Hunting Partners¶

“Torvin has more to teach you about hunting beasts before you face the Great White Graug.”

The next mission can be started by heading to the middle of the Harad Basin. Torvin will be nursing some wounds when Talion arrives, and like all manly men, they have a little bit of chatter about scars, before Torvin picks on Talion too much, and the Ranger whines. Torvin reveals some wounds of his own, and the next lesson begins. Our ultimate goal is to go after the Great White Graug that torments Torvin, but first, we’ll cut our teeth on a lesser Graug. Fortunately for us, Torving has a run-down of the things we need to do to bring down the Graug. Step #1: Feed the Graug some Uruks. Step #2: Bleed its ankle. Step #3: Profit!

Eventually we’ll reach a ledge from which we can enjoy the view of a Graug fighting some Uruks near a bridge. How fortunate! Even more fortunate, we’ll learn the “Graug Bleed” Ability here. Sneak up on the Graug while it attacks the Uruks and press (Square) to bleed it. Don’t count on the Uruks to occupy the Graug forever, just keep an eye on it and approach from the rear. Once the Graug is bled, Caragors will arrive from the north. Stay away from them, and let them engage the Graug. When the Graug inevitably stuns one, run up and mount the prone Caragor (R1), then dominate it with a button prompt.

Once done, ride the Caragor back east to lure the Graug to Torvin, and when you reach an ideal spot the Graug will stop, and Torvin will implore you to shoot the Uruk in the head to stun the Graug. Two shots later, the Graug will fall to its knees, and Torvin will use some Dwarven dexterity and a chain to subdue the Graug. Unfortunately, this isn’t enough to kill this monstrous Graug-which Torvin blames you for. Talion rightly criticizes his teacher, but whoever’s fault it is, it’s time for Talion to think fast. Fortunately, he picks this exact moment ot learn how to dominate Graugs-approach this Graug and pretty (R1) to mount it. After it’s mounted, you’ll have to play some QTE cat-and-mouse before you finally gain the option to dominate it.

Once you’re in control of the Graug, there’s only one thing we can possibly do next-rampage! Attack (Square) and grab (Triangle) will serve you well, the former attack is an area-of-effect stomp, and the latter will cause your Graug to grab (and devour) an unfortunate Uruk, and regain some health for your Graug. Despite their size, Graugs are not invincible, and a group of Uruks throwing missiles at one can take a Graug down quickly, so eat when you find a straggler, and stomp when Uruks are present in numbers. Kill the Uruks that foolishly challenge you, stopping to eat three Uruks to satisfy a bonus objective, then press (R2 + Circle) to terminate your Graug. Torvin will marvel at your prowess, and decide that the preliminaries are over-time to go after the Great White Graug. Afterwards, Talion and Celebrimbor will discuss Dwarves, who seem to weather the darkness better than men and Elves.