Middle Earth: Shadow of War

[Nyarlathotep]

But it's really not a mech suit though.

[Sabby]

It's a 12 foot tall suit of armor for a skinny elf look-a-like to crawl into. It's essentially a mech suit, and it was cool as shit. I feel like the whole reason for that DLC was to recreate the opening of Fellowship, and they did pretty well.

[MoonerSK]

But it's not a skinny elf in a big suit. Sauron can shapeshift, his Dark Lord form is the one he's most conmfortable with.

[MoonerSK]

[MoonerSK]

[MoonerSK]

[MoonerSK]

[MoonerSK]

[MoonerSK]

[Vow]

I'm curious how fanboys will try to justify/explain this:

https://community.wbgames.com/t5/Official-Announcements/Introducing-the-Market/m-p/1611183

Through the Market, players can purchase Loot Chests, War Chests, XP Boosts and Bundles (accessed only with an internet connection).

• Loot Chests contain Gear (weapons and armor) of varying rarity. Equipping and upgrading these weapons and armor enhance Talion's character abilities. Loot Chests can also contain XP Boosts that help level up Talion faster.

• War Chests provide Orc followers of varying rarity to help forge a strong army. They can also contain Training Orders to level up and customize Orc followers.
• XP Boosts are consumables that help level up Talion faster.
• Bundles package up Loot Chests, War Chests and Boosts together at a great value.

To purchase these items, players can spend Mirian or Gold throughout the game as one progresses. Mirian is a type of in-game currency that can be acquired by:

• Defeating Treasure Orcs
• Destroying Gear for Mirian
• Destroying Orc followers for Gear (which can be destroyed for Mirian)
• Finding Mirian stashes throughout the game

Gold is another form of in-game currency that can be used to get higher level Loot Chests, War Chests, Boosts and Bundles of the aforementioned content. Gold can be acquired by:

• Purchasing through the PlayStation Store, Xbox Store or by adding to your Steam Wallet using real money.
• Awarded in small amounts at specific milestones.
• Awarded for participating in community challenges.

[Sabby]

I'm curious how fanboys will try to justify/explain this:

That all depends on how much it will affect me. I'm not even preordering the game like I normally would, since I don't want the bonuses that come with it (there really should be an opt out), so I have absolutely zero intention on paying Gold... but I've done it for mobile games because they made the experience practically require it.

Here's hoping that isn't the case. I actually just reinstalled SoM to get a new Nemesis ready. Will probably never have another Mormog...

[MoonerSK]

I'm curious how fanboys will try to justify/explain this:

https://community.wbgames.com/t5/Official-Announcements/Introducing-the-Market/m-p/1611183

Through the Market, players can purchase Loot Chests, War Chests, XP Boosts and Bundles (accessed only with an internet connection).

• Loot Chests contain Gear (weapons and armor) of varying rarity. Equipping and upgrading these weapons and armor enhance Talion's character abilities. Loot Chests can also contain XP Boosts that help level up Talion faster.

• War Chests provide Orc followers of varying rarity to help forge a strong army. They can also contain Training Orders to level up and customize Orc followers.
• XP Boosts are consumables that help level up Talion faster.
• Bundles package up Loot Chests, War Chests and Boosts together at a great value.

To purchase these items, players can spend Mirian or Gold throughout the game as one progresses. Mirian is a type of in-game currency that can be acquired by:

• Defeating Treasure Orcs
• Destroying Gear for Mirian
• Destroying Orc followers for Gear (which can be destroyed for Mirian)
• Finding Mirian stashes throughout the game

Gold is another form of in-game currency that can be used to get higher level Loot Chests, War Chests, Boosts and Bundles of the aforementioned content. Gold can be acquired by:

• Purchasing through the PlayStation Store, Xbox Store or by adding to your Steam Wallet using real money.
• Awarded in small amounts at specific milestones.
• Awarded for participating in community challenges.

Is this a suprise? Honestly since they annouced the game and I saw the chest in the silver/gold/mythril editions I knew you would be able to buy these for money. Are these shitty microtransactions in full price AAA title? Yes they are. Were there pretty much in all latest WB releases? Yes they were. Now look, I'm not happy about this. These kind of things should not be in a full price games. However this is something put into the game because of publisher. And essentialy it is paying so you don't have to play the game you already payed for. Its is a single player game so my experience won't be affected by someone buying these chests as opposed to online pay to win games. I'm pretty sure that when you will play the game you will be in no need to buy these chests. So while I do not like it, it does not bother me as much so long as it does not affect my experience. And I came to expect this kind of thing from publisher like WB, who have one of the worst DLC policies in the industry.

[Sabby]

DON'T FINISH THE GAME.

I just finished Shadow of Mordor, got a Nemesis I was happy with, but now I realize that Nemesis Forge doesn't include that Nemesis if they're dead. If you keep on playing, you'll have to kill that Nemesis as part of the story, and they won't appear in Nemesis Forge. So now I have to go into the Nemesis Forge open world and f**k around aimlessly until I arbitrarily pick a new Nemesis, rather than carrying over my personal rivalry that grew naturally throughout the course of the game.

Kind of tempted to just replay the game closer to launch and then stop just before the ending, rather than force a replacement.

Edit: And apparently, Uruks won't cheat death in Nemesis Forge. This mode is baffling to me. Not even going to try, I'll just get a new Nemesis the right way.

Edit: The Plan: Redux: Uruk Resurrection.

So, since the Nemesis Forge is the worst possible way to forge a Nemesis, and since I can finish the game without losing to an Uruk, I'm replaying with no upgrades, Intel is only being used on Warchiefs and Revenge targets, while Wraith vision is only being used while standing still. So, mark objectives in the UI, confirm if Captains are around, but don't don't identify the Captains. Just knowing that one of these Uruk I'm scoping out could be the Captain is enough. Taken out the first two Warchiefs in the first area so far, and I'm actually struggling a little bit. Haven't been killed yet, but I have been chased off by some pretty good Nemesis candidates. One of them was even mistaken for a random Uruk at first, so imagine my surprise when he just grabs me in the middle of what should have been a routine kill. And since I don't have the execution ability, the Captains I've actually managed to kill are never a guarantee, so some of them have even come back during missions to complicate them.

I haven't had this much fun with SoM since my first playthrough. I'd recommend anyone wanting to prep for SoW who doesn't already have a Nemesis they're happy with (and the time to invest in a replay, of course) to try this.

[Sabby]

The new Nemesis system is f**king fantastic. My Bodyguard just became my Nemesis.

Spoiler'd for those who don't care

So, I was ambushed during a mission by someone we'll call Sickboy. Sickboy was covered in disease and somehow got it in his mind that killing The Ranger would cure him. I beat him, but he was too strong to recruit, so I marked his face (Shaming, drops the characters level) and this gave him 'Deranged' status. Wasn't sure what that was until I encountered him again. He was a pacing, gibbering mess who could only mumble about 'bumps and lumps'. He was barely lucid but seemed obsessed and manic. So this time, I recruited Sickboy, and after a while, he proved himself in several missions and fights and I made him my Bodyguard.

So, I called Sickboy to help me prepare for a mission, and a new Orc showed up. We'll call him Big Bro. Big Bro had Sickboy on his knees with a knife at his throat. He had used my Bodyguard to ambush me, and slit his throat before attacking me. I froze Big Bro in ice so I could heal Sickboy, and then returned to the fight, but once I started fighting Big Bro, Sickboy hit me in the back. I had attacked his 'Blood Brother', apparently. So, Sickboy was so deluded and insane that he joined up with Big Bro, even after the guy had cut his neck open, and the two proceeded to kick my ass without much difficulty.

Big Bro almost landed the killing blow, but another of my allies showed up and put a crossbow bolt in between his eyes. With Big Bro dead, Sickboy strangled me to death with a chain.

So, great. Now I have to watch out for Sickboy.

[close]