Middle-earth: Shadow of War will be getting its own paid content located in the in-game store named the Market, according to a post on the Warner Bros. Games forum from MonolithJared, community specialist for Monolith Productions.
Similar to most games with in-game stores, Middle-earth: Shadow of War will be receiving their own version of loot boxes named ‘Loot Chests’ (it fits the theme of the game better than the word boxes) and ‘War Chests’. Other items include XP Boosts (which literally boost your experience so that you can level faster) and bundles that include Loot Chests, War Chests and XP Boosts that all can be purchased in the Market (which requires an internet connection).
Loot Chests, similar to loot boxes seen in games such as Overwatch and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds will include armor, weapons or XP Boosts depending on your luck. Also, the Loot Chests will be randomized and have different rarities, so players have no idea what they will be getting or how powerful it could possibly be.
War Chests contain Orcs that will join your army to capture various strongholds scattered across Mordor. Then, once you capture a stronghold, you can make other Orcs join your army to create a giant, indestructible army. Also, Training Orders can be found in War Chests, which can be used to upgrade your Orcs. War Chests are similar to Loot Chests where the Orcs will be randomized and have different rarities.
The way that players can purchase these items through the Market are from having either Mirian or Gold. Players will more likely come across Mirian in-game than Gold, and Gold can be bought with real-world money in the PlayStation Store, Xbox Store or on Steam so that players have the option between the two.
“No, Gold does not give you any advantage over other players. A player who invests enough time can progress the same amount and have access to the same content as a player who purchases Gold. Gold is not required to progress or advance in the game at all,” said MonolithJared in the FAQ responding to a question about whether buying Gold gives players an advantage over others.
The Market will become a part of the Nemesis System, which was first introduced in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and allows players to dominate Orcs and have them join your army.
“The innovative Nemesis System created unique personal stories through procedurally-generated enemies who remember every encounter and are differentiated by their personality, strengths and weaknesses…” said MonolithJared. “The Nemesis System is also expanded to create a unique personal world through Nemesis fortresses, which allows players to utilize different strategies to conquer dynamic strongholds and create personalized worlds with their unique Orc army.”
By implementing the Market in the game, players can open War Chests to receive Orcs that will help them take down their Nemeses.
“An important aspect of the Nemesis System now comes in forging, customizing and leading your own army of unique Orc followers against the fortresses of Mordor,” said MonolithJared. “There are different ways to do this, including dominating Orcs by exploring the vast open-world and encountering them as part of Orc society, or players can acquire Orcs and other items through the Market (in-game store).”
Middle-earth: Shadow of War will be released on October 10 of this year for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.
As of currently, prices of the Market items and for Gold have yet to be announced.
It’s interesting that microtransactions like these will be added to a single-player game, when most games that include microtransactions are multiplayer games. It’s interesting to see how the player base will utilize the Market in Middle-earth: Shadow of War.
Featured image via Flickr/BagoGames.
