Death Threat is a Ranger ability in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor.
It grants the ability to "threaten" a Captain/Warchief, resulting in a high chance of dropping epic runes, but also increasing the target's power.
Description[]
Talion issues a Death Threat through domination of a Soldier or Captain, which spares the Uruk being interrogated (it is sent away as a messenger), and warns a Captain or Warchief of Talion's intent to kill them, increasing the chances of them dropping an Epic Rune upon death. To balance this out, issuing a threat also increases their Power level significantly, and grants them extra Bodyguards, stacking with a possible "Gang Leader" Strength, making the Uruk more difficult to kill.
Within the Nemesis System's terms, the target of the Death Threat will immediately gain +5 Power (which may also cause the removal of Weaknesses and gaining of Strengths), and will always be followed closely by a large group of Uruk (usually Warriors, Archers and Hunters but may also include a large number of Berserkers and Defenders, depending on the player's progression in the game), sometimes regardless of their own class.
Should the player send out a death threat, but neglect to carry out the threat, the orc captain will survive and level up. It is advised to only send a threat out when the player plans to deal with that captain.
Tips[]
This ability can be useful for quick collection of epic runes, though one must take care in regards to the increased power level of the target.
If seeking a level 25 rune, then using this ability is highly inadvisable, as it will more likely guarantee an epic rune than a leveled rune. However, if a player has acquired all epic runes, then the only runes that can be further acquired by normal means are leveled runes.