How to import your Nemesis into Shadow of War is probably one of the first questions you'll have when starting up a new game of Shadow of War, especially, of course, if you played much of its predecessor Shadow of Mordor.

Life can be dangerous in Middle-Earth, but for none moreso than the Rangers of The Black Gate, who guard the very border of Mordor. After tragedy strikes, Talion, Captain of The Black Gate rises as the Gravewalker, bound to a mysterious Elven Wraith.

You start this mission in the same spot as the tenth one and its aim is to defeat one of the Black captains - The Hammer. This boss is not too demanding, although it is better if you learn the information below. Note - You will not be able to take a look at the strong and weak points of the boss. Life can be dangerous in Middle-Earth, but for none moreso than the Rangers of The Black Gate, who guard the very border of Mordor. After tragedy strikes, Talion, Captain of The Black Gate rises as the Gravewalker, bound to a mysterious Elven Wraith. Of course you have to defeat the other orcs first though using your runes to replenish your health whenever you explode an orc's head and then using combos to attack the Black Captain if you can time it properly. After all the orcs are gone, go to the bows and dagger method.

Here in this guide we'll explain exactly how to do that, as well as how to import your Follower into Shadow of War, and explain the Nemesis Forge and how choosing your Nemesis and Follower works, so you can prepare to import them when you get the chance.

For more on Shadow of War, meanwhile, our comprehensive Shadow of Mordor guide and walkthrough has just about everything you need to know.

Nemesis Forge explained - how the Nemesis Forge works in Shadow of Mordor and how to use it for Shadow of War

The Nemesis Forge is a mode that was added to Shadow of Morder just a few months before the launch of Shadow of War.

In brief, it's a mode that's completely distinct from your main Shadow of Mordor playthrough that takes a snapshot of your save, and imports a full roster of the orcs you've interacted with the most (if you haven't interacted with enough to fill out a complete roster on the Nemesis screen, it randomly generates more to pad it out).

In Nemesis Forge, you basically have a free run of the Nurnen area, with all skills unlocked, and just the orcs that were imported into it making up the area's captains and warchiefs.

Most importantly, it's here that you'll be able to manipulate which Nemesis and Follower is imported into Shadow of War.

How to choose which Nemesis and Follower is imported into Shadow of War:

The Nemesis Forge lines up orcs in order of the strength of your relationship, from top left to bottom right. That means the top left will probably be your Nemesis, and somewhere else in the stack of orcs will be your Follower.

Your Nemesis is the orc you've built up the strongest, hidden 'Nemesis score' up with, whilst your Follower is the orc you've built up the strongest, hidden 'Follower score' with.

These are affected by a number of things. For your Nemesis, that could be the number of battles they've had with you, the amount of times they've seen you die or killed you, the number of times they've 'cheated death' (when you kill them without beheading or exploding their head, so they can return), and so on.

For a quick exploit, you can add a small amount to an orc's Nemesis score by targeting them in that army screen. Do this over and over again - switching target to a different orc with a lower rating, and back again - will gradually boost their score, until they become your Nemesis.

Note that it takes longer to do the further down the order they are, but it's just about always the fastest way to do it when compared to methods like finding them, engaging them, and running away from battle several times.

For your Follower things work similarly. Any orc that you've dominated - shown by them glowing blueish-white from the eyes - can be your Follower, and to choose a new one you'll need to increase the strength of your relationship together. To do that, send them on special Follower missions and help them to make sure they succeed, and likewise help in any Power Struggles they may have, and they'll quickly become your Follower.

Once you've chosen them, simply hop into Shadow of War, get cracking on your playthrough, and as long as you're on the same platform as your Shadow of Mordor save, they'll eventually arrive in-game!

How to import your Nemesis and Follower into Shadow of War

The system for importing your Nemesis or Follower into Shadow of War from Shadow of Mordor's Nemesis Forge is surprisingly simple.

How to import your Nemesis to Shadow of War:

Some minor spoilers here, but your Nemesis will show up as the third and final champion you face in the Arena mission early on in the game.

Some people have claimed to have encountered theirs earlier, but this could either be a mistake on their part (there are an awful lot of similar looking Orcs, after all...) or the game may throw them in earlier at a random or very low probability of encouring them.

Everything you need for every step of Shadow of War.

Need more help? Our Shadow of War guide and walkthrough gives you an overview of everything you need, but if you need something in particular, we have pages on Shadow of War Fortress Sieges, how to earn Mirian in Shadow of War, a guide for how to import your Nemesis and Follower to Shadow of War, collectibles guides like how to get all Shadow of War Legendary Armour and Weapons sets, a list of Lost Artifacts and Web of Fate locations, and Ithildin Door poem solutions and Shadows of the Past, along with how to grind XP in Shadow of War to power through the tricky Shadow Wars endgame and get the true ending. Finally, there's Shadow of War's army building explained and the best skills and how to earn Skill Points.

For your Nemesis to be imported, you need to have played Shadow of Mordor on the same platform as you're playing Shadow of War. From there, whichever orc is your Nemesis, marked within the Nemesis Forge (which we explain below in more detail), will be the one to be imported automatically. You can only import your nemesis once, so be sure to lay down the prep in Shadow of Mordor first if you want something specific!

How to import your Follower to Shadow of War:

Similarly to your Nemesis, your Follower is also imported automatically in Shadow of War. This Orc will be one of those you rescue during the Damaged mission, early on in Act 2.

So with that in mind, make sure you have everything straightened out how you like it in Shadow of Mordor's Nemesis Forge before diving into Shadow of War, because once you do it's all automatically handled from then on!

The Black Captain is the last mission in Udun zone of the game and it sends you fighting against the Black Captain that slaughtered your family. Black Captain is similar to other Warchief fights with the exception being that you do not have to discover his bodyguards and you can join the fight right away.Mission becomes available after you complete The Dark Monument and after it you will be able to visit a new zone with all new Sauron’s army and collectibles and towers to discover.

How to kill the Black Captain?

The Black Captain can be a tough fight and he has several mechanics you should be aware of. There will always be about 8 orcs accompanying him. You use them to build up your combo multiplier up to 8x so you can execute some of your more advanced moves. I highly recommend that by this time you unlock Execution

Shadow Of Mordor Black Captains Edition

Ranger ability and possibly

Shadow Of Mordor Black Captain Mission

Wraith Flash

Shadow Of Mordor Black Captains Game

Wraith ability. They are both used once you fill up your combo hits up to eight. Hit orcs and do Execute on the boss. This takes away a lot of his hit points, especially compared to regular attacks which seem to take almost no hit points away from the Black Captain. Captain will attack you with his melee attack frequently and you should listen to a sound cue that announces his attack and watch for the counter attack icon above his head to make sure you do not get hit by his melee attacks. If you do get hit your hit counter resets and he can really hurt your health points. Second ability the captain has is a long range fireball type of attack which you can dodge with another button (X on the PS4), but sometimes this attack is just very hard to avoid. Luckily he does not do it that frequently. Once you do enough execute attacks on the Captain and take away a certain percentage of his health he will do this black sphere AOE attack that knocks you back and invites the next wave of Orcs to join the fight. Just make sure you connect 8 hits on the orcs and do the execute as often as possible on the Captain and you will get him down in no time. Enjoy your revenge ranger, because new land and adventure awaits you.