That’s right! The highly anticipated sequel to Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor will allow players to use real money to obtain in-game gear. I was very excited for this game but now, I doubt I’ll be purchasing it anytime close to release day because I refuse to accept this trend of sticking microtransactions within a game you’ve already paid money for.

The game’s developers at Monolith have confirmed that players will have access to two types of currencies in the game: Mirian and Gold, with the latter being a bit harder to find and available for players to buy using real-world money.

Players will be able to utilise both currencies at an in-game market to purchase weapons, armour, Orc followers and XP boosts. Monolith has stated that this is to cut down on “some of the additional time that would have been spent winning more battles, tracking nemeses, completing quests and assaulting fortresses”. This, in my opinion, is completely moronic. They’re basically saying “pay more money to play less of our game because it’s a chore to play anyway.”

Gold for gear

In this Q&A thread, Monolith Productions Community Manager, under the username MonolithJared, said:

“Gold exists for users who want to speed up their army building process. There are people who appreciate having the option. We don’t want to restrict any players from playing our game. So, we have that for those who want a speedy option, and those that choose to avoid it can do so without any negative impact on their game.”

There won’t be any restricted items if you choose to play it without utilising microtransactions and it should be like playing a normal single-player RPG. It’s just whenever you’re fighting an incredibly strong enemy, you’ll know that even if you lose, you can spend some extra cash and come back to fight armed to the teeth in microtransacted glory.

I’m not so sure what to expect from the game if the developers are giving players the option of playing less of it by simply paying for high-level gear and followers. I now have reason to expect that it’ll be a dreary, monotonous and repetitive process otherwise.

Middle Earth: Shadow of War is set to be released in October, the same month as games like Assassin’s Creed Origins, South Park: The Fractured but Whole, The Evil Within 2 and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, just to name a few – so at least I’ll have alternatives to spend my money on.