Middle-earth: Shadow Of War is a good game, but it is universally panned for two things: its inclusion of loot boxes and microtransactions and a very long and unneeded padding of its endgame, Shadow Wars, that seemed to encourage spending on loot boxes.
A new update will now remove all the microtransactions and Shadow Wars will be slightly reworked, a new community blog post has revealed.
“The core promise of the Nemesis System is the ability to build relationships with your personal allies and enemies in a dynamic open world, ” it reads. “While purchasing Orcs in the Market is more immediate and provides additional player options, we have come to realize that providing this choice risked undermining the heart of our game, the Nemesis System.
“It allows you to miss out on the awesome player stories you would have otherwise created, and it compromises those same stories even if you don’t buy anything. Simply being aware that they are available for purchase reduces the immersion in the world and takes away from the challenge of building your personal army and your fortresses.”
This is exactly one of our sore points highlighted in our review of the game.
As such, the premium currency Gold, War Chests that can contain random Orc Followers and the Market section will now be removed. Any unspent Gold that is still available after the update will be converted to in-game items.
Aside from some rework of the Shadow Wars- which will now “be improved with new narrative elements and streamlined”- more additions to the Nemesis System, more player skins, additions to the skill tree, gear upgrades and progression updates will also be added.
Shadow Of War’s inclusion of loot boxes sparked ire as it was deemed unnecessary and was the first incident to spark the animosity towards loot boxes in general. It took them way too long to finally change course but we respect that they also willing to change the system, following Star Wars Battlefront II’s rework.
The update will be live on May 8th.
Via Kotaku