A few months ago, Shadow of War's developer Monolith announced that microtransactions will be removed entirely from the game by May 8. Now, the studio fulfilled its promise, and removed all forms of microtransactions in-game, which is later than promised but at least its all gone now.
Together with the removal of the in-game market, Monolith also introduced a few improvements in an update. First, Orcs that were previously recruited via Online Vendettas or Ranked Conquests can now be accessed via the Garrison. Players can still train and customize these Orcs but with in-game Mirian.
Moreover, new ways to customize characters have been introduced as well. The follower level cap has been bumped up to 80, and new prestige skills have been included in the game. Players can also level up their characters faster by completing Nemesis Missions, participating in Online Conquests, and defeating Captains, which will reward them with larger XP. Furthermore, brand new skins are now available, which will allow players to play as Baranor, Dark Eltariel, or Celebrimor.
You can check out the full list of the patch notes for detailed information on the new changes. Middle-Earth: Shadow of War is available on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.