“They are Olog-Hai. War Trolls. They're smarter, faster, and immune to sunlight. Sauron's forces are more powerful than ever.”
— Celebrimbor
The Olog-hai or War Trolls are a subspecies of Troll and one of the main types of enemies as well as one of the new classes introduced in Middle-earth: Shadow of War.
Description[]
A significant difference between the Uruk (and Orc) and the Olog is the latter's larger size and distinct lack of pointy ears; rather the Olog's ears are small and less fleshed out. Another key difference is the lack of five digits on their feet. Therefore, they appear similar to Orcs, but larger in stature.
The Olog-hai inhabit everywhere from the Misty Mountains to Mordor, and, unlike their Troll precursors, are not turned to stone by the light of the sun. Their presence among the Orcs' ranks (Goblins/Uruks/Orcs) typically manifests as armored soldiers or enforcers for smaller groups. They also work closely as master engineers alongside the Uruks of Sauron's army able to create deadly weapons and powerful equipment such as blasting powder. There exist cases of human-level intelligence, but the majority are more in favor of brawn over brains, and are thus easily tricked. They often make use of Goblin-forged armor, or the Heaviest armor of their respective tribe, being fully armored.
The Dark Lord Sauron has begun to breed Olog-hai for the coming war, serving many purposes as soldiers, guards, and escorts, with several earning their place among the Captains and Warchiefs. A few even manage to become powerful enough to be named Overlords of the fortresses dotting Mordor's landscape. They also provide support as siege beasts, shock troopers, and gate-smashers.
The Ologs' tone of skin is more various than that of the Uruks, being found in pale yellow, orange yellow, grey blue, stone grey, reddish-bluish white, or even pale white.
It is also cited that after the War of the Ring, all of the Olog-Hai were slain.
Etymology[]
In The Black Speech, olog means "troll" and hai means "folk," so a compound of these word results in the word "Troll-Folk."
Gameplay[]
The introduction of Ologs in Shadow of War brings new challenges and possibilities in to the series. An average Olog has the same intellectual capacity as any orc, thus they're treated like soldiers of rank rather than war beasts. Ologs can be found either as common enemy or higher ranking officers, from Captains to Warlords. Any mechanic that affects the individual Nemesis of an Uruk can also be applied to Ologs.
Ologs specialize both in dealing massive amounts of damage while taking a lot of punishment of their own, their speed is also nothing to scoff at. An Olog's regular attack pattern consists of a heavy swing, which Talion must dodge to avoid damage, and the occasional quick swing which while faster and just as powerful, can be countered by Talion's freezing power. Successful counters will freeze the Olog and make him vulnerable to attacks, unless he's a Frost-resistant Nemesis, in which case he will be momentarily stunned. Failure however will stun Talion and rid him of any accumulated Might (even if he had Grim Resolve active).
Regular Ologs differ from other units in that they can't be conventionally drained, grabbed or vaulted over. The only way to Drain (and by extension, Dominate) a regular Olog is by using the skill Consume. Ologs also lack discretion after being dominated as they will actively seek out opponents even when there's no violent confrontation happening, easily triggering other dominated units into combat and blowing Talion's cover.
Ologs cannot be grabbed, but Talion can use the same button to clutch on a stunned Olog and have him run around while he hopelessly try to shake Talion off. Attempts to mount an unstunned olog will result if Tailion being shoved down and pushed a small distence back. Players are in control of the Olog's direction at this moment, and he will wildly swing his weapon, damaging any enemy that stands in his path. Players can also repeatedly stab the Olog while Talion clings to his back, inflicting damage and building Might. If the Olog still has health left after some time being ride on, he will shake Talion off, otherwise, a killing animation will play.
Although fearsome fighters on the ground, Ologs, captains included, lack the ability to scale structures like Uruks, thus a vertical escape would work on Ologs most of the time. With most Ologs lacking any means to attack from a distance, climbing up a building is often a good way to separate other enemies from their Olog allies.
Olog Captains cannot perform most Tribe's special move due to their build not fit for the gears, however their inherrent strength and set of special abilities more than makes up for the shortcoming. Olog Captains can be Dominated like any Captains when Broken.
If Talion is killed by an Olog Captain, there's a chance said Captain will break Talion's equipped sword, removing it from the inventory. If Talion takes revenge however, the sword will be restored with improved stats, being 5 levels stronger.
Gallery[]
| Good races | |
| Evil races |
Black Númenóreans • Uruks • Olog-Hai • Nazgûl |
| Deities | |
| Other races | |