Middle-earth: Shadow of War Removes Market and Overhauls Shadow Wars Epilogue

July 17, 2018

Category: Gaming Posted:06:59PMAuthor: Guest_Jim_*

Back in April it was announced that Middle-earth: Shadow of War would see some significant changes, including the removal of the Market, and improvements to the Shadow Wars epilogue. Previously the Shadow Wars consisted of ten stages requiring players to defend or re-capture regions repeatedly, but now the number of stages has been reduced to achieve completion. For context, I finished the base game and entered the Shadow Wars after some 27 hours and just days ago my playtime (according to the game) was some 48 hours. The extra 21 hours is not from just playing the Shadow Wars though, but also time spent running a path for another article, and I was potentially-to-likely idling for some of it as well. Still, it is a lot of time for essentially repeating the same missions. For those who complete or already have completed the Shadow Wars, besides coming closer to 100% completion, you also get a new armor set with several new abilities.

With the removal of the Market, players will now be able to purchase Training Orders for upgrading their dominated captains with Mirian, the in-game currency. Additionally, you can recruit captains found in Online Vendettas and Ranked Conquests, or get loot from them if you kill them. Gear Chests are still awarded at the end of these missions.

The level cap has been bumped up to 80 from 60, with enemy orcs able to reach level 85. Past level 80 you will continue to earn experience for additional skill points that will be able to go into Prestige Skills, which are accessible after Act III and can be purchased multiple times. Using Mirian you can also raise the level of gear to Talion's current level, though upgrade challenges must be completed first, and secondary traits can be re-rolled at the cost of perfect gems.

There have been a number of other changes as well, including fixes and more balance changes. The patch notes are definitely an interesting read, if you have played the game before, and I am looking forward to getting back into Middle-earth: Shadow of War to see just how impactful they all are. (I did only complete the Shadow Wars a couple days ago though.)

Source: WB Games