an Orc.
• Keep an eye on missions on the map! Missions that will affect the Nemesis System, for example a Duel between Captains, are time sensitive, and you have three chances to complete these missions before they expire.
• The timer for time sensitive missions will decrease by one, every time you participate in another time sensitive mission around the map. If a mission expires, then an outcome will be generated for you. Basically, you'll have to prioritise missions that you deem more important.
• Shadow of War actually takes a fair while to get going, so you won't actually get to build up your army until you're into Act 2, which takes place in the region of Nurnen.
• In each new region that you enter, there will be three Haedir towers scattered around the map. Every time you climb to the top of a Haedir tower and capture them, they'll act as a fast travel point around the region, as well as unlocking plenty of collectible items around the region for Talion to recover.
• Remember to frequently check on your surroundings using Wraith Vision on the left shoulder button. This lets you see through the surrounding environment, letting you check how many Orcs, Captains, and collectibles are nearby.
• If you're more of a stealth player, then Shadow of War has some great options for you. You'll immediately be hidden once you enter any bushes in the environment, and you can strike out at unsuspecting Orcs nearby by pressing right trigger + X/Square, to take them out silently.

Shadow of War Combo Attack Buttons

Just on top of the mini map in Shadow of War, you'll see the orange Might Meter, which builds up every time you inflict an attack on an Orc. When the Might Meter in full, you can unleash any of the combo attacks you wish, all of which we'll run down on both the Xbox One and PS4 just below.

PS4 Shadow of War Attack Combo Buttons:

• Triangle + Circle = Execution - This combo lets to either take out a single Orc or Olog, or inflict significant damage to a Captain, Warchief, or Overlord.
• Circle + Cross = Domination - The Domination combo lets you immediately dominate a nearby Orc or Olog, switching their allegiance to your side for the fight, and also refilling Talion's health meter.
• Square + Cross = Wraith Flash - The Wraith Flash ability unleashes a shockwave from Talion, either stunning or setting nearby enemies on fire (depending on which upgrades you've purchased).

Xbox One Shadow of War Attack Combo Buttons:

• Y + B = Execution - This combo lets to either take out a single Orc or Olog, or inflict significant damage to a Captain, Warchief, or Overlord.
• B + A = Domination - The Domination combo lets you immediately dominate a nearby Orc or Olog, switching their allegiance to your side for the fight, and also refilling Talion's health meter.
• X + A = Wraith Flash - The Wraith Flash ability unleashes a shockwave from Talion, either stunning or setting nearby enemies on fire (depending on which upgrades you've purchased).

Shadow of War Haedir - How to Fast Travel in Shadow of War

As we briefly mentioned above, in every region in Shadow of War you'll be able to find three Haedir, scattered across the land in various locations. Talion will have to seek out the Haedir in the regions to enable them to be used as fast travel points whenever you wish. In addition to this, activating a Haedir will allow you to scan the nearby map space for collectibles, including Shelob Memories, Ithildin Doors, and Gondorian Artifacts.

Shadow of War Shelob Memories

As we established just above, purifying Haedir in Shadow of War will lead to the location of various Shelob Memories being revealed to you. All you need to do now is track down any Shelob Memory you want, but once you've found any of them, you'll find yourself faced with the screen just below, where you'll have to unravel the jumbled image presented to you.

To unravel the Shelob Memory item, you'll have to rotate the collectible until it forms a complete picture. To help you out, the controller with vibrate the closer you are, meaning you basically need to follow the direction where the vibrations are strongest. Once you've unravelled the puzzle, you'll be presented with a brief snippet of Shadow of War lore, in which various scenes such as the fall of the Nine Kings can be glimpsed.

Shadow of War Gondorian Artifacts

Another type of collectible in Shadow of War are the Gondorian Artifacts. As with the Shelob Memories, you'll be able to pinpoint the locations of various Gondorian Artifacts within any region by utilising the Haedir towers.

After this, all you need to do is approach the Gondorian Artifact location, and you'll see a white marker hovering just above the ground. Approach it, and press the right shoulder button to collect it, after which you'll be treated to some dialogue explaining the artifact's significance in the history of Gondor.

Shadow of War Ithildin Doors

The third, and final variant of collectible in Shadow of War are the Ithildin Doors. Once again, you'll need to use all three Haedir towers in any one region to pinpoint the locations of all six Ithildin fragments in one area. Now you'll need to make it to each Ithildin fragment location, and focus on it using your Wraith Vision in order to log it as collected.

Once you've collected every Ithildin item within a region, you can then enter the final Ithildin Door in the area, and this will grant you a piece of the Bright Lord armor set. You'll need to access every Ithildin Door within every Shadow of War region, if you want to collect every piece of the Bright Lord armor set.

For all the Poem solutions for every Shadow of War Ithildin Door, head over to our Ithildin Door Poem solutions guide.