Middle-Earth: Shadow of War is building on its much-lauded Nemesis system with - you guessed it! - microtransactions.

To help build up their army of orcs and followers, players will be able to purchases loot chests, experiences boosts, and War Chests through the game's online store. Loot chests contain armor and weapons with different rarities that make the player character, Talion, stronger, as well as experience boots that help level him up faster (these boosts can also be purchased separately). War Chests contain Orc followers which to boost your army and also have different rarities. You can also purchase all three items in bundles using the in-game currencies of Mirian (acquired by defeating enemies, destroying gear, and finding stashes of it throughout the game), and gold (acquired "in small amounts" during certain parts of the game, participating in community challenges, and purchasing it through your console or PC's online marketplace).

On its official forum post, Monolith is quick to point out that gold is only meant to save players time they'd otherwise spend fighting battles for loot, and will not offer players an 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," the post says. "Gold is not required to progress or advance in the game at all." The post did not announce the prices for gold or any of the items it or Mirian can buy.

[Source: WB Games Official Forums]

Our Take

It's good that gold doesn't net you any advantages other than saving time, but if the developer is offering a way to skip or cut short parts of the game, maybe those parts aren't that great to begin with? I'm not the type to ever rejoice in games built with microtransactions in mind, but I have to admit I've fantasized about skipping certain grindy or boring parts of games before.