Skip to main content

Long read: The beauty and drama of video games and their clouds

"It's a little bit hard to work out without knowing the altitude of that dragon..."

If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Shadow of War: A Stench on the Wind, Of Ghúls and Graugs, The Archers of Morgoth

How to tackle the sprawling Middle-earth adventure.

A Stench on the Wind, Of Ghúls and Graugs, and The Archers of Morgoth are three missions as part of the Carnán storyline in Middle-earth: Shadow of War.

These unlock one after another, and come after completing Carnán Quests Violent Nature, Carnán's Bane, and Frozen Flame quests earlier on.

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

Digital Foundry takes a look at Shadow of War.Watch on YouTube

A Stench on the Wind

Prerequisite: Complete Frozen Flame.
Reward: 18260 XP, 1050 Mirian

Find the Source of the Stench: Follow the trail of leaves.

Defeat the Revenant: He's a single standard-issue Orc, so just hit him with your sword.

Search for More Revenants: Head to the marker.

Defeat the Revenants: Three to tackle, but they're just regular Orcs so shouldn't put up much of a fight.

Search for the Source of the Revenants: Head towards the marker.

Purify the Necromancer's Totem: It's protected by a group of Orcs and your old pal Zog the Eternal. He'll run off again after you give him a bit of a beating, but the other Orcs will continue to rise from the dead until you Purify the Totem - clear a space by taking out some of the undead Orcs with an AoE blast or Glaive attack, then stand close to it and follow the onscreen prompt.

Eliminate the Remaining Enemies: Simple enough!

Of Ghúls and Graugs

Prerequisite: Complete Stench on the Wind.
Reward: 19535 XP, 750 Mirian

Bonus objective: Destroy Ghuúl mounds.

Bonus reward: Warrior gem

Mount Carnán: Hop on his back again.

Purify the Necromancer Totems: There are three around the area - you'll need to dismount Carnán to purify each one but there are a lot of Ghúls popping up everywhere, so try not to spend too long on foot as they can easily swarm you. Thump the ground with Carnán whenever you see them appearing to destroy their mounds to complete the optional objective.


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.


The Archers of Morgoth

Prerequisite: Complete Stench on the Wind.
Reward: 20905 XP, 750 Mirian

Purify the Necromancer Totems / Defeat the Archers of Morgoth: You'll be flying Carnán again, and we'd recommend tackling the archers first as they'll make short work of Carnán if you leave them alive - there's no particularly safe route and you will inevitably take some heavy damage, but we made a clockwise spiral around the area and had plenty of health to spare.

Fly around the area and use Frost Breath and Ice Blast to take them out from the air, and then dismount and purify the Totems on foot.