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Shadow of War: The Poisoned Road, A Sighting, and Worse Than Death

How to tackle the sprawling Middle-earth adventure.

The Poisoned Road, A Sighting, and Worse Than Death are three missions as part of the Brûz storyline in Middle-earth: Shadow of War.

These unlock one after another, and come after completing Brûz Quests the Ring of Power, Damaged, and Missing quests earlier on.

If you are interested in completing other missions in the game, our Shadow of War guide and walkthrough can help.

Cover image for YouTube video[4K] Shadow of War: PS4 Pro vs PS4/Xbox One Graphics Comparison + Frame-Rate Analysis
Digital Foundry takes a look at Shadow of War.

The Poisoned Road

Prerequisite: Complete Missing.
Reward: 17065 XP, 1030 Mirian
Bonus reward: 200 Mirian

Follow Ratbag.

Rescue All Followers: Your followers are spread around the walkways but rather than climbing around everywhere you can use Shadow Strike to reach them - this saves time, and also completes the optional objective.

Defeat Brûz's Follower: Depending on which order you free the followers, Shaká the Plan-Maker may be some distance away. Apart from his poisoned weapon he has no real surprises to offer.

A Sighting

Prerequisite: Complete Poisoned Road.
Reward: 19535 XP, 1060 Mirian

Follow Ratbag.

Explore the Cave: Head to the marker.

Reach Ranger before it's Too Late: Sprint through the tunnel towards the next marker - it's a very generous time limit.

Escape the Cave and Catch Brûz: Run back the way you came.

Defeat the Orcs outside the Cave: There's a dozen or so common or garden Orcs to fend off.


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.


Worse than Death

Prerequisite: Complete A Sighting.
Reward: Worse than Death skill upgrade, 20905 XP, 1060 Mirian
Bonus reward: 200 Mirian

Rendezvous with Ratbag / Follow Ratbag to Brûz's Camp.

Sneak into Brûz's Camp without Raising the Alarm: Stick to the left side of the cave - there's more cover, all the Orcs on this side are on their own so easy to eliminate stealthily, and a patrol covers the other side.

Follow Ranger to Brûz's Location.

Dominate and Shame Brûz: Use the same tactic to fight him as in his previous encounters - dodge when he makes an attack, then Stun him and ride him around stabbing his back. There are plenty of Grog Barrels around to complete the optional objective, but we'd suggest running him into the sooner rather than later to avoid doing too much damage to him first. Be careful not to kill him, and make sure to Dominate him once he's Broken.