Middle-earth: Shadow of War's Definitive Edition is now available

Middle-earth: Shadow of War's Definitive Edition is now available

Written by on | OpenCritic

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The game Middle-earth: Shadow of War is vastly different today than it was at release a year ago. And to celebrate that fact, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment is putting out a complete edition that wraps all the added content and changes into one big package for folks who have been on the fence.


Here's a full list of everything the definitive edition includes:

Middle-earth: Shadow of War Definitive Edition features the main game in which players forge a new Ring of Power, conquer fortresses in massive battles and dominate Mordor with their own personal Orc army, all brought to life by the award-winning Nemesis System. The full Expansion Pass is also included with additional story campaigns, missions, playable characters, Orc tribes, weapons, abilities, enemies, a new region and much more.

  • Middle-earth: Shadow of War Main Game
  • Slaughter Tribe Nemesis Expansion
  • Outlaw Tribe Nemesis Expansion
  • Blade of Galadriel Story Expansion
  • Desolation of Mordor Story Expansion

Additionally, Middle-earth: Shadow of War Definitive Edition brings together a multitude of different enhancements and free content updates, from a richer campaign experience and streamlined post-game Epilogue to new player skins and the complete removal of the market, in addition to hundreds of other improvements since the release of Middle-earth: Shadow of War™.

  • Market Closure: Complete removal of the market and microtransactions.
  • Updated Post-Game: Streamlined post-game Epilogue (formerly Shadow Wars) with new narration from Shelob, the Witch-king and Dark Talion, plus new Masks of the Nazgûl player rewards.
  • Nemesis System Enhancements: Numerous improvements bringing further depth to combat encounters and player interactions, along with added traits and behaviors for Orc enemies, more Legendary Orcs to encounter and more ways to get Training Orders.
  • Powering Up: Follower level cap has been increased to 80, enemy Captain level cap has been increased to 85, greater XP rewards, new Prestige skills, upgrades and more.
  • Gear Upgrades: Players can now use Mirian to raise the level of a piece of gear to their current level and use gems to re-roll abilities.
  • Skins: Added player skins for Celebrimbor, Eltariel, Dark Eltariel, Baranor and Serka.
  • Online Pit Fights & Conquests: Added search feature to challenge specific players' Overlords and fortresses in Friendly Mode.
  • Endless Siege: Added feature to defend fortresses against never-ending waves of Sauron’s forces.
  • Rebellion: Added feature to crush rebel Ologs and Uruks who undermine the Bright Lord.
  • Photo Mode Upgrades: Capture every battle with new filters, frames and textures.
  • Difficulty Levels: Added Brutal and Gravewalker difficulty levels.
  • Player Stats: Added player stats page to track in-game enemy kills, dominations and betrayals.

About the Authors

Bill Murphy has been blogging and pontificating about video games since 2002. Always ready with more to say than anyone could possibly want to read, he began his professional writing tenure at IGN's Vault Network as an Assistant Community Manager in 2006. Later he moved on to Ten Ton Hammer, and then finally landed a gig as Lead Writer at MMORPG.com and, which has evolved into his current role as Managing Editor. In 2017, he co-founded the all-games site GameSpace.com He lives in Cleveland, Ohio with his beautiful wife, two young sons, and small army of dogs and cats.