Middle-earth: Shadow of War removes loot boxes from the game

Six months after launch, Monolith announced that Middle-earth: Shadow of War loot boxes, aka war chests, would be removed from the game, along with traces of microtransactions. However, you have to wait a little longer as these changes will only start on July 17.

Shadow of War loot boxes were heavily criticized upon release. The system encourages players to buy war chests with in-game virtual currency (which can be purchased with real money), to unlock Orc allies instead of finding and capturing them in the game. It is not only a method to suck money from players, it also takes away the essence of the game.

Removing the war chest doesn’t mean it doesn’t bring in revenue for AAA games, but because buying Orcs breaks the game’s Nemesis system.

“The Nemesis system is about building relationships between allies and enemies in a dynamic open world,” Monolith wrote on the blog. “Obviously buying Orcs on the Market would be faster and give players more options, we realize that this choice has broken the essence of the game, the Nemesis system. It allows you to let go of the good storylines that you can create in the game, and you can do that without having to spend money.”

In Shadow of War, you can complete the game without spending money or using the Market. However, they still exist and add to the game even if we don’t use it. After 6 months of receiving feedback, Monolith realized that it was negatively affecting the player’s ability to recruit troops.

Therefore, you have to wait until July, and if you have gold, spend it now. But don’t worry if you don’t spend it all, all gold will be exchanged for items when the in-game microtransaction disappears from Middle-earth.

In addition, the in-game system has also been slightly revised. The final game, called Shadow Wars, features more than 20 defense levels, leading to the final and correct ending of the game. But to get an army strong enough to resist that force, you have to plow and plow endlessly.

Monolith says the system will be changed. New narrative elements will be added and they promise a better in-game experience. However, if you like plowing, the Endless Siege mode launched in November will still be retained. It, along with the changes to the Nemesis system, like new skins, changes in skills, equipment and leveling up – a lot of things in general. They will be released on 7/17.

While Shadow of War still has unreleased DLC, we have a few reasons to return to the game even if you don’t have a season pass or aren’t intrigued by the updates.