Posted October 11, 2017
Playing the game for a few hours and haven't heard anything about microtransactions yet.
Also looked into some of the claims that the true ending is locked behind a massive grind and that it forces you to pay for lootboxes to get it. It seems to be a misunderstanding that started with the Gamespot review.
The game's true ending comes at the end of the campaign. After that you enter the postgame. People wanted more reasons to kill orcs in the last game, so they added this optional postgame that is pretty much nothing but killing orcs and storming strongholds. If you complete all the postgame they give you a little fanservice-y scene.
*Very mild spoilers, nothing specific, but in regards to how it's fanservice-y
[spoiler]
The scene is meant to tie the events of the game into Lord of the Rings somehow
[/spoiler]
*End spoilers
That's not a true ending. It's just a little bit of fanservice to reward the players that do finish all the optional content. Like completing 100% of Kingdom Hearts 2 and getting a teaser for the next game at the end of the credits. Or completing 100% of the Arkham Knight and getting a single extra 1min scene added to the ending of the game. It's there so completionists feel a little reawarded. Like the previous examples, if you're not planning on doing 100% of the postgame regardless, for the gameplay alone, then you're better off just watching the 30s cutscene on Youtube. As for needing microtransactions to escape the grind: the grind is the entire point. It's for players who want to keep playing past the end of the campaign. If you then pay to rush through it, you'll just be cheating yourself out of content.
Also looked into some of the claims that the true ending is locked behind a massive grind and that it forces you to pay for lootboxes to get it. It seems to be a misunderstanding that started with the Gamespot review.
The game's true ending comes at the end of the campaign. After that you enter the postgame. People wanted more reasons to kill orcs in the last game, so they added this optional postgame that is pretty much nothing but killing orcs and storming strongholds. If you complete all the postgame they give you a little fanservice-y scene.
*Very mild spoilers, nothing specific, but in regards to how it's fanservice-y
[spoiler]
The scene is meant to tie the events of the game into Lord of the Rings somehow
[/spoiler]
*End spoilers
That's not a true ending. It's just a little bit of fanservice to reward the players that do finish all the optional content. Like completing 100% of Kingdom Hearts 2 and getting a teaser for the next game at the end of the credits. Or completing 100% of the Arkham Knight and getting a single extra 1min scene added to the ending of the game. It's there so completionists feel a little reawarded. Like the previous examples, if you're not planning on doing 100% of the postgame regardless, for the gameplay alone, then you're better off just watching the 30s cutscene on Youtube. As for needing microtransactions to escape the grind: the grind is the entire point. It's for players who want to keep playing past the end of the campaign. If you then pay to rush through it, you'll just be cheating yourself out of content.