Warner Brothers and Monolith have released the free “Power of Shadow” downloadable content expansion for Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor on Xbox One, and it will arrive soon on PlayStation 4 and Steam. The expansion lets you re-skin Talion as the game’s antagonist, the Black Hand of Sauron. It also adds new, epic runes of power to enhance your arsenal of skills for taking down your nemeses.
The epic runes of power added in Power of Shadow include “One with Nature,” which gives you immunity to poison attacks from Uruk captains and Ghuls. There is also “Ascendant,” doubling the focus time for slow-motion ranged attacks. “Elven Grace” supplements your defenses by halving damage from enemy strikes.
Related: How to survive Sauron’s army in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
The Black Hand of Sauron is a high-ranking commander in the dark lord’s forces and is personally responsible for murdering Talion’s family at the beginning of the game, setting its events in motion. This DLC will let you decide that if you can’t beat them, join them, or–in this case–become them. It does not seem that donning the Black Hand’s appearance will have any gameplay impact beyond the aesthetic, but in a game that is generally quite flexible already this is another welcome opportunity to play it just the way you want to.