Shadow of War - Dominate, Gain Followers and Build an Army
Learn how to gain Dominate, gain Followers and build an Army in Shadow of War.
In Shadow of War, the numbers are often going to be overwhelmingly against you. No matter your skills, high level enemies and their minions are going to get the better of you. Well, unless you have an Army of your own, which you can absolutely do by Dominating and recruiting Followers.
Dominate, Gain Followers and Build an Army
The important thing to remember is that you can’t build an Army or use your Followers until Act II of Shadow of War. For most players, this will be around the 10-hour mark of the game, assuming you spend a bit of time wandering the regions and not just powering through the main quest line. However, when you complete a main story mission called The Fall, you will transition into Act II - Rise to Power. It’s during this quest that you’ll be given the Domination Upgrade of the Drain Skill. This means that, if the Domination Upgrade is active, every time you Drain an enemy for health you’ll also Dominate them and cause them to fight for you.
It’s this entire system that allows you to build your Army in Shadow of War, but it’s not exactly an easy system to master. You can’t just run up to a Captain and Dominate them at will. First you must unlock the Dominate Captain Skill from the Story tree. This is done by completing the Ring of Power story mission available once you complete The Fall and make your way into Act II. With Dominate Captain unlocked, you must fight them and whittle their health down until they become Broken. Once Broken, you can use the Dominate Captain Skill to claim their loyalty. Well, assuming you’re a high enough level.
It’s during the Ring of Power story mission that you’ll battle, defeat and use the Dominate Captain Skill to recruit Bruz the Chopper, a Warmonger Tank with a wicked sense of humor. Once you’ve recruited Bruz the Chopper, you can view him by opening the Army option from the pause menu. You’ll see all the Captains for that region standing together, with your recruited Captains showing up among them. It’s here that you can manage them, even opening the Siege Upgrades menu to plan your assault on that region’s fortress.
If you need a helping hand while you’re fighting, you can also use the Bodyguard Upgrade from the Call Followers Skill of the Story tree. This will allow you to assign one of your Dominated Captains as your personal bodyguard, calling them in when you need help and sending them away when you don’t. Just be careful, as your bodyguard can be killed or captured if you die during a Nemesis mission.
That pretty much sums up how to Dominate, gain Followers and build your Army. Remember to visit and read our Shadow of War walkthrough and guide for everything you need to know about Talion and his journey.
