Alia's Reviews: Feeling Sinister? A New MilMo Update

Now the good folks at Junebud gave Update 51 a different name than my catchy post title...but the new content with this update lets those of the dark and moody bent express themselves with some pretty tough looking gear.  And it all begins with a little lockbox....

The Sinister Lockbox!

When I read up on this new update and started playing to see all the new stuff, I had exactly two thoughts:

• Someone in Sweden must have been listening to my prayers and decided to give us new converters...one of Alia's Favorite Things.
• There was some devilishly smart thinking behind this new update in that it goes a long way to address some of the complaints/problems as of late, but I will get to that later.

I LOVE converters!

Update 51 features the return of the Alchemy Event from last year (interesting only to players like myself who now have the chance to get it finished), but it is the new content that has the forums and discussion groups all atwitter.  

For those of you have NOT yet started playing MilMo, despite all the cool reasons why I have said you should, lockboxes are a fairly common item dropped by most monsters in the game.  Until this new update, there have been 5 lockboxes (in order from most common to least): green, blue, red, silver, and gold.  Lockboxes are opened by purchasing keys in the cash shop using the gold coins collected in game, and in lockboxes you can potentially find some new clothing, furniture, and if you are very, very lucky...legendary weapons.  However, more often than not, what you mostly find in lockboxes are a variety of useful potions and berries that help you gain extra, temporary abilities in game game like higher jumps, faster swimming and running.  Lockboxes are still pretty hotly pursued, largely in the quest for the legendary weapons and items that can be found, and they have always required fairly diligent game play as each lockbox key costs 50 gold coins in the cash shop so a player needs to be collecting their daily coins (and weekly star tokens if they are members).

Sinister lockboxes function just the same as the other lockboxes, you find them as monster loot drops and you need keys to open them.  The difference with these new boxes is that the keys cost a whopping 150 gold coins and so far, the rewards out of the boxes are some really great converters for weapons and gear and/or items to wear or put in your home.  

Starr being Sinister, and Old School Me.

Now what is the meaning behind my earlier comment about how the Sinister lockboxes, and their contents, are going to go a long way toward dealing with some of the recent issues with the game?  Well, for one thing, there are players who have been lamenting that the game is not stimulating enough the last few months, mostly the complaints have been something like, "there is just nothing to do in the game."  As a consequence, as it has been observed, there has a been a noticeable decline in the number of players in the International (English) version of the game.  Even with the updates over the last few months, some players have found that there has not been enough to have them stay in the game for any considerable amount of time...and I am very certain that the developers have taken note of this negative trend, hence this thoughtful update.

How this update might bring players back into the game, stick around for a good amount of time, and (most importantly) return is that:

• Needing 150 gold coins for each Sinister key purchase demands a regular dedication to collecting daily coins and weekly collection of star tokens for members.  Not to mention, hopefully a little bit of revenue for Junebud for those players anxious to open their Sinister boxes--who are impatient and cash-ready--and are willing to pay for keys through Facebook Credits or June Coins.
• Every converter found in a Sinister box requires the complimentary legendary item.  Thus if a player has not acquired the legendary item, they are going to have to spend some time trying to acquire the items.

It was a tough decision to surrender the
Legendary Bow, it has been one of my most
favorite weapons these last few months.  Alas,
maybe I will get lucky and find another someday!

• While working on the MilMo Wiki to include this new update, I realized there are a LOT of new Sinister-styled items, 15 total at last count.  Some of these items are found just as you open the box, no converter required (although these are mostly home items).  Regardless, it is going to to take some time to find them all, not to mention earning all of the coins required.

All-in-all, two thumbs up for the new update.  I am really hoping that the new offerings hush the naysayers, at least for a week or two.  But for now, I am off to collect some coins and star tokens as I have about a dozen of those Sinister boxes and I really want a Sinister Fish floating around my house.

Communing with the red token, willing it to release its
occasional 100+ gold coin powers!