Shadow of War Best Skills: 10 Best Skills Ranked

The sequel to the critically acclaimed Shadow of Mordor introduced many new skills and improved upon a few old ones. Along with its famous nemesis system, Shadow of War introduced skills that are extremely useful to take down Sauron’s forces. This list will focus on the 10 Shadow of War Best Skills which will assist you from the early game till the end game.

Skills introduced in the previous title were useful but this time around they have been expanded upon to face newer threats like the Balrog and the Nazgul. Talion – our main character, is well-equipped this time around to face these new threats.

Shadow of War Best Skills Ranked

Much like the Best MHW Skills, the following skills are useful in situations of all kinds. Whether you want to evade enemies that have you surrounded or want to charge towards them to deal damage. These skills will make it easier for you to destroy your orc nemesis and climb up the ranks to complete the story. Plus, you can conveniently use these skills even if you are a newer player. With that being said, let’s get started and see which skill is the best.

Bird of Prey

Starting with the Bird of Prey skill located in the ranged tree. This is an extremely useful ability as it allows you to aim down your bow while in mid-air. On top of that, when you aim down sight, time slows down so you can easily hit an enemy with your arrow.

Talion has the ability to jump from high distances without taking any damage. This skill comes in extra handy when you are jumping off a massive tower into the enemy base. While it might not sound like an impressive ability, using it will make life easier.

On its own, this skill is good but it can be made better by combining it with other skills of the same nature. Such as the Talon Strike or the Eagle Sight. The aforementioned abilities enhance the effectiveness of Bird of Prey; making it that much better.

Deadly Spectre

Moving on to the Predator Tree where Deadly Spectre is situated. If you are a player that likes to move around stealthily, this skill is just for you. It allows Talion to distract foes and lure them to a location of his choice. Once an orc is lured to a location, Celebrimbor will kill it and disappear.

This allows Talion to keep moving without being detected and orcs can be picked out one at a time to thin the herd. Further upgrading this will result in Celebrimbor draining the orcs energy for you to use. Plus, the upgraded version also adds new animations which look extremely brutal.

Wraith Chain

Wraith Chain further expands upon the previous skill and allows you to chain your stealth kills. While being undetected, when you kill an orc, you have the option to send Celebrimbor to a short distance to stealth kill another enemy.

You can use this skill multiple times but every time you use it, Talion will consume Focus. Depending on your Focus bar, you can use it many times and take down a bunch of enemies. Once you upgrade this skill to the maximum level, it allows you to chain kill large beasts which is extremely helpful.

Poison Tendril

Another skill from the Predator Tree, you can use Poison Tendril from a short distance and use the spectral bow to poison the barrels. Orcs regularly use the barrels to drink and brew wine. Once you poison their supply, all of the orcs that drink that wine will get poisoned.

Larger enemies will take damage over time but smaller grunts will die instantly. The best part is that the orcs will not be able to find Talion as you can shoot the barrels from a distance. In its upgraded form, this skill is extremely effective.
After upgrading it, any orc that dies from poison will explode and spread the toxin to nearby foes. This can potentially kill an entire camp without forcing yourself into combat. On top of that, the poisoned orc will go into a frenzy mode and attack their partners.

Detonate

Detonate allows the player to strike a firepit and deal damage to nearby foes setting them ablaze. While it might not be a stealthy approach, it gets the job done as you will deal damage in a decent area of effect. You can easily kill several orcs courtesy of Detonate without taking any damage yourself.

However, after fully upgrading Detonate, you have the option to explode the firepit from a distance with an arrow. The other upgrade variants can attract various creatures from the wild once the firepit has exploded. This causes chaos in the orc camp allowing you to take full advantage of it.

Consume

While this is a Might consuming skill; there is a reason why they’re locked behind a resource. Consume is superb in many ways. On its own, it will give you back your HP instantly. Upgrading it to Domination will turn enemies to your side – turning the tables.

If you choose to upgrade it to Quiver of Souls, it will fill your Elf Shot up. Finally, if you decide to go for the Bright Lord’s Wrath variant, you will fully heal your health and gain a small amount of Wrath. I like the Domination path best as you can turn foes against each other and change the tide of battle in your favor.

This is a life-saving and versatile skill that is useful till the end game. Consume is a pivotal skill that every player – new or experienced – should keep in their arsenal.

Freeze Pin

This skill will make Talion fire a frozen arrow that can pin the orc at its location and freeze him. While this skill isn’t the most valuable during combat, it comes in handy against feeling orcs or when initiating the fight. A handy way to freeze running orcs right in their tracks and finish them off later on.

The upgraded version, however, makes nearby orcs flee in fear. Other variants double the time that the orc is frozen. You can even freeze large beasts once the skill is upgraded to the Savage Ice path.

Elven Light

As soon as you hit level 9, I suggest that you pick up the Cleansing Blaze upgrade for Elven Light. On its own though, this skill is life-saving. While surround, if you activate it you will be invulnerable while it’s launching. When it strikes, Talion will push enemies back. Larger enemies will get staggered instead of being pushed back – giving you some breathing room.

The Cleansing Blaze upgrade lets you exploit weaknesses to fire and it gives you a tool to take on enemies otherwise immune to executions. Versatility is the key. Other enhancements allow this skill to exploit weaknesses such as poison and orc can even be frozen. While it doesn’t deal damage or kill orcs, this skill allows you to push back enemies and get the upper hand. If you cast this at the edge of a cliff, enemies will fall off and die.

Shadow Strike

Moving on to the single most versatile skill in Shadow of War, Shadow Strike. When you pick up this skill, you’ll wonder how lived without it. This gives you the means to start a fight and escape when things are getting worse. It even allows you to catch fleeing foes and fast travel around the area.

As soon as you can pick up the upgrade, get it. This is an extremely powerful skill that allows you to control each fight according to your will. The upgraded version allows you to pull orcs – even some larger enemies – to your position. This means that you can separate dangerous enemies from their camp and take them on one on one.

Execution

Finally, Execution is probably the least exciting skill on the list but it is one of the absolute best and a must-have. I highly recommend picking up this right after the game forces you to get elven agility. It gives you a tool to instantly kill grunts and deal high amounts of damage to all those who aren’t immune.

Upgrading this skill to Grim Resolve means that you don’t lose your Might when you’re hit unless poisoned or struck by enemies of a higher level. Using Execution to stealth kill an orc will fill out your Might meter faster. On top of that, Talion will fill his Might meter every time he takes damage; thus, making it an important addition to Talion’s arsenal.

This skill is sublime if you want to get out of open combat swiftly. You can kill an orc in one hit and return to stealth to avoid combat. If you use this skill on high-level bosses, they will take an insane amount of damage that will greatly assist you in taking them down.

Parting Words

All of the above-mentioned skills are extremely useful and will help you take down Sauron’s forces easily. Depending on your playstyle, you can try out the various skills to see which one suits you best. I highly suggest having the Execution skill equipped as it is one of the strongest in the entirety of Shadow of War.

That about does it for our list about the Shadow of War Best Skills. I hope you found something in this guide that suits your playstyle. Let me know in the comments below what skill is your favorite. Also, be sure to check out the Best Snipers in Sniper Elite 4.