Lord of the Rings Online

[WVUFAN]

I've been beta testing this for about a month and a half. Now that the NDA is lifted, I can talk about it.

For those who are into LOTR, this is a great game -- a nice mixture of WOW-like gameplay with a pretty decent crafting section that surpasses that of WOW.

If anyone has any questions about the game, I'll be happy to answer them.

[DaddyTorgo]

i am going to <3 this i have a feeling

[WVUFAN]

It's one of the first MMORPG's that offers a one-time fee for a permanent subscription, so you can pay per month (for preorder customers, it's $9.99 a month) or a one-time fee of $199 and no further monthly fees.

[DaddyTorgo]

preorder customers? how do i get in on that? i'd love to try it out for a month or two before deciding to plunk down $200 on it

[Greyroofoo]

I just got into the beta, downloading now....

[WVUFAN]

preorder customers? how do i get in on that? i'd love to try it out for a month or two before deciding to plunk down $200 on it

http://www.lotro.com/preorder

They call it the "Founder" program.

[WVUFAN]

I just got into the beta, downloading now....

I'm on the Brandywine server, Level 10 Champion. Brandywine is the less cluttered server right now.

They actually sent me two keys ... one when I got lucky and get in the Closed Beta 1, and another when I "won" a spot after participating in the Stress Test.

[Galaril]

I just got into the beta, downloading now....

I'm on the Brandywine server, Level 10 Champion. Brandywine is the less cluttered server right now.

They actually sent me two keys ... one when I got lucky and get in the Closed Beta 1, and another when I "won" a spot after participating in the Stress Test.

Can people still get into the closed beta? I was going to preorder now with the $9.99 and saw that the part about being able to play in the beta was only the open beta which is a week before the release in 6 weeks. If that is actual for now the closed beta I would preorder right now?

[sabotai]

Could you explain the crafting system? How is it different from WoW?

[Izulde]

For people who got bored with WOW, what does this game offer that's better about it? Besides the setting of course :D

[Peregrine]

I played the beta and though I appreciated what they are trying to do, this just didn't grab me, there just wasn't enough that screamed "Lord of the Rings" instead of "generic WoW clone." I might give it a shot later on, once it comes out and they've added some more content.

[Yellow5]

I'm on the Brandywine server, Level 10 Champion. Brandywine is the less cluttered server right now.

I am on the other server, with a lvl 10 champion and guardian. Like the champ more, and enjoying the game. Not sure if this will pull me away from EQ2 but it's tempting.

I like the fact that it seems solo-friendly so far, not sure what it's like at higher levels. I enjoy monster play but there are never enough people on the monster side to make it interesing.

[WVUFAN]

Could you explain the crafting system? How is it different from WoW?

Here's the professions, right from the crafting FAQ:

Cook: A long march can be made all the easier with the promise of a good meal at the end. While it may seem a mundane talent, a good cook is every adventurer's best friend.
Jeweller: Simple adornments and objects of beauty are the heart of the jeweller's trade. However, exceptional adornments can go far to increasing the stature and confidence of an adventurer, and a skilled jeweller can produce true works of art.
Metalsmith: Metal armors and sturdy shields are the metalsmith's domain. Though their initial products may be of simple make, eventually their skills will allow them to work finer materials and greater designs.
Scholar: Perhaps the most mysterious of the professions, the Scholar collects fragments of lost lore, and attempts to interpret their secrets. In doing so, he can produce scrolls that other craftsmen can read to improve their chances of producing a superior product. Other practical applications include lore by which specific enemies (orcs, trolls, the dead) might be best combated, or cures for various maladies.
Tailor: A skilled tailor can make simple clothing from common cloth, but with time and practice can create garments of great beauty that provide significant protection to their wearer. The Tailor can also work with tanned hides to produce leather armor – light, tough and suitable for travel.
Weaponsmith: As expected, the Weaponsmith is the primary source of melee weapons. Swords, daggers, and axes of all varieties are the Weaponsmith's purview, ranging from bronze training gear to weapons of ancient design and great renown.
Woodworker: As any archer will tell you, it takes more than a stick and a string to make a worthy weapon. The woodworker is an expert bowyer, but expands his trade to include staves, spears, and other hafted weapons. A master Woodworker can produce weapons that even an Elven hero would be proud to wield on the battlefield.
Prospector: One who gathers ore and stone.
Forester: One who gathers resources from the forest, such as collecting wood.
Farmer: Collecting items from farmsThe big difference is that you can't choose each profession, rather you pick Vocations, which are 3 professions set up to better encourage interactions between vocations:

Armsman: Prospecting, Weaponsmith, Woodworker
Armorer: Prospecting, Metalsmithing, Tailor
Explorer: Forester, Prospector, Tailor
Historian: Farmer, Scholar, Weaponsmith
Tinker: Prospector, Jeweller, Cook
Woodsman: Farmer, Forestor, Woodworker
Yeoman: Farmer, Cook, TailorThe point is that at least one of your professions can be used by at least one of the other vocations (Woodsman helps Tinkers, Tinkers help Historians, Historians helps Armsmen, ect). The crafting system also incorporates the idea of Mastery, the idea of adding a certain rare item when making your item leads to a better item.

I hope that gives a least an idea.

[Alan T]

I played the beta and though I appreciated what they are trying to do, this just didn't grab me, there just wasn't enough that screamed "Lord of the Rings" instead of "generic WoW clone." I might give it a shot later on, once it comes out and they've added some more content.


Is this game basically Wow set in middle-earth, or is it something that a huge Tolkien fan would enjoy? I guess when playing it do you feel like its a LotR game, or does it feel like it could really be anywhere and they just chose this setting?

[Greyroofoo]

Can people still get into the closed beta? I was going to preorder now with the $9.99 and saw that the part about being able to play in the beta was only the open beta which is a week before the release in 6 weeks. If that is actual for now the closed beta I would preorder right now?

I didn't preorder and I got in the beta

[Warhammer]

If they do this right, this would be the game that would make me take the plunge into online gaming of this sort. I used to play MUME, and I loved that, the history and the landscape and the history, etc., there is a ton of stuff in Middle Earth that can be tapped.

Do you want to be a Rider of Rohan and have great mastery of fighting on horseback, but have disadvantages on the ground, do you want to be a Dunedain, or a Black Numenorean?

Heck, look at what MERPS was like, just translate it to a computer, I'd be in heaven.

[Galaril]

I didn't preorder and I got in the beta

But, I think the beta is now closed to new applications?

[WVUFAN]

preorder customers? how do i get in on that? i'd love to try it out for a month or two before deciding to plunk down $200 on it

DaddyTorgo, sent you a PM.

[DaddyTorgo]

responded already

[Galaril]

the download for this is really slow and unstable:( And the torrents that they have up doesn't seem to work for me either. Did anyone else have issues trying to load the beta onto there pc?

[WVUFAN]

the download for this is really slow and unstable:( And the torrents that they have up doesn't seem to work for me either. Did anyone else have issues trying to load the beta onto there pc?

I didn't have any trouble with downloading the client at all. I was getting pretty good speed, actually.

[Schmidty]

So is there still a way to get in the beta? I get that impression, but I'm not sure.

[Galaril]

I didn't have any trouble with downloading the client at all. I was getting pretty good speed, actually.

Maybe it is becuz the weekend.

[Thomkal]

So what are the character classes and races you can play?

[Greyroofoo]

I had trouble downloading it, but eventually got it.

Any chance of an FOFC guild?

[Schmidty]

So is there still a way to get in the beta? I get that impression, but I'm not sure.

Yes? No?

[Mustang]

So is there still a way to get in the beta? I get that impression, but I'm not sure.

I think you can just sign up.. The stress test is next weekend so, I think that is open to the general public but, other than that, appears you have to be selected.

[JeeberD]

So wait...you have to have a DVD drive to play this game? Damn...

[Schmidty]

So wait...you have to have a DVD drive to play this game? Damn...

They cost like 30 bucks at a computer wholesaler. Not that expensive at all.

[Yellow5]

Crafting is cool. I am making a ton of money as a farmer! When you harvest a crop you can recover seeds from the crop so you dont have to buy them.

Plant crop, harvest items and seeds, repeat for easy money.

[Greyroofoo]

So what are the character classes and races you can play?

Races:
Man
Hobbit
Dwarf
Elf

Classes:
Guardian
Champion
Captain
Hunter
Burglar
Minstrel
Lore-Master

[Greyroofoo]

I play on the Meneldor server
Tagg Lvl 9 Champion

[Yellow5]

I'm on the same server. Usually playing as Issa (Captain) or Desverger (Champion).

[Warhammer]

OK, so what would make one play this vs. WoW?

[Galaril]

OK, so what would make one play this vs. WoW?

Very single player soloing friendly from all accounts.

[Thomkal]

thanks Grey for the info on races/classes. Seems a bit light on choices/variety there.

[WVUFAN]

The Accomplishment system is what makes the game fun.

That, and titles. To the LOTRO players out there -- you know you can get titles from emotes, right? Have 100 people wave at you, and "The Friendly" becomes available as a title. There's a TON of other emote titles as well.

[Galaril]

Is anyone still looking to get into the closed beta?

[fjvieane]

I just tried to sign up...LOL

You never know, I may do that lifetime package.

[Critch]

I put in a beta application on 2-18 when it was mentioned here and got my beta link email today, so looks like it's still open.

[Mustang]

I put in a beta application on 2-18 when it was mentioned here and got my beta link email today, so looks like it's still open.

Same here.

[Mustang]

Initial thoughts, appears very quest driven. (Gather, Kill X number, report to X person). I'm up to level 5 (max 50) and I have not had to grind at all so, if that continues, it will be a breath of fresh air.

Beta seems very stable, I haven't encountered anything major just some graphics issues (floaters, some bodies 'vibrate' when dead..)

Few other small things I'd like to see changed so far (solutions might exist, just haven't found them) but, I'd like the camera to snap back to center when looking around with the mouse and when fighting multiple guys, seems like when you kill one the loot screen comes up right away.

[Thomkal]

How are the graphics? Do you feel like you are in Middle Earth or just some generic fantasy world?

[Mustang]

How are the graphics? Do you feel like you are in Middle Earth or just some generic fantasy world?
Overall, I like the graphics. It doesn't have that cartoonish edge that WoW has.

Do I feel like I could be on the set of one of the Lord of the Rings movies? Yes. But, then again, there were parts of those movies that could have been just a generic medieval world but, I think you would have to consider the sum of all the parts to feel like you are in Middle Earth.

Hope that makes some sense...

Actually did my first 'grind' last night in the game but, the only reason I did that was so I could get the 'Spider Foe' title (kill 30 spiders) and then that opened up the Advance Spider Slayer accomplishment (kill 60 spiders). So, at least there was a point to grinding.

I haven't messed with crafting yet mainly because I haven't found a trainer but, I'm not actively looking for one yet...

[WVUFAN]

For men, the crafting house is in Combe.

There's several quests you'll pick up in Combe that will introduce you to crafting. As a matter of fact, you have to drop and pick up several professions to complete all the quests (designed to let you try them all out and see which one you like).

[Mustang]

For men, the crafting house is in Combe.

There's several quests you'll pick up in Combe that will introduce you to crafting. As a matter of fact, you have to drop and pick up several professions to complete all the quests (designed to let you try them all out and see which one you like).

I wonder if that is something specific to the Beta.. to force everyone to try everything out?

[WVUFAN]

I wonder if that is something specific to the Beta.. to force everyone to try everything out?

That would make sense.

[Yellow5]

How are the graphics? Do you feel like you are in Middle Earth or just some generic fantasy world?

Here is an idea of what the hobbit areas look like. This is me running around Buckland.

http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/7669/screenshot00013os0.th.jpg (http://img360.imageshack.us/my.php?image=screenshot00013os0.jpg)

[Thomkal]

Thanks for the screenshot. Doesn't look like anything real special, but not horrible either.

[JeeberD]

I got in the beta and created a character but really haven't had a chance to mess around with him too much yet.

I'm Jeebo on Brandywine...

[Galaril]

Thanks for the screenshot. Doesn't look like anything real special, but not horrible either.

I am guessing you aren't Tolkien fan? If not this game isn't for you, but if you like tolkien or the movies than you will love this game.

[Yellow5]

One thing I should mention about that screenshot is that the game does not have the hi-res textures in place from what I've read on the forums.

There are other areas that give the game more of a Middle Earth feel, like the elf city, but I don't really play in that area.

One thing that I don't like at all are the character models and options given when you create a new character. It feels limited!

I'll try to capture some close up of the characters and post them so you can see what I am talking about.

[CraigSca]

Have a question for the beta testers - I've been participating in the stress event this weekend, and one thing I've noticed is the lack of buildings that you can actually enter. I've noticed that towns are beautiful, but they have a sterile feel since a great majority of the structures are just there for eye candy. Am I missing something? Am I exploring the wrong areas? My elf minstrel is up to level 7, and I've been attempting to explore as much as possible.

Thanks for the info!

[Yellow5]

Craigsca there are more buildings to enter once you leave the newb area, but overall most of the buildings are eye candy and nothing more at this point.

Bree has crafting hall and auction area and a few bars but most of the NPC interaction has been outside for me and I am up to level 15 with my human Captain.

If you are playing the stress test, make sure you play at least two hours total. Last time if you played more than two hours you got an invite to the closed beta.

[Thomkal]

I am guessing you aren't Tolkien fan? If not this game isn't for you, but if you like tolkien or the movies than you will love this game.

No I am a Tolkien fan, just skeptical they can repeat the experience of the books and/or movie in a MMORPG.

[Galaril]

No I am a Tolkien fan, just skeptical they can repeat the experience of the books and/or movie in a MMORPG.


I would say they have doen a credible job of it.

[Greyroofoo]

ditto

[Atocep]

I jumped into beta for this recently and although the game has some promising areas and does a very good job sticking with the Tolkien lore, I'm disappointed.

I think Tolkien fans could have a blast running through the areas, exploring, doing quests, and running into familiar NPCs. However, its just not for me.

I give Turbine credit for sticking to the lore of the books, but its probably going to end up hurting the game for MMO fans. There's simply no way they can balance classes and make them imaginitive while sticking strictly to the lore.

The controls feel somewhat unresponsive to me. The graphics are beautiful, but character movements don't feel natural at all. I'd say 3 of the classes are rather boring at this stage (Captain, Burglar, Loremaster).

There are some things I liked. The questing system is actually better than WoW's. There's a built in quest tracker and instanced quests really help with the immersion and sense that you are actually making a difference. The interface is really polished (although it has a couple problems), even for late beta. As I stated above, outside of character movements the graphics are very nice. Lastly, if you're a fan of tanking classes, the Guardian is very polished and incredibly well done.

If you are a tolkien fan or you were dead set on try it out, I'd recommend trying it out yourself to see what you think. There are a lot of people that love the game right now. I'm just not one of them.

[Yellow5]

Been playing again as a pre-order customer and still happy with the game. Am on the Meneldor server playing as a tank named Crush.

I think the controls feel better now that they are gearing up for launch and was happy to see them adjust the economy. I'm not making as much money as I was a month ago, which is a good thing.

Loremaster = Boremaster. Hunters, Guardians and Champs are fun.

[sabotai]

Why is Loremaster boring?

Hunters are usually the type I like to play. Are they similar to hunters in WoW, and how do they differ?

[Atocep]

Why is Loremaster boring?

Hunters are usually the type I like to play. Are they similar to hunters in WoW, and how do they differ?

The loremaster just doesn't seem to have an effective role in the game. They are considered a Pet/Debuff class but their pets are really fragile, making them a really bad solo class. They don't offer much DPS, instead its debuffs and crowd control. I think Loremaster is going to be hurt most by the lore. Spellcasters were rare in Tolkien's world and Turbine doesn't want to make a DPS caster class. I just don't see many players interested in playing a class thats primary role in groups is crowd control and debuffing.

Hunters aren't really similar to WoW hunters at all. They have no pet and they have to stand still to fire arrows (no kiting across 3 zones). They can fire them in melee range, though. The traps system needs some work, they're just too hard to use effectively right now. They do get the ability to fire things like flame arrows, ect. Hunters aren't as popular as I expected, but since they are one of 2 DPS classes and the only ranged one, that will probably change by launch.

[Yellow5]

Hunters are usually the type I like to play. Are they similar to hunters in WoW, and how do they differ?

Similar in that you can set traps, kills things from a distance. Skills like barbed shot (dmg over time) and quick-shot/multi-shot are put to good use. I can usually drop something before it gets close to me. If it gets close they are easy to kill with melee skills but make no mistake, this is a class designed for bow and long range kills. Very good DPS class when it's a 1vs 1 fight. Not so good when you try to take on more than one opponent.

Hunters also gain focus if they continue to take shots from one spot, which allows them to take special skill shots.

No pets for hunters.

Different from WoW? No pet, not good at crowd fights like WoW hunters, weaker melee skills.

Boremaster is buffer/de-buffer type and crowd control. I have never enjoyed that type of character. They get a Raven as starter pet, then a bear, and finally a large eagle.

[Capital]

Has anyone else been able to get in the open beta the last couple of days? I'm getting "The Network is Down" message.

[Thomkal]

I've been playing the open beta the past couple days (got it from the May issue of PC Gamer (with Guild Wars 2 on the cover). Had a smallish update then a hellish long patch on my poor dialup connection, but got in at last.

My impression is that I see a lot of WoW influences amongst other games. Not that that's bad just that there's not much new stuff here. (traits is the only thing I can think of off the top of my head). Graphics are good not great, but some wow moments when first seeing an elvish town.

Storyline does grab you from the beginning at least with the human and elven starting story, but they really missed the boat with the hobbits. Tying it into the human story and then giving the humans by far the more interesting starting story. Plus you don't get to see a hobbit village from the start but instead get sent to a human town. The dwarvish and elvish starting stories are also tied together it looks like (haven't played a dwarf yet but they are running around in the same starting zone as the elves)

The beginning zones are smallish without much to do besides quests. Some quests are good storyline quests, others are the usual "collect five/kill five of these umimportant items" type, but that's to be expected I suppose. And there aren't multiple newbie zones to go to-just one zone from lvl 1-5 before you get sent to a new zone (and I believe can't come back to the first one). The human/hobbit quest that sends you past the first zone was pretty cool though and the elven one wasn't bad either. But I'm going to get pretty bored pretty quickly on having such limited options in the beginning/doing the same quests over and over again with each new character.

UI is easy to get used to if you've played this games before for the most part. If confused how to do something (like getting out of a fellowship or setting the chat window to be less opaque), try right clicking on the whatever you want to change. And the game seems very stable right now-I don't think I have crashed once yet, though there is the usual lag it hasn't been too bad so far.

Don't see much new or different about classes so far, but its nice that the Lore-master starts off with a pet very early on (though why a raven I'm not quite sure) Pets can get new powers later on which is cool.

It's only a two day impression so far, but other than the theme I don't see a lot to draw a MMO veteran like me into the game. They do pull off the theme a little better than expected but missed a golden opportunity by not letting hobbits start in a hobbit zone. I mean that's where the stories started and had the most important characters-most people are going to want to play a hobbit I think, so why they didn't let us start in a hobbit zone has me scratching my head. So far I don't have any great desire to play in the game when it goes live.

[Peregrine]

I played the closed beta a few months back and I had the same opinion, there's a general feeling of "WoW rehash" to the whole game. I really wanted to like it, but felt overall that it was too generic, and the things that were original (some of the classes) weren't that fun.

What's the deal with no hobbit zone? Where do they start? I ask because there was a starting hobbit zone when I was playing, and it was pretty nice.

[Thomkal]

Peregrine,

The story begins with the hobbit in the Shire (I think), and without revealing what happened, they end up in a human town for a pretty lame reason. So you get a few brief moments of them running down a street in the Shire and then being a led (in a nice tie-in to the human starting story) to the human starting town. I think you get to Bree fairly quickly (have a human around lvl 7 who I think can get to Bree) so that's the closest to a hobbit village I've encountered so far.

[Peregrine]

Oh, that sucks. You used to have the starting road part then ended up in the Shire.

[Capital]

So I guess that you all have been able to get into the game the last couple of days? I keep getting the same message when I try to download "The Network is Down"...oh well

[Aylmar]

As a Hobbit, once you finish the introduction (lvl 6), you are transported back to The Shire and can do all of your questing there. Only the introduction instance is set in Archet.

[gi]

My fiance and I are realling enjoying the beta, enough so that we preordered. Don't know how long we will last, but we will be playing it for a couple months. I couldn't get into WOW, maybe because I tried it too soon after COH. Anyway, if anyone wants to give me a shout, I'm on Vigila (SP?) server.
Name is Wryain.

[Thomkal]

As a Hobbit, once you finish the introduction (lvl 6), you are transported back to The Shire and can do all of your questing there. Only the introduction instance is set in Archet.

Ah thanks for that-guess I'll have to go finish the introduction then. :) Just assumed since you got sent to Archet, you continued from there.

[Galaril]

I am finally going to pick up the pre-order the only thing that has me worried is I am hearing that there are a ton of gold sellers out there harvesting the gold and than selling it Is this something that Turbine is going to try to stop or not? And is it as rampant as people say it is? I am guessing once the game goes to real world live and people have to pay to play alot of this will be gone but still...........

On a related note the developer has announced the first add-on content for free coming in June.

http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.php?t=46041

[BreizhManu]

So who is playing ?

Been tempted, pre ordered but will only get my copy in 2-3 weeks (they haven't got any left plus i ordered in France for a delivery in Spain) but I can still test the game for 12 days.

Anyway, i played a little this week-end and the game looks ok.
Still waiting to receive the manual to understand a few stuff but else it's pretty intuitive.

[Yellow5]

Dunno about gold sellers, I am sure they are out there but I have not seen it ruin the game yet. The economy is young so everything is over priced in the auction house.

I am having a blast with this and have played through as a Champion to level 18, most of that solo. I am on Meneldor playing as "Crush".

Splitting time between Champion, Captain and Guardian characters right now and am enjoying the Champ because damage output is decent and I am able to handle multiple enemies. I played a Captain most of the beta and had a great time but my "pet" would get stuck or just flat out stop following me and it was annoying.

[BreizhManu]

So far tried

Elf Champion - Decent but that's just it
Human Captain - I like it.
Elf Lore-Master - Got stuck at 9 level wise and stopped, didn't like it much
Now trying Dwarf - Guardian, so far I like it.

Don't really like the elves while it's the character I loved when playing RPG (real ones with dices and stuff).
Will probably try Hobbit and then give the Elves another try with a hunter.

And for the server I mainly playing on the french one, but if someone creates an FOFC org, I'll be glad to join.

[Thomkal]

When I played in the beta, I tried Champion, Lore-Master, Burgular, and Hunter. The only one I can truly say I liked was the Hunter.

[Warhammer]

Bah, I'll stick with my MUME. I find as I get older, I really enjoy the text sims and text based games better than anything else out there, besides flight sims.

[flere-imsaho]

Really good review in the New York Times today:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/04/arts/04lord.html?pagewanted=print

[gi]

I'm back from the honeymoon and will be playing with my wife again...

[mauchow]

I'm back from the honeymoon and will be playing with my wife again...

And you're posting that in this thread, why?

[gi]

And you're posting that in this thread, why?

lol, nice. Long flight from Paris to Detroit, should have added a couple more words relating to the game.

[Peregrine]

I'm thinking of giving this a shot, I'm still playing EQ2 but this would be fun as a second MMO to dabble with, and it seems like one that would have the least level grind. Plus they've really put in some interesting stuff lately and I want to see how it works.

[law90026]

Have started playing it coz I'm incredibly burnt out from WoW.

Only hit level 7 on a Guardian. So far, the game has been very easy though there doesn't seem to be much general chat at all.

It seems to be a very casual game, which is nice.

[Alan T]

Decided to pick this up for my birthday to give it a try. My lady and I are struggling to find things to do together that also fit a baby into the picture right now. Everyone says this is a very casual game that would let us play for 30 minutes - 2 hours in a clip and then not play for days if we chose. Does anyone else still play this? Doubt we'd be on much but figured I could at least pick the same server as some of you :)

[gi]

Decided to pick this up for my birthday to give it a try. My lady and I are struggling to find things to do together that also fit a baby into the picture right now. Everyone says this is a very casual game that would let us play for 30 minutes - 2 hours in a clip and then not play for days if we chose. Does anyone else still play this? Doubt we'd be on much but figured I could at least pick the same server as some of you :)

Both my wife and I play on Vilya. Some of my character names are: Dyole and Wryain

[GrantDawg]

We're still playing. My wife is addicted. We are on Firefoot and Vilya, but very spotty.

[Yellow5]

Still playing on Meneldor.

[EagleFan]

Started this game a couple weeks ago. I have to say that I am loving it so far. It has completely taken me away from WoW and I don't see myself going back.

Am I missing some major problems with the game? It hasn't seemed to be getting near the amount of press that WoW does.

[GrantDawg]

Started this game a couple weeks ago. I have to say that I am loving it so far. It has completely taken me away from WoW and I don't see myself going back.

Am I missing some major problems with the game? It hasn't seemed to be getting near the amount of press that WoW does.

The old-time online players that I know all seem to have been convinced of the same thing. They all say the world is too small (or more appropriately they heard it was since none had actually played). I don't see the problem myself. Seems plenty big enough to me.

[Radii]

Wryain

Minstrel? Did we group together yesterday for chapter 11? I'm Rhiow, the name seems familier(I'm awful with names, we could have grouped together for 8 hours and the best I could say is 'sounds familier').

[BreizhManu]

The old-time online players that I know all seem to have been convinced of the same thing. They all say the world is too small (or more appropriately they heard it was since none had actually played). I don't see the problem myself. Seems plenty big enough to me.

My main is level 32 and still discovering places everyday.

[Alan T]

Well we joined on Vilya server, currently level 5 after spending like 30 min today and about an hour yesterday. My character is Rangil if you happen to be online when I am. I think we'll likely be limited to playing only after kids in bed/chores done for a bit here or there though.

[Capital]

Well we joined on Vilya server, currently level 5 after spending like 30 min today and about an hour yesterday. My character is Rangil if you happen to be online when I am. I think we'll likely be limited to playing only after kids in bed/chores done for a bit here or there though.

Do you have any early impressions?

[Alan T]

Do you have any early impressions?

I am only level 7, but enjoy it alot so far. We only play it about 45 min or 1 hour a sitting but its been pretty good for us. Most of it has been doing quests and we did one instance together. I've spent a little extra time on the game without her as a seperate character that I have used to explore the area and try out crafting some.

I guess just from reading forums, if you are a 20 hour a day game player, this probably isnt the game you want. If you're like me and are looking for something that you can play for a little bit every couple of days for an hour or so, then I've been happy.

[gi]

Minstrel? Did we group together yesterday for chapter 11? I'm Rhiow, the name seems familier(I'm awful with names, we could have grouped together for 8 hours and the best I could say is 'sounds familier').

LOL! I believe we did group together. I love the healer types. I'll add you to my friends list. I found a Kinship that is mostly filled with couples and adults, so if your interested let me know.

[Capital]

I am only level 7, but enjoy it alot so far. We only play it about 45 min or 1 hour a sitting but its been pretty good for us. Most of it has been doing quests and we did one instance together. I've spent a little extra time on the game without her as a seperate character that I have used to explore the area and try out crafting some.

I guess just from reading forums, if you are a 20 hour a day game player, this probably isnt the game you want. If you're like me and are looking for something that you can play for a little bit every couple of days for an hour or so, then I've been happy.

That's the way I play as life rarely gives me the opportunity to play multiple hours at a time. That being said, I'm not sure I want to play 4 hours at a time anymore. I have been considering giving this game a shot - change of pace from WoW.

[chesapeake]

I just started playing last week and am loving it. I have lvl 14 burglar on Landroval named Cordas. He finally made it out of the Shire last night and got his first taste of the big city -- Bree.

The quest designers have done a great job integrating even minor tasks with the greater Tolkein mythos. The graphics are also well-worth the price of admission. Farewell, WoW, I've found a new mistress.

[flere-imsaho]

I've been away from WoW for about 8 months now, but thinking of getting back in once my weekly travel is done. However, LOTRO is really intriguing me, especially with what I read here. We'll see....

[Capital]

For those of you that have played an instance, how much time would you estimate it takes to run an instance? For example, WoW was about 2-3 hours (which is too long for some of you) but cut it down to 1-1.5 hour in the expansion (better length of time). I would be interested to know.

[gi]

For those of you that have played an instance, how much time would you estimate it takes to run an instance? For example, WoW was about 2-3 hours (which is too long for some of you) but cut it down to 1-1.5 hour in the expansion (better length of time). I would be interested to know.

They vary from 20 min to couple hours.

[Alan T]

The only one I did, I duo'd with my miss, and we did it in about 15-20 minutes. I understand the later ones further in the game are longer however but I guess people farm in them for items and such.

[Yellow5]

I have one "buddy key" available for anyone that would like to try the game for a 10-day trial.

Just send pm and I can forward the infomation to you.

*** Edit - This has been claimed!

[gi]

I might be able to find my buddy key if anyone is interested....

[spleen1015]

I am tempted to give this a shot, but I am still extremely pleased with WoW and don't have any reason to give it up.

[Capital]

I'm also relatively happy with WoW as well, but I just picked the game for a change of pace. I suspect that I will be back with WoW at some point. I'll have to review the thread to see what FOFC members are playing.

[spleen1015]

This question has been asked before, but there wasn't much detailed response.

What about this game makes it better than WoW?

[Alan T]

This question has been asked before, but there wasn't much detailed response.

What about this game makes it better than WoW?

This is a fairly hard question to answer, as each person's desires in a game is different.

For me I tried WoW a bit, but I had no desire to be in a huge guild that did scheduled raids every week. I wanted a game that I could play with my lady when we felt like it, and still have some options to do stuff with folks on here if we ever saw fit as well. The other thing that I enjoy about this game is the storyline. I'm sure WoW's storyline is great and all, but all I know of it is from the games. The Tolkien story for me is so much more enjoyable.

I have no idea if you would enjoy LotR more or not, hopefully you can make use of someone's buddy pass to give it a try if you are on the fence.

[spleen1015]

This is a fairly hard question to answer, as each person's desires in a game is different.

For me I tried WoW a bit, but I had no desire to be in a huge guild that did scheduled raids every week. I wanted a game that I could play with my lady when we felt like it, and still have some options to do stuff with folks on here if we ever saw fit as well. The other thing that I enjoy about this game is the storyline. I'm sure WoW's storyline is great and all, but all I know of it is from the games. The Tolkien story for me is so much more enjoyable.

I have no idea if you would enjoy LotR more or not, hopefully you can make use of someone's buddy pass to give it a try if you are on the fence.

You don't have to be in a guild to get enjoyment out of WoW. You can play the game 100% by yourself as you describe. If there was one thing WoW may not have the you say LotRO has is a story. I'm sure LotRO has a better story.

I have thought about using a buddy pass to give it a shot. The problem is, I don't want to take the time away from WoW. :)

[flere-imsaho]

I have heard that currently there's not much of an "endgame" for people at the level cap (50) in LOTRO. However, I was trying to remember how much of an "endgame" there was for WoW when it was released, and I'm having trouble remembering what was available then. I think even Molten Core was a later addon, right?

Anyway, more concerning are things I hear about the game more-or-less requiring grouping once you get into the 30s in LOTRO. That's just my thing though, in that one thing I like about WoW is that I'm able to group or not as I level through the mid-ranges.

[Alan T]

I can't really comment on those things as I'm only level 11, but from what I've read, it seems like you still can do stuff solo into the 30s, you just go and do a group mission a few levels later is all. On the forums, the biggest complaint seems to be lack of end game yeah, but since I'm no where close to that I guess it doesnt matter too much to me. :)

In fact, last night I played by myself for about 40 minutes and spent the entire time just wandering around one area looking for an item that I could have looked up the location online and finished in 5 minutes. I just wanted to explore :)

[flere-imsaho]

Yeah, I'm not knocking it, just trying to compare it to my WoW experience. I remain very tempted to give LOTRO a try.

[spleen1015]

I guess I just have a lot more to experience with WoW. I played it for 3 months earlier this year with some of the guys on the board. We had our own little guild and ran an instance here and there together. I was more focused on getting to the level cap(70) than I was anything else. I got to 66 and burned out. So, I quit playing. A month later I started playing again, but felt unfulfilled with my level 66. So, I deleted everything that I had and started from scratch, switched sides and servers. Now, I am having a blast again. This time, I am taking my time and enjoying the game and not trying to get the rush of power leveling. I ran through the same instance 8 times over the long Memorial day weekend and had a ton of fun.

I want to give this game a shot, but I'm still totally interested in WoW. Maybe I will give it a try one day down the road. I will keep reading this thread though.

[Capital]

Is there a site like thottbot.com dedicated to LOTRO? Thottbot made WoW more fun for me. Also, even if the end-game isn't there - I have a 69, 50, and 45 WoW character so endgame didn't matter that much to me - I figure I would have more than my $ worth if I get anywhere near 50.

[BreizhManu]

Anyway, more concerning are things I hear about the game more-or-less requiring grouping once you get into the 30s in LOTRO.

Yep I'm level 35 and only quests left for me right now are for groups.

[Radii]

Games don't get released with full endgames ready. There is a large content patch coming sometime in June, so it'll be interesting to see what that does to the game.

LOTRO is giving me exactly what I want for now, after burning out on the end game raid content and frustration of being in a big guild in WoW, LOTRO is a chance to continue the cycle by getting a small group of friends together to experience a new game, new classes, new skills, new graphics, new content. If we want to stay with LOTRO for more than a couple motnhs, there will need to be something available at the end to make it worthwhile, but still, its definitely going to provide a few months of entertainment while me and my friends wait for something else to come along, worst case.

The game came out at a time when TBC was wearing on lots of people, guilds all over the place in WoW are struggling because of the way WoW changed content in the expansion, its a good time to present alternatives to WoW players who have been raiding for years in WoW and want something new.

A lot of people seem to be comparing LOTRO right now to WoW right now though, and I think those people will end up disappointed, but for what it is right now, a new game, a clean release with good content for levelling, I think its put itself in a position where it can do pretty well for awhile if they release new stuff and put together a decent endgame for people.

I still think Age of Conan and Warhammer will end up being bigger(if Warhammer doesn't bomb out), but this feels very much like the games that started coming out when the Everquest craze was peaking and the long time EQ players were starting to get a litltle worn down on the game. WoW is still the big dog, and WoW is SO big its hard to imagine anything taking it down, but this is the start of new games chipping away at it.

[Radii]

Is there a site like thottbot.com dedicated to LOTRO? Thottbot made WoW more fun for me. Also, even if the end-game isn't there - I have a 69, 50, and 45 WoW character so endgame didn't matter that much to me - I figure I would have more than my $ worth if I get anywhere near 50.


The sites I know of are lotro.allakhazam.com and mehq.net.

[Capital]

The sites I know of are lotro.allakhazam.com and mehq.net.

Thanks...I found allakhazam today (looks remarkably like the WoW version) but I will have to check out mehq.net.

[Yellow5]

http://www.arda-online.com/map/

Just like Google Maps, but for LotRO

And http://lorebook.lotro.com is a decent resource.

[Radii]

I like the Deed listing on the lorebook site, thanks Yellow5.

[chesapeake]

This question has been asked before, but there wasn't much detailed response.

What about this game makes it better than WoW?

LotRO is not better than WoW from a mechanical standpoint. In fact, LotRO borrowed heavily from WoW's design, much like WoW had borrowed from EQ and others that came before it. Depending on what you want to get out of the game, you can make a good argument that it is not as good as WoW.

What has sucked me into LotRO is the great work the designers did to immerse you into the Tolkein world. The main quest line, and many of the secondary quests, have been skillfully grafted onto the backbone of the books such that you feel like your avatar might just have been included in a lost appendice to one of the original books.

I've been waiting for this game since I first read The Hobbit in 1981.

If the Tolkein mythos doesn't hold anything particularly special for you, this may not be your game. The class selection is limited and the lack of magic in Middle Earth may turn some folks off. My sense is also that WoW will appeal more to the casual gamer because it is designed to be that way; but I am not a casual gamer, myself, so take that for what it is worth.

[spleen1015]

LotRO is not better than WoW from a mechanical standpoint. In fact, LotRO borrowed heavily from WoW's design, much like WoW had borrowed from EQ and others that came before it. Depending on what you want to get out of the game, you can make a good argument that it is not as good as WoW.

What has sucked me into LotRO is the great work the designers did to immerse you into the Tolkein world. The main quest line, and many of the secondary quests, have been skillfully grafted onto the backbone of the books such that you feel like your avatar might just have been included in a lost appendice to one of the original books.

I've been waiting for this game since I first read The Hobbit in 1981.

If the Tolkein mythos doesn't hold anything particularly special for you, this may not be your game. The class selection is limited and the lack of magic in Middle Earth may turn some folks off. My sense is also that WoW will appeal more to the casual gamer because it is designed to be that way; but I am not a casual gamer, myself, so take that for what it is worth.

Thanks for the response. Based on this, I don't think there is any reason for me to try this out.

[EagleFan]

Thanks for the response. Based on this, I don't think there is any reason for me to try this out.

I am the opposite of Chesapeake though. I have no connection with the LOTR storyline but I have been liking LOTRO much better than WoW at this point. The only exposure that I had to MMORPG's was my ouple years of WoW.

I like the feeling of being a larger part of an actual story when playing. I also like the environment better and the addition of the deeds system which is a nice plus over just doing basic quests.

I may like it more just because it is new and different but I have become quite tired of the WoW grind.

It's probably not for everyone but I would recommend it to anyone to try.

[spleen1015]

Can someone explain the deeds system?

[Peregrine]

There are several kinds of deeds you can achieve, some involve exploring, like find 5 ruins, others are kill X monsters, and some are class or race abilities like use your class abilities so many times or kill so many racial enemies. Each deed gives you something, either a title (common in monster killing) or a virtue, each of these is like a small package of stat increases or resist increases, depending on your level you can have only so many virtues equipped, and you can switch them around by paying a small fee.

[Radii]

Can someone explain the deeds system?

In addition to what Peregrine said, I'd poitn out that its basically LOTRO's version of the WoW talent tree, you'll have way more traits than you are allowed to equip, allowing you to customize your character depending on how you set up your traits once you've earned them by completing deeds.

[Bonegavel]

I picked this up over the weekend. Anyone want to team up? Let me know where and when. I'm a "as time permits" kind of person, but it can't hurt to try.

[Bonegavel]

dola, I picked up the 14 day trial with WoW and was vastly unimpressed. Talk about no skill needed. Just kill x of y and rinse repeat. At least in City of Heroes there were groups of MOBs to kill and it required some planning and tactics (not much, mind you, but at least something). WoW is underwhelming at the very least.

So far LOTRO is similar but at least it's in Middle Earth. I'm love the Fantasy genre and I hope that LOTRO can scratch that itch. WoW ain't it by a long shot.

[gi]

I picked this up over the weekend. Anyone want to team up? Let me know where and when. I'm a "as time permits" kind of person, but it can't hurt to try.

Server and Player name Albino.... ;)

[Alan T]

I picked this up over the weekend. Anyone want to team up? Let me know where and when. I'm a "as time permits" kind of person, but it can't hurt to try.

If you are on the Vilya server, I have a few characters that I play, but am only up to level 12-13 so far, so you can see how little time I usually have for playing. :) Did you hop on this server as well, if so, what is your char name?

[Capital]

If you are on the Vilya server, I have a few characters that I play, but am only up to level 12-13 so far, so you can see how little time I usually have for playing. :) Did you hop on this server as well, if so, what is your char name?

I'm also on the Vilya server as Aubie if any FOFCer wish to send me a tell.

[Coffee Warlord]

News posting from Ctrl-Alt-Del comic.


Let me tell you what I love about Lord of the Rings Online.

Almost everything.

Let me tell you what I hate about Lord of the Rings Online.

Hobbits.

I have grown to absolutely despise those little fuckers. I am resolved to never group with one of the furry little shits, and if I have to carry out a quest for one of them, you had better believe I am going to do so with the most disdain I can muster. Hobbits irritate me on every level.

I think it was Adso that pushed me over the edge. The Hobbits of Staddle were obnoxiously laze, to be sure, running me back and forth delivering messages when they're all standing within spitting distance of each other, if they'd just roll off their fat asses for a moment. Listening to Eldo Swatmidge pine over that widow a couple of farms down didn't help either. Sweet monkey christ dude, just go to eHarmony dot com. Shut your trap.

But then we get to Adso's camp, and lo and behold the little hairy nut is the worst one yet. Heaven forbid you move a few steps, Adso. Sure, I'll go collect ten bear pelts and ten boar pelts for you. Here you go. What's that? Oh, you also want fifteen wolf pelts? Well why didn't you mention that when I went out there before, since bears, boars and wolves are all in the same fucking place.

Fine, Adso, there. Are we all done? No, of course not. You need more boar pelts now. And you also need them delivered to Bree-town. You're the one with the cart, but hey, I've got legs, I'll do it. Fuck you, Adso.

Oh good, next stop is the Shire. Chock full of moppy-headed rat fuckers. I'll be sure to give them as much as my wrath as possible, with your regards, Adso.

Oh yes, there is wrath.

[Radii]

Haha, nice.

I have played five or six MMOs in my day now seriously, and I am proud to say I've never, ever played a midget. No dwarves or gnomes in EQ, no kobolds in DAOC, no shorties in WoW, and I'll never play a hobbit or dwarf in LOTRO. If there were a quest in LOTRO to kill evil Hobbits I would just do it over and over and never bother levelling past that. ;)

[Coffee Warlord]

I cannot stand being short in an RPG. Actually, I almost always wind up being human. Just prefer it.

[Radii]

I made an Elf minstrel at first but ended up rerolling a Guardian. After reading enough to decide that the stat discrepencies didn't really make an Elf Guardian a hinderance, I went ahead w/ the Elf mainly for the Rivendell port racial trait. I cannot stand running to Rivendell, its a HORRIBLE journey. I don't think I've ever picked a race for a reason like that before, but in this game, its a massive edge IMO.

[BreizhManu]

I made an Elf minstrel at first but ended up rerolling a Guardian. After reading enough to decide that the stat discrepencies didn't really make an Elf Guardian a hinderance, I went ahead w/ the Elf mainly for the Rivendell port racial trait. I cannot stand running to Rivendell, its a HORRIBLE journey. I don't think I've ever picked a race for a reason like that before, but in this game, its a massive edge IMO.

You could also have picked a hunter :)

[flere-imsaho]

At least in City of Heroes there were groups of MOBs to kill and it required some planning and tactics (not much, mind you, but at least something).

In WoW, I think you start hitting this a bit more around level 30.

News posting from Ctrl-Alt-Del comic.

LOL! :D

[mrkilla22]

What server is everyone on? Is there an FOFC guild? I will probably be picking this game up soon.

[gi]

What server is everyone on? Is there an FOFC guild? I will probably be picking this game up soon.

Vilya server, Character name: Wryain

Have a kinship (Guild) setup if you wish to join. It is not purely FOFC, but there are a lot of couples in it that play casually.

[mrkilla22]

Vilya server, Character name: Wryain

Have a kinship (Guild) setup if you wish to join. It is not purely FOFC, but there are a lot of couples in it that play casually.

Thanks gi. From reading this thread, it looks like most FOFC players are on the Vilya server. I will let you know when I get on.

[Radii]

I'm on Vilya but have mostly quit playing, i haven't cancelled my account yet but I probably will soon. Nothing wrong with the game, I've just moved on to other stuff, it didn't hold enough of my friends' interests to stick with it.

[SnowMan]

Any more buddy keys hangin around out there? I need a serious WoW break, but something to do until Warhammer beta.

[Alan T]

I'm on Vilya but have mostly quit playing, i haven't cancelled my account yet but I probably will soon. Nothing wrong with the game, I've just moved on to other stuff, it didn't hold enough of my friends' interests to stick with it.

Same deal here. I liked the game, but couldn't find many others who wanted to play it when I occasionally had time. My time during the summer has been so sporadic that I only had 20-30 min at a time.

[mrkilla22]

I started playing. I am on the Vilya server as Anairyl.

[Capital]

I'm still playing the game, lvl 32 Hunter, but it's getting very repetitive. While the same concept as WoW, they were able to hide the repetitiveness so much better.

[gi]

I'm still playing the game, lvl 32 Hunter, but it's getting very repetitive. While the same concept as WoW, they were able to hide the repetitiveness so much better.

I've run across a lot of people that say the opposite. It will be intesesting to see how this game matures as time goes on.

[flere-imsaho]

Is there still no "endgame"?

[Capital]

I've run across a lot of people that say the opposite. It will be intesesting to see how this game matures as time goes on.

I think the reason for me is that much of Middle Earth looks the same. The fantasy world is vastly different in WoW.

[Brillig]

I think the reason for me is that much of Middle Earth looks the same. The fantasy world is vastly different in WoW.

Well, to a degree, that's because Turbine chose to go with a 'realistic' look to the world. WoW is, not to put too fine a point on it, a cartoon.

[gi]

I think the reason for me is that much of Middle Earth looks the same. The fantasy world is vastly different in WoW.

I see a theme with the cosmetic look of the world. I also believe people enjoy LOTRO more than WOW (For those that do) because of the familarity of the story.

[SnowMan]

Bump...any buddy passes available? :)

[Capital]

Well, to a degree, that's because Turbine chose to go with a 'realistic' look to the world. WoW is, not to put too fine a point on it, a cartoon.

I absolutely agree that WoW, for the most part, has a cartoon look and feel to the game. That does allow for much more variation to the individual worlds. However, it's been 3 months and I'm still playing LOTRO.

[BreizhManu]

Bump...any buddy passes available? :)

Sorry buddy, only got one for the european version

[sabotai]

not to put too fine a point on it

Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet
Make a little birdhouse in your soul

I've got a secret to tell
From my electrical well



Sorry.

[gi]

Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet
Make a little birdhouse in your soul

I've got a secret to tell
From my electrical well



Sorry.

No need to be sorry, award yourself a bonus point for quoting they might be giants. :D

[GrantDawg]

So, anybody still playing? I hit the level cap this weekend, and so did my wife. I also experienced my first raid ever. Lots of fun, but our kinship is almost devoid of healers. Which is weird, really, because the minstral is one of the more powerful classes in the game. I just started leveling up one, and he can take on much more than my champion could at the same level.

[EagleFan]

I stopped playing a while back. Just couldn't seem to get into it or even have the time anymore. May try to go back to WoW casually (wife still plays but I haven't in quite some time).

[Radii]

I just gave all my gold to a buddy and canceled my account over the weekend. None of my MMO buddies stuck around, I saw they'd added housing and some other stuff, but I think its too late for me at this point.

[gi]

Still playing, leader of a Kinship now. Vilya server, Shadows of Rivendell. Wife and I play it a lot, having a blast.

[BreizhManu]

Still playing despite being level 50 since August.

There is still a lot to do, and I am still enjoying the game.

[chesapeake]

Still playing my high-30's burglar on Landroval. The only frustration I have is that I rarely get more than 90 minutes on at any one time, so I get stuck on a lot of quest lines at the group stage when I can't find a pick-up group quickly enough to get started.

But conversely, when I hit a new area and get a whole new set of solo quests, it is like opening presents on Christmas morning.

[BreizhManu]

Still playing my high-30's burglar on Landroval. The only frustration I have is that I rarely get more than 90 minutes on at any one time, so I get stuck on a lot of quest lines at the group stage when I can't find a pick-up group quickly enough to get started.

Yeah, the mid 30's are the worst part in the game in my opinion.

Before it was bad until the mid 40's when you could really start soloing in Angmar but now with the new zone in the Trollshaw it's ok for players 40-45.

[GrantDawg]

Yeah, the mid 30's are the worst part in the game in my opinion.

Before it was bad until the mid 40's when you could really start soloing in Angmar but now with the new zone in the Trollshaw it's ok for players 40-45.


I agree about the 30's, but that was about the time we joined with our kin. That helped a lot, because we grouped a bunch of areas.

[Greyroofoo]

Anyone still playing? I just got the game and having a good time so far.

[Eaglesfan27]

A 14 day trial version of the game came with my new laptop that I got last week. I'm afraid to try it as it might be too time consuming, but I'm interested to hear as well if people from here are still playing.

[Greyroofoo]

Well I have a lvl 17 Minstrel on Landroval named Linhelm. Feel free to hit me up.

[GrantDawg]

My wife and I still play. A friend started playing a few months ago on a different server (Gladden) so we made new characters. I'm a little more than half way through 49 with him (Dwarf ministrel). It just amazes me how much content they have put out already (opened new areas, expnanded on others). They have another new area opening by the end of the month, and then by fall will have the first paid expansion coming (The Mines of Moria).

It is by far the best MMO game I've ever played.

[spleen1015]

It is by far the best MMO game I've ever played.

What makes it better than WoW?

[EagleFan]

I don't know if it's because I don't get into the LoTR story or what but for some reason I couldn't maintain my interest in the game. I may try it again after we move (moving this next weekend) and see if I can maintain my interest.

I liked it a lot when I started but somehow got bored around the mid teen levels.

[sabotai]

I played in the Beta and I was less than impressed. After trying as many MMORPGs that I could, I went back to WoW. I'd be interested in a breakdown of what you can do in the game and how much has been added. It was one of the better MMORPGs I tried away from WoW, but I just had trouble staying interested in it.

[GrantDawg]

What makes it better than WoW?


Storyline, graphics and such. It hooked me pretty quick, but having my wife get into probably helped a good bit, too.

[Schmidty]

It's not better than WoW by any means (imo), but it's a fun diversion until Wrath of the Lich King comes out later in the year.

I look forward to seeing how Age of Conan is too.

[DaddyTorgo]

after being so high on this game, i never even got around to downloading it to check it out unfortunately

[chesapeake]

The epic narrative in LOTRO really did it for me, but I admit that I am a Tolkein nerd. But I am taking a break from MMORPGs for a while.

[Radii]

It's not better than WoW by any means (imo), but it's a fun diversion

This is pretty much how I felt about LOTRO. I enjoyed levelling up w/ my friends quite a bit, but around 50, it just got stale. Seeing the world and getting through the epic quests was great, but I left the game saying "If you want a great PVE game, WoW is what you want" ... and I tried out LOTRO after quitting WoW and kinda realized I didn't want either. I played it a good bit and definitely got my money's worth by conventional game standards, but it couldn't hold me like WoW(for PVE) or Dark Age of Camelot did long ago(best PVP game in my opinion)

[Galaril]

Is anyone still playing this 2 years later. I know they have a fairly new expansion and are offering free sign up and 9.99 for as long as you play per month plus play your old character plus 25% bonus XP for a week to celebrate the games bday. I have heard that soloing has been improved alot in the game to help people get past the early 20 levels or so and might get this again since it does look like it will be around for a while longer.

[DaddyTorgo]

interesting. i never checked it out - i probably should

[Galaril]

interesting. i never checked it out - i probably should

Yeah, I got to say I never was World of Warcraft MMO guy but really enjoyed my time witht eh game. I solod'955 of the time and only stopped because at about level 20 or so it was becoming more a grind. However, I here that alot of the level grind has been reduced with the expansions.

[GrantDawg]

Still playing. Yeah, there is not much grind leveling up. You can easily solo to 60 (though you'll miss out on a lot of the better stuff). If it has been awhile since you played, the game has changed a lot. There is still a grind, but it is all in the top level now. I'm not playing quite as much now because of the grindy-ness. If you are going to play, join a good active guild. It makes the game a whole lot more enjoyable.

[Galaril]

Still playing. Yeah, there is not much grind leveling up. You can easily solo to 60 (though you'll miss out on a lot of the better stuff). If it has been awhile since you played, the game has changed a lot. There is still a grind, but it is all in the top level now. I'm not playing quite as much now because of the grindy-ness. If you are going to play, join a good active guild. It makes the game a whole lot more enjoyable.

Yeah, I think I might rejoin and though I will play solo for the most part I plan on doing the story line quests that require fellowships and raids etc so it is not that that I am not open to doing some group play just I prefer most of it to be solo. Thanks for the info.

[DataKing]

If anyone is playing on Landroval server and needs a hand, look me up. Thofur Grimhelm - Dwarven Guardian and Armorsmith (currently level 57).

[BreizhManu]

Stopped playing 4 months ago, the mines of moria have been a huge dissapointment for me, didn't like the HL content.

Started a reroll this week and all I have heard about the last patch was true : huge amount of bugs...

I don't like the game right now, it will probably get better in a few months, I might start playing again

[Galaril]

I am wondering if it is necessary to get the angmar expansion or just the moria one for the improvement s in the game? I have the inital game and am no donloading the hi res version and might just go ahead and get both expansion if they are not to much.

[BreizhManu]

there is only one expansion "mines of moria", "shadows of angmar" being the basic game.

[TimGuru]

This is semi-off topic but for the MMO fans, try getting into the beta for Champions Online. Its NDA so I can't say more.

[DataKing]

If it's half as good as the 'City of' games, I'll be checking it out once it goes live for sure.

[Greyroofoo]

Well I just got sucked into this game, if anyone wants to join me my ingame name is Samkin

[Greyroofoo]

dola, on Landroval server

[GrantDawg]

Well I just got sucked into this game, if anyone wants to join me my ingame name is Samkin


I'm taking a break right now. Been playing for two years and finally hit a wall. I just don't like where the game is going right now.

[RomaGoth]

I was in the BETA for LOTRO and liked it enough to buy it. After about two weeks though, I went back to WoW. Then, about a year later, I tried again. Played for about two weeks again then quit. I love the lore, the graphics are nice, and the gameplay was decent. However...

I died a lot. That gets tiresome, especially when you have limited time. I am a good gamer, but because I solo a lot of the time, I found myself being overwhelmed by groups of mobs. A lot of quests required a group, and I hate waiting around trying to find people to group with, so I just try to do those quests myself, with poor results.

I also found the leveling to be very slow. That is a turn-off for me personally.

Another thing that bugged me was the lack of decent addons and especially a map/quest helper. I had a hell of a time finding some of the quest locations. After playing WoW with the numerous addons, LOTRO was very difficult imo.

Has anything changed in the past year or so in respect to these issues? I may be interested in trying once more if it is worth my time to do so. I am also contemplating playing WoW again too.

[Greyroofoo]

They did add a map/quest tracker

[GrantDawg]

I was in the BETA for LOTRO and liked it enough to buy it. After about two weeks though, I went back to WoW. Then, about a year later, I tried again. Played for about two weeks again then quit. I love the lore, the graphics are nice, and the gameplay was decent. However...

I died a lot. That gets tiresome, especially when you have limited time. I am a good gamer, but because I solo a lot of the time, I found myself being overwhelmed by groups of mobs. A lot of quests required a group, and I hate waiting around trying to find people to group with, so I just try to do those quests myself, with poor results.

I also found the leveling to be very slow. That is a turn-off for me personally.

Another thing that bugged me was the lack of decent addons and especially a map/quest helper. I had a hell of a time finding some of the quest locations. After playing WoW with the numerous addons, LOTRO was very difficult imo.

Has anything changed in the past year or so in respect to these issues? I may be interested in trying once more if it is worth my time to do so. I am also contemplating playing WoW again too.

You should try again. It is one of the fastest/easiest games to level, and they made it even easier just recently. You can very easily solo to level cap, and you can probably get to level 20 in about a week of non-hardcore playing.

[Apathetic Lurker]

If you need some help i'm on Brandywine

Morgwai-40 Hunt
Papieros-57 Ward
Bogumil-60 Champ
Taewing -30 LM
Tyrcha- 35 Capt
Beton- 35 Guard

[RomaGoth]

I have some characters on Landroval. Still undecided if I will play it again though.

[RomaGoth]

They did add a map/quest tracker

Is it an addon or part of the game itself?

[BreizhManu]

part of the game itself.

The game as become prety easy now and lots and lots of solo content (way too much in my opinion).

Like GrantDawg, I don't like where the game is going right now, since I have a life account I could still play but don't want to anymore.

[DataKing]

For my fellow crafters out there...significant changes are coming to crafting in Book 8:

Developer Diary: LOTRO Book 8 Crafting Enhancements | The Lord of the Rings Online (http://www.lotro.com/gameinfo/devdiaries/424-developer-diary-lotro-book-8-crafting-enhancements)

[RomaGoth]

For my fellow crafters out there...significant changes are coming to crafting in Book 8:

Developer Diary: LOTRO Book 8 Crafting Enhancements | The Lord of the Rings Online (http://www.lotro.com/gameinfo/devdiaries/424-developer-diary-lotro-book-8-crafting-enhancements)

Didn't they already try to make changes to crafting a couple of times? :confused:

[DataKing]

Didn't they already try to make changes to crafting a couple of times? :confused:

Crafting has been through a number of changes over the past two years.

[RomaGoth]

Is it easier to sell the materials on AH or craft stuff yourself instead?

[GrantDawg]

Is it easier to sell the materials on AH or craft stuff yourself instead?


Easier? Sell them. You can make money at crafting, but not easily. It becomes a money/time sink real fast.

[chesapeake]

My experience on this is a year old now, but crafting is a labor of love. You won't make as much money per hour crafting as you will questing and killing mobs. I enjoy crafting and liked this system. I was able to sell most things I made on the AH, but rarely at a significant profit.

[chesapeake]

I was in the BETA for LOTRO and liked it enough to buy it. After about two weeks though, I went back to WoW. Then, about a year later, I tried again. Played for about two weeks again then quit. I love the lore, the graphics are nice, and the gameplay was decent. However...

I died a lot. That gets tiresome, especially when you have limited time. I am a good gamer, but because I solo a lot of the time, I found myself being overwhelmed by groups of mobs. A lot of quests required a group, and I hate waiting around trying to find people to group with, so I just try to do those quests myself, with poor results.

I also found the leveling to be very slow. That is a turn-off for me personally.

Another thing that bugged me was the lack of decent addons and especially a map/quest helper. I had a hell of a time finding some of the quest locations. After playing WoW with the numerous addons, LOTRO was very difficult imo.

Has anything changed in the past year or so in respect to these issues? I may be interested in trying once more if it is worth my time to do so. I am also contemplating playing WoW again too.

I had been thinking about getting back into this for some time and decided to do it now, as once my baby arrives in September I expect that my gaming online will be greatly restricted. So after 7 hours of playing over the last 2 days, I now have some first hand experience with the new system.

Quests are much easier to do with the new tracker. No more wandering around aimlessly to try and find some npc or mob to kill. I have gained about half a level in the time I have played, which included a ding to 43. I don't know whether that is fast or slow.

I still cannot comment about your problem with dying a lot. My primary character is a burglar and I usually solo most of the time; I only ever died when I screwed up, and my only deaths since I started playing again was botching my crowd control once and jumping off a cliff that was too high for me the other time. But that is one of the benefits of being a burglar. We solo well.

Grouping is still an issue, I think. I spent about 4 hours in the Trollshaws looking for folks to finish up a handful of group quests there to no avail. They have a new element that allows you to tag a group of quests so that anyone looking for a group for the same quests can find you directly. It seems like a good feature, but didn't help me in the Trollshaws. Very few folks in there at the moment.

I'm going to try and find a group to do Book V in the Misty Mountains. I figure that if I have serious problems finding a group to do that, then grouping probably still is a problem.

[chesapeake]

BTW, my primary character is Cordas, a Hobbit burglar on Landroval.

[RomaGoth]

I had been thinking about getting back into this for some time and decided to do it now, as once my baby arrives in September I expect that my gaming online will be greatly restricted. So after 7 hours of playing over the last 2 days, I now have some first hand experience with the new system.

Quests are much easier to do with the new tracker. No more wandering around aimlessly to try and find some npc or mob to kill. I have gained about half a level in the time I have played, which included a ding to 43. I don't know whether that is fast or slow.

I still cannot comment about your problem with dying a lot. My primary character is a burglar and I usually solo most of the time; I only ever died when I screwed up, and my only deaths since I started playing again was botching my crowd control once and jumping off a cliff that was too high for me the other time. But that is one of the benefits of being a burglar. We solo well.

Grouping is still an issue, I think. I spent about 4 hours in the Trollshaws looking for folks to finish up a handful of group quests there to no avail. They have a new element that allows you to tag a group of quests so that anyone looking for a group for the same quests can find you directly. It seems like a good feature, but didn't help me in the Trollshaws. Very few folks in there at the moment.

I'm going to try and find a group to do Book V in the Misty Mountains. I figure that if I have serious problems finding a group to do that, then grouping probably still is a problem.

I am currently playing WoW. I love the lore and graphics in LOTRO, but the leveling was just always so tedious that I am still having a hard time wanting to play it again. Leveling in WoW is much easier, and I tend to solo a lot so this is something I look for in a game. I may still try it again though, perhaps in the next few weeks.

As for dying in LOTRO, the reason I was dying a lot was that I was taking on too many mobs at once or too high of level mobs. I am glad to hear that the map/questing system has been improved. I need to check it out one of these days.

[Greyroofoo]

The new expansion Siege of Mirkwood that recently came out lead me to return to this game. So far I've only done the prerequisite quest for the skirmishes and did a Carn Dun run with an old kin.

Anyone been to Mirkwood or tried out the skirmishes?

[DaddyTorgo]

might try this out now that i have better graphics on my laptop

[Greyroofoo]

i play on landroval as samkin or felldoh

[DataKing]

Thofur Grimhelm (also on Landroval) has not yet been to the depths of Mirkwood. I'm working my way through the Lothlorien quests at the moment. I've been through a few of the skirmishes as well...entertaining, but I can see them becoming a bit of a grind, especially considering the high price of some of the available skirmish rewards.

[chesapeake]

Cordas Goodfields (also also on Landroval) just hit level 60 and is emerging from the depths of Moria. I like the skirmishes. They are intense quests that last about 30-45 minutes -- at least on solo, tier I difficulty -- and provide good entertainment value per minute invested.

[Apathetic Lurker]

All my toons live in Branywine...has that big city atmosphere a lot of times

[GrantDawg]

Floran Stonesinger still haunts Gladden. Haven't put in as much time recently (worked beta for SOM, sort of burned out), but ill probably be getting back soon.

[DataKing]

If anyone is interested in a free 3-day time code to give LOTRO another look, let me know. They're running one of those "invite your friends back to the game" promotions, and none of my peeps need the code.

[Greyroofoo]

If anyone is interested in a free 3-day time code to give LOTRO another look, let me know. They're running one of those "invite your friends back to the game" promotions, and none of my peeps need the code.

I have codes too

[Galaril]

If anyone is interested in a free 3-day time code to give LOTRO another look, let me know. They're running one of those "invite your friends back to the game" promotions, and none of my peeps need the code.

I would like to give it another try and will take the code off of you if you still have it?

[DaddyTorgo]

oooh really? cool guys

i'd take a look this weekend, for sure

[DaddyTorgo]

yay for mr. alanT who shot me off a code. i'll have to see if i can find some of you guys when i fire it up later

[DataKing]

Galaril, check your PMs when you get a moment. I'll get you set up with a code when I get home from work.

[Greyroofoo]

12 man skirmishes are a hell of a lot of fun.

[Galaril]

Galaril, check your PMs when you get a moment. I'll get you set up with a code when I get home from work.

Thanks.

[Galaril]

Galaril, check your PMs when you get a moment. I'll get you set up with a code when I get home from work.

Great I sent you a PM incase you needed my email address or user name.

[Schmidty]

I wouldn't mind a code either, if anyone has one.

I gave CoH another chance (trial), but after two days, I'm pretty bored.

[Schmidty]

Thanks to Grantdawg for the code, but I can't find where to go to use it. I found a 10 day trial, but not the one that uses the code.

[GrantDawg]

Thanks to Grantdawg for the code, but I can't find where to go to use it. I found a 10 day trial, but not the one that uses the code.


Should be in your account area.

[Schmidty]

Should be in your account area.

Oh, ok. I still need to download the game.

[Greyroofoo]

For those that are downloading the game, i wouldn't use the turbine download manager.

[Galaril]

I am redownloading and going to try this now that it sounds like it is much more solo friendly. I got a few times to about level 17-18 and gave each time once I had to do mostly group stuff to proceed. For someone like me with two younger kids, wife, a bunch of outdoor workout recreational activities and fulltime job I just did not have the time to devote to seeking out fellowship groups to proceed in the game. But now it sounds like Turbine is going to make it possible for at least all the way through Book 2 (Moria?) the ability to solo through the games epic storyline parts along with adding the skirmish solo stuff and other solo-able quests at the hirier levels.

[MrBug708]

Anyone else have a code they wanna give out?

[Alan T]

I am redownloading and going to try this now that it sounds like it is much more solo friendly. I got a few times to about level 17-18 and gave each time once I had to do mostly group stuff to proceed. For someone like me with two younger kids, wife, a bunch of outdoor workout recreational activities and fulltime job I just did not have the time to devote to seeking out fellowship groups to proceed in the game. But now it sounds like Turbine is going to make it possible for at least all the way through Book 2 (Moria?) the ability to solo through the games epic storyline parts along with adding the skirmish solo stuff and other solo-able quests at the hirier levels.


I only solo. I play it less than you would though. I might turn it on for 10-15 minutes once or twice a week and then maybe an hour or two on weekends if not busy with work. I enjoy the game but probably wouldn't pay the monthly fee with how little I have time for it if I didn't have a lifetime subscription.

The way I play it though it basically is more like an open ended RPG than anything else since I don't know anyone on my server and rarely interact with others.

[Greyroofoo]

Well it's finally happening

Lord of the Rings Online to go free-to-play (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6264551.html)

Bros. is to make its recently acquired flagship MMO game free to play this fall, beta to start June 16.

Massively multiplayer online role-playing game Lord of the Rings Online is to go free-to-play, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Codemasters announced today. This will make LOTRO Warner Bros.' second free-to-play MMO game, after the successful switch away from a subscription model for Dungeons & Dragons Online last year.


No word on whether WBIE plans to charge extra for torches.
Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar was released to critical acclaim in 2007, with expansions following in 2008 and 2009. Subscriptions to play currently cost up to $15 a month. The game will be free to play, but a new online LOTRO store will allow players to purchase "expansions, quest packs, items, and account services a la carte," according to Warner Bros. As with DDO, players will also be able to buy a VIP package, which gives players access to all of the premium features for one price--though the price itself was not revealed.

The project will be among the first overseen by Jeff Junge, WBIE's newly appointed senior vice president of online games and digital games platforms. Junge was given responsibility for the firm's entire digital games business in May. Codemasters will continue to publish the title in Europe alongside DDO, which it also publishes in the region.

LOTRO is developed by Turbine, which WBIE acquired in April to consolidate its control of the Lord of the Rings gaming licences. The acquisition followed Warner's reacquisition of non-MMO game rights to the franchise in March 2009. LOTRO was originally published by the now-defunct Midway Games.

The move will see LOTRO and its expansions disappear from store shelves, as all the distribution will be done through the new LOTRO online store. WBIE has said that the free-to-play version of the MMO game will be available to play at the Electronic Entertainment Expo later this month.

[DaddyTorgo]

Really? Free to play? That's kinda cool. I enjoyed the demo that I tried of it. At free-to-play for the base game I can see myself spending at least a lil bit of time with it.

[DataKing]

They'd better grant those of us with lifetime subscriptions the VIP package, or there's going to be some serious nerd rage happening.

[Alan T]

They'd better grant those of us with lifetime subscriptions the VIP package, or there's going to be some serious nerd rage happening.


Even though I don't have time to play these days I did get an email saying that I did get the VIP automatically for being a lifetime subscription.

Doubt I'll find time to use it though.

[Thomkal]

I'd certainly go back to playing it when they go FTP.

[GrantDawg]

I'm the opposite. Cancelling my sub. Wasn't playing as much anyway, but really not interested in this change at all. Oh well. It was a great game for a while.

[DaddyTorgo]

why not interested in the change Grant? Do you think it's going to be overrun by newbs and ruined or something?

[chesapeake]

An infusion of noobs might actually help. It is impossible to do any low-level group quests if you want to create a new alt. Heck, I've been trying to get a group to run 1.8 for more than 8 months, and that is a level 50 quest line.

[Greyroofoo]

I think all of volume 1 is soloable now.

[Greyroofoo]

why not interested in the change Grant? Do you think it's going to be overrun by newbs and ruined or something?

I can't speak for Grant but it does bum me out that i recently subscribed for 3 months and then they make this announcement :banghead:

[Peregrine]

I am considering cancelling my subscription, like GrantDawg, but I may hold onto it. I enjoy LOTRO but I don't play it as much as I would like lately. Also, given how limited the free to play and premium accounts are, it's probably worth $15 bucks a month just to be able to enjoy the whole game with no limits - which is of course how they are setting it up. We'll see if it ruins the game or not, but I think it will ruin the community which is excellent right now.

[Apathetic Lurker]

I'll most likely be gone.....2 servers,12 toons.......sigh
\
now it comes down to who has more loot to spend, not skill..for the most part

[tyketime]

As a lifetime subscriber (actually my son & I each have a lifetime membership), my initial reaction is negative as well. I am admittedly not familiar with their DDO model, but I think this greatly dilutes the value I thought I made commiting to them with a lot of money up front. I will read more and then come back with further thoughts, but maybe someone else can explain why this is a good thing. I kinda liken this to my local Dave & Busters where I pay money and get a card with "credits" on it. But each game costs a different amount of credits. It's no longer just 50 cents or a dollar a game. It's credits. Woo Hoo... I'm a VIP now. Ugh...

[GrantDawg]

why not interested in the change Grant? Do you think it's going to be overrun by newbs and ruined or something?

Newbs? Eh. This was a game for the newb. It is that there has been a great slow down in content already (even with the wealth of material available) and now content is going to be channeled to what they think they can get people to pay an extra few bucks for. The little "ala cart" crap that they have in the DnD game and such. Just stupid and annoying.

[Greyroofoo]

One thing that I have to wonder is about Warner Brother's take over of LotRO. Is Turbine going to deliver content that takes us on the road to Isengard, Gondor and Mordor?

Or because WB is the distributor of the Hobbit film, are we going to Northern Mirkwood, Dale, and the Lonely Mountain to better tie in with the film.

[tyketime]

After reading a bit more, it's clear I won't be losing anything I currently have. However, this change does introduce a couple of things:

1. No new content until the Fall. The prevailing thought was that we would get something in the summer. Updates are unfortunately occurring less and less often. I wonder how many resources were pulled off new content to retrofit the game for the FTP model?

2. I saw this on a LOTRO thread, and this concerns me greatly:
I dont care how it works. I dont play pay to win games with item malls where paying hundreds of dollars a month trumps gameplay experience. Thats how these games always end up. They're announcing 2,400 item mall items at launch. Do you really expect that there wont be XP pots, super buff pots, legendary item reroll pots, etc?

[Peregrine]

One thing that I have to wonder is about Warner Brother's take over of LotRO. Is Turbine going to deliver content that takes us on the road to Isengard, Gondor and Mordor?

Or because WB is the distributor of the Hobbit film, are we going to Northern Mirkwood, Dale, and the Lonely Mountain to better tie in with the film.

Heh, given the troubled status of the Hobbit film and that the director Guillermo del Toro just pulled out of the project, it's not clear that they will even get made, so I hope this is not the case! :D

[Peregrine]

tyketime - I am not so concerned about experience pots in the item malls or buffing potions - I play DDO, so I see the kinds of things they have there, and if they were included in the LOTRO item store they would be far more damaging. I'm talking about being able to buy having more character points to start off your character with, putting you at a permanent advantage, or being able to buy something that lets you skip the first 10 levels of gameplay entirely and just start at level 10.

[Greyroofoo]

It's been announced that the F2P date is Sep. 10th

[Neon_Chaos]

One week to go before F2P!

[Peregrine]

It's going to be crazy once F2P starts - I guess it will be good to get that influx of new players but I really worry it's going to wreck the great community that the game has.

[Matthean]

Has the "need to pay for" stuff already been listed?