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Kristian-bourdage-graug

A normal graug

Graug are an aggressive, bestial species encountered in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Middle-earth: Shadow of War. According to Torvin, Graugs are one of the oldest species in Mordor.

Although a native to Mordor, Torvin and his brother once tracked a Graug from Mount Dolmed to Nogrod, indicating that Graug reside at least as far as the Blue Mountains.

In the Lord of the Hunt DLC story, a sub-type of Graug, the Wretched Graug appeared in the Sea of Núrnen.

In Shadow of War, a new sub-type called a Rare Graug, itself with three sub-subtypes, could be found in certain Regions of Mordor, depending on the environment: Flame Graugs can be found in Gorgoroth, Frost Graugs wander the wastes of Seregost, and Poison Graugs can be found in the jungles of Nurnen.

Bestiary

Graug are gigantic creatures that primarily live within the region of Mordor that is bordered by the Sea of Núrnen, although few have been encountered in the Udûn region. They possess troll-like characteristics, namely massive claws and teeth to maul and devour their prey. Despite their supposed lack of intelligence, they are very difficult to bring down without any support, due to their gargantuan size and naturally armor-plated scales.

Graug can be dominated by stealthily slicing their unprotected ankles, then stunning them by firing Elf-shot into their forehead, allowing for a Quick Time Event involving climbing onto the spine, going for the head, while avoiding the Graug's attempt to swat Talion off. Upon domination, they make use of a stomp attack, a fist slam attack, an arm sweep attack, and are able to eat humanoid creatures like Uruks and Ghûls.

Their are several varieties of Graugs found in Mordor: Olog Graugs, Horned Graugs, Wretched Graugs, the Poison Graugs of Nurnen, the Flame Graugs of Gorgoroth, the Frost Graugs of Seregost, and the Legendary Graug.

In-game Description

Middle-earth: Shadow of War

Mordor's Giants

"First you'll feel the Graug's footfalls. Second you'll hear our runner screaming. And third? That's where the fun starts." - Thakrak Gem-eye

One of the oldest species in Mordor, Graugs are gigantic creatures with armor-plated scales and immense strength. Native to Núrn but found in other parts of the region, Graugs are natural enemies of Caragors, Great Beasts, or the Were-Wyrms of the Eastern Desolation. When hungry, they'll consume nearly any living -- including Men or Orcs if they're available.

The Uruks of Mordor hunt Graugs on occasion, though such hunts are often lethal for the hunters. Packs of Caragors sometimes attempt to bring down a Graug as well, though their success is far from guaranteed. Graugs can kill attackers many ways: by eating them, by swatting them with their massive fist, or merely by stomping on them.

Trivia

  • Similarly to trolls, when a Graug is killed, it crumbles into grey ash.
  • Graug is likely based on the Sindarin word for "a powerful, hostile and terrible creature, a demon," graug or raug. This word also appears in Balrog.
  • It was mentioned in a gameplay video with the lead programmer and designer for Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, that a Graug will literally eat trolls for breakfast.
  • Graug were never mentioned in any of the original works of Tolkien, yet are featured in Lord of the Rings Online.
  • A Graug has often been confused with a troll, but Graug are much larger and have been known to sometimes treat trolls as a source of food.
  • As with Caragors, if Talion encounters a Nemesis while riding a Graug, said Nemesis will comment on Talion's perceived cowardice in needing such a creature just to kill them.
  • There are no wild Graug in the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 version. The only three are found during missions, and none are ever seen in free roam. No explanation has been given towards this. As a result, the hunting challenges which included hunting a Graug and Horned Graug were removed on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 versions.


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