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‘Ghost Recon Wildlands’ adds loot boxes, but they won’t affect gameplay

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands: Ghost War - Update #3 - Extended Ops | Ubisoft [US]
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands has undergone some pretty major changes since it originally launched nearly a year ago, with new content expansions and a few competitive multiplayer updates. As with many AAA games recently, Ubisoft is now jumping on the loot box bandwagon, but the company promises that players won’t deal with a Star Wars: Battlefront II situation.

In the Ghost Recon Wildlands Extended Ops update, which will arrive by the end of January to all platforms, the game will introduce “Battle Crates.” These are boxes containing cosmetic items that are usable in both the campaign and the competitive Ghost War mode.

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Battle Crates will be purchasable in the game’s store for 400 “store credits,” and players will also be given two for free through the Ubisoft Club. Currently, 800 credits costs between $3.50 and $5, so you’re looking at a few bucks per Battle Crate. Unlike the loot boxes in games like Overwatch, you are guaranteed to only get new items in the Battle Crates.

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There are two different types of Battle Crates. The first is the Spec Ops Crate, which contains “epic” and “exotic” weapons, as well as vehicles and cosmetic items for use in the campaign. Ghost War Crates contain similar goodies for the competitive multiplayer, as well as “Icons” character skins. None of these items will affect your damage or other statistics, nor will they enable you to progress any faster.

“Throughout the development of the Battle Crates, we made sure the implementation is fair in terms of the items given to players, while also ensuring that they have zero impact on gameplay and player’s progression,” Ubisoft said in an announcement.

With the exception of the Icons skins, all items found in the Battle Crates can also be purchased individually through the game’s store — if there is a particular weapon you want, there is no reason to waste your credits on randomized crates. Three rarity levels — rare, epic, and legendary — are available, and there are more than 200 total items available in the Battle Crates.

Ghost Recon Wildlands is available now for

PlayStation 4

,

Xbox One

, and

PC

. A special free Predator DLC pack was available earlier this month, giving players the chance to hunt the legendary movie monster.

Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
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