If your assault level is higher than the fortress level, it won’t be easy, but some of your captains might survive. If the fortress level is higher than your assault level, it’ll be a rough fight. Your captains and their upgrades all contribute to your assault force level. You can add things like your own siege beasts of various flavors or extra archers. You can purchase these upgrades - which are different from training orders - when you start the capture mission. On the attacking side are members of your army ( assault leaders) and any upgrades you give them. Interactive EntertainmentĪ combination of the overlord and warchiefs’ levels and the additional defenses adds up to a fortress level - a number you don’t really have to understand beyond “higher equals better defended.” These defenses are tied to the warchiefs that serve the overlord (more on this below). The walls might be stronger, which will keep your armies out for longer because they can’t climb like Talion can, or they might have poison-spewing siege beasts. The other big difference is that fortresses have some extra defenses to keep you out. And they have an overlord running the show. They’re similar to the outposts you encounter, but these are dressed up nicer. You’ve seen the basics of fortresses before in the game. What’s a fortress? Monolith Productions/Warner Bros. Once you know how to claim a fortress, we’ll talk through your options for keeping it yours. From there, we’ll work backward through the ways you can make that easier. We’re going to work from the top down for this guide, starting with what a fortress is, then how capture one.

But fortress become a major mechanic in the late stages of Middle-earth: Shadow of War, so they’re important to understand. You’re not going to encounter your first fortress until you’re many hours into the game (we were at over 20 hours in at that point, but we play slowly), and you won’t encounter your second until many hours after that. Doing so sends a message to Sauron and can earn you some rewards. They’re, well, fortresses in each area of Mordor that you can (try to) take over and control. Fortresses are one of the new mechanics added to Middle-earth: Shadow of War.

Shadow of war fortress upgrades