[[Category:Wraith (Nazgûl)]]
“You cannot see inside me. Nothing of my soul remains.”
The Witch-king of Angmar is the secondary antagonist of Middle-earth: Shadow of War.
Once a great King of Men, he accepted a Ring of Power from the Lord of Gifts. This tainted prize twisted him until all that remained of his Númenorean soul was lost and he became the leader and greatest of the Nazgûl, as well as Sauron's deadliest servant.
Although he vanished after his master's overthrow, the Lord of the Nazgûl came out of the shadows around the time of Sauron's re-emergence and established the realm of Angmar. After sowing destruction in northern Middle-earth, the Witch-king was beaten by an alliance of Elves and Men. The Lord of the Nazgûl's revenge for this defeat cost Gondor its last king, Eärnur. With the defeat of the Black Hand at the hands of the "Gravewalker", the Witch-king was summoned by the Dark Lord to step in. Aside from hunting Talion, he was commanded by his master to conquer Minas Ithil and seize its Palantír.
History
One of three Númenórean lords, he received one of the Nine Rings of Power gifted to the race of Men, amassing great wealth and achieving glory, only to be eventually turned into one of the dreaded Nazgûl, wraiths enslaved to the malice of Sauron.
Rising as the most potent of the Nazgûl, he became their captain and one of the most feared of Sauron's servants, a mighty spear of war in his vast arsenal during the wars of the Second Age.
After the defeat of the Dark Lord, the Nazgûl vanished into thin air and only resurfaced when Sauron's power was growing in Dol Guldur. The Lord of the Nazgûl established the realm of Angmar in the North to direct the conflict against the kingdom of Arnor, summoning wild Hill-men, Orcs and other creatures of evil inclination to the banner of his Iron Crown. Known to his allies and enemies alike as the "Witch-king of Angmar", few guessed that he was a minion of the Dark Lord or that he was even a wraith.
The Angmar Wars ended in the destruction of both Arnor and Angmar itself, the Witch-king fleeing the last battle on his horse upon the arrival of Elf-lord Glorfindel. Though Eärnur wanted to pursue him, the latter bid him against it, prophesizing the demise of the sorcerer would not be by the hand of man.
The Witch-king on his Drake mount
When the Dark Lord was drive out of Dol Guldur, he escaped to Mordor with the Nazgûl behind him. While the Black Captains began the preparations for building fresh legions, the Witch-king remained at his master's side amidst the ruins of old Barad-dûr. The actions undertaken by Celebrimbor and Talion have attracted the attention of the Lord of the Nazgûl, who is intent on remaking the Ranger of Gondor into one of the Nine.
Orchestrating the assault upon Minas Ithil, the Witch-king stroke a deal with General Castamir to gain the Palantír in exchange for his daughter Idril's freedom. As the final stage of the city's siege took place, the Nazgûl appeared in Minas Ithil's halls, demanding Castamir honor the pact. Though he gave the Seeing-stone, the Witch-king mockingly said he would allow Idril the freedom to die with her people, before killing the general. He later tried to dominate Talion, only to be prevented by the Elf Assassin Eltariel.
The Witch-king bending the knee before his dark master
Peering into the Palantír, the Witch-king learned the new ring was in the hands of Shelob. He later crawled back to his master to report the success of his mission, being awared command of the former Minas Ithil and ordered to send the Nazgûl to claim Celebrimbor's Ring of Power. Making Minas Morgul his personal abode, the Witch-king tried to coerce Talion numerous times to join with the Dark Lord through his Chosen and Wraith servants, as well as control the Haedir to oversee Mordor.
As Celebrimbor and Eltariel climbed to the pinaccle of Barad-dûr to fight Sauron, Talion confronted the Witch-king and defeated him in combat, banishing him from Minas Morgul. Throughout the decades the fallen Ranger contained the armies of Mordor, the Witch-king used his voice to daunt him from afar. In the end, Talion succumbed to the corruption of his Ring of Power and pledged fealty to the Dark Lord, accompanying the Lord of the Nazgûl in the Hunt for the One Ring.
Gameplay
In combat, the Witch-king is quite different from the other Nazgûl and his boss fight is arguably more difficult even than Sauron's. Rather than teleporting to Talion, Talion is brought to him in a manner similar to Shadow Strike Pull. His mace attacks are also unblockable, although some, denoted with a blue prompt, can be countered with a drain, leaving him temporarily vulnerable to attack. This is the only chance to damage him except by using ranged attacks, and Elf-shot cannot be replaced in the fight. Partway through the fight, four other Nazgul will appear and periodically send volleys of ranged attacks at Talion. Further into the fight, circles will occasionally be marked on the ground. If Talion is still in one of the circles after a short delay, he will take damage. Like the other Nazgûl, once his health is low enough, he will be broken, and must be finished off with a drain or domination.
Gallery
