Middle-earth: Shadow of War players looking for a leg up have found a way to unlock unlimited loot boxes in the PC version of the game. The only catch is that the players need to use Cheat Engine to do so.

The cheat itself is fairly straightforward, giving players an unlimited supply of Mirian, Shadow of War’s in-game currency. It’s no different than a cheat that offers unlimited money in any other open world game, with the only difference being that Shadow of War uses a loot box system to dole out some of its loot.

For those that may not be familiar with the game, Mirian is used to unlock various perks for a player’s Uruk Army, but more importantly it is the currency through which players purchase Silver Tier War Chests and Loot Chests. War Chests offer players Uruk Captains to use in their Army, a new component of the series’ trademark Nemesis System. While Loot Chests unlock unique gear for the game’s hero, Talion.

It’s important to point out, though, that Mirian is only one of the currencies in Middle-earth: Shadow of War. There is also gold, which can only be acquired using real money, and is the only payment method for Gold Tier and Mithril Tier chests. These chests offer guaranteed drops like Epics and Legendaries, which carry better stats and abilities than those items available in the Silver Tier chests.

Since Warner Bros. and Monolith have yet to respond to the cheat, it’s unclear how the studios will respond to their discovery. On the one hand, this could help the developer and publisher establish that the loot boxes are merely an add-on, but it also eats away at a potential revenue source. With a never-ending supply of Mirian, many players will be able to skip the endgame grind in Shadow of War, and more importantly the pull to buy a loot box or two will be gone. Yes, the Gold and Mithril Tier chests have better guaranteed loot, but players can get by using the Silver Tier items.

This discovery also has interesting implications for single player loot boxes as a whole, which have come under fire in recent weeks. Granted, most of the conversation stems from loot boxes in multiplayer games, most notably Star Wars: Battlefront 2, but Middle-earth: Shadow of War was lumped into the mix as well. Since there is no interference with the real money currency in the game, Warner Bros. doesn’t necessarily need to act. But if the studio does, there may be even more backlash to the highly anticipated and well-reviewed game.

Middle-earth: Shadow of War is out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Source: YouTube