Microtransactions have always been a hot topic in the gaming community, developers support it because it earns them money, some gamers support it because it helps them get into the game easier and a vast majority of gamers think it provides an unfair advantage. Much to the last mentioned groups dismay, the upcoming single-player title, Shadow of War will feature microtransactions – however, the microtransactions aren’t necessarily intended to ‘scam’ fans, more so to provide a way to ease the grind of building Talions army.
Taking to a public discord channel, MonolithJared explained to fans why exactly Monolith Studios included this functionality in the upcoming Middle Earth: Shadow of War.
Gold exists for users who want to speed up their army building process. There are people who appreciate having the option. We don’t want to restrict any players from playing our game. So we have the option for those that want a speedy option, and for those that choose to avoid it can do so without any negative impact on their game.
The game is balanced so you can play the game without using the Market.
As you play the game you’ll have excess Mirian, this gives you an option to use that excess Mirian if you like. Or you can let that Mirian build up as high as you want.Getting and Orc from a warchest is the same as dominating one in the game. So if you want a legendary orc in the game, you can go find one or you can go through the market. It’s there as an option for players. Feel free to play as you decide!
Epic and Rare weapons drop with relative frequency, and DON’T need an epic orc to drop. Though as you level up, your common weapons will become more powerful and you’ll switch to your higher level commons.
Legendary ORCS are more rare. However, the number of legendary orcs you meet increases as you play through the game.
The drop rate of common/epic/legendary orcs has nothing to do with the market. We balanced SoW first, so the drop rates there is set for what our designers and research has shown to be the most interesting.
So if you just do the normal game, the game will be balanced for that.
Middle Earth: Shadow of War will release October 10th on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
