The Shadow of Mordor’s latest DLC, The Bright Lord, is coming out soon, and TORn was lucky enough to have a quick Q&A with Monolith’s Director of Design, Michael de Plater.
Kelvarhin: What was the inspiration for The Bright Lord DLC?
Michael de Plater: During the main story of Shadow of Mordor, we showed flashbacks to Celebrimbor’s life, and in particular his involvement with the Rings of Power and his downfall within Mordor. It was very exciting for us to be able to go back and actually play elements of this story.
Kelvarhin: Is it possible to play as Sauron as well as Celebrimbor in the new DLC?
Michael de Plater: You will face Sauron in battle, but you play as Celebrimbor.
Kelvarhin: What sort of new abilities will be available to the player?
Michael de Plater: The main new abilities revolve around wielding the power of the One Ring. This increases your powers of Domination, so you have an aura which can force enemies to fight for you, you can also use the Ring to enter the Wraith world and slow time so you can battle enemies from the shadows and you can use your followers to heal yourself in combat. Additionally Celebrimbor is even more powerful with his bow. All of this increased power is very important as your enemies are also stronger, this is a time when the power of Sauron is at its height within Mordor.
Kelvarhin: How do you top the top game of 2014?
Michael de Plater: Getting to work on the DLC is a lot of fun. I think anyone who enjoyed Shadow of Mordor is really going to love playing The Bright Lord.
Kelvarhin: Has fan reaction to the lore influenced some of the creative decisions?
Michael de Plater: Very much so, in particular players responded very well to Celebrimbor and his role in the lore. We really have two main characters in our story. Also, it was great that fans appreciated some of the attention to detail we put into features like our collectibles and artifacts.
Kelvarhin: Has actual player data influenced new tweaks to the Nemesis System?
Michael de Plater: Yes, very much so, both during our development and user testing and also since release. In the Bright Lord DLC we’ve been able to optimize a number of the rules around the Nemesis System to make the Uruk Captains and Warchiefs create more memorable situations.
Kelvarhin: Which of the 5 armies did you root for?
Michael de Plater: After spending a lot of time with Celebrimbor, I’m with the Elves.
Kelvarhin: Are any of your staff/designers die hard Tolkien fans?
Michael de Plater: A very significant proportion of our team are die hard fans, of both the books and the films. It’s an incredible privilege to get to make games in Middle-earth.
The Bright Lord
Return to the Second Age and face the Dark Lord of Mordor himself. Play as Celebrimbor, the Elven Lord who forged the Rings of Power and return to Middle-earth thousands of years before the story of Shadow of Mordor.
Features
Play as Celebrimbor, the Bright Lord, wielding a Ring of Power to challenge Sauron for domination
Wield the Power of the One Ring to dominate and defeat your enemies. Activate the ring to become invisible and tear through your enemies from the shadows
Deadly new Elven Archery abilities with a rapid fire bow
New ways to dominate your enemies and build your Army including Shadow Brand
New Story Campaign, including 10 new Missions
Face the power of the Dark Lord and his armies at the height of their power
An epic boss fight against the Dark Lord Sauron himself for domination of Mordor
Elite Nemesis Enemies and Warchiefs up to Level 25 with deadly new abilities
Face an Elite Orc Army with more powerful and upgraded warriors
New Skin
Play as Celebrimbor in the main Campaign
New Challenge Mode
Play with the new Celebrimbor abilities
Higher level enemies (i.e., only way to get Level 30 Runes to take back to the Main Story Campaign) with the goal to Dominate rather than kill the hierarchy
