Suladan is a Nazgul boss you fight during the story of Middle-earth: Shadow of War. Here are some tips on how to beat him.
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Middle-earth: Shadow of War doesn’t just pit you against hilarious and performative Orcs to fight. You have to tango with the dreaded Nazul as well, with Suladan being one of the main Nazgul bosses, along with other notable Ringwraiths, and the Witch-king themself.
Suladan is one of the easier encounters out of them all. You will fight Suladan during the main story quest called The Tower of Sorcery, which sees Talion and Eltariel launch an attack on Minas Morgul, the city once known as Minas Ithil before the Nazgul occupied it in the name of Sauron.
How To Beat Nazgul Suladan
As soon as the fight starts, Suladan will use a massive AoE attack that can only be dodged with exact timing or by being within the shield created by Eltariel. Since the timing of the dodge is tricky, you should ensure you’re next to Eltariel at the beginning of the fight. You have a few seconds to make your way to her while Suladan charges up the attack.
After you land a few hits on him, he will summon some Orcs to pad his numbers. These Orcs shouldn’t be too much of a threat and you should focus more on damaging Suladan down. You have a lot of leeway here because Eltariel will also slowly chip away at Suladan and pick off Orcs at her leisure.
If you focus on Suladan and ignore the Orcs, Suladan will likely recover a bit of HP throughout the fight.
Suladan’s AoE attacks can hurt and kill the Orcs, with every Orc he kills this way he will recover some HP.
As you might’ve learned by now, many bosses in Shadow of War don’t let you spam the attack button without punishment. After a few light or heavy attacks, Suladan will break away from the combo by teleporting a short distance away or staggering you to take a swing while you’re dazed. If the latter happens, use the dodge prompt to jump out of the way.
Suladan is susceptible to attacks like the Ranged Skill shadow Strike, which lets you zip to an enemy and perform a finisher on them. You can also shoot him with arrows and throw hammers at him. |
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The good news is that you can parry a bunch of Suladan’s attacks, letting you create openings throughout the fight. Just keep an eye out for any prompts for unblockable attacks, using the dodge button to vault away from him. If you need more HP during the fight, use your Drain attack on the Orcs to recover bits of health. If Eltariel goes down, make sure to pick her up immediately. You will game over if you let her bleed out.
Using the Orc reinforcements to build up a significant chain will help you in this fight. It’s basically what they’re there for.
It’s a good idea to get into a rhythm of hitting the Orcs until you can perform an Execution, then go and slap Suladan with it for significant damage. Simply repeat the process.
Keep on landing hits and dodging his unblockable attacks and AoEs. Eventually, you’ll get him to his last quarter of HP where you’ll be able to Drain and grab him with your Wraith ability. You’ll know you can do this when the ‘Broken’ icon shows above his head while flashing green. This is your prompt to Banish him and end the fight.
Doing so will trigger a cutscene explaining Suladan’s backstory, and the fight ends with him disappearing. Quest complete. Time to move on to the next.
Suladan’s Attacks
Suladan only has four main attacks to deal with. His normal sword swings can be parried to create an opening, while some of his other single slashes must be dodged or interrupted.
Attack | Description | How To Dodge |
|---|---|---|
Room-wide AoE | Suladan will use an AoE attack that can only be avoided if you’re standing within the bubble of light created by Eltariel. You’ll know when this happens since Eltariel will say a voice line about being in the Light of Galadriel. Getting hit by this will inflict the Curse status, stopping you from healing. If he kills any Orcs with this specific attack, he will recover a bit of HP | Eltariel will create a small bubble of light at her position. Run over to her and get inside the shield to protect yourself from the attack. |
Distant Pull attack | Suladan can pull you across the map to him and immediately deliver a quick strike. This move will happen if you’re too far away from him, and if you have fast reactions you can parry his blow. The attack is extremely well-telegraphed, with Suladan screeching and the game slowing down as he charges up. | There will be a dodge prompt above his head the whole time he’s charging up, giving you plenty of time to react and dodge the grab. |
Circular AoE | Suladan will begin casting a spell, creating a green circle on the ground to indicate its point of impact. There’s also a musical cue to signal it’s being cast on your position. This attack does hurt his Orc friends, so any caught in it will restore Suladan’s HP. | Simply move out of the circle area of effect to avoid being hit. If you’re in an Execution animation, you will be invincible. |
Other than these attacks, he does a basic sword combo which comes out slowly. These swings will be indicated by a prompt above his head, letting you know that you can parry them and start taking some swings at him.
