The route in one minute
Finish Arrival, then play The Raid, Infiltration, The Circus, and A Warm Welcome. Between missions, capture all five outposts, hire strong mercenaries, and collect any Torvin upgrades you need. Once the story and outposts are done, launch The Conquest of Shindrâm for the finale.
Before you charge into Lithlad
Desolation of Mordor is part story campaign and part score run. You do not need a perfect route to see the ending. For a comfortable first completion, concentrate on staying alive and building a reliable army.
- Read traits before spending gold. A legendary label does not cancel a fatal weakness. Look for a mercenary who can survive ordinary combat and does not panic around something you use constantly.
- Use a bodyguard. Your first hire is not decoration. Summon them against captains, and dismiss them before they are overwhelmed if the fight turns ugly.
- Keep an exit above you. Baranor’s grappling hook and parachute are survival tools. Fight near ledges, towers, and rooftops so you can leave when several captains pile in.
- Spend for the run you are playing. A first clear benefits more from dependable mercenaries and useful equipment than from hoarding gold for a prettier final score.
- Do bonus objectives only when they are safe. They help your score, but the main objective is what moves the story forward.
The five story missions
1. Arrival
This opening teaches the difference between Baranor and Talion. Follow Torvin through the escape sequence and use the grappling hook and parachute when prompted. The parachute carries momentum: aim where you want to land, make small corrections, and grapple again instead of trying to force a bad glide.
At the Vanishing Sons camp, inspect the available mercenaries before hiring. Favor solid traits and manageable weaknesses over a specific class. Assign the hire as your bodyguard to finish the mission. This unlocks the basic army loop you will use for the rest of the campaign.
2. The Raid
Stay with the Vanishing Sons and use ranged attacks on were-wyrm mounds when Orcs are close enough to be caught. In the second section, the game asks you to spill grog to attract the Rumbler.
Do not stand and fight beside a spilled barrel. Hit it, move, watch the ground, and be ready for the Last Chance prompt. Once enough grog is down, follow the mission markers through the Rumbler sequence.
3. Infiltration
Baranor and Serka enter Shindrâm to learn how the fortress is defended. Treat this as an information mission, not a full assault. Use rooftops and grapple points to stay above the crowd, collect the five pieces of intel marked by the objective, and do not start unnecessary fights that trap you at ground level.
When the drunken Overlord is near the marked grog barrel, shoot the barrel to trigger the next part. If you are attempting the no-damage bonus, clear nearby threats and line up the shot before you expose yourself. The mission ends after the confrontation and escape; you are not supposed to capture the fortress yet.
4. The Circus
The Overlord retaliates, and Serka needs rescuing. Clear some of the Orcs on the wooden walls before entering the arena. Shoot open the beast cages from safety: the released animals distract or kill the Circus Guards and make the bonus objective much easier.
Drop into the pit only after you have reduced the crowd. Scan the Ringmaster’s traits, call your bodyguard if the mission permits it, and use bolts or bombs that exploit a real weakness instead of emptying everything into an immunity. Finishing this mission unlocks Blood for Coin and Logistics upgrades, which can make later mercenary hires cheaper.
5. A Warm Welcome
This mission arrives after the earlier story work and all five outposts are captured, and it must be completed before the final fortress assault. Return to the Vanishing Sons and defend the oasis. Sappers will try to reach and poison the water, so do not chase one captain so far that the objective behind you collapses.
Stay where you can see the approaches to the water. Use the crossbow on distant sappers, Shield Charge through packed groups to build Might, and call your bodyguards when captains arrive. In the cave section, start shooting threats while they are still far down the passage; once they run past you, the narrow space becomes much harder to control. Reach Serka and finish the defense. You earn the Serka the Commander skill, and he will join the Shindrâm assault.
Capture all five outposts
The final conquest requires all five Lithlad outposts. Each one has a timed objective followed by a captain fight. You can do them between story missions instead of saving all five for the end.
- Inspect the outpost bonus first. Bonuses improve particular mercenary classes or parts of your army. Choose an early outpost that strengthens the kind of bodyguard you already use.
- Bring help. Summon your bodyguard for the captain fight. If the target is immune to your favorite attack, command your mercenary to pressure them while you use a different damage type.
- Finish the timed task before hunting the captain. Follow the objective exactly; killing random Orcs does not stop the timer unless the task calls for it.
- Install a defender after capture. The mercenary assigned to an outpost becomes one of your assault leaders in the final siege. Do not leave a captured post empty.
- Repeat until all five are yours. Better defenders make the finale easier, but any completed first-run army can win on a suitable difficulty if you keep the assault moving.
What is worth doing before the finale?
You do not need every collectible, but a few upgrades change the run dramatically.
- Torvin’s Númenórean artifacts: use the sketch clues to find the artifact, then return it to Torvin. Choose upgrades that improve the tool you actually use—crossbow, bombs, shield, grapple, or parachute.
- Mercenary discounts: buy these before hiring several expensive bodyguards or replacing weak outpost leaders.
- Extra bodyguard slots: multiple strong allies give captains more targets and can rescue a collapsing fight.
- Captain drops: kill isolated captains for gear, but skip a dangerous target whose traits counter your build. A shiny drop is not worth ending the run.
If a Torvin skill is still red-locked, use the separate Torvin skill and artifact explanation.
The Conquest of Shindrâm
Before starting, fill every outpost leader position, equip your best gear and augments, and review the enemy Warchiefs. If one Warchief has several bodyguards or a trait your army cannot handle, weaken that part of the fortress before the siege.
- Enter with your bodyguards ready. Your five outpost leaders become assault leaders, and Serka joins after A Warm Welcome.
- Push one capture point at a time. Stand inside the marked zone when it is safe. Fighting forever just outside the circle feels productive but does not capture the point.
- Help the fight that is actually blocking progress. Exploit captain weaknesses, revive downed allies when the opening is safe, and move to the next point instead of cleaning up every grunt.
- Restock between phases. Use a brief lull to collect health or ammunition. Do not enter the Overlord room empty because the outside battle looked nearly finished.
- Scan the Overlord before committing. Use Serka and surviving mercenaries to split attention, then attack with a damage type the Overlord does not resist. Retreat, grapple, and reset if you are surrounded.
Defeat the Overlord to finish Baranor’s story. Afterward, another run is for improving your time, difficulty multiplier, and score—not because the first completion was somehow “wrong.”
First-clear checklist
Do I have to collect all nine Númenórean artifacts?
No. They unlock useful Torvin upgrades, but a normal first completion does not require every artifact. Collect the ones that support your play style and return to the others later.
Why did my outposts and mercenaries disappear?
Those are run-based progress. If Baranor dies and the run ends, you rebuild them on the next attempt. Story missions, Torvin unlocks, augments, and recorded scores persist.
Can I lower the difficulty for the story?
Yes. Difficulty changes the score multiplier, not whether the ending counts. Finish the story at a level that is fun, then chase higher ratings later if you want them.