Talion (Shadow of Mordor)

• Talion
• Celebrimbor the Wraith
• Ringwraith Talion

“	Could you really rest for all of eternity, knowing that you had the chance to stop him but did nothing?	„
	~ Talion

“	I shaped the history of Middle-Earth; I crafted the Rings of Power	„
	~ Celebrimbor

“	I am banished from death — and bound to the Flaming Eye	„
	~ Talion before officially becoming a Nazgûl

Summary

A Ranger of Gondor during the 3rd Age of Middle Earth, Talion was captain of the rangers who were guarding the Black Gate of Mordor until his people were attacked by Sauron's forces. Though he died, Talion was revived to find himself bonded with the spirit of the Elf-Lord Celebrimbor who offered his aid in return to settle his own affairs with Sauron. This led to the two intending to hold Mordor at bay by creating their own Ring of Power to combat Sauron's minions, but Talion learns he and Celebrimbor have differing intents as the ranger eventually traded one cursed existence for another.

Powers and Stats

Tier: 8-C | 8-C | At least 8-C

Key: Shadow of Mordor | Shadow of War (Act 1-2) | Shadow of War (Act 3-4)

Name: Talion, The Gravewalker, The Bright Lord, Ranger

Origin: Shadow of Mordor

Gender: Male

Age: Unknown | Unknown. At least a century old by Act 4

Classification: Human fused with Elf Wraith | Nazgûl by Act 4

Powers and Abilities:

• Shadow of Mordor
• Shadow of War

• Superhuman Physical Characteristics

• Genius Intelligence

• Stealth Mastery (Can sneak around fortresses and strongholds populated by Uruk-hai without being noticed once. Can stealthily kill Uruks without drawing any attention)

• Weapon Mastery

• Martial Arts

• Acrobatics (On top of leaping across ledges and and quickly scale entire buildings, Talion can also vault over his foes to evade attacks and leave them disoriented)

• Immortality (Types 1 [He is incapable of aging], 3, 4, 7 and 8) and Resurrection (Being a host of Celebrimbor, he is considered to be "banished from death", and can resurrect as long as he is bonded with Celebrimbor. Like the Ringwraiths, Talion cannot be truly destroyed so long as he is tied to Celebrimbor, and will instead reform somewhere else with his physical body intact upon death, as seen with him resurrecting from being impaled twice, and resurrecting from his slit throat)

• Multiple Selves (Type 2 with Celebrimbor)

• Regeneration (Mid-Low: Can regenerate from cuts on his body)

• Extrasensory Perception (When using Celebrimbor's Wraith Vision, Talion is able to easily scout out targets from hundreds of meters across, see through walls, and detect objects that exist in the Wraith World. Talion can also use this to highlight hidden objects or clues that are scattered in the area, such as footprints)

• Telepathy (To Celebrimbor only)

• Teleportation (Via Shadow Strike, which allows him to instantaneously appear and attack targets. Talion can also use Shadow Strike Chain to teleport and attack several targets at once)

• Mind Manipulation (Likely his greatest ability, which is to Brand and Dominate his foes. Talion can Brand targets by grabbing their head, then forcing his control over them. Afterwards, Talion can command them to fight on his side or carry out death threats or assassinations. Additionally, he can also read the minds of those he is Dominating, which he can use to learn valuable intel about his targets. Can also Brand targets meters away by holding out his hand. Before using it on the Uruk-hai, Talion can brand the wild creatures of Mordor, such as the Caragors and — later in the story — Graugs)

• Life Absorption, Healing, and Death Manipulation (When Branding, Talion can drain his opponent's energy in-order to fuel his Focus and restore health. Doing this also has a chance of exploding a victim's head, killing them instantly)

• Time Slow (When using his Focus, Talion is able to slow time around his environment while in Range Mode)

• Light Manipulation (Via Wraith Flash and Wraith Blast, which blasts the area with a bright flash of light that blinds and stuns enemies that are caught in it)

• Fire Manipulation (With Fire Arrow and Wraith Burn: Talion can set his spectral arrows ablaze, which engulfs a target with a blue wraith-like flame. Wraith Burn can burn those who are either stunned or knocked down)

• Fear Manipulation (Abilities such as Wraith Burn and Drain can cause a normally bloodthirsty and ill-tempered Uruk-hai to flee in terror)

• Limited Explosion Manipulation (Via Detonate: Talion can detonate grog barrels and campfires by shooting them with his arrows. He can also double the intensity of the explosions by using Fire Arrow)

• Statistics Amplification (Via Elven Swiftness and Flame of Vengeance: Elven Swiftness grants him a short boost of travel speed when vaulting over an object. By relentlessly attacking and maintaining his hit-streak, Flame of Vengeance doubles the damage of his melee attacks)

• Sound Manipulation (Via Attract: Talion can create strange voices from different areas in-order to lure targets)

• Supernatural Willpower (Resists being drained by the Tower of Sauron, overpowering the latter in the process)

• Resistance to Fire Manipulation (Can withstand the detonation of grog barrels and explosive arrows, which sets Uruks ablaze)

Abilities exclusive to Celebrimbor are:

• Incorporeality and Invisibility (Celebrimbor exists simply as a disembodied wraith that cannot be seen due to existing in the Wraith World)

• Limited Resistance to Soul Manipulation (Momentarily resisted being bound by the Black Hand. Also resisted being taken by Saruman. Even after being absorbed by Sauron, he's still able to hold him back for straight up decades)

• Without Rings
• With the New Ring
• With Isildur's Ring
• Resistances

All previous abilities, minus mind control, but much greater. The following enhanced abilities are as follow:

• Martial Arts (Capable of beating down an Uruk with his bare hands)

• Teleportation (Can teleport enemies to him using Shadow Strike Pull)

• Acrobatics (Can now double jump to cover great distances)

• Stealth Mastery (Silent Running allows him to freely sprint without making any footstep sounds)

• Time Slow (Can slow time for much longer using higher Focus. Elven Rage itself is described as an ability that slows time)

• Supernatural Willpower (Holds strong enough willpower to not only hold back Sauron's corrupting control, but continued to do so while waging war with his forces as he continued to resist his influences in a span of decades)

His newer abilities include:

• Ice Manipulation (With Flash Freeze, Talion strikes an opponent and instantly freezes their body, which he can then shatter after damaging it enough. Winter's Breath allows Talion to create a blast of frost, which freezes entire crowds that are caught in its effect. Can fire a Mighty Shot that generates a frost explosion. Can pin his opponent's legs with arrows, freezing them as a result)

• Poison Manipulation (Can fire a Mighty Shot that generates an explosion of poison. Poison Blast allows Talion to create a blast of poison. Can poison grog barrels from afar. Bursting Toxin explodes Uruk-hai after consumption)

• Curse Manipulation (His weapons can inflict the curse status ailment, which drains an opponent's health for some time)

• Limited Power Nullification and Purification (Type 2) (Talion is able to purify the Haedir Towers, ridding them of Sauron's control. He can also purify Zog's necromancy totems, draining it of its power to reanimate deceased Uruk-hai)

• Clairvoyance with Haedir Towers (Haedir Towers are but crude imitations of the Palantir, although it grants Talion sight over the surrounding landscape, while also locating points of interest)

• Limited Probability Manipulation (Certain weapons and armor increases higher loot drop rates of slain Uruk-hai)

• Duplication (For Celebrimbor, who can briefly duplicate himself while in Elven Rage)

All previous abilities, now with:

• Mind Manipulation (His ability to Brand should be just as potent as before)

• Empathic Manipulation, Statistics Reduction, and Madness Manipulation (Type 2) (Via Shaming: When Dominating, Talion has the option to Shame his victims, weakening both their strength and willpower while making them more susceptible to Domination. Worse than Death has a high chance of breaking their minds, leaving them as a catatonic and deranged shell of their former self)

• Summoning (With Call Followers, Call Mount, and Detonation: Talion can summon his followers as well as Caragors, Graugs, Ghûls, Shelob's Brood, and Drakes to aid him in battle)

For summoned followers, he can do the following:

• Healing (Lifeblood allows him to heal his followers by sacrificing some of his health. Can manually heal downed allies.)

• Empathic Manipulation (Can enrage his followers into a battle-induced frenzy)

• Death Manipulation (Can violently explode the heads of his followers, destroying them instantly)

Act 3 Talion has:

• Enhanced Mind Manipulation (1 Layer: At their peak, both Talion and Celebrimbor would have succeeded in Dominating Sauron, which Shelob foresaw had the two still worked together. Enforced even further as both Eltariel and Celebrimbor's attempt at Dominating Sauron failed in their final battle. Moreover, Talion had almost Dominated Isildur, meaning he would have overrode Sauron's influence on the latter had Talion not chose to free him from the Ring of Power instead)

Same as before, minus Multiple Selves, now with:

• Necromancy (Can reanimate the dead, turning them into mindless minions completely subjugated to Talion's will)

• Soul Manipulation (Controls and summons the spirits of Gondorian soldiers, and commanded them to siege Minas Ithil along with him)

Resistance to:

• Fire Manipulation (To a degree: Talion can withstand being on fire, taking minimal damage until it is eventually extinguished. Withstood being caught in a fireball. Can increase his resistance with armor)

• Poison Manipulation and Corrosion Inducement (To a degree: Talion can still fight while inflicted with a Ghûl's venom, which is described as being acidic. Talion can also resist the poisonous weapons of the Uruk-hai, which is strong enough to rot an Uruk's body after being forcefully ingested. Can increase his resistance with armor)

• Curse Manipulation (To a degree: Talion can take curse-inducing attacks which slowly sap a target's health. Can increase his resistance with armor)

• Ice Manipulation (The Frost Graug's ice breath, which can freeze entire groups of Uruk-hai, is unable to freeze Talion. Unbothered by a mountaintop blizzard, and can fight in the cold and harsh climate of Seregost)

• Mind Manipulation and Corruption (Type 2) (Even as he wears Isildur's Ring, Talion resisted the corrupting influence of Sauron for several decades)

• Time Slow (Can move around while in Eltariel's Focus Mode)

• Deconstruction (Can resist the full blast of Eltariel's Light, which disintegrates an Uruk-hai upon infusion)

Attack Potency: Building level+ (Physically harmed and defeated the Legendary Graug, which is far stronger than normal Graugs, with one being able to destroy fortress walls and buildings) | Building level+ (Should be as strong, if not stronger, than before. Can destroy large monuments by throwing his hammer at it [1.18 Tons]) | At least Building level+ (Much stronger than before. Defeated the Witch-king of Angmar in combat, who Talion previously couldn't challenge head-on)

Speed: At least Subsonic+, likely higher (Dodged the shockwaves from the Hammer of Sauron. Can deflect arrows and spears point-blank)

Lifting Strength: Class K (Stronger than Torvin, who could physically pull down the Legendary Graug)

Striking Strength: Building level+ | Building level+ (Can throw Turánn hard enough to instantly shatter monuments) | At least Building level+

Durability: Building level+ (Survived attacks from the Legendary Graug) | Building level+ | At least Building level+

Stamina: Superhuman (While being undead himself, he is powered by Celebrimbor. Can fight for days, and single-handedly defeated an attacking force of so many orcs on a bridge, that their corpses piled over) | Superhuman (His own stamina is likely boosted further by the New Ring, which Celebrimbor poured his life force into its creation. Traveled all the way from Mount Doom to Cirith Ungol while wearing the New Ring, not showing any signs of exhaustion afterwards)

Range: Standard to Extended Melee Range via weapons such as Aeglos. Several Meters with Domination. Hundreds of Meters with Azkâr/Turánn and Shadow Strike

Standard Equipment:

• Shadow of Mordor
• Shadow of War

• Urfael
• Azkâr
• Acharn

1/3

• Urfael: Original sword wielded by Talion when he was still Captain of the Black Gate. Talion can enchant and imbue Urfael with various runes/gems to achieve different effects, such as inflicting poison, fire, ice, or curse effects, or increase item drop rates from fallen foes.

• Azkâr: Spectral bow wielded by Celebrimbor, crafted by dwarven maker Narvi. The bow followed the Wraith in his undying afterlife, and the Ranger can summon the bow at any time. Talion can enchant and imbue Azkâr with various runes/gems to achieve different effects, such as inflicting poison, fire, ice, or curse effects, or increase item drop rates from fallen foes.

• Acharn: Broken hilt-piece of Dirhael's sword, which Talion now re-purposed as a lethal dagger. Talion can enchant and imbue Acharn with various runes/gems to achieve different effects, such as inflicting poison, fire, ice, or curse effects, or increase item drop rates from fallen foes.

• Turánn: A gift given to him by Sauron, it is a mithril hammer which Celebrimbor used to forge the Rings of Power. It can be summoned and thrown at enemies, dealing damage comparable to Azkâr. Talion can enchant and imbue Turánn with various runes/gems to achieve different effects, such as inflicting poison, fire, ice, or curse effects, or increase item drop rates from fallen foes.

• Aeglos: Once belonged to the Elf-king Gil-Galad, the spectral glaive is now wielded by Celebrimbor. The rune/gem enchantments on Talion's sword also carries over to Aeglos.

• New Ring of Power: After the defeat of the Black Hand, Talion and Celebrimbor set out on a journey to Mount Doom. In-order to combat the dark forces of Sauron, the two had forged a New Ring of Power. This Ring, which Celebrimbor himself poured his life force in its creation, is free from Sauron's taint while also being every bit as powerful as the Nine Rings themselves. With the New Ring, the duo would raise their own army to combat Sauron's own. The Ring was temporarily lost to the Great Spider Shelob, although Talion is able to reclaim ownership of it after the fall of Minas Ithil.

• Isildur's Ring: After Celebrimbor's betrayal, Talion is left behind to die to his old wounds. With no other option, the Ranger then wore Isildur's Ring, using it to invade and claim Minas Morgul and the Palantir. Isildur's Ring serves as an effective replacement for both the New Ring and Celebrimbor, with the added bonus of Isildur's necromancy. Unfortunately, the Ring still holds Sauron's influence and slowly corrupts Talion from within, no matter how much his willpower resists it.

Optional Equipment: Haedir Towers and Barrows, which are locations he can use to reliably resurrect at.

Intelligence: Genius in combat (Managed to outsmart Saruman and Sauron, planned well enough that he gained control of Sauron's armies. Often uses his opponents' weakness against them, extremely skilled swordsman and marksman; Can contend with warriors that possess thousands of years of experience)

Weaknesses: Needs his bond with Celebrimbor to prolong his life, and should it be separated, his old wounds would reopen and will eventually die. It takes at least several hours to half a day for him to resurrect | Same as before, as without either Celebrimbor or the New Ring/Isildur's Ring, he will eventually die. It's possible for those with sufficiently strong enough Supernatural Willpower to resist Talion's Domination, and it is also possible for them to break out of his control if successfully Dominated. It should be noted that Talion is able to circumvent this via Shaming, which can greatly weaken their willpower. He loses this weakness by Act 3 due to Shelob's statement of both Talion and Celebrimbor successfully Branding Sauron, and potentially taking over Middle-earth.

Gallery

Pre-Resurrection Talion

The Gravewalker

Talion facing off a mob of Uruk-hai

Talion and his army besieging a fortress

Talion retaking Minas Morgul as a Ringwraith

Notable Matchups

Notable Victories:

Notable Losses:

Inconclusive Matches:

Discussions

Discussion threads involving Talion