Even before Monolith released "Middle-Earth: Shadow of War," players have been worried about the loot boxes that contain the best orcs and the best gear. While this may be true, game reviews say that buying loot boxes would only be great for players wanting to finish the game in a speedy manner.
In "Shadow of War," loot boxes contain weapons, armor, XP boosts and the very important Orcs that Talion (the title character) can use in his army. These loot boxes can purchased in-game using the currency called Mirian that players can gain when doing missions and daily tasks. This system was implemented in "Shadow of Mordor," the first game.
What is different now is that a premium currency called "Gold" can buy premium loot boxes, which in turn contains premium orcs and gears. Gold can be purchased using real-world money. This notion alone is alarming for casual players since this kind of microtransaction can give an unfair advantage to other players.
To lift this cloud of confusion on players, a review from Kotaku cleared out some of the concerns. Recruiting orcs is part of the pull of "Shadow of War." Players will need these orcs to progress through the game. Like in most games, these orcs will come in types like common, rare, epic, and legendary. Most legendary and epic orcs are acquired through premium loot boxes. Yet, any orc is as good as the next one if a player will play the game smart.
Players can level up these orcs no matter their type. A common orc can match up with an epic orc if properly taken care of. Another review advised players to not kill a Nemesis (enemy orc) when they clear a stage for that region. Each region will have a high-level orc that will serve well in Talion's army. If these orcs gain more levels, getting a game clear screen will be possible, albeit highly challenging.
Using these two tips will cancel out the idea of loot boxes and microtransactions to beat the game.
