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[Ushay]

Lookin good, will grab this at a later date and time.

 

[Nokterian]

Yea I'll say it again

Fuck the haters and fuck the hate

Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

And please stay the fuck out of the OT

We don't need you. We don't want you

 

[Frozenprince]

How many fortresses are there in total? Enough to feel like it's fun and constant enough?

 

[Van Bur3n]

This is what that post immediately made me think of

"Don't fuck with us."

lol okay nerds

 

[MHWilliams]

I don't trust them reviews with all the pay 2 win stuff.

I wouldn't be surprised if the press got free loot boxes or extra coins like what Warner Brother did with Mortal Kombat reviews copy.

We received the Gold Edition, mostly because they eventually want us to review the expansion content as well. That does come with a single Gold War Chest, which is good for two orcs, of Epic status I believe.

so judging by Gamesadar's wording you cant get them in Solo/offline play ... and you have to either pay or do the pseudosocial nonsense :-/

You can, they're just rare. You're essentially leaning on RNG: dominating the orcs that are worthwhile, killing anybody that's not, and hoping epics and legendaries spawn. They tend to come from respawns more often than not, so orcs that you kill and come back generally get bumped up to Epic or Legendary.

 

[Alpha Phoenix]

For whatever reason I feel absolutely meh towards this game. This is coming from someone who got all 74 achievements in Mordor.

Probably just going to grab the GOTY edition in a year or two when it's like 10 bucks.

 

[Drewfonse]

Serious question: how do the loot boxes affect gameplay? One of the reviews mentions a late game grind. So you can finish the game without them, but be prepared to grind?

 

[NullPointer]

Serious question: how do the loot boxes affect gameplay? One of the reviews mentions a late game grind. So you can finish the game without them, but be prepared to grind?

Yep.

 

[DrBo42]

Serious question: how do the loot boxes affect gameplay? One of the reviews mentions a late game grind. So you can finish the game without them, but be prepared to grind?

Yeah apparently the 4th act is a grind since

Spoiler

your controlled fortresses now become under assault and you need to defend them.

But in order to do so competently you need legendary orcs.

Tagged in case no one has been paying attention to what's in the game.

 

[Inviusx]

Looks great.

 

[Grimsen]

It's not, and nobody is paying reviewers off. The loot boxes just aren't a factor in the game until the endgame, and even then aren't necessary unless you're impatient. Just like almost every other lootbox system in retail games. WB did the same thing in Injustice 2. You got so many lootboxes regularly in that game the idea of spending real money to get any was ridiculous. When I moved on from that game I probably still had 20-30 unopened lootboxes sitting around just because the game showered you with them.

You should change your example. You can't buy loot boxes in injustice 2.

 

[Dyson Industries]

Yea I'll say it again

Fuck the haters and fuck the hate

Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

And please stay the fuck out of the OT

We don't need you. We don't want you

huh

Anyhoo, let's move on. I want to see how the RNG shakes out over the course of the next few weeks, but I'm still leaning heavily towards picking this up used.

 

[DrBo42]

It seems like no one actually likes the story but they're still scoring it pretty high, kinda like the first one. That's a bummer. Hoped they'd actually deliver a decent narrative.

 

[GravyButt]

So basically if you preordered the regular edition your boned come mid/end game?

 

[Bishop89]

Surprised how positive they are considering all the crap with Loot boxes and all that

 

[2blackcats]

So basically if you preordered the regular edition your boned come mid/end game?

The gold edition comes with 1 loot box.

 

[Drewfonse]

Yep.

Yeah apparently the 4th act is a grind since

Spoiler

your controlled fortresses now become under assault and you need to defend them.

But in order to do so competently you need legendary orcs.

Tagged in case no one has been paying attention to what's in the game.

Blech. Pass for now.

 

[carlsojo]

We received the Gold Edition, mostly because they eventually want us to review the expansion content as well. That does come with a single Gold War Chest, which is good for two orcs, of Epic status I believe.



You can, they're just rare. You're essentially leaning on RNG: dominating the orcs that are worthwhile, killing anybody that's not, and hoping epics and legendaries spawn. They tend to come from respawns more often than not, so orcs that you kill and come back generally get bumped up to Epic or Legendary.

Sounds fine to me.

 

[JPS Kai]

I wrote a small piece on the lootboxes as a supplement to my review. Couldnt spend money on them yet even if I wanted to and the few gold boxes I earned went straight into

Spoiler

buying more orcs for act 4.

With how much money they throw at you, earning the regular lootboxes won't be an issue. You can also earn enough Gold to buy the premium boxes after one or two days of daily challenges.

 

[Curufinwe]

I'll convert the GI score to 3.5/4 since their scale basically starts at 6.

 

[Heckler456]

I wrote a small piece on the lootboxes as a supplement to my review. Couldnt spend money on them yet even if I wanted to and the few gold boxes I earned went straight into

Spoiler

buying more orcs for act 4.

With how much money they throw at you, earning the regular lootboxes won't be an issue. You can also earn enough Gold to buy the premium boxes after one or two days of daily challenges.

We received the Gold Edition, mostly because they eventually want us to review the expansion content as well. That does come with a single Gold War Chest, which is good for two orcs, of Epic status I believe.



You can, they're just rare. You're essentially leaning on RNG: dominating the orcs that are worthwhile, killing anybody that's not, and hoping epics and legendaries spawn. They tend to come from respawns more often than not, so orcs that you kill and come back generally get bumped up to Epic or Legendary.

So like, what are we looking at here, to get the true ending, without spending a dollar? A hundred extra hours? More?

 

[NullPointer]

I wrote a small piece on the lootboxes as a supplement to my review. Couldnt spend money on them yet even if I wanted to and the few gold boxes I earned went straight into

Spoiler

buying more orcs for act 4.

With how much money they throw at you, earning the regular lootboxes won't be an issue. You can also earn enough Gold to buy the premium boxes after one or two days of daily challenges.

On one hand, I enjoy testing my luck and trying to raise up a legendary bodyguard that’s immune to the enemy’s hijinx. On the other, much of the feedback loop feeds right through the market, making it impossible to stay away from it all if you’re looking for a pure experience without the additional gambling.

 

[JPS Kai]

So like, what are we looking at here, to get the true ending, without spending a dollar? A hundred extra hours? More?

Not at all. If you want to touch lootboxes, the basic free ones will still get you legendary orcs.

If you want to stay away from lootboxes entirely, the nemesis system will completely allow you to recruit the RNG orcs that pop up in the wild or grunts that get promoted for killing you.

The whole system is nowhere near as insidious as people make it sound and I could've just as easily played up to where I am now without going to the market once.

 

[NullPointer]

The whole system is nowhere near as insidious as people make it sound and I could've just as easily played up to where I am now without going to the market once.

I just quoted you saying the very opposite thing in your article. Didn't I?

Trying to parse all of this from the outside is confusing.

 

[DrBo42]

Not at all. If you want to touch lootboxes, the basic free ones will still get you legendary orcs.

If you want to stay away from lootboxes entirely, the nemesis system will completely allow you to recruit the RNG orcs that pop up in the wild or grunts that get promoted for killing you.

The whole system is nowhere near as insidious as people make it sound and I could've just as easily played up to where I am now without going to the market once.

I thought legendary orcs only drop from paid boxes? Getting conflicting info in here.

 

[Karak]

I'm waiting for that ACG review

It may be awhile I think I am on C or D tier lists from WB. As late as yesterday PR pretended no one at all had codes in a contact with me.

 

[shimon]

It may be awhile I think I am on C or D tier lists from WB. As late as yesterday PR pretended no one at all had codes in a contact with me.

Wow this sucks man

 

[Heckler456]

I thought legendary orcs only drop from paid boxes? Getting conflicting info in here.

I inferred that the standard lootboxes were RNG, while the payed ones were guaranteed.

Not at all. If you want to touch lootboxes, the basic free ones will still get you legendary orcs.

If you want to stay away from lootboxes entirely, the nemesis system will completely allow you to recruit the RNG orcs that pop up in the wild or grunts that get promoted for killing you.

The whole system is nowhere near as insidious as people make it sound and I could've just as easily played up to where I am now without going to the market once.

Myeah, that's what I'm getting as well.

 

[Phloxy]

I got the game early and so far I haven't had anything but fun with it. Fully expected to hate it because of the loot box craze, especially with how rotten their phone game is with it.

Near the end so we will see how bad this Act 4 stuff seemingly is.

 

[JPS Kai]

I just quoted you saying the very opposite thing in your article. Didn't I?

This shit is confusing.

Yeah, I know. Sorry for that.

Here's the basic menu.

The market is always there, tempting you.

If you take part in the Online Conquests/Vendetta missions, your rewards will be lootboxes to open in the market.

Do a daily challenge like killing 5 orcs with an aerial headshot? Gold to spend on more lootboxes.

If you play Shadow of War offline, you can't even touch the Market, so you can play that way without any additional temptation.

It may be awhile I think I am on C or D tier lists from WB. As late as yesterday PR pretended no one at all had codes in a contact with me.

I wish there was some kind of standard for what we do. Companies you work with won't give me the time of day, and vice versa it seems.

 

[MHWilliams]

So like, what are we looking at here, to get the true ending, without spending a dollar? A hundred extra hours? More?

It's not really a thing you can measure. Maybe you'll get lucky and the Random Number God will bless you with a good number of Epic or Legendary Orcs with good traits. Maybe not. It's worth noting that a benefit to the boxes is Orcs goes to a Garrison, meaning you can move them to any region. Otherwise, Orcs are stuck in the region that they spawn in. I clear cut orcs that don't meet my standards. Judging by EG's video, they just accept all comers.

It may be awhile I think I am on C or D tier lists from WB. As late as yesterday PR pretended no one at all had codes in a contact with me.

Sadness. You do great work!

 

[Scoops312]

I'd get this if it wasn't in an already stacked month. I can see it getting a pretty good black Friday price cut though, so I'm good.

 

[redfox088]

Wow cant belive they are giving those good scores considering how its all build around loot boxes and microtransactions

It’s completely built around microtransactions? So they are unavoidable? That sucks.

Spoiler

/s

 

[2blackcats]

I'd get this if it wasn't in an already stacked month. I can see it getting a pretty good black Friday price cut though, so I'm good.

Yeah, the price of the first one dropped insanely fast considering.

 

[Primethius]

Will Shadow of War body Nintendo exclusives for GOTY awards like Shadow of Mordor did back with its release?

It's looking like it. 😏

 

[DrBo42]

Hmm so Nemesis difficulty mode claims orcs are smarter and more aggressive. Only 1 last chance try as well. Looks like the way to go.

 

[TheVoidDragon]

It's completely built around microtransactions? So they are unavoidable? That sucks.

Spoiler

/s

There's a bit of a difference between "They're unavoidable, you can't play without buying them" and "The game has been designed to purposefully put you at a disadvantage if you don't buy the microtransactions".

It may not be done in the way that they're "unavoidable" if they're implemented in such a way that they aren't just there to let you skip what would be a reasonable gameplay element, that is what it means to be "build around microtransactions" - Purposefully making the game in such a way that it takes a long time/luck to encourage you to buy them instead, so gameplay is implemented with lengthened RNG/time-frame that goes beyond reasonable because of those lootboxes.

The game may be playable without buying anything, but that doesn't necessarily mean the microtransactions aren't really a problem.

Something i'm wondering about, is there any actual confirmation that this isn't a "true" Lord of the Rings setting? I know with the previous game a lot of people said it was like an alternate version but there wasn't any actual proof that was what the game intended to be, it got a few things wrong but that doesn't make it non-canon. Is that still the case here, or is there something that without a doubt means it cannot take place in the proper setting?

 

[Admiral Woofington]

It may be awhile I think I am on C or D tier lists from WB. As late as yesterday PR pretended no one at all had codes in a contact with me.

won't buy it till I hear from you anyways karak, so no rush. Please give us an honest opinion on the loot boxes.

 

[Maximo]

It may be awhile I think I am on C or D tier lists from WB. As late as yesterday PR pretended no one at all had codes in a contact with me.

WB man they sure are something.

 

[Hawk269]

Good scores so far. I will probably wait till shortly after the Xbox One X comes out to pick it up....there are a lot of game coming out and then experiencing games with enhancements is going to keep me busy. Might buy it around Black Friday since I am sure I could get it at a nice discount. Definitely looking forward to it as I really enjoyed the first game.

 

[Audioboxer]

So what reviewer has called the loot boxes and microtransactions exciting and exquisite? Or have they just all ignored them? As usual. It's like some "unwritten law" that reviewers have not to mention monetization affecting gameplay, or not do so in an overly critical way.

Developers sell their souls when dealing with Warner Brothers. Easily the worst publisher in gaming, or at least right up there with the worst that others have to offer. Sad, considering the games without all the bullshit are usually good.

Will buy the GOTY edition for this on sale in a year or so to come. Or 2nd hand at some point. I liked the first. Gotta put my words into action though and stop giving developers and publishers my money for being scummy.

 

[Heckler456]

So what reviewer has called the loot boxes and microtransactions exciting and exquisite? Or have they just all ignored them? As usual. It's like some "unwritten law" that reviewers have not to mention monetization affecting gameplay, or not do so in an overly critical way.

Developers sell their souls when dealing with Warner Brothers. Easily the worst publisher in gaming, or at least right up there with the worst that others have to offer. Sad, considering the games without all the bullshit are usually good.

Will buy the GOTY edition for this on sale in a year or so to come. Or 2nd hand at some point. I liked the first. Gotta put my words into action though and stop giving developers and publishers my money for being scummy.

2 people who reviewed the game, in this very thread, on this very page, answered this very question.

 

[2blackcats]

So what reviewer has called the loot boxes and microtransactions exciting and exquisite? Or have they just all ignored them? As usual. It's like some "unwritten law" that reviewers have not to mention monetization affecting gameplay, or not do so in an overly critical way.

Developers sell their souls when dealing with Warner Brothers. Easily the worst publisher in gaming, or at least right up there with the worst that others have to offer. Sad, considering the games without all the bullshit are usually good.

Will buy the GOTY edition for this on sale in a year or so to come. Or 2nd hand at some point. I liked the first. Gotta put my words into action though and stop giving developers and publishers my money for being scummy.

All the reviews I read mentioned them.

 

[Audioboxer]

2 people who reviewed the game, in this very thread, on this very page, answered this very question.

All the reviews I read mentioned them.

Yeah I'm skimming more reviews now. Mentioned more than I expected. At least Polygon went in hard

But locking progress through this mode (and, again, toward the game’s true ending) behind either spending more money or doing tons of tedious busywork feels at least greedy if not predatory.

 

[GabeTheGrouch76]

Rather interesting how impressions from reviewers are starkly different from the GAF hype thread asking people if they were interested in the game (a great many passed on it).

It's not a witch hunt, you really need to shill. WB decided to go all in on practices that were widely disliked since long before this game, and the reactions are not unjust.

lol

 

[redfox088]

There's a bit of a difference between "They're unavoidable, you can't play without buying them" and "The game has been designed to purposefully put you at a disadvantage if you don't buy the microtransactions".

It may not be done in the way that they're "unavoidable" if they're implemented in such a way that they aren't just there to let you skip what would be a reasonable gameplay element, that is what it means to be "build around microtransactions" - Purposefully making the game in such a way that it takes a long time/luck to encourage you to buy them instead, so gameplay is implemented with lengthened RNG/time-frame that goes beyond reasonable because of those lootboxes.

The game may be playable without buying anything, but that doesn't necessarily mean the microtransactions aren't really a problem.

Something i'm wondering about, is there any actual confirmation that this isn't a "true" Lord of the Rings setting? I know with the previous game a lot of people said it was like an alternate version but there wasn't any actual proof that was what the game intended to be, it got a few things wrong but that doesn't make it non-canon. Is that still the case here, or is there something that without a doubt means it cannot take place in the proper setting?

You are in theory at disadvantage to the player who consumes the most loot boxes in any multiplayer game where the loot is more than cosmetic. Thankfully the multiplayer is not the main draw for this game and like the ign review says “just ignore them”

 

[Peroroncino]

It may be awhile I think I am on C or D tier lists from WB. As late as yesterday PR pretended no one at all had codes in a contact with me.

That sucks... I'm really curious about this whole grindfest to get to the true ending so I was hoping that you're in the middle of reviewing it.

But then again... I can wait, I'm in no rush, I'm still playin' Destiny 2 and if I get bored I think I'll play MGSV from this month's PS Plus, their loss.

 

[PHOENIXZERO]

Looking more and more like I should cancel that Gold edition preorder I made on Bundlestars due to the 30% off voucher I got.

 

[RiccochetJ]

It may be awhile I think I am on C or D tier lists from WB. As late as yesterday PR pretended no one at all had codes in a contact with me.

That's odd. Did you get Injustice 2 early?

 

[DrBo42]

Going to post some impressions after a few hours. If you have any specific questions, let me know.