Is Curse Good in Shadow of War? A Deep Dive into the Affliction

In Middle-earth: Shadow of War, the Curse status effect is a double-edged sword, offering both strategic advantages and significant drawbacks. Whether it’s “good” depends entirely on the context, your playstyle, and who’s on the receiving end. For Talion/Eltariel, being afflicted by the Curse is almost always detrimental, rapidly draining Health and Wrath while obscuring the minimap. However, when applied to enemies, especially Orcs and Ologs, Curse can be a powerful tool for crowd control and damage amplification, but its effectiveness needs to be understood to be used correctly. Its benefits are highly dependent on your specific combat strategy and the specific enemies you are fighting.

Understanding the Curse Mechanic

Curse’s Impact on Talion/Eltariel

When Talion or Eltariel are Cursed, the effects are harsh:

• Health Drain: Your health depletes steadily, forcing you to be proactive in healing or avoiding damage.
• Wrath Drain: Wrath is your fuel for powerful special attacks, and losing it makes you far less effective in combat.
• Focus Depletion: Immediately losing all Focus inhibits your ability to slow time for ranged attacks, diminishing your ranged combat prowess.
• Minimap Obscured: This makes navigation difficult and increases the risk of ambushes.

Being cursed as the player character requires immediate mitigation, whether through healing items, abilities, or removing the source of the curse.

Curse’s Impact on Orcs and Ologs

The impact of Curse on your enemies is where the strategic value lies:

• Panic and Damage: Lesser Orcs panic when they see a Cursed Uruk/Olog, causing them to flee and take damage over time. This is excellent for crowd control.
• Damage Amplification: The most powerful aspect of Curse is how it amplifies the damage they take.
• Immunity Removal: Cursed orcs temporarily lose their immunities, rendering them vulnerable to attacks they would otherwise shrug off. This alone makes Curse a game-changer against heavily armored or immune captains.

The removal of immunities makes cursed extremely powerful.

Strategic Uses of Curse

Capitalizing on Vulnerability

Curse’s most significant advantage is its ability to strip away enemy immunities. This is particularly effective against Orc Captains and Warchiefs who have a suite of resistances that make them difficult to take down through normal means. By inflicting Curse, you can open them up to specific elemental attacks (like Fire or Poison) or critical strikes that would otherwise be useless.

Crowd Control

The panic effect on Grunts when a larger enemy is Cursed is a useful method of crowd control. The damage over time can weaken them, and the chaos creates opportunities for stealth attacks or executions.

Damage Amplification: An In-Depth Look

This is where Curse becomes truly devastating. A Cursed target effectively takes half the damage they deal back to themselves. Let’s break this down with an example:

• An Orc Captain swings at you and deals 200 damage.
• If that Captain is Cursed, they take 100 damage in addition to the damage you might otherwise inflict.
• If the target receives multiple hits, the damage is added together.

Important Considerations:

• This damage amplification only applies to the target’s attacks.
• It doesn’t scale; it’s a direct percentage of the inflicted damage.
• If an attack kills the non-Cursed target, the Cursed target still takes the damage, and vice versa.

Items and Skills that Interact with Curse

Many items and skills in Shadow of War synergize with Curse, enhancing its effectiveness:

• Cursed Weapons: Weapons that have a chance to apply Curse on hit are invaluable. Look for these affixes when forging or looting.
• Skills that Apply Curse: Some of Talion’s skills can inflict Curse, offering a way to reliably apply the effect.

Drawbacks and Considerations

Managing Your Own Curse

The most significant drawback to Curse is its debilitating effect on Talion. As mentioned earlier, the health and wrath drain can quickly lead to death if not managed. Therefore, it’s crucial to:

• Avoid Cursed enemies and environments: Be mindful of enemies that inflict Curse, and avoid lingering in areas with Cursed ground effects.
• Prioritize Curse removal: Skills, gear, or consumables that remove Curse should be readily available in your loadout.
• Equip gear with Curse resistance: Reduce the duration and severity of Curse effects.

Not Always Necessary

While Curse is potent, it’s not always the optimal strategy. Some enemies are naturally vulnerable to other damage types or strategies, making Curse unnecessary. Furthermore, relying too heavily on Curse can make you complacent and less adaptable to different combat scenarios.

Conclusion: A Powerful, Situational Tool

In conclusion, Curse in Shadow of War is a powerful tool with a high risk/reward factor. When applied to enemies, it can strip away immunities, control crowds, and significantly amplify damage. However, being Cursed yourself is extremely dangerous, demanding careful management and mitigation. Mastering Curse requires understanding its mechanics, leveraging synergistic skills and gear, and adapting your strategy based on the situation. Used wisely, Curse can turn the tide of even the most challenging battles.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Curse in Shadow of War

1. Does Curse permanently remove immunities from Orcs?

No, the immunity removal granted by Curse is temporary, lasting only as long as the Curse effect is active. Once the Curse wears off, the Orc regains its original immunities.

2. Can any Orc be affected by Curse, regardless of their traits?

Yes, any Orc, regardless of their existing traits or immunities, can be affected by Curse. However, the effectiveness of Curse may vary depending on the specific Orc.

3. Does Curse damage stack if multiple sources apply it?

No, applying multiple sources of Curse to the same target does not stack the damage or the effects. The Curse duration may be refreshed, but the core effects remain the same.

4. How do I effectively remove Curse when afflicted?

Several methods can remove Curse:

• Consumables: Using a health potion can sometimes remove or mitigate the effects of Curse.
• Skills: Certain skills, particularly in the Wraith skill tree, provide Curse removal or resistance.
• Gear: Equipping gear with Curse resistance can significantly reduce the duration and impact of Curse.

5. Are there any enemies immune to Curse?

While rare, some high-level Orcs or special enemy types might have traits that grant immunity to Curse. Always assess the enemy before relying solely on Curse as a strategy.

6. Does the difficulty level affect the potency of Curse?

Yes, the difficulty level can impact the potency of Curse. On higher difficulties, the health and wrath drain from Curse can be significantly more punishing, requiring even greater caution and management.

7. Can I inflict Curse on my own followers?

Yes, you can unintentionally inflict Curse on your own followers if they are caught in the area of effect of a Cursed attack or environment. Be mindful of their positioning during combat.

8. Does Shaming a Cursed Orc remove the Curse?

No, shaming an Orc does not remove the Curse effect. The Orc will remain Cursed until the effect naturally wears off or is removed by other means.

9. Does Curse affect beasts like Caragors or Graugs?

Yes, Curse can affect beasts like Caragors and Graugs, causing them to panic and potentially take damage over time. However, the immunity stripping effect might be less significant on beasts compared to Orcs.

10. How does Curse interact with elemental weaknesses?

Curse is excellent for exploiting elemental weaknesses. By removing immunities, it allows you to inflict elemental damage that the enemy would normally resist, making it a powerful combination.

11. Is it possible to build a Talion/Eltariel character specifically around Curse?

Yes, it’s possible to build a character around Curse by focusing on skills, gear, and gems that enhance Curse application and mitigate its negative effects on Talion. This build can be highly effective against heavily armored or immune enemies.

12. Does Brutalizing a Cursed enemy have any special effects?

Brutalizing a Cursed enemy does not have any specific bonus effects directly related to the Curse. However, the panic caused by Curse can create opportunities for stealth attacks and brutalizations.

13. Does Curse work on Sauron?

No, Curse does not work on Sauron during the final boss fights. Sauron is immune to most status effects, including Curse.

14. Can I apply Curse through ranged attacks?

Yes, you can apply Curse through ranged attacks using bows or special abilities that inflict Curse on impact. This can be a safe and effective way to Curse enemies from a distance.

15. Is Curse more effective in the early game or late game?

Curse can be effective in both the early and late game, but its strategic value tends to increase in the late game when you face tougher enemies with numerous immunities. In the early game, it’s more of a situational tool, while in the late game, it can be a core component of your combat strategy.