Back in April, Monolith promised it would remove all of the microtransactions from Middle-earth: Shadow of War. Well, now it has, and to account for the removal of the microtransaction store, Monolith has adjusted and adapted certain elements to better fit an experience without in-game purchases.
The biggest changes are to the end-game, Shadow Wars, which was the target of many complaints around launch. It had a large focus on microtransactions, and our review said Shadow of War "would have been better without them." It's now been streamlined with Shelob, the Witch-king, and Dark Talion serving as narrators throughout. Beating it now unlocks new rewards, such as the Masks of Nazgul and combat abilities like raising the dead and cursing enemies. Additionally, we see new options for customizing Talion, character skins, prestige skills, an increase to the follower level cap, and more experience from tasks like Online Conquests and Nemesis Missions.
Oh, and speaking of Nemesis, Shadow of War's marquee system also sees some updates. Most importantly, there's an option to turn off the Savior feature. This would have one of your friendly orcs rescue you from near-death at the hands of a Nemesis, killing the fearsome enemy for you. Some players found this frustrating, as if they were being rewarded for losing. Others simply wanted their Nemesis to grow stronger, so it would mount an even bigger challenge next time.
There are a bunch of other changes and additions, most of which we talk about in today's episode of GameSpot Daily. However, we also talk about Microsoft teasing new hardware for Gamescom and Destiny 2's upcoming expansion not including Nathan Fillion as Cayde-6.
Yes, that's what you'll find in today's show, but be sure to tune in every day of the week at 11 AM PST/2 PM EST/7 PM BST/4 AM AEST for another episode of GameSpot Daily. We cover the most exciting gaming news in 30 minutes or less.
