Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor to Remove Online Features
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor was a major Game of the Year contender upon release, even winning the award at the 2014 Game Developers Choice Awards. Shadow of Mordor's success even led to the release of a successful sequel in Shadow of War, and while Shadow of Mordor's online features weren't a major part of its success, they were still valuable. Now it seems that Warner Bros. will be discontinuing those online features, and players only have until December 31 to enjoy them.
In separate notices post on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Steam storefronts, Warner Bros. announced the upcoming closures, including the Nemesis Forge, Vendetta missions, Leaderboards, and the WBPlay network. It's not that they simply won't connect when needed, either, Warner Bros. says that the features will no longer be available whatsoever. It's unclear if an update will remove menu options, or how the developers will deal with the issue specifically.
The Shadow of Mordor Nemesis Forge, for those unfamiliar, was a post-launch feature that allowed players to transfer their top Nemesis and Followers from Shadow of Mordor to Shadow of War. The feature was released in 2017 alongside the sequel, and provided some connectivity between the two games. These transfers will no longer work after December 31, so those still playing Shadow of War should transfer over their Shadow of Mordor characters soon.
Vendetta missions allowed players with online capabilities to pursue an orc captain that had killed someone on their platform's friends list. These missions were productive, as they rewarded a lot of experience, power, and high-quality runes. It's also a fun concept in general, being able to battle an orc captain that managed to defeat another human player, but these missions will no longer be available.
Leaderboards, as well as the WBPlay network, weren't particularly robust in Shadow of Mordor, with the WBPlay connection inn particular only providing little useful functionality. Warner Bros. is preserving the bit of WBPlay functionality that was useful, however, by granting the Orc Hunter and Gravewalker epic runes to all players for free.
One question that hasn't been answered is how certain Shadow of Mordor achievements will be handled after online services are turned off. For example, the "Repaid in Blood" achievement requires players to complete a Vendetta Mission. Hopefully, like the WBPlay runes, this achievement will be given to players for free. Otherwise, it's time to start playing Shadow of Mordor again before December 31.
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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