[Top 10] Shadow of War Best Orcs To Recruit (Ranked By Usefulness)

Shadow Of War, Shadow Of Mordor, Lord Of The Rings
Updated:
22 Dec 2022

The Nemesis system is the main selling-point of both Shadow Of War and its predecessor. Shadow Of War’s Captains are vastly improved compared to Shadow Of Mordor and the nemesis system is a lot more detailed.

So, there’s not really an Orc that’s better than all others, and you’re never going to have a single Orc that is going to be useful in all situations. BUT, we’ll take a look at some of the best Tribe and Clan combinations for your Orcs that will help you figure out which Orcs you’ll need in your adventures.

Each of these Orcs also have their own traits, immunities, weaknesses and so forth. You’ll want to keep an eye out for those too, since an Orc that is enraged by fire is a great counter for a strong Orc that killed you with a fire weapon.

10.Marauder Commander

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If you decide to dominate a commander from the Marauder tribe, you can expect him to get a Hail Of Bolts special move. The Orc will sheathe his weapon to pull out 2 crossbows and unleash many bolts in his enemy’s direction.

This pairs quite well with the Commander Class which will make the Orc always have a large group of grunts around him. Since he’ll always have a group of orcs around him, this gives him more chances to use his Hail Of Bolts while remaining protected.

9. Dark Destroyer 

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The Dark tribe is characterized by using a move called Dark Strikes. The orc prepares a rapid assault of different attacks which have to be parried with correct inputs to avoid damage.

The Destroyer class is easily distinguishable since they’ll always be blowing stuff up around them. They often have explosive set-up in advance and they have a lot of devastating explosive attacks. They have strong bombs that can be used from range and if the enemy comes in close, the Dark Strikes move can help your orc defend better with a series of vicious attacks.

8. Terror Berserker

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The orcs from the Terror tribe all have an ability called Terror Chains. When they use Terror Chains, they wildly whip chains with blades attached to them in all directions, harming all enemies nearby.

The Berserker class is obviously, best at quick and strong heavy blows while enraged. They can do a whole lot of damage quickly, and with traits that allow them to be enraged even longer, they can be a very intimidating opponent. Terror Chains pairs well with the Berserker’s aggressive nature, and looks very cool when being used.

7.Dark Berserker

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Like the previous entry Dark Destroyer, this Captain will also get the move Dark Strikes.

However, Dark Strikes pairs slightly better with the Berserker Class. The tribe skill and the aggressive behavior of the Berserkers pairs extremely well. You can expect from the Dark Destroyer to be very aggressive, even more so if you give him the epic trait which will let him stay enraged for a long time. There’s rarely a reason why you wouldn’t want a highly aggressive Captain on your side to help you in combat.

6.Mystic Assassin

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Members of the Mystic clan have a unique skill called the Mystic Blade. It allows the orc to unsheathe a cursed blade and teleport around the battle with it.

The Assassins in Shadow Of War are characterized by relentless hunting and ambushing you when you don’t expect it. In any case, give an Assassin the ability to teleport in combat, and you can expect him to make the best of it. The Assassins can constantly dodge and vault through combat, and they’re not easily caught off-guard. 

5.Feral Beastmaster

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The Feral clan has a nice little special skill called Feral Claws. It’s an unblockable charge that lets the Feral clan pin their enemies down and unleash brutal slashing attacks.

The Beastmaster has many traits that focus around summoning animals and using them in combat. And while enemies, especially later on will easily deal with Graugs and such, it’s extremely useful when you summon your bodyguard and he also combes with an elemental Graug. It causes chaos on the battlefield and can also dish out some damage and deal with the grunts by itself.

4.Warmonger Assassin

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The Warmonger tribe has a skill called Warmonger Clash. The member of the Warmonger tribe will lock blades with his opponent and if they don’t break away quickly enough they will get overpowered and hurt.

Instead like the previous Assassin that was featured on this list, we’re aiming to get a little more damage instead of mobility. The Assassin class, nimble as always, now has an additional attack in close quarters combat which can do some hefty damage to opponents.

3.Machine Tank

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The Machine tribe has a very cool skill called Machine Hook. They throw an unblockable hook-chain, and if the chain connects, they pull their opponent in close to them and deal a lot of damage.

The Tank class is built to last long in battle. They’re hard to hit because of their shield and they still manage to do good damage. The Machine Hook ability (besides being the coolest) allows our Tanks to bring the enemies into close quarters where they will certainly outlast them. Tank traits like Death Defying and Epic Determination can turn the tides even when you think this orc is losing.

2.Machine Slayer

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We have another orc from the Machine Tribe that will benefit from the use of the Machine Hook. Instead of outlasting the opponent like the Tank, we’re going to try and use the Machine Hook to make the Slayer as aggressive as possible.

Slayer’s traits are good, but there’s one trait which will make any player vary, and at least slow them down a lot (good for online siege defense) and it’s Quick Learner. It will make it significantly harder to make quick work of a Slayer, so it’s always good to make your Slayer the Overlord of a fortress if you’re playing online sieges.

1.Mystic Trickster

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Like previously mentioned, the Mystic tribe will reap the benefits of a move called Mystic Blade. The teleport is especially good for the Trickster, since we’ll be wanting to confuse the enemy and attack from multiple sides.

Tricksters are quite unpredictable and eccentric and they will use different tactics to confuse their enemies and then kill them. The best epic trait that you’ll want for your trickster is Elite Decoys which will let him have a group of grunts that look and act exactly like him. They’re all strong, but only the real one has HP to survive any kind of damage. The goal is to let your Trickster attack the enemy from all sides and overwhelm him with the strength in numbers.

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